Alev: The Chaos of Crescent City

April 10, 998CE

We arrived in Crescent City. I admit I knew little of this place prior to coming here, but it was outside of any expectations of mine ever. A city of chaos, to say the least. Rygorh would feel right at home here, except for the overbearing Marianism religion that rules the land. They worship Law as an Ideal. The problem with ideals is they are always open to interpretation, never truly a form of order, as is necessary in a government, as can be seen by the chaotic nature of this city. I am going to learn more about this religious group, and see if the fanatics can see reason and the threat before them.

The first night was uneventful, Rygorh taking a more firm leadership role since we arrived, advising us to tread carefully. While I agree with him on this front, I am going to let him continue with this path. No need to shake the foundation just yet, but I don't see his chaotic nature allowing him to continue this path too long. We shall see. At least everyone is working together now. There is so much to do, so much to learn again. Another new place we have been taken, with little to no knowledge of our surroundings, no allies to speak of. We are again alone. Though we seem to work best this way. I will do my best in the coming days to step back into more of a leadership role within the group. Lately I have been pondering too much on the strategies of our enemies and trying to plan our next moves. I must be more visible; too many of my friends have seemed down of late; I must help them pull themselves back up. We may have lost the Battle of Saragost, but the war is not yet over. In the end, that loss will be but a skirmish in the grand scheme, and we must prepare for the next one. We must overcome this foe, or the world is doomed.

April 11, 998CE

Today Seebo, Casey and I went to visit the Cathedral of Blessed Marius. Seems this prophet of another time was actually a human slave to the Elves of Xoth Sarandi, when they ruled this land and kept slaves of all the races. Like these Swamp Elves I have seen everywhere, but are native to the area. Marius realized that time was a wheel, and the wheel was the power behind the world, that neither gods nor magic determined the fate of people, but the wheel, which represented Order. He prophesized that the Elves would not rule forever, and the Elves killed him for that. But, his prophesy came true, nearly one year after his death, the Elves had already began to pull back to Xoth Sarandi, no longer ruling the lands of Caldraza. Marius became a Martyr to the people here.

The Cathedral itself is quite an interesting structure. A beacon of order in a city of chaos, a white marble structure with straight lines and simple, but solid architecture. I picked up a book on Marianism, the worship of Law as an Ideal, named after the slave turned prophet. It is an interesting read so far. After I have read more and learned more, I will approach the church, it is said the King of Caldraza converted to Marianism and ruled it as the state religion afterwards. Through the Church maybe we can spread the word and convince the powers of what is coming - of the need to arm the country and prepare. United, the world stands a better chance against our enemies. As it stands now, the Host will slowly, one by one, chip away at the countries, taking them. They are a large, united force, and to defeat them we will need the same. Makes me wish we could reach Jehannum soon, they are always prepared for war. With them and their dwarven allies behind us, we could gather the rest of the countries to our banner. A rally, if you would.

April 16, 998 CE

We have spent the last week scouting Crescent City, getting our bearings and planning our next move. Neil has been hard at work making magical items for the party, while Rygorh has been researching some new spell he has yet to mention. It is for the good of all that we wait, but hopefully they will finish soon. We cannot dally and stay still for too long. Many rumors have reached our ears, and many things we have had to research.

There are four major items that I feel we must complete before we can leave though. I am beginning to feel that these rumors are present for a reason. Like a puzzle we must sort out.

First, the murderer: someone is taking people in the night; we must find out who. Since the local authorities cannot find them, we should assist. Bring the people to our side by showing them Justice. Restoring a bit of Order to the chaos that surrounds them. There is a rumor of a vampire; maybe this is the same person. That would be nasty.

Second, the farm: a wealthy family does not get up and leave their plantation in the middle of the night for no reason. Do we have proof they actually left? There has to be a reason for the vacancy, something at the back of my mind is nagging me about it.

Third, the treasure: it is of great interest to Seebo, and intellectually I understand why. A great treasure of a powerful thieves guild master, two of them actually. This could be very useful to us. Rygorh has mentioned it might be Starborn related. While it is possible, I have not seen anything to indicate that. The only one who would know is the Ragged Man I guess. He supposedly knows where these things are.

Lastly, I strongly think we must warn the governing powers in this town. They need to begin preparing to fight the Drow, or determine their best course of action in the coming war. I am trying to get through to the Church to do this, but have yet to succeed. The governor must be made to see. Possibly the guild masters of the four warring thieves guilds would need to be made aware as well.

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