Adrastus Thorn's page

He looks at Kharn and answers, "He has no accountability as a mercenary. Usually it not a question, but I have word from reliable sources that the good captain is also taking payment from the enemy as well. Even though this is something that is not related, we cannot have this conflict of interest. Especially at a time of such importance." He smiles at the question as well, "Greed is not a bad thing, foolish greed is."

Adrastus looks at Argan, "Fire-Axe will be expecting you and will know of the plan. At least the general idea of it."

Adrastus summons you to his study and is seated at his table.

“Welcome, my children,” he says in a deep resonant voice that has an almost inhuman quality to it. “Training is at an end. You have proven yourself worthy. Now, it is time for you to use that training and take on your first mission."

“Your mission is war, my children. You will bring war to Talingarde."

“You have two objectives. First, you will see a shipment of munitions delivered to a bugbear chieftain named Sakkarot Fire-Axe. He makes his camp on the northern coast of Lake Tarik beyond the Watch Wall. With this shipment, the Fire-Axe will have resources enough to unite the barbarous humanoid tribes of the north and light the fire of war."

“Sitting on the dock as we speak is the longship Frosthamar captained by Kargeld Odenkirk. Tomorrow when the ship is resupplied it will be your transport. The captain is a ruthless mercenary and not to be trusted. He knows nothing of the specifics of our mission and you should keep it that way. He knows he is smuggling cargo to the north beyond the Watch Wall. That is all he need know."

“Once the cargo is safely delivered, he will take you just south across the lake under cover of darkness and land you near the town of Aldencross. There our contract with Captain Odenkirk will be concluded."

“It is shame how greedy he has proven. I had hoped to let the captain serve me again but it seems he is too much of a liability. Kill him. Kill his crew. Burn his ship and leave no survivors. It is crucial that no one suspects our involvement and that loose ends are taken care of. Be sure to reclaim the coin I gave him. Best not to be wasteful."

“That done, you will begin your second task. We will do more still to aid our ally the Fire-axe. The bugbears are mighty warriors but poor siege engineers. You will infiltrate the tower Balentyne, keystone of the Watch Wall, kill its commander and open the gate for Sakkarot’s horde."

“Once the shaggy monstrosities pierce the Watch Wall, the bugbears will pillage and lay waste to the townships of the north and the local garrisons will have no choice but to meet the Fire-Axe in the open field. Sakkarot is the most brilliant, gifted and murderous bugbear of his generation. I expect these battles will go poorly for the knights and yeoman of fair Talingarde."

“Do all of this and then when your task is done, break this clay seal.” He hands them a delicately carved clay seal adorned with a tangled knot of thorns surrounding the holy symbol of Asmodeus. “I will have more instructions then. Succeed and I will see you rewarded handsomely. Fail or betray me and you will pray for the comfort of Hell before I am done with you."

“The mission you start upon today is a holy mission. The people of Talingarde think they have seen the last of the mighty Asmodeus. Soon enough we will remind them that there is no escaping the grasp of Hell. Let us toast our success.”

He pours one glass of deep red wine for each of the PCs and then finally pours one for himself. He raises the glass and offers a toast. “To war.”

The Cardinal called you into the great banquet hall within the manor. He sits upon a chair at the head of the table and shares a meal with the whole party. "You have done well with everything. The trail and the training alike. You have made me proud, only one thing remains until you will be given your first true task to start the downfall of Talingarde." He looked over the party while sipping on his glass of wine.

"We shall name you in a ceremony of sorts, in times such as these. Through blood and fire seem to be the most appropriate." He nodded toward Triadora who dissapeared for a short moment and returned with one of the slaves that had seen doing general tasks around the manor thoughout the three month term of training.

The Cardinal quitely recited an incantation, he eyes lifted glowing red "Mighty Asmodeous, welcome these few into your servitude and may it be made official with a sacrifice!" His hand laid upon the ground and the floor erupted in fire.

A demon materialised out of nothing from a magical fissure running along the floor. Seeing the docile servant presented before himself, he gleefully ripped the subject apart. With a mixture of bliss and anger the demon devoured the body with blood streaming along the cobbled stone floor. The demon satisfied with the sacrifice looked over the group and with a silent nod he showed his approval of the group. Before returning to his plane of existance he looked quickly at Vladamir and smiled.

