58a. Transition Part Two

Whether and with what intensity Karolina shares the desire for children I leave up to the DM.

Karolina is interested in eventually having children, but she's young enough to wait a few years, and fears that pregnancy now would interfere with her burgeoning career of being a Deneith badass.

I have no idea how to do this, but I want to find out everything I can about Ttemmal, particularly about any weaknesses he might have. Also, since I think we get our power from the same source, is there any way I can track him that way?

Delano, with access to the resources of Orien, can easily travel as much as he wants doing research, from relatively safe (the Library of Korranberg) to less safe (Droaam, Q'barra, Darguun, other lawless places where worship of the Lords of Dust is more open). What he discovers about Ttemmal is this:

Ttemmal is very, very old, and very powerful, having served the Wyrmbreaker for centuries. Rumor has it that the Wyrmbreaker isn't a Rajah at all, but rather an exarch of another, more powerful Rajah, but none of your research thus far has been able to confirm or deny this. However, one tiny piece of evidence that leads toward this conclusion is that despite the power source you share with Ttemmal, you haven't been able to use it in any rituals to track down the elusive Rakshasa.

Ttemmal is more than likely a Fang of Khyber, the head of a small cel who serve the Wyrmbreaker. He has had many pawns over the centuries. The Wolves encountered one, the Order of the Corrupting Flame, in the Demon Wastes a couple years ago. That Order existed seemingly in order to wipe out Luggoth and his tribe before Luggoth could become a threat, a task at which it failed, although there's no way to be certain that they didn't serve any other larger or smaller roles in the grand schemes of Ttemmal or the Wyrmbreaker.

Most of what Delano discovers about Ttemmal is rumor, and some of them are conflicting. He finds some information that hints that he might have been involved in the creation of Xulo, the sentient creation pattern that has bedeviled the Wolves in the past. He finds some that indicate he was involved in the shadow war that resulted in the schism between House Phiarlan and House Thuranni. And it seems almost certain that he influenced war criminals on all sides of the Last War, including one recorded meeting with Count Orlok.

It would appear that Ttemmal has spent centuries preparing for the coming of the Wandering Wolves, and that whatever other schemes he has, he has been obsessed with destroying them before any of them were even born. It seems that there are passages of Prophecy which indicate that a member of the Wandering Wolves, or perhaps the entire group, is destined to end Ttemmal's existence permanently and that he seeks to prevent this death.

As for weaknesses, Ttemmal's twin weakenesses are arrogance and paranoia. He is arrogant enough that he doesn't worry too much about mortals interfering with his plans, but at the same time paranoid that something small and insignificant like a mortal will topple all of his plans. If killed, he will reincarnate, with all of his memories and a strong desire for vengeance. However, Delano has learned that there is a blessed weapon, once wielded by a paladin of the Silver Flame (whose name he has been unable to learn), which, if used to pierce Ttemmal's heart, can kill him forever. It takes Delano the better part of these nine months to learn this much, so further research will be required to learn the name and other specifics about the weapon.

Aeromus knew, or claimed to know, that Pel was posing as Viorr. As far as Pel knows, only maybe 3 people other than him are supposed to have that information - Kalibar, Captain Vron, and Lord Kor. It may be a little above his pay grade, but he'd REALLY like to know if/how that got passed on.

I knew you were wanting to stay on the trail of this. It's potentially *very* dangerous to be asking this question, because as you point out, the people who might have betrayed you are two of your superiors and arguably your most trusted operative.

After months of discreet inquiries, false information and elaborate schemes, Pel has been able to determine, with almost total certainty, that Kalibar is fully loyal and did not leak the information. He is still not certain about either Captain Vron or Lord Kor, as both of them have had dealings with Orien's smuggling operations in their time. If Pel wants to speak directly to Lord Kor, he can, but he might be confronting the very person who leaked the information.

In fact, Pel has learned that Delano has, at some point in the last few years, been in meetings between House Orien smugglers and Captain Vron, as well as one between House Orien smugglers and Lord Kor.

Where is the pattern? Last I recall we gave it to Lady Elaydren, right? I would assume she passed it on higher up in House Cannith, so can we find out who has it now? Per the future we saw, someone in that House experimented (or rather, is GOING TO experiment) with it, causing the disruption we witnessed.

This is correct. Last you knew, the Xulo pattern had been given to Lady Elaydren and she had given it to her superiors.

Does Pel (or Lysander) have access to any operatives (DL or Traveler) that are placed in House Cannith?

Not at the moment, and interfering with the dragonmarked Houses using Dark Lantern resources could get him in serious trouble with both Lord Kor and Captain Vron, so it's probably not worth the risk. Using a member of the Traveler Cult would be slightly safer, but not as easy as using one within, say, House Orien, where you know there are worshipers of the Traveler. Lysander might be able to make subtle inquiries, but those in House Cannith don't fully trust House Phiarlan, so it would be a very delicate operation.

Can we just ask Lady Elaydren directly?

This, on the other hand, is much easier. You have some trouble reaching Lady Elaydren, as she seems to be doing a fair amount of traveling and working, often leaving her very young son with her nanny. Which seems somewhat odd, until you (and Lysander, and possibly Delano) manage to schedule a meeting with her held at the Wolves' Reward. She seems nervous and rattled, the way she was when she first hired you guys and was being more or less actively hunted by the Lord of Blades. She won't tell you exactly what is wrong, but it's clear that she's under some pressure.

She tells you she became suspicious about the disappearance of her Uncle Merrix and began looking into it a few months ago. She tells you that in order to prevent House Cannith from carelessly reactivating the pattern that had killed Pel, she reported to her benefactors in the House that the schema and creation patterns were flawed, and that she was having Cannith magewrights in Sharn work on them. Unfortunately, she learned recently that the pattern and schema were stolen only a few months after she handed them up.

