Return to Golotha

[Sir Baris]

So we are back in Golotha, and things have indeed changed. We have learned much about someone we thought we knew, and the power structure seems to have changed, perhaps somewhat in our favor. What are our plans for the future?

How are we going to go about learning more about what the Morgathians are up to?

Our main contact with the Agrikans is out of town, though we seem to have gained a new one, even if he isn't Agrikan. Myself, I am not sure he is working for the crown, but that was just the feeling I got.

During the party Tovar indicated that it was not only the legion that slew Agrikans, what could he have meant by that? Maybe we should ask him.

Anyway, just thought I'd get the ball rolling.

[Matt]

During the party Tovar indicated that it was not only the legion that slew Agrikans, what could he have meant by that? Maybe we should ask him.

Several people mentioned a black or 'Dark Knight.' Sir Tovar to be sure, but also Parqu of Aerth and Sir Buell referred to the Agrikans being slain while they were rioting, and in the context of a duel with Sir Zaurial where the latter was wounded and only saved from death by a couple of his men taking the Dark Knight's sword blows while others dragged Zaurial to safety.

[Imarë]

I do indeed believe the situation has changed in our favor somewhat. The fact that Bevan has aquired Palliser House is a boone, especially with the people who came to dinner (merchant and governmental). Not being a nobody now I believe will accrue to her (and by trickle down, us).

I don't know if the Morgathians are up to anything at all (at least not more than usual). Somebody seems to be trying to foment problems within the city. The murder of the Morgathian temple guards, the murder of the Prophet, the hunting of Agrikans by the Black Knight. This would beg the question, when Ewen and "Karl" felt the fear in the square, the one which Sir Auram identified as probably Morgathian, was somebody watching the square (where the Baron was left) or was somebody watching the home of Borana? The fact that Ewen has a brother who is a homicidal maniac does spice up the stew here. Was the break-in concerned with him looking at someone nearly identical to the brother he is contesting with? Was it somebody else?

Some of the information that Sir Buell has seems to have come from Sir Auram. It would be a logical place to put somebody to spy. Getting close to him might be bad for our health and his, I think that might be why he is considering killing the household staff.

Is the Black Knight the frined of Ewens brother? Is he the deryni who seems to be working against Arren II? Could he be trying to cause yet another revolt to occur? His prowess with weapons could place him in Boranas house, but it could be a follower also. Many questions to delve into here.

[Lord Ewen]

The murder of the Morgathian temple guards, the murder of the Prophet, the hunting of Agrikans by the Black Knight.

The second of these three was another mascles murder, which to me does increase the odds that these deeds were committed by either of the Stavron / Valgari duo. Of course, it's still possible that an unrelated third party copied my murder of Felkar for their own reasons, and was responsible for the Prophet as well, but to me that theory takes a distant second place pending further information.

Was the break-in concerned with him looking at someone nearly identical to the brother he is contesting with? Was it somebody else?

My initial theory was Stavron here, of course, but Valgari is at least as good a hypothesis now. Sir Auram certainly implied that, of the two, Valgari is the more dangerous. (Tell that to my family )

when Ewen and "Karl" felt the fear in the square, the one which Sir Auram identified as probably Morgathian, was somebody watching the square (where the Baron was left) or was somebody watching the home of Borana?

The fear in the square incident took place later on the 20th of Larane (we saw the Baron's body at Boraga's on the morning of the 18th). To me, that seems a long time after the body was removed from the square (almost three full days) for someone to be watching there for that reason. Of course, the stabbing of Slakka was just as long ago, but Borana's seems the more likely connection: Borana was under the impression that trouble would not return when Imarë and Ewen interviewed her. Later, some malevolent Morgathian (I am loath to dismiss Sir Auram's instincts in such things) is keeping watch. Finally, the house is deserted, boarded up (ie. things were worse that Borana expected). The sequence seems to tell a story.

Is the Black Knight the frined of Ewens brother? Is he the deryni who seems to be working against Arren II?

That is my present hypothesis: the Black Knight is Valgari. If so, he seems way too dangerous for us to attempt to deal with as we did Lenesque, and that's just addressing his handiness with the sword.

Some of the information that Sir Buell has seems to have come from Sir Auram.

Agreed. I can think of no other rationale for his remarks than that he is working for Sir Auram, or for the IG through some intermediary.

How are we going to go about learning more about what the Morgathians are up to?

That, to me, is one of our big tasks at present. The situation seems, as always, complex. While the Morgathians are bad guys, they appear to be at dire odds with Valgari as well, if the above assumptions hold up. The Morgathians have basically been an enigma thus far, and it seems to me we need to rectify that.

[Imarë]

I have put together some thoughts on the major groups that I think are in Golotha. This is a list to be amended. If I have left a part out on somebody or put something in you disagree with, please post on it.

