File: The Church of Cyric

[Nymeria]

We will see. In either case, I have little trust for those who turn to banditry, and the recent notices I've had put up will remind the citizenry that we will not tolerate their encroachment in these lands.

On a related note, I caution that while we may wish for the populace to perceive these Cyricists as fools, they are anything but. Their desire for infamy and influence drives them to act with audacity, tyranny and cruelty, but beneath the surface they are guided by guile and trickery. Their patron takes on many forms, contradictory perhaps, but dangerous nonetheless.

[V-Rage]

Both Kold and Marchetti are now official representatives of the church.

Whilst this gives them some protection against the law on magical crimes it doesn't mean they can do as they please.

Enlil is also not clergy and has no protections. He will be arrested for animating the dead next time I see him

Dominic

[Nymeria]

Here is your intel. Do with it as you wish. You probably know half of it already.

[A letter, parts of it torn, is added to the file]

Both of them have served the Church in a minor capacity, since the rise of the faith. Kold felt a calling when the God rose, and Josef has served them as a servant, from what I understood. Both are fiercely devoted to their task. To promote their faith: Fear of death, fear of undeath, and chaos. That is their entire purpose.
When they became Ravens, their end game and assigned task was simple. They were to weaken the trust and faith in the Crownguard and Precept Arcanum. And they succeeded. Dominic has known for at least a week now, of what they do. I notified the Precept Arcanum when I found out what Kold was, a bloodcaster. Yet Kold found out, because the Precept Arcanum allowed a Cyric follower to remain within their ranks, feeding them information.
The banditry, the undead and publicly admitting to creating them, is evidence to their defiance. And they have succeeded in removing any shred of trust that the Precept Arcanum and Crownguard can or will do anything to stop them.
I made sure all knew of their misdeeds when I saw them fight the Great Druid on the road. Nothing happened. Since then, our scouts witnessed The Elven Fellowship and the Church of Cyric parlay in the Hullack Forest. I heard Kold mentioning something of a truce, though I cannot recall the exact wording. This was after I first saw them fight each other.
I have also witnessed a dark, shadow gate within the ruins of the Stonelands, in an old temple of the former god of the Sun. Their Deathsun, I believe, is what they are creating out there. I have not been part of such a ritual, or I would have attempted to stop it. But it reeks of their doing. They spoke of the ruins prior, and I have no doubt they are preparing something foul in the desert.

@o-louth said in File: Cyricist Inquisition:

The study of Necromancy, and how to combat it
I have followed and carefully watched the necromancer Kord Witness, calling himself the Inquisitor, for a time now. For in order to fight our enemies, we must first try to understand them. What drives them, what actual powers do they have, and how do we efficiently combat them on the field.

Kord Witness uses a mixture of summoned ghosts and animated corpses found on the roads. The "Saint Gregor" is a zombie or some sort, yet far more powerful and strong than I have ever encountered during my travels. He is also particulary fond of trolls. These trolls seem to regenerate their wounds, much like living trolls. They naturally spark terror in whomever tries to fight them, and they are suprisingly potent. I would imagine that one alone, would be able to somewhat match Dominic Swift in battle, to give you a proper reference.
He empowers them using the necromantic spell Stonebone, which seems to enhance their powers even more. He can control around 6 of these horrid monsters at a time, which makes him a one man army.
He uses common arcanist protections, such as Ghostly visage, mage armor and shield to protect himself, and he then lets his monsters do the fighting for him. As they fight, he will occasionally cast Negative Energy Burst into the frey. The spell seems to harm his enemies, while it strengthens and heals his undead servants. If the battle becomes tough, he will use invisibility on either himself or his undead servants. It is this way that he is able to move around unseen.
I would also suspect, that even if you find him on the road alone, you should not be suprised to find two or three undead minions hiding under the cloak of invisibility.

Josef is a different monster entirely. He is a most capable warrior, who favors the double axe as his choosen weapon. His swift swings with the axe, is in itself a force to be reckoned with, and he should at no point be undeestimated. He is not above petty tactics, and he will flee, hide, and attack from invisibility if given the chance.

Having studied their methods and the way they fight and engage their enemies, the following suggestions to take them on is my best approach.

