Chapter Eleven: Loose Ends (a brief rest?)

Crescent City, June 8 - 14

The Starborn are spending some time getting some well-earned rest . . . well, most of them anyway. Rygorh and Neil are crafting magical items for the party:

• Neil completes a +2 Amulet of Health for Alev.
• Neil increases the enchantment on Casey's Cloak of Resistance to +2.
• Rygorh increases the enchantment on Tilk's armor to +2.
• Rygorh increases the enchantment on Dinah's armor to +2.
• Neil begins work on an Amulet of Natural Armor for Dinah.
• Rygorh begins work on increasing the enchantment on Casey's armor.

In the meantime other members of the party bounce about town and learn some things of interest:

• Elizabeth Saunders will stand trial beginning on June 17 for the murder of Andrew Kallendale. She was captured by members of the city guard while standing over the body of the deceased. She held the murder weapon in hand and was soaked with blood.
• There have been two additional "face thefts" . . . murders in which the victim has his face cut away. These murders happened after Elizabeth Saunders was imprisoned.
• Dark Mariah's lieutenant, Magdalene, was found dead last week. Someone lashed her to the pilings of a pier in the river where she drowned.
• The city guard found a trio of ruffians with their throats cut near a city guard post. One of the ruffians was a known cutpurse and mugger. No one seems to know who the other two were. Each of them had a pair of gold coins covering their eyes.
• The drow on Chillhame have suffered some major setback near the center of the island.

In addition to current events, the heroes manage to learn a bit about Caldrazan history . . .

King Titus of Caldraza has ruled wisely and well for over forty years. He is an ancient man, and many fear that the line of great Caldrazan kings will soon come to an end. About a year ago the king's son, Prince Rufus, and the prince's wife, Anastasia, traveled to the neighboring nation of Ghael for a diplomatic mission. Some of the clans of Ghael had lately stirred up trouble on the border. This was not unusual. The clans of Ghael have raided the border of Caldraza for centuries. There has been open warfare between Caldraza and Ghael in the past, but it has been centuries since any serious trouble.

Now there is serious trouble. Members of the MacHalish clan murdered Prince Rufus and Princess Anastasia. When word of the treachery reached King Titus he immediately declared war on all of the clans of Ghael. He also abandoned the faith of his ancestors and turned to the religion of Marianism. He declared Marianism to be the state religion and demanded that all of the royal court convert. Since this time there has been a massive build up of troops along the border with Ghael and a great deal of fighting between the two nations.

The king's daughter, a fiery-spirited warrior named Romilly, refused to convert to Marianism. For her impudence she has been banished from the palace. Prince Rufus's son, a boy of eight years named Caspar, is the heir to the throne. But the people of Caldraza fear to hear of Caspar's ascendence. Caspar is a sickly boy who surely will not live long enough to produce an heir. Rumor has it that if he gets even the slightest cut he may bleed to death without immediate medical attention.

The fighting has been confined to border raids on both sides, but rumors persist of plans for a major offensive into Ghael soon. The people of Caldraza want revenge on the barbarians of Ghael. They loved Prince Rufus like no other prince in living memory. Now that he is dead they fear for their country.

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