Melinda’s Knowledge (Religion) check: 1d20+10 = 27

My eyes darted to the corner of the room, and I saw a pale, spectral figure, garbed in royal robes. Her ears and facial features made it clear that she was an elf. The ‘spectral’ part, combined with the fact that she could talk, indicated that we were dealing with a certain subset of the undead. That we weren’t immediately going mad or suffering other nasty effects suggested that this was a ghost, rather than one of the other, nastier types. Not that ghosts weren’t powerful in their own right.

Melinda’s Diplomacy Check: 1d20+36 = 55 (Success)

I took a breath, and said, “Well, my lady, you appear to have us at a disadvantage. Perhaps we might observe a few courtesies? As you can see, me and mine are no strangers to the undead, or others who keep to dark places. I am Melinda Rimedancer, Twice-born servant of Auril Frostmaiden. Who might I be addressing?”

“Oh, ho. Aren’t you courteous for a grave-robber and servant of darkness? Very well, then. I am Queen Siraye Seharinthe, mother of that traitorous, murderous bitch who now calls herself queen. Now, what business have you in this place of the dead?”

“The former queen?” I shook my head. “Forgive my shock, but I was under the impression you would have gone to the halls of your god, rather than linger here. As for our business here, well, it should come as no surprise that recent events in the kingdom have spurred others into action against the kinslayer that usurped your throne. Amongst those is the Crown Princess, who had also been betrayed by the one sitting upon the throne. It is by her request that we venture into the castle, and attempt to ensure that the faithless daughter does not escape a reckoning for her deeds.”

“Hmph. A likely tale, save for the fact that I know my eldest daughter. She is not the like to tolerate the presence of worshippers of dark gods, those with the taint of the lower planes in their blood, or the undead. So, how came you to be in this arrangement with her?”

“That much is simplicity, itself. Your daughter used a magic collar to bind her sister, and sold her into slavery. We were passing through, and saw a ship that looked as though it would hasten our way to Thedra so we could see to the problem of some fool opening a permanent portal to the higher realms. The owner of the ship was meeting her kinsman, who had your daughter stashed away in his warehouse. We freed her, and then she engaged our services to help in the current situation.”

The ghostly queen nodded her head slowly. “Well, at least some of the lessons I tried to teach about practicality sunk in. She was Crown Princess, because that was her birthright, but she was always too zealous. It is fine for a normal person to be a paragon of virtue, but to rule, one must keep one’s hands unbound. Mayhap this tragedy has softened her stance somewhat?”

“That I cannot say. She still seems zealous to me, and keeping to her oaths. But she did say to me once, while we were crossing the sea, that her vows were not those of a Paladin, rigid and unyielding. So long as she did good, and worked for the greater good, then the gods would not mind what tools she used in that service. And since our goals aligned, she offered us pay to bring down the one who betrayed her, and keep her sickness from growing within the kingdom.”

“Sickness, hmm? Well, you have the right of it, there. A sickness is spreading even now, and all of it is at her direction.”

“This is about the tainted grain, yes?”

The queen smiled ruefully. “You know about the taint, then? Yes. That is my demonwhore daughter’s doing. The kinslaying trollop sold not just herself, but the kingdom entire to her dark master.”

Oh, that didn’t sound good. In fact, that sounded the exact opposite of good. Looking into my companions’ eyes, I could see that they recognized the ungoodness of the situation, as well.

“Those are ill tidings. Since we first uncovered the tainted grain, and the ravening mobs that it made of the people of Andor’s Hall, we have wondered about the reasons why the usurper would do such a thing. This was a plan long in the making, not some idol whim, after all.”

The queen laughed, but there was no mirth in it. “Oh, I hope you did not think Andor’s Hall was the only place she conducted her little ‘experiments’? No, my wicked daughter owned farmland throughout the kingdom. Where she got the money for it all, I do not know, but either directly or through proxies, she owns over half the farms in the country. By now, every farming village is like Andor’s Hall, overrun by those who have fallen to corruption due to the betrayal of one who was to protect them.”

“Gods damn it!” I spat. “With that kind of spread, containment may well be impossible! What madness prompted her to do something like this?”

“Madness? Oh, it is madness, for certain, but not without a plan. That malodorous, thrice-cursed harlot has a plan, yes. You see, those who fall to the corruption have their souls stolen by the Demon Lord, Graz’zt, their souls fueling his ambitions within the Abyss, all while the betrayal empowers his very name. And those who aren’t corrupted by the taint, or the mobs? Well, that cunt has already found a way to deal with them.”

“What do you mean? Deal with them how?”

“I knew that the trollop was free with her affections, using her looks as but another tool to play the games of politics, but I did not know the true depths she had gone to. The few servants who resisted her charms are dead. The royal guard, and most of the court, have all fallen under her sway, and been tricked into selling their souls. They are tainted with the essence of the lower planes, now.”

