Session XXXII: Institutional Apathy

On entering Khuramunz, the party first decides to head for Gudfrid's smithy, on recommendation from Baldur. Apparently, the former Hellknight had had a short fling with the town's blacksmith, which supposedly made it awkward for him to directly interact. The discussion ultimately turned towards trust between the party members (or lack thereof). Jacqualine succinctly declared in the matter that there were several people she'd rather not be with. Also, on the way to the smithy, Del'Gado blurted out that he was hunted by mantis-masked assassins, which was new information to Tropam.   Well at the smithy, the party was greeted by not one, but two, smiths: Gudfrid and Andreas of Andvarda. The latter was a renowned grandmaster in the art, and was now stuck in Khuramunz due to the ongoing troubles. The white-haired dwarf gladly accepted Lucia's broken silver battleplate and promised to have it restored quickly. Del'Gado also turned in the strange sword they had acquired from the fallen warrior in the endless corridor maze. All in all, Jacqualine will spend 6000 gold for her items, the silver battleplate (free of charge, offered 500 platinum coins to compensate Andreas' time) and the broken winged armour (only restored into a display item, 1000 gold). Del'Gado will spend around 4000 gold for the restoration and enhancement of the sword. Thereafter the party headed for Olaf's, the town's alchemist, all the while being silently observed by the new black-helmed peacekeepers.   At the alchemist, Del'Gado bought one Potion of Greater Invisibility and one Potion of Haste, for a total sum of 2300 gold. Tropam wished to buy some copper wire, which Olaf had in storage: he charged Tropam a symbolic sum, which the wizard was nontheless unable to pay for (due to being utterly broke), but Caerlin stepped in for his fellow spellcaster and covered the amount in his stead. When this was done the party went towards the local Temple of the Triad, ostensibly to find Alfgeir Snowback, the Oathsworn that Baldur knew and whom the party had accompanied a few months prior during his hunt for his clan's ancestral sword.   On the way to the temple, Tropam inquired with the party if anyone was a competent locksmith, for he carried with him a locked strongbox from his parents that likely contained a significant allowance (thus allowing him to pay for his own expenses). Del'Gado, seeing brief glimpses of the nigh-unassailable Window of Enkitan, affirmed that he was indeed something of an expert in the matter. After having some initial trouble, he managed to unlock the strongbox for Tropam.   Now outside the temple, Caerlin asked Baldur if there were any specific rules they should adhere to inside. "Disrespect the gods, you die" was Baldur's response. This resulted in some party-wide discussion on religious rites in general, with Caerlin going on a tangent about the supposedly nude rituals undertaken in the name of Ydersius. Citation needed.   As they walked inside, they found Alfgeir engaged in a discussion with a man wearing a monocoloured green uniform sporting the unit patch of a wolf's head. This was one of the surviving jaktkommandos from Maxine Helionen's force, which the party had encountered little more than a month earlier. It seemed that the party's directions had successfully led them towards their people. Regardless, Alfgeir introduced his conversation partner as corporal Karl. The Oathsworn gave a quick rundown on the events of the last two weeks: the Noble Alliance Army had descended on the Holds, either capturing them outright or placing them under siege. The vanguard that attacked Khuramunz entered after the entire southern watch had been slain, and a unit was sent towards the Varnian Stone Garden, a former Akkonian estate, which housed a delegation from the Unitary Mandate of Kaedra. The commanding officer of the delegation's security force refused to vacate and opened fire after the Akkonian captains threated to start executing civilians. The NAA vanguard broke ranks after barely a minute and fell into a disorganised retreat with local inhabitants chasing after stragglers. Reinforcements arrived and were now engaged in prolonged negotiations with Khuramunz's council of Elders, the Odalting, regarding military access and joint command initiatives for the coming campaign.   As the invading army entered Khuramunz, they declared that they were acting under the authority of a new High King of the reinstated Kingdom of Malakad, Styrkar Bloodaxe. All sides were in agreement that this likely meant that the Akkonian army was in league with a conspiring faction of leading noble clans, explaining how they had gained bloodless entry to so many Holds. Since the High King of Malakad is divined by a popular prophesy, the Song of Darren, Baldur explained his strategy to delegitimise the pretender: by obtaining the Fylkirshamarr from the lost under-city of Valskarde, abandoned during the Umbral Deluge. By tradition, the High King of Malakad wielded the Fylkirshamarr, and both Baldur and Alfgeir agreed that the pretender very likely lacked this item (and several other stipulations from the Song of Darren). Alfgeir believed this to be a worthy goal, and directed the party to inform their plans to the Odalting at the Drakestower and to the 55th Division's intelligence section at the Varnian Stone Garden.   This was met with opposition by Baldur, who had less than zero faith in the noble dwarven leadership and no liking for the military outsiders. After hearing that corporal Estrid Falk was the ranking intelligence officer on site, Jacqualine argued that the party should at least inform the 55th. First however, the party went to the House of Revelry to partake in drink and take a deserved rest after their interplanar adventures. They met Varkallin there, who had travelled to Khuramunz immediately after news broke about the NAA's treachery. With a slightly dejected demeanour, she also mentioned that rumours about undead massing in force around the forests of Legions' Grave had resulted in the 71st Infantry Division being sent there to cordon off the area, and that the Kaedran authorities would employ specialists before deciding on a course of action. The party in turn told her about their recent adventures, and then proceeded to wait for the completion of their orders from Grandmaster Smith Andreas.   During these four days, Tropam learned the Sending spell, and used it to try and contact his parents. Whilst the spell worked, it could not reach them. Tropam deduced that his parents were located in a plane partly comprised of dreams, a phenomenon which possibly interfered with Sending. Caerlin spent copious amounts of gold on hard liquor. Jacqualine communed and received some answers about the Fylkirshamarr: it does exist, it still remains in Valskarde, and a few ghouls from the initial infestation have managed to survive to the present day. She also tried to secure a divine intervention in aid of this task, but was unsuccessful.   Andreas had finished the Silver Battleplate after four days, and Jacqualine retrieved it. Then the adventurers decided to pay corporal Falk a visit. Before being allowed to enter the Varnian Stone Garden, they had to surrender their weapons and be logged. Baldur gave his name as Malgrim Steelsplitter; Caerlin as Casglin Krexbus; the others were forthright with their identities. The discussion with the intelligence officer was ultimately not fruitful. No matter what she said to them, Baldur did not care and abandoned the idea of retrieving the Fylkirshamarr. They witnessed Estrid stamp and sign several documents upon taking their leave.