

                         Adventure Hook

                 * Secret of the Fifth Column *


When the party arrives at Portown, they will notice a man in
white robes giving a speech in the marketplace. One of the older
party members will notice him as being an old friend (from some
twenty years ago). His name is Aurelius, and was long ago
studying to become a mage, however, from the way he is talking,
it sounds like he is somehow involved in the city's government.

If the party decides to approach Aurelius, he will invite them to
the "palace" for lunch. The following dialogue is not meant for
actual game play, but will hopefully serve to give the GM an idea
of how their conversation might run.

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"Governing Portown has not been easy, I'll grant you, but the
rewards have been infinitely more worthwhile than any mere
treasure horde."

"You've been plundering the vault, you old Miser?"

"I daresay, they should have my head were I to even consider such
treachery. But no, there is little there to plunder. We seem to
be constantly in debt. Ever since the rebellion, the citizens
have been very loath to accept taxes of any kind. It's like
pulling teeth."

"What of this rebellion?"

Aurelius nods, sipping some tea. "My mentor, a mage by the name
of Romjibus, used to live in this very building, or rather the
building that stood here before we'd burnt it down. He was a
corrupted soul, poor Romjibus. Some say his wife, Isil, brought
him to it. He drove the people to hate him. Even myself."

"In what way was he corrupted?"

"He was always seeking new ways to tax the people. He saw them
merely in terms of the revenue he would squeeze out of them.
Those that could not pay he maimed in public tortures. Oh, do not
fear. This is nearly a decade past. But the scars of his work
remain upon the people. I can see it in their eyes, if not on
their bodies."

"What became of this Romjibus?"

"He and his wife, Isil, were killed in the rebellion. I fear that
his soul is bound in some dark pit, tortured by demons for his
crimes. He was not always like what he became, but ever since his
mentor, Nod of StormCastle, began studying the dark magics, so
too did his soul become twisted. Nobody goes near StormCastle
anymore. It has become a lair of monsters too hideous even to
imagine."

Just then the door opens, and a red-cloaked mage enters with a
man who is dressed in rags.

"Don't you ever knock, Sonoric?"

"A thousand pardons, mayor," the mage answers in a whiny voice.
"But I fear I have news for you. Bad news. Extremely bad news."

"What, is that cursed Admiral Blood invading again?"

"Worse. It seems that our old friend, Romjibus, may still be
alive after all these years."

"What?! Where?"

"StormCastle. Where else?" The mage knocks the man dressed in
rags with his crooked cane. "Be out with it, lest his mayorship
lose patience and sees you cut into fishbait!"

The man speaks, "It is true, Mayor Aurelius. I was just at
StormCastle but a week ago."

"What in blazes were you doing there?"

"I was serving Romjibus as a kitchen slave."

"What?!"

"He cast a spell on me. It gnawed into my mind like the
DreamWurm, somehow convincing me that I had to do everything in
my power to please him."

"But how did you ever escape?"

"I was very fortunate, my lord. Something he said convinced me to
come to Portown of my own accord. There was something there I had
to fetch for him, only I can't even remember what it was."

"When I found him," the mage interrupts, "he was mumbling
something about a fifth column. I could discern that he was
either mad or under the influence of some form of mind control,
so I used a dispel. Not only did it break the charm, but it also
seems to have muddled his mind even further."

Aurelius sits back for a moment, seeming to stare out into space
for a long moment. "My friends, do you know anything of a 'fifth
column'?"

"Fifth column of what? A building?"

"Perhaps a pillar of magical force. Or... maybe a procession of
some sort."

"This bodes most ill," the mage, Sonoric interrupts yet again.
"The term 'fifth column' is sometimes used to refer to espionage
activities. You say that he sent you to Portown?"

"Nay, he did not send me, but I tell you this truly," the man in
rags replies. "I remember it clearly now, as though it happened
just yesterday. He was mumbling something about this fifth
column, and he said that he'd go to Portown himself if... if... I
don't remember the rest of it, but I think that's when I decided
to come here and see if I could find it."

"What exactly did you expect to find?"

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking clearly. But somehow this fifth
column and Portown were linked, like he expected he might reach
it here. I remember that quite clearly."

Aurelius leans back again, fingers crossing over his lips. "It
seems plain that just as we overthrew Romjibus, so he plans to
overthrow us and re-take control of the city. He must have secret
agents working within our midst."

"My thoughts precisely," Sonoric snivels. "With your permission,
I will begin looking into the matter at once."

"Yes, of course. And as for you, my good friends, I may need your
help as well," Aurelius says, addressing the party. "Whatever
scheme Romjibus has hatching, we will eventually need to dispose
of it at the source, that is assuming this whole thing isn't just
somebody's idea of a practical joke. Do you think you could do me
an incredibly big favor?"

"What sort of favor?"

"Go to StormCastle and see if anyone is actually living there.
You may find some monsters among the brick ruins. I don't know.
But if they seem organized, or if you manage to spot any mages...
it would be helpful to know just how much power he's gathered."

