Starday Afternoon, Fireseek 1, 591 Common Year

Aramek practices his spellwork every so often up in the loft in the late afternoon after his other work in the shop is done. It is especially a pleasure to cast a spell to detect magical auras near the locked room where Parwyn’s more powerful magical potions and elixirs are stored and guarded with magical wards and alarms. Aramek enjoys the mental buzz of the faint magic infused into the potions and the light show of the faint auras of the alarm spell. He also enjoys the challenge of trying to discern what types of magic he is sensing – illusory or divination mostly, though the alarm spell is an abjuration. This only lasts for about a minute with each casting before he has to come back down to the humdrum reality of his mundane senses. One day, as Aramek is doing this, his spell reveals the glimmer of an otherwise invisible arcane mark set on a chest in a corner of the loft. He also notices that there is another arcane mark on an old journal on a small bookcase. Aramek had perused the books there once before and found them to be elementary manuals of alchemy and herbalism, and the journals there seemed to be full of notes left by some former apprentice. He didn’t have time for leisure reading anyway, and so left them alone. But this new discovery arouses his curiosity. When he examines the marks more closely he sees that they spell the name “Reece.”

Aramek’s curiosity is now truly ablaze. He would dearly love to read the journal but out of respect for Master Parwyn he decides to ask about it first. Rushing downstairs, he finds him and says, “Pardon me Master Parwyn, but every time I come in and go upstairs, I cast Detect Magic just to ensure that all wards are safely in place, but last night something strange happened. I don’t know whether it’s because my abilities are strengthening or just that I missed them before, but I found two arcane marks on a chest and journal up there. The mark spells the name Reece. I thought you’d want to know about it right away!”

Master Parwyn, however, does not share Aramek’s excitement. In fact, he stiffens and for a moment Aramek fears that Parwyn will reach out and throttle him. But then Parwyn’s shoulders slump, his head drops and he turns away. “Reece was my son,” he says quietly. “He disappeared several years ago, as did so many others when the Scarlet Brotherhood ruled this city. He would have been just a few years older than you are now, a master alchemist in his own right.” He turns his head to look back at Aramek saying, “Read the journal if you like, the chest is just full of old clothes though, so best let it be. Just be sure to leave everything as you found it,” and then he turns away and walks out of the room.

As Parwyn is going through the door, Aramek is so chagrined that he can barely get out the words: “Oh, master. I’m so sorry.”

This sudden discovery of the reason for the underlying sadness in Parwyn’s household leaves poor Aramek somewhat speechless. Up until this point, he had led a pretty sheltered life and never dealt personally with the loss of a loved one, though he never knew his mother. This sudden revelation weighs on his mind, as he cogitates about what might be done. Now is not the time to go running after Master Parwyn, but since he has been given permission by the master to read the diary and go through Reece’s things, he follows the directions to a tee. One can only wonder what might come to light in the journal and Reece’s personal effects, Aramek reflects to himself.

What follows is a sleepless afternoon, as Aramek reads through the journal. Though much of it consists of notations on herbs and alchemical concoctions, here and there are notes dating back to the early 580s of Reece’s life in Westkeep. These were the years just before and during the occupation by the Scarlet Brotherhood. The early entries from 583 and the first half of 584 described the life of a dedicated apprentice alchemist who studied hard but also partied hard. A typical entry might read:

Coldeven 21, 584

“Stayed up all last night drinking absinthe and eating Baklunish Delight with Ahlissa and Regdar. A little too much I’m afraid. We were quite sick today when we finally got up – around noon. Ahlissa’s father will probably kill her for being out all night – or he would if she weren’t already my betrothed. As soon as my apprenticeship under Master Looiss is over we will be wed in the temple of Xerbo.

“I wandered the art galleries in the afternoon, and then stopped by Relikez’s studio to see how he was coming along. He was working on a landscape of the rice fields outside the city. It was almost done, but he was putting some finishing touches on it before putting it up in the gallery down on the Street of Muses.

“The slave ships were coming in today, full of more smelly savages from the Amedio. I can’t abide them before they’re cleaned up and domesticated, so I stayed away from the docks. Better things to do anyway. Sun is setting now; guess I’ll head over to the Street of Red Lanterns in a bit. Better remember to bring some fish bladders with me after what happened the last time.”

There is much more of this, the life of a well-to-do alchemist’s son with too much money and apparently too much time. His life consisted of art, booze, drugs, and bordellos all supported by an industry of slavery and piracy that brought in cheap manpower and lots and lots of gold into this once thriving river port.

