The Kinstrife
Part
27
In
which Pimm asks if we can visit Tol-Cirya
and is told ‘no’; Brand learns in the House of the Loremasters
that they have few records of Melkor’s Temple while Ragnor uncovers the likely whereabouts of the descendants
of Edhelud Al-Tayyib, who
hopefully still have their ancestor’s part of the Key to Fuinur’s
Well; Brand also learns that Celebrindor had asked
for surveys of nearby stretches of desert to verify them as up for grabs; Pimm reveals that someone tried to kill Lord-Captain Menelmir this morning; Ilvirin
says she asked Colfen, Neithan’s
Lieutenant, about a tour of Tol-Cirya, he says we
shouldn’t as it’s awash with dark cultists and will be raided soon; Governor Telemnar sets Ragnor and friends
to investigating the attempted assassination of Menelmir;
we tour the dockland pubs in search of Rastorin, who
agrees to ask around and report in a few days.
Session 27: evening
of
Ilvirin
heroically refills the excavations at the Red House and replaces the flags.
I get a
letter from Daeron: he can see me tomorrow afternoon
(June 23rd). He is the King’s representative so the meeting should
be interesting.
We want to
visit the site of Melkor’s
I ask Pimm (thanks to Aerin, feeing
much more cheerful) to approach the Admiralty to request a tour of the sites of
architectural interest on Tol-Cirya, especially Earnil’s Tower. I specifically advise him not to mention
the words ‘foundations’, ‘temples’ or ‘Melkor’.
Meanwhile,
Brand and I go to the Loremaster’s House to research Melkor’s
Brand chats
up a loremistress called Talagan.
She says that they have copious records of the building of Earnil’s
Tower but very few for earlier structures, such as Melkor’s
Brand does
find records of Earnil’s Tower. Hyamendacil
conquered Umbar in 1050 TA after it had been taken by
the the forces of Darkness. Hyamendacil
died shortly after so it was Earnil who fortified the
city and built the tower bearing his name.
Brand also
asks after Celebrindor and whether he’d asked for
surveys of the desert; apparently he had, but only to verify lack of prior
ownership. Nonetheless it should help restrict our search, though I think we
need to locate at least one of his workmen to serve as a guide.
When we get
back to the Drunken Southron, there’s a letter from
Governor Telemnar asking for my urgent attendance
with my retinue, including a lawyer! Since I don’t have a lawyer, I request the
loan of Pimm from Ranmes
(and presumably that’s who the Governor is referring to anyway).
Of course,
there’s been no sign of Pimm since he set off on a
simple errand this morning. He returns an hour after lunch, having been kept
waiting for an inordinant time; my request is refused
on grounds of security. Apparently the place was in an uproar due to an
assassination attempt on Lord-Captain Menelmir this
very morning! (And I begin to wonder if this might not have something to do
with my audience with Telemnar?)
We learn
that Ilvirin visited Colfen
this morning, Neithan’s lieutenant, regarding a tour
of Tol-Cirya. Apparently he advises us not to visit
the island. It seems he has a half-brother called Ulbar
(apparently the very same whom Zimrakhil warned us
against) in charge of the Ethir navvies and it seems
they’re up to no good.
There are
two power-blocs among the Ethir and neither will
co-operate with the other but both want freedom for the Ethir.
Some members of Colfen’s family (presumably including
Ulbar) mistakenly think that certain ‘other powers’
can assist their stuggle (‘other powers’ equating to Melkor, et al, according to the hints) but Colfen is sure they are wrong.
Colfen
advises Ilvirin not to visit Tol-Cirya
at the present time, especially any site associated with the Cult of Melkor, which is a pity because that’s exactly where we
want to visit. He says he will probably be raiding the island to break up the
illicit worship so, if we do go, we should make sure we’re not on the island
after dark, which is when he’ll be raiding.
This is
doubly unwelcome news; not only do we have yet another person saying ‘don’t go
to Tol-Cirya’ but, if we do go, we can expect the
very site we need to visit will be awash with dark cultists and subject to raids
by the authorities. It will be hard to visit the site and remain ‘out of
trouble’, as everyone, including me, wants me to do.
So I drag
my ‘retinue’ to the Governor’s Palace, to find him pacing up and down with an
air of worried distraction. He seems a little taken aback at the size of my
retinue, though I don’t know what he expected.
He confirms
that five men stormed the wall of Menelmir’s private
garden while he was taking breakfast this morning. Four men were slain but
their leader escaped. It seems a flunky sold plans of Menelmir’s
estate to Rîvonthel. (I seem to have heard of this
plan before!) Menelmir took a wound in the shoulder
but should live.
Telemnar
says the story is being played up (you don’t need a plan of the estate to find Menelmir’s garden) The naval
faction is claiming this was a planned assassination by the Storm King, as
unlikely as this sounds.
Personally,
this feels to me like something planned by the Cor
Aran but I recall hearing how the Storm King used assassination in the Raj some decades ago so I suppose it’s plausible enough to
fool the local polity.
Telemnar
wants us to find the fifth man. He suggests some of us not directly connected
with the Queen’s Faction (Aerin and Pimm, I think) ask to view the bodies, which are currently
being held by Marmedon, the Commander of the Guard,
so this is what they will do on the morrow.
It occurs
to me that it will be necessary to tap sources of information from social
strata lower than the political high-flyers since if this information was
freely available at that level Telemnar would never
have called for me though why he thinks I can do things he can’t escapes me – I
suspect he’s feeling desperate). This being the case, I suggest that Ilvirin takes us on a tour of the dockland taverns, seeking
Rastorin, who impressed me as the sort with her
finger on the pulse.
Regrettably,
Rastorin proves hard to find. After the fourth taven, Brand and Pimm have
returned to the Drunken Southron, very much the worst
for wear. We eventually find Rastorin in the sixth
hostelry, and she is also very, very worse for wear.
Rastorin
cheers gustily when I mention Menelmir’s ‘accident’,
followed by the whole pub – the Lord-Captain is not popular. She reckons the
assassins were ‘foreigners’, ‘darkies’ by popular rumour, which claims the
bodies have been seen.
This is not
exactly what I’d been hoping for as this would seem to support the Storm-King
conspiracy rumours but Rastorin offers to ask around
for more information, specifically as to where the fifth man might be, for five
crowns. I give her two in advance and ask for a report at the Drunken Southron in two days, the afternoon of the 25th.
Leaving Ilvirin to continue with the revelries, I escort Aerin back to the Drunken Southron.
I am
uncertain of how to proceed further with the investigation. If Aerin and Pimm corroborate the
four dead man as being Southrons,
it will be hard to counter rumours of the Storm-King’s involvement. Also, just
how devious are the Cor-Aran? Is it possible that the
four men were led in to a trap in the garden by a Cor-Aran
leader posing as the fifth man ? If so, is it likely
that we will find him?
Finally, is
it possible that the Storm King is in fact behind the attempted killing? He
does seem to have a track record of just such interventions in the Raj.
Leads to be followed:
Meet Daeron, the King’s representative
Locate Umbar portion of Key of Fuinur’s
Well
Await Rastorin’s report on the 25th regarding the whereabouts
of the Fifth Man involved in the attempt on Menelmir’s
life.
Plan a
visit to Earnil’s Tower on Tol-Cirya
Inquire
after Perhaladin – might be a cult for Ragnor