She shook her head, anger rising in her voice. “And her brothers, who by rights should have worked to put a stop to this? They kneel at her feet, or take turns between her legs, or in her bed. They have been totally corrupted, turned into thralls to her will. I do not know if they even have a mind of their own, any more.”

“She seduced her own brothers?” I asked, somewhat in shock. I mean, it wasn’t unheard of for royal families, bound by the common burden of rulership, to get closer than close, as the only equals they could find were their own blood, but to do so openly, and without any sense of tact or decorum, was unusual, to say the least.

“Seduced is too mild a term. They are her willing pets, now. She gave to them an elixir, stronger than what she had prepared for her followers in court. They are now half-demons, and are beyond any hope of redemption, save by the acts of the gods themselves.”

Well, that was disturbing, to say the least. Changing someone’s race, making them part-demonic, was not an easy thing to accomplish. Turning someone into an undead was one thing. That just took spellwork and resources. Infecting someone with lycanthropy was even easier, just requiring a bite. But changes like what the spirit was describing? That was no cheap trick.

It was also something that I’d encountered before. My eyes met Siora’s as I heard the Beguiler gasp in recognition. She made the connection, as well.

Turning back to the ghost, I said, “Two of my companions and I have seen something like this in the past. In the Moonwood to the north and west, a Hunt of the Beast God, Malar, invaded the wood, searching for the Temple of the Moonmaiden’s Glory, and the artifacts sealed away inside. As we hunted the wolves through the woods, we met some who had become fiendish creatures, while some few were half-demons, though the information we had gathered said that, ere they entered the Moonwood they were as normal as lycanthropes might be.

“These werewolves, sworn to the service of Malar, were, in truth, being manipulated by a succubus in the service of Graz’zt, the Dark Prince. A profane ritual was done to empower a dark relic. But that relic was never found, at least by us. Whether it is the same relic, or another made through similar means, that would explain much.”

The former queen started. “This relic, was it the skull of a wolf, with demonic runes upon it?”

Vestele nodded slowly. “That is how it was described to us, by one who witnessed its completion. We did not know what happened to the relic after we defeated the wolves. We hadn’t seen it since then, even though we cleared out all their haunts in the Moonwood.”

“My daughter received a new handmaiden about six years ago. When the bitch started to… change the guards, she brought them before that skull, and uttered an incantation in some foul tongue. The blood of those who were loyal to Silverwood helped fuel the magic to do so many changes in so quick a time.”

“Six years ago.” I breathed in heavily. “It was around that time when we defeated the wolves of Moonwood. The succubus that escaped had been posing as a helper to one of the Malarite priests, manipulating and corrupting their works. She could easily have taken up the role of your daughter’s handmaiden.”

Siora frowned. “So, what? Was this all planned from the beginning? I find that hard to believe.”

I shook my head in denial. “No, I don’t believe so. At least, not wholly.” Looking back to the ghost, I asked “When did your daughter begin buying up the farmlands?”

“I cannot say for certain, of course. She obviously kept much and more of her actions hidden from me, or I would have never allowed things to get this far. But I think she only owned one or two farms before six years ago, and then she began buying, through proxies, so that no one knew who owned what, exactly. It is dangerous to allow any one person to control the nation’s food supply, after all.”

“And if she charmed your spymaster as she charmed her brothers, then there would be no way for you to know about it.” I nodded, slowly. A picture was starting to come together. Now we knew her goals, and had some idea of how she accomplished things. And we had an idea of possible players behind the scenes that we would need to keep watch on. Already, we were in a better position than we were before.

Focusing on the queen’s spirt, I said, “Can you tell us of how you came to be here? I would have thought that you’d have moved on, to your final reward?”

“Ha! If my daughter had her way, my soul would have already gone to fuel some ritual of hers. But when I was attacked by her assassins, I managed to cast a single spell before I was cut down. The Magic Jar separated my soul from my body, and so the blades of thinaun, which trap the souls of those who die while touching them, could not catch me. Unfortunately, I was still dead, but I was able to flee, as a ghost. I’ve spent the time since haunting these crypts, ensuring that, at least, my ancestors shall not be desecrated like my bloodline has been.”

I nodded with a sigh. “Rulers have come to haunt their keeps for far less noble reasons, yes. Will you allow us to pass unhindered, provided we do not desecrate the fallen?”

“Hmph. If it means you will be killing my bitch of a daughter and cleansing this palace of all the wretched souls who remain in it, I will gladly not only let you pass, but open up the way for you, disarming all the traps and alarms between here and the main halls. I will even see about disarming traps and unlocking doors elsewhere in the palace, as well. But you must swear to me that my upstart daughter and her two lapdogs must die.”

I smiled broadly. “Your majesty, I believe we have an accord. In the names of Auril Icedawn, I swear it. We shall see the three of them dead.”