But there are soon ominous signs of what is to happen next. Though Reece seems to have been very apolitical, in fact even oblivious of the greater world around him beyond his own circle of friends, even he can’t help but comment on events like the following:

Reaping 4, 584

“Prince Jeon II has called for an emergency meeting of the House of Peers in Monmurg. Governor Ledow is leaving this morning on his barge. Apparently the Kingdom of Shar (or Purity) wants the Hold to join them in a new confederation of nations. Fine with me, the monks of the Scarlet Brotherhood who come from there seem like a decent enough sort, though a bit stodgy. Father doesn’t trust them though. He says they may be learned and generous teachers and advisors, but someday the bill will come due. I hardly see what could be so dangerous about them. They seem mainly interested in trade, ancient Suloise culture, and helping nobles trace their genealogies back to the days of the long lost Suloise Imperium. A bunch of ascetic antiquarians, no matter how humorless, just don’t have me shaking in my boots. Well, that’s father for you – a bit of a worrywart – always looking for the Balor demon in the woodpile.”

Only two months later things become very serious indeed:

Harvester 6^th, 584

“We have been invaded! If only that were the worst of it! We have received news that a few days ago Scarlet Brotherhood monks came to Monmurg sent by some Father of Obedience, the ruler of the Kingdom of Shar. They delivered an ultimatum that demanded that Prince Jeon II and the House of Peers declare their allegiance to this Father of Obedience and that forevermore the Hold would be part and parcel of the Kingdom of Shar. Someone named Elder Brother Hammandaturian would be the new governor and would retain in government those who were cooperative. Hold ships spotted an armada just over the horizon at about the time the ultimatum was delivered. Of course the prince and the peers laughed in their faces and had the envoys dragged away to the dungeons for public execution later. The prince and the peers vowed to show the Shar what the Sea Princes were really made of and they set out to prepare the fleet to sail. But the next day, the envoys were gone, and all but three of the House of Peers were dead in their beds, or on their ships, or on the walls of Monmurg. The remaining three surrendered Monmurg. They ordered the watch to stand down, the warships to remain at anchor and the gates to be opened. The Scarlet Brotherhood fleet landed and, so the messengers tell us, unleashed a horde of Amedio savages, goblins, hobgoblins, and even orcs upon the city. Though the city had capitulated without a fight, there were some who did resist, and then these monsters began cutting down anyone on the streets. Those who finally escaped said the raping and looting went on for days. And soon they will be headed to Westkeep!”

Harvester 16^th, 584

“Westkeep has surrendered. The Scarlet Brotherhood emissaries promised that no harm would come to us as long as people stayed indoors and allowed for a smooth transition. I have returned home to be with father and mother. We have shut the shop down and closed and barred all the doors and windows. Occasionally we can hear the marching of soldiers outside, but the commands are in no human tongue. We believe they might be hobgoblins or orcs. We are too petrified even to risk opening a shutter to look. I hope Ahlissa and her family are safe.”

Harvester 20^th, 584

“From the roof we can see the smoke from the burning villas and plantations. The Scarlet Brotherhood has disarmed our own knights and soldiers. They have closed all the guild halls, schools, and temples. The Mages Guild was already deserted when they arrived. Many of these buildings have been turned into barracks for Amedio savages, goblinoids, and orcs. We are now under martial law, and curfew begins at sundown. Elder Brother Krozar, the Shepherd of Westkeep, the new governor, has decreed that rogues and criminals will no longer be tolerated now that we are part of the Kingdom of Shar. The Locksmiths Guild is now aflame as is the rest of the block it stands on. Norebo’s Church of the Big Gamble is also burning. The smoke from these fires hangs like a pall over the whole city.”

Harvester 28^th, 584

“The priests have all disappeared. The priests of Xerbo, Norebo, Kelanen and the others are all gone. Whether dead, imprisoned in the dungeons of the keep, or sent overseas we do not know. Many of the guild masters have also been taken; especially those who are obviously of Oeridian bloodlines. Of course, hardly anyone in the Hold can claim to be pure Suloise, so none of us feel particularly safe. The city mansions and the surrounding manors of the nobles have all been taken for the use of the Scarlet Brotherhood. On the plantations and estates they have freed the lighter Amedio slaves, who are apparently descended from Suloise who fled to the jungles there after the destruction of the Suel Imperium west of the Crystalmist Mountains over a thousand years ago. Elder Brother Krozar has declared that all of the Hold must make reparations for daring to take Suloise as slaves. The Olman savages from the Amedio jungle however, remain enslaved. Many of those who had their houses and estates confiscated have been imprisoned or put into the slave pens, and many more have just – disappeared. I have not been able to find Ahlissa or her family. They too are gone. Their house is full of red robed monks and orcs under their command. Father tells me to stay home, mind my own business. We must keep from calling attention to ourselves.”