The Cardinal, looking slightly out of breath from the summoning, took his wine glass and dipped his fingers within. Taking a finger he made a mark on each of your foreheads. "You will be known now as the Nissian Knot my children, may you shed the blood of the righteous and destroy the now standing kingdom of Talingarde."

Following the meal the Cardinal looks upon the group and says, "Meet me tonight and you shall know of your next task"

Appologize in advance for any spelling errors, my google docs was not working for the moment, so I am going by the seat of my pants. You may feel welcome to RP any events that happen during and before the summoning.

Adrastus sits in his study seeming almost as he has moved not an inch from where he gave you your orders at dusk yesterday. “You’ve returned.”

The high priest holds the trinket and pauses as if in deep contemplation. He watches the holy symbol glitter in the light. “A pretty enough thing, eh?” he muses. “This is a holy symbol of Mitra in particular the sort favored by the Knights of the Alerion. Perhaps you already knew that."

“Remember this symbol. This is the mark of those who destroyed our faith and sought to banish all trace of the worship of our Father from these shores. These, my friends, are your enemies.”

He tosses the holy symbol back to Kharn.

“Keep it. It may aid you in disguising yourself.”

He smiles. “You have done well. Escaping from Branderscar, slaughtering Sir Balin … yes, you are worthy. Now, let us complete your training…”

You will be presented with choices in what kind of training that you want. This is also the right time to increase your level to level 3. I will list the types of training available and their benefits. He spends three months working with you, honing you into his perfect weapons.

“Have you enjoyed your gifts? The iron circlets allow you to move amongst your enemies as one of them. The silver amulets will remind you of your true loyalties. And the other items – well, you need them now."

“You have done well to escape from Branderscar and to accept my offer. However, you are still not ready for my service. Triadora will lead you to the basement of this domicile. There you will find nine chambers each more dangerous than the last. Somewhere hidden within these chambers is a pendant of silver and sapphire. Recover the pendant and bring it to me. Let nothing and no one stand in your way.” He stands up and looks out of the manor house window across the grey moor. “It’s almost dusk. You have until dusk tomorrow to bring me my prize. Do not fail me.”

Make sure to finalize any gear acquisition before you decide to start the trial. Still have 24hrs to complete the trail.

Shifting in his seat uncomfortably, noticeably bothered by the situation. Adrastus gave pause to think over the proposition. "Quite right, eternity is a long time. I believe that I can amend the contract to conclude on the fall of the current ruling of Talingarde. " Smiling at the old woman. "You surprise me Goodie, I do enjoy the thoroughness as well as your meticulous nature. Would the proposed amendment to the contracts be sufficient?" He motions towards Triadora and she disappears for a moment, to return quickly with five new drafts. She walks up to Vladamir and picks up his signed contract and tears it.

Looking at Argan, "Sir, it is better not to instigate with powers which surpass your own."

Adrastus Thorn looks over the old lady with a wry grin. "My dear, my goals are clear. To see that the current state of Talingarde be purged. I will look to use you all in my plans for the raising of the great Asmodeus to his deserved glory. Failure in this notion is not an option for me, I have too many plans in motion to have anything from success. Asmodeus looks with failure towards those of little use, I have taken my word to him."

"Your duties are fulfilled when the task that is laid out before you has been completed, no matter the way. If someone is to be killed, there is no issue on whether a village or only a single person died. I treat all my subjects fairly, you will be able to keep anything that you may find while completing your tasks, I will take no share of your plunder. With being successful in being an extension of my will you will be rewarded with privileged status. Failure is be expected as well, it will be met with consequences of course. Then again most failures do. "

"I will be primarily serving my interest, but that is not to say that I do not take lightly the interests of the ones who swear fealty. You will have time to pursue any interests that you will, and I will gladly help in any way that I can. I assure you."

"Also the title master is more of a formality, you could also see me as the strategist behind the overall encompassing army. Not on the front lines per say, but an integral part of the mechanism of war. This contract is just a medium to spell out a vow for you follow in the downfall of the current Talingarde. For my plans to mature I need to be sure of the individuals that I employ and their loyalty."

The meat grinder more like it lol.

This is what happens following the agreement of the party. Just so you know what proceeds after agreeing.

Cardinal Thorn smiles. “Excellent. Let us make it official. Signing in blood is traditional.”

He brings out a quill, a silver ritual knife and two copies of a contract written on some unidentifiable leather and written in dark red ink . He lets the you all keep one copy of the contract. The other, he takes.