You hand Cardona's note to the Commandant and his expression turns stoney as he reads it. A muscle twitches in his jaw and he cooly regards you and the gagged Lenoir. Softly he told you, "Well isn't that awkward, can't very well cut the heads off somebody I just signed a non-aggression pact with." he fiddles with his silver wedding band before handing the note back and telling you sotto voce, "I know what my advisors would have said about this but damn them. Back when I was in the Citadel, Jandark trapped my brother Adwin's soul in a gem and for a tenday wore his body you might a hat or a glove before forcing him to gatecrash a meeting of senior stakeholders. From there he launched a psychic assault, seeking to bind them to his will. It almost worked but one of the elder magus resisted and counter attacked and well Adway's body was disintegrated and his ashes blown away by a conjured gust of wind... If you get a chance, remind Jandark of Adwin before you wipe him off the face of Toril!"
With that Ripley turned around and marched back inside.
Once Ser Armithia signed the paper, Commandant Ripley spoke up saying, "Excellent, I look forward to a future of mutual trade and cooperation with Phlan. Perhaps this is the start of something greater, there are many regional powers all vying for domination: Mulmaster; Melvaunt; even the Sembians by proxy. None trusting each other as far as they can spit, it would be better if we where to trade goods not insults. Anyway I imagine you'll be heading back to Phlan, I urge you to be cautious Jandark is as vindictive as they come."
There where more pleasantries as the delegation prepared to depart and after another ten minutes you where escorted out and back to the road by the same group as before.
When you explain that yes you have something unusual to trade, Sergeant Ragnar nods and asks an attendant to fetch the commandant. Ten minutes later Ripley appears.
He nods to you and asks, "What do you have to show me?" The picture is unfurled and he blinks in surprise and asks, "Is this what I think it is? Forgive me I'm going to cast a minor spell to check."
He quickly rattles off an Identity spell and examines the paining in more detail and slowly whistles, "No this is something else entirely! How remarkable, I think Semmemon would be delighted."
Turning you look at you he asked, "Are you sure you really want Lenoir?" Outside there was more off-key singing as a distant and very bad elven tenor started singing about the glorious sunshine pouring th through the window bars. Ripley winced and said, "No actually please take him! My orders in regards to him where quite explicit and every morning for the past six months I've considered disobeying them..."
"In return, we ask for a temporary non-aggression treaty while we work on dealing with that impediment.
Ripley nodded, "Certainly. I'll get something drawn up before you leave."
Azarra wrote:
"We've been tasked with securing the release of a prisoner here. I believe his name is Lenoir."
Ripley's lips compressed into a thin line, "I see."
Azarra wrote:
"Perhaps you would be so kind as to release him so we can be on our way? I'm happy to negotiate with you if you like, but if you want a quick and efficient business deal, then perhaps consider the potential money you would have made from his ransom as a payment to us for our actions in trying to make this treaty work and foil Jandark's plans, which are a threat to us all."
Massaging his temple Ripley replied, "Sememmon himself was involved in Lenoir's capture, I can't just give him away for free as much as I might like to, Lenoir has made a real nuisance of himself..."
"That singing! Ugh..." interjected one of Ripley's captains.
Seeing that Azarra asked nicely Ripley sighed, "Look Sememmon would require some sort of gift in exchange. He doesn't really want or need coin, however he's a collector of exotica and appreciates beautiful or unusual things. If you've got something unusual to trade I'm sure we could come to an agreement."
Some guidance this could be almost anything. A rare book might suffice or an unwanted but unusual magic item, or a work of art, etc...
"I wonder if it could be destroyed. That could be for the greater good, though it might have consequences."
Ripley took a sip of wine as he considered, "Perhaps the pool is why Phlan has been invaded so many times in its history, destroying it may well be for the best."
Sense Motive DC 20:
Ripley is no doubt thinking if the Zhents can't have it (and there's no way any government of Phlan would allow that) they don't want anyone else having it either. Especially not an Orc horde or Melvaunt or any of the other regional powers.
Ripley smiles, "You don't although entering a pool of radiance is not something to be done lightly. In any event surely the City of Phlan can secure it? Also perhaps we should amend the treaty to prohibit any further use from either side. Besides its not the only pool in the region, there's at least one other in Myth Drannor in addition to the one I mentioned in the story earlier."