The next few months read like a litany of horrors: executions, the annihilation of any villages that resist the Scarlet Brotherhood and their allies, midnight raids on the homes of those suspected of working against or even just speaking out against the Scarlet Brotherhood. A new order was imposed upon the Hold of the Sea Princes including Westkeep. At the top were the citizens, pure Suloise from the Kingdom of Shar on the Tilvanot Peninsula across the Azure Sea. Next were those Suloise blooded collaborators who had been granted sub-citizenship. Below them were the Amedio tribesmen of Suloise ancestry – a tanned and freckled people with reddish or blond hair who made up the bulk of the Scarlet Brotherhood’s forces. These tribesmen (and women) were reeducated and gradually incorporated into the legions. Next were the humanoid mercenaries who function as shock troops, skirmishers, and executioners for the Scarlet Brotherhood. Then were those who had not been made provisional citizens but who had not yet been made slaves. These were mostly Holder craftsmen in the cities who were of mixed lineage, and whose skills and expertise were still needed, at least for a time. Even Reece realized that he and his family were living on borrowed time before the Brotherhood came knocking on their door. At the bottom of this heap were those Holders who had been enslaved and the darker skinned Olman tribesmen who remained slaves even under the new regime. These two last groups were confined to the same slave quarters, and there was often violence between them, as the Olman took revenge against their former masters and the enslaved Holders fought the Olman to keep a semblance of their pride and privilege. Far from trying to end the violence, the new masters from the Kingdom of Shar seemed to find it an amusing diversion to pit these people against each other in order to thin their ranks to more manageable numbers. New temples were built to new gods. Though Xerbo the god of business and Norebo the god of gamblers were themselves Suloise gods, their clergy were not replaced. Instead, a new temple was erected to the goddess Bralm the Toiling Lady also known as the Hive Queen and even to Syrul the Fair who is the Suloise goddess of lawyers, politicians, and diplomacy.

Then there is a particularly sinister entry:

Sunsebb Festival 3^rd day, 584

I found out what happened to Ahlissa. I can barely stand to write it. I saw her mother today. She was fetching water for her new mistress, a woman who is a monk in the Scarlet Brotherhood. She lives as little more than a slave now. She told me that Ahlissa and many other girls who were of Suloise ancestry were taken soon after the occupation began. Her family had commissioned a monk before the invasion to help them trace back their family and see if any connection could be made with Scarlet Brotherhood records. Many noble and wealthy families sought out Scarlet Brotherhood monks for this purpose. They were only too happy to lend their services. Now we know why. Through her tears, Ahlissa’s mother told me that barges full of young men and women of pure Suloise ancestry have been taken away down the river. They were to go to the Kingdom of Shar where, her mother was told, “They would be properly given in marriage so that they could raise pure Suloise children and thereby do their duty in the service of the Shar.”

Below this entry, written apparently in blood, is this:

“I will kill all the Shar if I must destroy all the land to do it!!!

Then one last journal entry:

 Fireseek 15^th, 585

 “Relikez has returned. He had fled into the marshes just after the fall of Monmurg and just before the arrival of the Shar in Westkeep. He snuck back into the city to see if he could find any of his old friends. He plans to sneak back out again tonight using some tunnels that he hopes the Shar and their minions have not yet found. He tells me that he has made an amazing discovery in the swamps. He believes there may be a lost city in the heart of the Hool Marshes. He found what must have been a small outpost or shrine and he would bring me there. Perhaps out there is a power strong enough to fight the Shar! I will leave with him tonight.”

 At first, the story in the diary bored Aramek, then he grew more and more intrigued, and finally he found himself shocked and appalled. Such injustice visited upon Reece! thought Aramek, And the pain he and his family went through!  Terrible! Terrible!

 Aramek carefully puts the journal back and then checks out the chest. Just as Master Parwyn said, it doesn’t seem to be full of anything but old clothes. Then, at the bottom Aramek finds something else. It is a small wooden statue wrapped in parchment of a skeletal being in a cowl and cloak holding a scythe. It looks like it might be Nerull, an ancient Flan god who is known as the Foe of All Good, the Hater of Life, and the Bringer of Darkness among many other ominous titles. Then he notices the writing on the parchment. It looks like Reece’s handwriting and says, “Thanatos god of Thracia. Is this the power I seek? Can he still be called upon from within his ancient shrines?”

 In his heart, Aramek finds that he cannot justify breaking his master’s trust, so he knows he cannot remove any of Reece’s things. However, all this is too much to keep bottled up. Aramek thinks to himself: Perhaps I can find a way to mention it to Rain, she is like a little sister to me; so I can find out what she thinks of the whole affair. 

 In the back of Aramek’s mind is the realization that part of what he’s supposed to be learning about, and bring back to Master Parwyn, are the various herbs found in the marshes. What a coincidence that Reece might have gone into those very same marshes, in search of an answer to the mystery of the statue. Hmm…