It appears that renegade warforged working for the Lord of Blades broke into the Cannith facility in Sharn and stole the pattern and schema. Cannith has had investigators looking into the disappearance since then, but their trails ended at the Mournland, and the agents sent into there to get it back have never reported back in, and are presumed dead. So the best assumption is that the creation pattern is somewhere in the Mournland, in the possession of the Lord of Blades, and has been for around two years.

If you'd like, you can ask Scabbard, the Lord of Blades' ambassador to the Wolves' Reward, but that would almost certainly tip him off as to what you're doing and that you know that he has it, so I presume you don't want to do that.

How high up should we ask for help with this? I have an instinct that the fewer people that are aware this thing exists, the better.

That is a correct instinct. Elaydren fears that there are some within the House that are working against her, but she refuses to go into more detail about this, declaring it an "internal House matter."

Destruction pattern…? What in hell CAN we do with this thing once we’ve found it? I don’t think it will be good enough (if it’s even possible) to just talk whoever has it out of trying to use it. It may have possessed them somehow. Also, just smashing it up is probably insufficient. My thought is, can something be made that will counter it somehow, either nullifying it or utterly destroying it? I would like to engage Tock and Elias Volan in researching this. Anyone else have a suggestion?

Your assumptions are probably correct. All the information that you and Elaydren have found about Xulo is that it is an artifact from the Age of Giants, which means that simply bashing it with a stick probably isn't going to end it. Thus far, she has not uncovered any evidence of what can destroy it, but she tells you that she is looking into the records of her ancestor, Kedran d'Cannith, whose writings first led her to put you on the trail of Xulo. She is hoping that he did further research and might have some more information about what exactly Xulo is and what might destroy him.

So if we think he is in Xen'drik, I think we need to get over there asap and end his ass.

You're not certain he's there (or what role he has taken) and he is a potentially powerful adversary, so you might not want to directly confront him until you have the advantage. In addition, the intelligence regarding Ttemmal is fairly recent, within the last month or two, so further information is required before making the trip to Xen'drik weapons in hand.

The WW site says “Ceranda d'Phiarlan believes that Ttemmal has adopted another identity inside the hierarchy of the Silver Flame, but House Phiarlan has been unable to determine that identity.” Any progress on ID’ing him?

Yes. House Phiarlan, working in conjunction with your friends Cardinal Hetrion, Archbishop Rav Corus and the paladins Verodin Atrelioth and Oura Gellast, has been able to smoke out Ttemmal twice. First they found him working in the offices of Cardinal Krozen, who is rumored to be corrupt but is also one of the most powerful Cardinals in the church, ranking well above Cardinal Hetrion. He turned up again in a smaller village in Thrane, posing as a priest who was in line to move into the hierarchy at Flamekeep, which is consistent with what he did when he posed as Archbishop Solgar Dariznu. It's clear that he's going to have a tough time blending into the hierarchy of the Silver Flame again while those four are aware of him, and that probably had something to do with him fleeing for Xen'drik, if in fact he did.

How can we assess the quality and origin of this intelligence? Who else do we have on the ground there that can check on stuff? Traveler Cultists, maybe?

Quite possibly, and we should add a Traveler Cultist in Xen'drik to your "Pel's People" database. But the intelligence regarding Ttemmal's presence comes from Stormreach "chatter" picked up by Yanesh Hite, Brand's diplomat in the city. Confirming that he is there is damn near impossible. Smoking out an evil Rakshasa in the most holy lawful good place on Eberron is relatively easy, doing the same in the port of Stormreach is less so. Right now, it's more of a job for Brand, Luggoth and their allies in Xen'drik.

Is there a way I can maneuver a conflict between Ttemmal and the Bilge Rats? B/C that would be sweet. Heh.

Pel is very, very talented. He is not talented enough to trick a centuries old Rakshasa into a fight with a relatively minor street gang.

Is Xain following in our father’s footsteps and working with him already?

Well, that is an interesting question. A question you have not been able to get the answer to just yet.

Sora Katra: Really? This is very, very interesting. Pel will try his best to compartmentalize his business and personal affairs (ahem), but you know, there always a lot of grey area with him. I bet she is a demon in the sack.

She's kind of a demon all the time. :) But being with Sora Katra, which probably includes a few trips into Droaam, will let you set up an agent inside Droaam, most likely a changeling, who we should add under the Traveler's Cult heading.

You also learn quickly that she is much more physically powerful than you are and probably even smarter and more devious. She challenges you and probably makes you a better spy, but there's always this sense that this might be the last time, and she might finish off by killing and eating you.

It seems to Pel that this guy (Moloch) is way, way too not dead. Also occurs to him that Dreamlilly and Cockatrices are a very dangerous combination. unfortunate accidents have been known to happen, especially if someone is "getting high on his own supply", and trying to pet the magical chickens that can turn you to stone. I'm sure his subordinates will observe a respectful period of grieving before collecting the insurance (ahem), and picking up the business where he left off. the show must go on, after all.

If I'm hearing you correctly (and I think I am), you want to arrange for someone within the Daask organization who is in your employ to take out Moloch with an "accident" so that you can have another agent within the Daask *and* a dead Moloch.

One potential complication is that in your "relationship" with Sora Katra is that she discerns your interest in Moloch, and subtly informs you that he is protected by Droamm, a valuable asset, and if he were to die, she would be very unhappy.

If you wish to go forward with this plan, you can either cultivate a new asset within Moloch's organization or have Scar make the move on your behalf.