Of course neither of those are particularly accessible.
Kn: Arcarna DC 25:
Only the staunchest of heroes are able to withstand the intense power of a pool of radiance and its guardian has to agree to the power being granted.
Kn: History DC 30:
The Zhents, the Thayvians, the Cult of the Dragon and other have studied a number of pools of radiance with mixed success. The pools are a manifestation of the weave and one of Mystra's mysteries. The pool of radiance under Valejavo Castle has a long and colourful secret history, for thousands of years it was guarded by a silver dragon called Niumune. Until the founding of Phlan nearly a thousand years ago many of the movers and shakers in the Moonsea region made secret pilgrimages. Most where rejected, some died or were driven mad. The city of Phlan was founded in part to secure it. On top a great castle was built along with a mythal which prohibits teleportation, planar travel and various other ways of magically gaining access. After the founding of Phlan it fell into obscurity and the fate of it's Guardian is unknown.
Sense Motive DC 20:
You get the feeling that Ripley personally has no intention of entering a pool of radiance, it's rather dangerous after all. Whether that feeling applies to the Zhents as a whole is another matter entirely.
Speaking quietly to the Watchers of Dawn, Ripley's voice was all business, "It’s interesting Phlan chose to send you, we had been led to expect a delegation headed by Councillor Cardona, maybe he didn't trust us... This brings us to the heart of the matter, trust. We're well aware of our reputation, although if you look into it we always uphold our end of any bargain. However trust cuts both ways and we have a bit of a quandary. We've done a preliminary examination of the terms of the agreement, it doesn't give us as much access as we might hope for, but it's something we could live with. The thing is who would we be entering this agreement with? Yourselves and the councillors are a known quality and we're quite willing to cut a deal with you and them, but who actually rules Phlan?”
He let that sink in for a moment before saying, ”The concern is this agreement would in reality be with Jandark Cardona operating from the shadows. It’s not widely known but we’ve had bitter experience with that body snatching viper and the consensus from senior stakeholders is he simply can’t be trusted. A few generations ago he tried to worm his way into our ranks and dominate the leadership of the Citadel of the Raven to push them for an invasion of Cormyr with the backing of his inhuman army. Now I’ll freely admit The Brotherhood and Cormyr don’t get on, but a war of that magnitude would have no winners and the damage to business would be incalculable.”
Sense Motive DC 20:
You sense that it’s the damage to business that really upset the Zhents here, not the potential casualties…
Raising the palms of his hands in a questioning gesture he said, ”So where do we go from here?”
He took a sip of his wine, leant forward and looked you in the eye as he said, ”If there is to be a deal, the city of Phlan needs to demonstrate it’s not under the yolk of Jandark Cardona. Do that and then we can talk. But here's the thing, we don’t believe you’ll be able to do that without help. So I’ll cut to the chase, we understand there is a pool of radiance beneath Valejavo Castle which historically was accessible via a hidden sewer entrance. No we don’t know where that is but you are a resourceful group and there must be plans for the original sewer layout somewhere in the city archives.”
”The effects of a pool of radiance are hard to predict but we believe this one has given Jandark great power and made his person immune to enchanted weapons and afforded substantial resistance to magic. If you’re going to have a candle’s chance in hell of ousting him, you too will need its power, and if he achieved lichdom you’ll need to destroy his phylacetory which will be no mean feat. Beware that a pool of radiance always has a guardian of some sort.”
Sense Motive DC 20:
For him this is a roll of the dice, if you fail it’s of little consequence but if you succeed and a trade deal is agreed the shareholders will be pleased and he’ll be able to claim he was pivotal in making that happen. Even if no deal happens, should Jandark fall then you’ll have done their dirty work for them.
The commander smiled, "Indeed! Thank you Marcus for reminding us."
Smiling to the Watchers of Dawn and then to the officer corps he smiled, "Well then, allow me to begin. I think I shall tell the tale of Dirg, Warrior of the Snow People. It is an old story of the Northmen I heard years ago heard while serving at the Citadel of the Raven across the Dragonspine Mountains."