• protection against negative energy
• The spell or blessing dismissal may weaken the number of undead we will face
• Choking powder, and getting around the undead to engage Kord directly

They are far more capable than anyone have imagined, and they will become a danger to society soon enough. Kord is a former sheep herder, whose powers came to him when Cyric became a deity. They are both fiercely devoted to the cause, and I believe they have connections in Tilverton, and with the church itself. If so, their necromancy will not be enough legally to bring them to justice. The laws of Tilverton and Arabel permit official clergy the right to use necromancy at their discretion. And the act of necromancy itself is at best a serious crime.
That they mostly target brigands on the road and humanoids such as giants or trolls, from a legal stand point, leaves them with much leeway, and not enough evidence of wrong doing for them to be handed over to the Crownguard. Knowing Dominic, he will not engage them at any rate, unless he can win, which I currently doubt he can.
That Kord is a sorcerer, allows the Precept Arcanum some opportunity to bring them to justice, yet I doubt they will be allowed to, with their hands so deep in the pockets of Lord Misrim. And as long as they serve his desires of bringing strife and discord into the heart of Arabel, he will protect them as long as he can, until it becomes unbearable for his reputation to do so.

Sabriel Florent

Addition:
Kold uses some odd magic tentacles I have never seen cast before. They are highly effective.
To summon The Saint, he placed bones of some kind on the ground, an Onyx, Iron and the skin of a Dire Bear. Combined, this ritual is what gives the zombie its potency.

[V-Rage]

I knew most of it yes.

Florent announced Kold as a Necromancer a week or so back which along with Marchettis banditry was the cause for the bounty request.

I presume she had already penned that long report and chose not to send it to us until now to claim she was performing her service. That she worked with them and allowed them to use undead under the guise of chronicling their deeds is quite disturbing to me as she claims to be an aspiring hero and undead are vile

When I arrested Marchetti was the first time I'd seen him in the city in a while so I acted.

Dominic

[V-Rage]

Marchetti came into the Faceless and made demands over Fiendsbane again after threatening a member of Florents family.

I charged him with blackmail as I took the meaning of hand over a sword or the plane of death will be locked and dead will roam the earth as a threat, As Kold and Enlil are both known to use undead and have been leaving them on the road

I wanted to take his cloak and demand that the Knight who paid for his release last time answer as to why he continues with this thuggery

A Militiaman came in and intervened and said it wasn't blackmail and let him go but warned him making threats would lead to misunderstandings like this

No doubt Marchetti will stamp and whine and demand I am fired.

Dominic

[Voss_]

@V-Rage

And you will be, if you do not remedy this situation. I am already recieving word that the mortuary has stopped operating and the dead are being refused funeral rites.

What makes you think you can assault a member of the clergy without evidence or valid justification? We uphold the law Dominic. We are not the Greywatch, we are not vigilantees. The man is a thug and a criminal no doubt, but we do not act until the time is right to do so.

You will go to this Marchetti, apologize for your conduct and pay them an appropraite fine within reason.

-Count Beliard Immerdusk

[V-Rage]

Count Immerdusk

Marchetti sent this to blueblood Ilesore

@greenlung said in Ilselore Montfaucon:

The Craven Dominic Swift is in possession of a sword which has the power, one way or another, to lay waste to potentially thousands.

Such an weapon of massive destruction, with the ability to drastically alter the Realm of the Dead, belongs in the hands of the Church of Cyric.

It will be handed over to us within three days.

Every day this fails to happen after this date will result in doors to the Plane of Death locking shut, the dead will roam the earth and the populace will be unable to see their loved ones achieve eternal rest.

Those who have shown respect and offered tithe to the church, and who continue to do so, will be exempt from the Cravens punishment.

An announcement will be made to the city once the deadline has lapsed.

You shall make preparations to receive me at your barracks shortly.

-Lord Inquisitor Marchetti, Herald of the Dawndeath

I assumed the part about the Plane of Death was a threat about further using undead as they known to do, I apologise for breaking the law and will apologise to the Church of Cyric, I didn't intend to break the law and did what I did with the aim of protecting the people from the Cyricists attempts to cower them into submission with their constant threats

Dominic

[V-Rage]

The demands the Church has made are ludicrous, They wish to beat Miss Florent over a punch to the face, when she is a noble. The sums of gold demanded are ludicrous too and they dare call a common bandit Lord Inquisitor and impersonate nobility

@gloomy_sunday said in Announcements from the Church of Cyric:
People of Arabel,

for the flagrant crimes committed against the faith of Cyric and continued abuses against Official Clergy of the Church the following punishments will be in effect immediately:

All Death Priests in the city will no longer provide any services to the citizens of Arabel.