Rahel of Aerth:

- Sir Auram refers to her as a friend. He did not say she worked for the government however, so the argument about who she works for is still operative
- Captured the Baron of Quste. Seems clear that her guards rode out of the city the morning that the Baron was taken and took him. Unclear whether she is responsible for his death, but the killing of the guards and “niece” does not look like she intended for him to get away. The passage of time leaves free the option that he was taken from her keep by others and then killed (it would be interesting to see if any her guards has had an accident recently).
- Must take into account that since she is a friend to the government, would she kill a noble of the realm (even Sir Auram was not happy about this).
- What does she want from Ewen? The housewarming is the second party that she has evidenced interest in him over anybody else. Could she know about Borana’s daughter and is trying to keep close to find what is behind it?

Morgathians:

- Currently run the city.
- Have had a large number of their guards/fighters killed by a person or persons unknown.
- Have a power which Ewen and Sir Baris felt in the square, but why was it used? Were they watching either Borana or just keeping an eye on where the Baron was dumped for some reason?
- What would be their motive for causing the disruption currently in evidence. If they want to expand their power they would need allies, but a wedge seems to have been placed between them and their natural allies, the Agrikans. Could they be trying to squeeze the Agrikans out of city government? Having the Royal garrison take a larger role in city government seems to be against their interests as they have no real influence over them.

Agrikans:

- Are now in a power bind because of the riots.
- Who killed the Prophet (and carved the mascles in his chest)? Was this a further cover for the killing of the Baron (as we suppose the hideworker was) or is this a bona fide attack by Stavron?
- This is the group which has lost the most, the Prophet, the growing number of men (it went from six to ten to twenty), and daily control of the city through patrol and guard.
- Why did the dark knight go after them openly the way he did?
- Did they actually believe that they could overthrow the control of the Morgathians the way that Sir Zaurial was talking about?

Arren II/The Crown:

- Have now been forced to come out of the castle to quell the Agrikan riot.
- Are consequently in a weaker position because a good number of the troops must be used to patrol and guard as the Agrikans used to and are now spread out.
- Would they be able to guard the walls and the castle at the same time while still patrolling the city proper?
- Is Valgari working against Arren II once again. Is he planning to rebel again while Arren II is far from his throne with a good portion of his army?

Valgari:

- What are his plans?
- Is he still bent on trying to cause the fall of Arren II’s government?
- Why did he fall out of favor with Arren I so that he got very little when the new kingdom was established?
- Is he the patron of Stavron? If so, when was he recruited? Did Stavron join him before the murders in Ewen or did Stavron run into Valgari in his flight?
- Is he the Dark Knight?
- Did he attack Slakka?
- Was he able to get the Baron away from Rahel and kill him?

Sir Blors:

- Was he the recipient of the note from Sir Felkar?
- What is he currently up to (has he stopped his machinations)?
- He was much more open to social contact at the housewarming party, could Bevan profit from this by being more friendly on her hunting trip and whatever goes on there?
- I doubt he is a reliable source of information (due to his personality), but could be an ally in case of trouble in the city.
- We should not inform him who the killer of Sir Felkar is.

Jarop:

- What side is he on (if any)?
- Who informed him of the money being moved by the Baron?
- Did the person who offered sanctuary to Sir Felkar betray him to Jarop to be robbed?
- His group was supposed to be watching Borana, did they? Did they feel the fear that Sir Baris and Ewen felt?
- Does he know that he took money from the Morgathians? Would this have stopped him?
- Could he have been Sir Felkar's correspondent?
- Why would he kill Merky or not want her even to talk to us? Evidently most of the people who were hired to rob Sir Felkar were not members of his guild. Is this something to look at?

The Aerths:

- Are they connected outside of the mercantile field to the city (with the obvious exception of Parqu)?
- How do they fit into the religious aspect of the situation?
- Who did Fralys have a child with? Is this the person she now supports (Lord Morgan or other)?
- Could there be other members of the Aerth family who do other things (like Sir Klyrdes and the Prophet)?
- Are they trustworthy for what we are doing?

[Matt]

Morgathians:

- What would be their motive for causing the disruption currently in evidence. If they want to expand their power they would need allies, but a wedge seems to have been placed between them and their natural allies, the Agrikans. Could they be trying to squeeze the Agrikans out of city government? Having the Royal garrison take a larger role in city government seems to be against their interests as they have no real influence over them.

It seems they're victims, not the perpetrators.

Agrikans:

- Who killed the Prophet (and carved the mascles in his chest)? Was this a further cover for the killing of the Baron (as we suppose the hideworker was) or is this a bona fide attack by Stavron?

Or was the prophet the target all along?

- Why did the dark knight go after them openly the way he did?

Kicks ...

Arren II/The Crown:

- Are consequently in a weaker position because a good number of the troops must be used to patrol and guard as the Agrikans used to and are now spread out.
- Would they be able to guard the walls and the castle at the same time while still patrolling the city proper?

Really? Two cohorts are about five times what would be necessary to guard the castle and walls. The Crown is clearly in a stronger position than it was.

- Is Valgari working against Arren II once again. Is he planning to rebel again while Arren II is far from his throne with a good portion of his army?

Sir Auram did not rate him this highly. Recall that he said Valgari was involved in the rebellion, but now mostly poses as a merchant or the like. He has no power base, no soldiers, and is basically a man on the run. He is very dangerous to the party but a nuisance to the Crown.

