Morran's Memories
Darrowmar
In which the provenance of Koros's Alshekal coin is challenged, the trust of a Spirit of Intellect is questioned, and the former Alshekal's journey on Darromar is revealed.
Sharply questioned by the solidly built Morran spirit of intellect, who claims he never gave a coin to Koros, Koros summons sincere umbrage at Morran's apparent misremembering of their time together. Koros goes on to quickly state that they spent many a night on the road from Zelix City to the Hephrolusk Gate, and that of course Morran gave him the coin. Morran's SOI does recall Koros, calling him a caravan errand boy, and is unmoved by Koros's story, saying he knows who he gave the coin to and why, and that it was not Koros. Koros says that he knows Morran was going to give it to a man named Shenmaht, but that Morran changed his mind at the last minute due to Shenmaht being an Arcanist and a member of the Zelix Inquisition. Morran replies that he _did_ give the coin to Shenmaht, and _because_ he was a budding Arcanist.
The party finds Koros's story quite persuasive, and sharply questions Morran in return - why would an Alshekal member give a coin to an Arcanist, their supposed enemies? In any event, the party tells Morran, Koros has been with them through thick and thin and, Orosh notes, has been vetted and approved by "M." Koros tells him his memories must have been altered. Orosh says they have other questions, and asks about Tinker and Grimly.
Morran replies that memory alteration is not possible, or at least it would have to have been Enelach that did it, and there was no reason. He says Shenmaht was a young Arcanist who they hoped to recruit and turn - so little is known about them and this was their chance to truly get on the inside. He allows that Koros may be a vetted member, and an Inheritor, but that as long as he lies about how he go tthe coin, Morran will not answer questions. The spirit then vanished and appears down the path next to Doran, and the tow begin talking.
While they are away, Koros admits to the party that he did steal the coin. While on a caravan, he overheard Morran telling Shenmaht about the Alshekal, and about the coin and the riches it might bring. Koros knew Shenmaht to be a member of the hated Zelix inquisition, and could not stomach such a reward going to someone who oppressed Zelixans. He stole the coin, but in the time he's been with the party he has come to embrace their cause (and their riches).
Morran returns with Doran, and explains that Doran has come to take him home. He will transport the skull inside his own body, after cutting himself open and healing himself, so that it is not erased going through the Gate. Doran looks quite queasy at the prospect. At this point Koros admits to Morran that he stole the coin, and why. The party backs Koros up again, representing to Morran that however he came by the coin, Koros is one of them. Morran grumbles that Koros's actions have fouled plans that had been long in the making, but assents to telling the new Alshekal about their predecessor's time on Darromar.
Spirit of Intellect Morran takes a moment to compose himself, and then begins….
The Alshekal came to Darromar because they had become concerned about the activities of a famous pair of retired surface explorers, Tinker and Grimley, who had settled on on the Island some years ago. It seems Tinker and Grimley had been offering a shocking number of Ancient Race bones on the black market over the last few Darromar cycles, and the Alshekal wanted to get to the bottom of it before the Arcanists found out and confiscated whatever horde Tinker and Grimley were pulling from.
They arrived, fought a clan in the Traverton, paid respects to the Anaxar (naming themselves as the "Lakesla"), wiped out the remainder of the clan they fought and took over this hilltop fort. They learned that only Tinker resides on Darromar - Grimley has taken up residence on a well-fortified surface location – known as the Mountain Redoubt - accessible at the other end of Darromar's two year orbit. The Alshekal then arranged for another clan to attack Tinker's compound, and in the confusion slipped in, located a stash of bones, and stole it. While a Gate was still open they moved the bones off Darromar and secluded them in their safe house on Jamerah. However, in the raid they also learned that the source of the bones is indeed near the Mountain Redoubt. After some debate, the Alshekal decided to dedicate two years to the project, riding out Darromar's cycle to get a look at the Mountain Redoubt and secure or destroy the source of the bones if necessary.
Unfortunately, their time on the Island was not as quiet as they hoped. They began to suffer attacks from many clans, clans that likely could not afford the blood price that the Alshekal paid to the Anaxar. Clearly someone was funding the attacks, and it was not long before they learned that it was Tinker, who had somehow divined that the predecessors were behind the attack on his compound. Low on funds themselves, the Alshekal endured and counterattacked when they could, and their hilltop fort became a place of battle and corpses. After many months, they sought an ally in The Mordrin, the leader of the Mordrin clan and sorcerous advisor to the Anaxar himself. An exchange was made. Enelach taught The Mordrin a bit about the rituals he used to create spirits of intellect, and the The Mordrin provided security for the Lalesla Hill in the form of necrobinds and, eventually, skull-on-a-stick revenant spirits.
Challengers still came and fought, less frequently and with even poorer results. Yet soon clans were arriving that taxed The Mordin's support, clans with tangled oaths and relationships that made it difficult for The Mordin to maintain her end of the deal. She began encouraging the Lakesla to resolve their dispute with the Tinker directly, and soon demanded it. The predecessors were wary of Tinker but agreed and sent a challenge - single combat to resolve their dispute. If the Lakesla won, Tinker would cease all hostilities, direct or indirect. If Tinker won, the Lakesla would leave the Island by the first available Gate. As the Alshekal had planned to do this anyway, the consequences of a loss were not so great. With the exception of the possible death of their champion, Morran…
To prepare for the fight, they made an especially large Spirit of Intellect of Morran, pulling most of his memory into an over-large carved skull. The Spirit of Intellect’s memories of course end there – he doesn’t know the outcome of the fight, but being in the presence of the current party he knows that he and his companions are deceased. He also knows that the Alshekal made some kind of second deal with The Mordrin concerning the fight, but he doesn't know the details.
Just as SOI Morran is finishing up his tale, the party notices smoke rising from every direction close to the watchtower….