The deceased will no longer be gathered by the church to be brought to the mortuaries for preparation.

The mortuaries of the city shall remain closed.

Funeral processions and services will be discontinued.

The Graveyards of the city and beyond are hereby Off Limits to all citizens of the city of Arabel, under pain of death. All unfilled graves will remain so, and no new graves will be dug to receive new remains.

Additionally all graveyards will no longer be maintained. If a tree falls on your grandmothers gravestone, it is your job to fix it.

All graveyards and graves will also no longer be guarded against scavengers, the hungry dead and grave robbers alike.

If one wishes for the church to guard a grave, or allow access to a deceased love one, a fee of 5,000 per night will be demanded.

These and other announcements will follow until the following has been done.

You are no doubt wondering who to thank for the smell of the dead.

The Crown Guard Dominic will be stripped of his position and will also pay the church 10,000 and bow before Lord Inquisitor Josef and lick his boots clean.

Sabriel Florent of House Florent. She or her house must pay the church 10,000. She must also accept a public beating for her striking High Inquisitor Kold while he gave a sermon.

The elf known as Elrinde will be feeling impoverished having spent much of her gold in a campaign against the church. She will submit a vial of her blood, as punishment for bleeding Lord Inquisitor Marchetti in public.

So it has been said, and so it shall be.

High Inquisitor Kold Witness of the Church of the Dark Sun, Lord of the Dead.

They simply attempt to attempt to scare people into submission and we should not stand for it. I will apologise for my improper conduct towards Church Officials and pay a reasonable tithe to the church but we should not let them grossly overreach like this

Dominic

[Voss_]

Dominic,

You may proceed with the apology, afterwards we wash our hands of this nonsense. There is no need for us to act on this debacle, they will find that they will quickly lose the support of the people if they refuse to perform their duties over the fates of some unknown adventurers.

-Count Beliard Immerdusk

[V-Rage]

The apology has been made

I hopefully made it clear I do not fear the Cyricists and the apology was to correct my misdeed and for the good of the people so the church returns to serving them

Dominic

[Nymeria]

Dominic,

Your humbling display has been noted. I suggest following this up with an announcement framing your reconciliation with the Church in the most favourable manner, lest they reduce it to mere grovelling and bootlicking.

On another note, their recent announcements speak of prophecies for which I have no context for, including reference to a 'Great Swarm' and 'Dawndeath'. While my intel refers to the 'Deathsun', there was no elaboration of what this is.

Would you know more of these obscure references?

[V-Rage]

I expect the dawndeath refers to threats against Eveningstar

It is known undead have been left on the road to Eveningstar by members of the faith.

I'll write to the House of the Morning and see if they have heard of this Dawndeath.

I've also put up the following

https://nodebb.cityofarabel.com/topic/59008/announcements-of-the-crownguard/4 It should prove we care about the people and aren't afraid of these thugs

Dominic

[V-Rage]

We have recieved the following from the House of the Morning and the Precept showing attempts from the Church to extort things from them

@madsap said in To Crown Guard Swift:

Bright tidings to you, Crown Guard Swift,

Although it is a little late, the Bishopric of Eveningstar is pleased to see serious legal action taking place against the Inquisition.
Also, I would thank you for the pleasant reception.

I enclose here a copy of the letters we have received from the Inquisition. The latest one from Enlil has been received after our conversation, so they still hang their threats above our hamlet.

Sincerest regards,
Dawnbringer Aurora

[A small stack of letters]

@gloomy_sunday said in Letter to the Bishophric of Eveningstar (DM or PC):

Dear Bishop/Bishopess

It has been noted in your lawbooks that worship of Gods other than lathander has been outlawed.

This is a clear slight to the rights of the Dark Sun, and is an attempt to hide from the people of the Bishophric of Eveningstar, the glory of the true path. A great swarm is coming, and only through faith can we see the region protected from what is to come.