"Dirg was the usual barbarian hero, the type able to snap five men’s backs with his bare hands, wrestle and tame the cloud horses, pierce a man with a javelin from miles away, and other equally preposterous things!"
"The story goes that Dirg, while wandering with his men in the snowy wastes, found a pool of unfrozen glimmering water. The water was so hot it boiled the skin from his pet Jezma, a little lizard that wandered too close. Angered, he thrust his spear into the pool and roiled the waters splashing him. This disturbed a demon of fire who rose out to do battle with Dirg. The demon leapt from man to man, consuming them but could not defeat Dirg, but neither could Dirg find a weapon strong enough to withstand the creature’s heat."
"After battling for an entire day, Dirg finally called upon his totem god for aid. With this magical power, Dirg was able to trap the flaming demon in a triangle of power, where it supposedly is even to this day. It was only after the battle his concubine Elaja commented that his skin was suffused with starlight and he glowed in the dark. They say that it was as if the pool's essence had somehow been infused within him, fueling his inhuman strength."
Sense Motive DC 20:
You're not sure what his game is but this story wasn't chosen at random. It almost as if he was probing you for something.
He smiled and there was polite applause from the officers. Turning towards the watchers of dawn he added, "Of course this was all long ago and maddeningly hard to confirm, but it does make a pretty story! Speaking of which, perhaps you would care to share a story or an anecdote from your adventures?" This got a general murmur of approval from the officer corps.
Ripley accepted documents with a, "Thank you very much. We shall study this well, with luck we'll have a preliminary answer within a few hours.". He then hands it to a group of advisors (probably lawyers) who take it inside the keep.
When Azarra speaks about a financial matter he replies, "Certainly."
With a gesture and a glance he addressed The Watchers of Dawn, "Since you've make the effort to come out all this way, please allow me to show you around."
The commandant then takes you on a tour, firstly to the parade ground where ranks of troops are practicing marching in formations. It all looked very impressive with everyone marching in lockstep.
The Commandant explains, "We do a lot of drill here. It keeps the men busy and hones their instincts so they know what to do without thinking if a battle where to occur. We've actually had a number of engagements with orc raiders from high in the Dragonspine mountains, a fearsome bunch to be sure bit no match for disciplined troops. Naturally we also drill for facing mages, it's the same idea as this but much more spread out."
After a few minutes the troops line up for an inspection, the Commandant takes you through the lines and all the troops look impeccable. It seems more than a little unfair the Zhents of all folk have troops like these where most cities like Phlan has to rely on the mercurial mercenary companies for defence.
The Commandant then takes you through one of the barracks, which seems very well ordered. You notice soldiers spending a lot of effort cleaning their uniforms and the barracks.
Finally after that Commandant tells you, "Sergeant Ragnar will show you to the guest quarters. Just so there's no misunderstandings, you are our guests and are free to leave whenever you like, however unaccompanied civilians are not allowed to wander round the camp and there are certain areas that are off limits. If you need to go somewhere Sergeant Ragnar or his men will accompany you."
Spreading his arms wide the commander, a middle aged half-elf with a sill powerful body, welcomed you warmly, "Greetings honoured guests and welcome to Camp Alfred. I am Commandant Ripley and you are New Phlan's renowned Watchers of Dawn."
Nodding to each of you in turn he says, "Of course here is Ser Armithia, and there's Miss Ishta Khosiv and then there's Miss Azarra and last but not least Kardas Rasalas. I have heard much of you exploits, it is an honour to meet you in person and I hope you'll join me for dinner later. But if you'll forgive me, one point of business first. I understand the good councillors sent documents to outline their proposal. If you would be so kind, my advisors are keen to examine it..."
Sense Motive DC 18:
You think he is genuinely interested to meet you, but this is a business meeting and he is not your friend.
Ser Armithia:
If you use detect evil here it'd be regarded as fairly rude. Commandant Ripley will radiate quite strongly if you do along with most of his advisors. He's LE as befits a high ranking Zhent.
Kn: Local DC 25:
Little known outside of Zhentish circles, Commandant Ripley is reckoned to be a first rate commander and magus of some power. He is naturally an ambitious man, but one that's well aware of his limitations. He is ruthless when necessary but magnanimous when it's good for trade. Money in his opinion is very much what makes the world go round.