Sir Blors:

- Was he the recipient of the note from Sir Felkar?

He could have been the recipient, along with a number of other candidates.

- We should not inform him who the killer of Sir Felkar is.

Doesn't seem a wise move.

Jarop:

- Who informed him of the money being moved by the Baron?

He has a brother recall, and this seemed to be an annual thing for the Baron. He may have known about the Baron's trips in the past, and decided that it was too good a haul to ignore this year.

- Did the person who offered sanctuary to Sir Felkar betray him to Jarop to be robbed?

In exchange for what? Only Jarop and the gang got the loot.

- Why would he kill Merky or not want her even to talk to us?

She betrayed information to outsiders. 'Nuff said.

- Evidently most of the people who were hired to rob Sir Felkar were not members of his guild. Is this something to look at?

I doubt it. Only Bevan is an agent of the Crown. Just so with the LK - a job is given and the member forms his own team. Two of the four were members anyway.

The Aerths:

- Could there be other members of the Aerth family who do other things (like Sir Klyrdes and the Prophet)?

Just to be sure we're clear: 1) Sir Klyrdes and the prophet are not Aerths, they are of clan Bisidril. 2) Sir Klyrdes is an Agrikan High Priest and a Heptarch.

[Imarë]

Sorry on the Aerths. I was making a comparison, not putting them in the Aerth family.

Thanks for answering a number of the questions I raised (like garrison strength).

[Matt]

Awfully quiet in here.

[Imarë]

I had given an idea of who was involved in our mystery in Golotha, looking in particular at who is trying to shake things up. I will state what probablility I give to each.

Rahel:
As Sir Auram calls her a friend, I don't think she is out to rock the government. It could be that somebody is trying to shake up the present power structure in favor of gaining influence for the crown. However, the timing of the problems seems poor in my mind. If you are going to foment some kind of action withing Golotha, the prior problems would lead me to believe that having the King away with a large part of the army might not be the best timing. From the surprise that the Parqu showed on our return, nobody expected the easy time that the castle garrison had in putting down the Agrikans. She is not the top of my list of suspects.

Morgathians:
As Matt wrote, the Morgathians have been the victims here. There power and influence have been diminished by the weakening of their allies power and the associated gain in power of the crown. They have also lost a good number of their guards for no apparant reason. It also does not seem as if they were involved in the actions of the Agrikans. Their position in the city was right where they wanted it to be, the dominant political force running the city. Why would they rock the boat? They come toward the bottom of my list.

Agrikans:
They also seem to have come off poorly from events. They lost the Prophet, they were run out of their postion as guardians of the city and they lost a lot of men to both the garrison and to the black knight (who apparantly did much of the killing personally). My belief is that their comments about supplanting the Morgathians was just talk (drunken posturing). They could rock the boat but could they ever do alone what the rebellion (many) were unable to do? They also hover low on my list.

Crown:
Why would Arren II do this now? He has his sights on a bigger target right now (Orbaal). He has a city which, while not following his whims with any enthusiasm, was following the general tenor of them. If I were him, I would be worried that somebody from the eastern part of the island might use his absence to attack. A city in upheaval would not be something that I would be looking for if I am far from the scene with a good chunk of my army. He may very well want to diminish the influence of the M/A's but their are better ways and at better times to do so. The crown also goes to the bottom of my list.

Valgari:
An unknown quantity. He was involved in the last rebellion. He feels he does not have the power he should from his involvement in the conquest of the kingdom by Arren I. He seems to really hate Arren II. He would be much higher on the list than anybody so far (just from the unknowns).

Sir Blors:
Why? He seems happy in the role he is currently playing. He hunts, he parties, he is important. I am sure he knows that he could not improve his position by making things difficult in Golotha. He seems a loyal follower of the crown. I also believe that he would not be welcome at a MENSA meeting even to serve coctails and the way events are going I believe shows somebody with a keen mind. Hopefully we will be able to cultivate him as a social contact as he is one of the higher ranking government officials in a city where the party seems to have a major tie.

Jarop:
From prior comments it seems clear that he is in favor of keeping everything peaceful. It is easier to steal things when fighting is not taking place (or having people nervous and on the lookout for suspisious activites). He is also low on my list of suspects.

The Aerths:
Similar to Jarop but in a legal vein. They want peace and order to carry out merchant activities. Parqus reaction to tension before we left indicates that no violation of the status quo when it comes to running of the city except in a slow and peaceful manner. While he is happy with the outcome, he was also surprised. I deem it unlikely that they would have been willing to bring the city to the boiling point when they were sure that nothing good (from their point of view) would probably come from it. This also earns then a low spot on my list.

The conclusion that I come to is that my primary suspect is Valgari. I have not closed my mind to any of the ones I have listed nor closed the list to new people/groups. Does my conclusion jibe with any others? A simple yes or no will do although a summary of why in either case would be nice.

[Imarë]

I should add to my Agrikan analysis. If they were going to do something like occured, I doubt they would look like a drunken fraternity on a rampage through Orlando on spring break. They were goaded into action by somebody killing their Prophet and they did not take time to plan or think, they just ran amok.