We of the Inquisition of the Dark Sun demand the following:

1: The laws regarding worship be removed from your books.
2: A tithe be made as reparations to the faithful of Cyric, to the tune of 100,000 gold coins, this will be used to arm the faithful.

Failure to accept these terms will result in consequences.

I thank you for your consideration

Inquisitor Kold Witness

@greenlung said in Letter to the Bishophric of Eveningstar (DM or PC):

We will be taking the 100,000 gold from you homesteads, your ale houses, your farms, your temples and your churches.

We will take it in coin and blood, with steel and terrible magics.

The Dawndeath is coming, the Dark Sun will rise in the place of the False Dawn and you will all bend the knee.

-The Inquisition of the Four Crowns

@samb12345 said in Letter: Atreon of the Precept:

This is the letter I referred to. Quite a droll notion they suggested.

Additionally, this announcement seems like an obvious threat, not just to the Precept but a scare tactic towards all.

Power guide!

Scion of the Precept Arcanum

The letter and announcement are attached.

@greenlung said in The Precept:

Members of the Precept of Arabel

“Serum HD-5.5 Suppressor”, I am sure you are aware of what this is.

I recommend you cease all and any movement against the Church or every user of magic within the realms will be aware of what this is, and why the use of the Weave has been ripped from their grasp.

You will make a representative available to the Church to discuss immediately.

Well, this isn’t a discussion. It is a demand.

-Lord Inquisitor Marchetti, Herald of the Dawndeath

Clear Blackmail attempts from Marchetti and Kold

Dominic

[Nymeria]

I have received information that they are seeking a contract on Elrinde, potentially other members of the Order of the Illuminated Blade. It is unclear whether this is for a kill, injury, or intimidation. You are their liaison, can you discuss with Fyeverra how they would like to approach this? Bring your evidence, work with them, do not go after them yourself.

It may be hard to prosecute them or justify taking direct action unless they act on their threats. They will likely also argue they have paid their fines or been forgiven for magical crimes now that they are officiated with the Church.

[V-Rage]

Who told you this? I don't doubt it but sources are good.

It is likely Fyevarra would want to strike the Cyricists first to make an example of them so they leave the order alone .

I will inform her of the possible threat though.

I've a warrant for Enlil and requested one on Kold and Marchetti.

Dominic

[Nymeria]

She is aware of this and was informed by a scion of the Precept, you may know of him. Atreon? He in turn has contacts among the mercenary groups and has made financial strides to prevent contracts on his own, but is more limited in influencing decisions on others.

I think it is likely Fyeverra has a plan and does not want us to jeopardise it, unless we can offer a better alternative.

[V-Rage]

Kold came to the barracks earlier and claimed that he and Marchetti have not animated the dead which is a lie as we have reports from Miss Florent and Hailey that they both have been witnessed doing such.

He is trying to pin this all on Enlil and claims he is not an inquisitor and wants to punish Enlil in Tilverton, Likely to silence him from answering our questions as he is not protected by the Church.

He also says the remaining saints are called Bhurzuun and Muros.

I have written to Enlil to suggest he turns himself in before Marchetti and Kold may attempt to silence him

@v-rage said in Letter: Enlil:

Enlil

I have had Kold stop by the barracks and claim you are not an Inquisitor, They seek to make you a scapegoat for their necromancy and may well kill you as an embarrasment to try and silence you

Should you come to the Crown Guard you will be issued a fine for your own animating and set some restitution to the councils.

Consider that your supposed allies wish to do much worse to cover for themsleves.

Dominic

@Master_Sarevok

Dominic

[Nymeria]

What is this I hear about "Purple Dragons" and "undead army" in the middle of the kingdom? Seems dangerously close to an act of war.

[V-Rage]

They seem fond of digging up Purple Dragons corpses and animating them, These undead have been found both close to Eveningstar and today under the city with a threat to Elrinde.

Dominic

[V-Rage]

It seems Josef confesses to this necromancy and drops others in it as well

@dracos said in Letter to the Crownguard and Bloodhound:

Dear Crownguard/Bloodhounds

Josef admited in front of several persons including Fye, Florent and Elrinde that he and his fellows have been leaving animated corpses on the road. He calls it 'war games', I call it many cases of armed assault and maybe murder charges.

Adelaide

I'll question Kold on it as well

Dominic