Stephano's Orders
The following letter was recovered from the body of Stephano di Cario di Bregzana, following his death at Kab Melekh. Written by the Dictator of Savura, Dracomallion Anaximander di Sola di Triponzo, it outlined the situation as was understood by the Savuran authorities, and instructed Stephano to investigate the tomb and the unusal magical confluence that was centered upon it.
From the hand of Dracomallion Anaximander di Sola di Triponzo, Autocrat of Triponzo and Dictator of the Savuran League, to his faithful servant Stephano di Cario di Bregzana, on the third day of the Second Moon of Spring of the 1344th year Anno Kataris:
My friend and confident, I find myself once again in need of your services, on a mission of great subtlety and importance to the safety of our nation. The mission that I require of you is to be conducted with a certain degree of secrecy, for reasons which shall become apparent. The messenger who brings this missive is Ser Lucrezia di Unterra di Fianicci, of the Order of the Three Swords and my personal bodyguard - her loyalty and discretion can be absolutely relied upon; aside from yourselves and certain members of my staff, there is but one other who is aware of the full details of your mission - the magician who goes by the name of Lorelei Volkenglass, emissary of Ras Amur to my council, who has been providing instruction and support for the Chamber Divinatory. Though she is Amuric by birth and loyalty, in this matter she has my confidence.
To be brief, your task is to locate and enter the so-called Tomb of the Nameless King, that the Tevashi call Kab Melekh. The precise location of the tomb has been lost to history, and until but a handful of months ago it was indeed often said to be little more than an old legend - a tomb from long before the rise of Tzim Tevash, built by a nameless dwarven king to protect his treasures in death. Alas, it seems that the tomb is indeed real, and that it may hold some greater significance than being a simple repository of wealth.
For a number of years, the mages of Lapis have been aware of the existence of a powerful locus of magical energies somewhere in the hills near Cameri. The precise nature of this locus was obscure - the early reports speak of the magic as being strange, complex, and extraordinarily old; furthermore, the location itself seemed to be overlaid with a great number of baffles and wards, such that devoting the resources to finding it was not considered a viable prospect for the Collegium Transmutione. One month ago, however, it was observed that it had become possible to pinpoint the locus to within a few miles, whereas it had previously been impossible to plot its location at even a tenth of that accuracy. Furthermore, the same scryings indicated that the baffles and wards surrounding the location appeared to be fading, or rather, “fraying as if they were being deliberately unpicked”.
These observations coincided with prophetic evidence of which Emissary Volkenglass will be able to brief you on in further detail; suffice it to say that the Chamber Divinatory concluded that a “knot of fate” was present at Kab Melekh, where “a great victory or grave misfortune” would be almost certain to occur. It is the opinion of the Chamber Divinatory that these two findings are linked, and that Kab Melekh is the locus.
You are to make preparations to travel to Lapis, and meet with Archmage Alexander Serpens, who you will doubtless better know as Alessandro di Farerris di Laipzula. The Archmage shall provide you with the most current intelligence reports on this matter and the most accurate cartographical surveys of the area in question, though he is not to be made aware of what our plans are on the subject. This done, you are to journey to Cameri, where Emissary Volkenglass will join you; from there you will with all due haste gather what supplies and workers you will need to mount an expedition to locate Kab Melekh. The Autocrat of Cameri is a dwarf by the name of Eleth Strongbeam; she is something of a firebrand and has been a thorn in my side for some months, but is popular within the city and has the backing of the Guild of Miners, which makes it inconvenient to sideline her. She will doubtless wish to get one of her agents embedded into your expedition in exchange for her support - I leave it in your hands whether you choose to accept this risk or attempt to do without the support of the dwarves.
Once you have located Kab Melekh, you are to investigate the locus with a view to understanding its nature and how this “knot of fate” might be harnessed for the benefit of our nation. Time is of the essence, for our spies in Aldernord tell us that the Queensknife is likewise aware of this locus and seeks to send their own agents to find it before we do.
As ever, any reasonable expenses will be covered by my office; Ser Lucrezia has a letter of credit to the sum of four thousand gold pieces, which should be sufficient to provide for your needs. Should a greater sum than this be required, you are to contact Helga Koperslager, our Monitor in Cameri, who shall be able to provide you with what you require.
I wish you all fair fortune in this endeavour.
Anaximander
Type
Text, Letter
Medium
Paper
Authoring Date
3rd day, 2nd Moon, 1344AK
Location
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