Dark Brotherhood
As Illeum speaks, Valadain's pace slows, his spirit quailing as his brother's words drive the last nails into the coffin of his faith. Finally he halts, tears bleeding down his face as he realizes the enormity of what he has lost. In this instant, he truly revokes his covenant with Malkar.
He falls to his knees and weeps, but even as he does, one word swirls to the surface of the prison of his anguish: faith.
For so long this word had meant faith in Malkar. But now, from the objectivity of despair, he revisits the concept and realizes that, all along, serving Malkar was just a means of expressing his real faith.
Faith in Justice.
Faith in the protection of the weak from the evil by the strong.
Faith in the redemption of those who wish to be redeemed.
Faith in the power and will of mortals to achieve this.
Faith in Good.
Not for a moment does he regret the relinquishing of the Heart of Darkness. That power was his father's heritage, not his, and as tainted as Malkar.
Nothing can taint this faith. It was his before he knew Malkar, before he knew his past. Rooted deep within, primarily it is faith in himself.
It draws a line between Good and Evil; and over that line he sees...
Decisively, he rises to his feet; Valadain will kneel no more. His 'holy' symbol drops into the water with a sullen splash. Gathering his white robes, he tears the insignia of Malkar from them and likewise discards them, before re-donning them; white is still his colour. Drawing a deep breath, he turns a steady gaze on his brother.
"The element of surprise is ours," he declares. "Never will we get a better chance. If we succeed, there will be no need to flee or hide. Even if we fail, the diversion will allow our people here a better chance to escape. Two chances, brother, for we two to redeem our past choices and deeds. And if we succeed - then we can turn to Muziel and the rescue of Sarrik.''
“I am with you…though it is not without trepidation that I turn my sights against Malkar. He has duped an entire religion, and an entire generation of men and women on Grayhawk. This will not be an easy battle, Valadain.”
"Is there one among our party here that you can trust to lead them to Van Saul?"
Ledgor, the head of the Bretonian archives, steps forward. “I will lead the remnants of Bretonian academics out of here. Go with courage, my friend…how I long for our lengthy discussions by a roaring fire. Perhaps one day we will share that joy again.”
"There is no room for Gods on Greyhawk. Justice cannot be imposed from without. It must be carved from Chaos by mortals for mortals."
Many of the sorcerers murmur their agreement.
"No other beings have as much right as we to take this action."
The murmur becomes applause.
"Malkar the Black shall die at the hands of his kin!"
[OK, now comes the controversial bit (what?!). I don't want any of the players to know I'm doing this until it's done. After what happened to Cara van Dia and Fly Tarrin, Valadain won't risk anyone else.
I will not breathe a word of it to anyone…Richard and Steve’s characters can help Ledgor lead the sorcerers out.
I know something of this magnitude normally has to happen at the table, but fundamentally it's two missile attacks; a hit means success, and two misses means death, so it's basically two d20 rolls.
It’s a big mistake to strip the game down to this level. Of course it’s nothing to do with the dice rolls (well, perhaps it is when you start combat) but the success of ventures like this comes down to preparation, talent, and a whole heap of luck! Malkar may find you first, you might not be able to find him, he might try to persuade you out of your plight – there are too many factors that will influence the outcome…many of which are in your hands.
Something I use for Play By eMail is a Tablesmith-generated list of 200 d20 rolls. The player picks a number 1-20, and the number on that line is the actual result. We could do it that way if you like. Do you use Instant Messenger? I could rig a webcam so you can watch the dice.]
No, I’ve never used Instant Messenger but the Tablesmith idea is a good one. I take it by your response you want to hunt him in cyberspace? Whilst this is eminently possible with the technology we have a fight of this magnitude may well be better at the table.
A compromise then: You and Illeum hunt the Lord of Deceit – perhaps even parlay with him if you meet him, but at the point where the fighting starts we halt. At the beginning of the next game (if you’ve found him) we start the battle in earnest – the players will be none the wiser but it might be a good giggle to watch their faces when you and Malkar start slugging it out. What do you think?