Snake Cultists on Our Plane

Darétik's closest known neighbour is the town of Fuall, a settlement around 14 days walk (300 Miles) North along the coast, and it had been found to be the home of a dangerous cult. They had come under the rule of a Mardu-Tarr by the name of Karnuta Müd (Deceased) who served as their monarch and object of worship. This creature was responsible for hundreds of deaths having wiped out an entire generation of the male populace. She had also, somehow, brainwashed the remaining populace into believing that this was for their own good and that it was in fact a great honour and constituted gaining immortality. She provided the town with stability and economic prosperity but at the cost of many innocent lives.

The problems with resolving this situation were twofold. In the first instance, her removal may create a power vacuum and serve to destabilise the region. Her followers are still a factor but they are now leaderless, without guidance and without protection. The town, a useful trading hub, may cease to function and the situation may become more dangerous. In the second instance, she was a powerful creature ensconced within a walled city filled with her devoted cultists. She certainly had armed guards, she claimed to have clerics and paladins though this seemed unlikely. Any attempt on her life would have been extremely risky and not without consequences. This issue was bypassed, however, as she chose to leave the protection of her city in order to make a last attempt to win over the party.

She had offered an alliance and a favourable position within her community if certain tasks were carried out. She had offered some concession if the Hill Giant was bought to her alive. What she wished to do with a live Hill Giant remains unknown. She told Norlen that the Hill Giant possessed a magical artefact that she would have liked to possess as she believed that it would make her more powerful. She had made it clear that this task would not be enough to earn her favour, merely to show our good will. She had also asked that she be provided with a male child less than 5-years of age. This would have earned her favour and an ambassadorial position within her court. Again, she did not say what she had intended to do with the child.

The relationship between the party and the cult had since been further complicated. Norlen sought to debate with the queen in an attempt to convince her to change her ways. This attempt was unsuccessful, however, the queen was impressed by Norlen's bravery in standing up to her and she offered him a gift. He attempted to use this as a way of establishing good relations with her by asking for the life of the male child that she had asked the party to deliver. She chose a bizarre interpretation of this request and gifted Norlen with a baby who had been destined to undergo the Queen's Trial instead. Following this the party apparently vanished from the town without trace taking a member of the cult with them.

After the party left the town the queen appeared at their camp site during the night. She made yet another futile attempt to prove how 'generous' she was by offering trinkets and asking Klari'da to complete a mission on her behalf. She gave Klari'da a box and a letter to deliver to the queen of a kingdom in the southern mountains. She also armed her with a magical dagger which had the property of being able to petrify anyone who was stabbed with it, probably as a method of disposing of the party once the package was delivered. Oswlen then offered the queen a gift in return which he claimed he had in his hand. When the queen looked into his open palm to claim her gift he used magic to summon a mirror and she was petrified by her own gaze. Intending to make her the centrepiece of an ornamental garden in Darétik the party carried the statue away with them but it was unfortunately crushed by a rock thrown by the Hill Giant. The package and the letter were presumably still in the possession of Klari'da when she fled from the fight with the Hill Giant and she has not been seen since, either that or they are still at the scene of the fight, either way the queen's message remains a mystery.

The party's current relationship to the cult is therefore unknown but assumed to be bad, however, this should not reflect on other members of the party who have not yet visited Fuall. The current status of Fuall is unknown and it is unclear how they will proceed without their queen.

Worryingly despite the fact that the party were despatched to Fuall on the pretext that the town had not been heard from in a long time and that it's current status was unknown upon returning to Darétik and reporting back to Edadsuyurn it was revealed that she already knew not only what had happened to the town but also the name of its fallen queen. Was this a deliberate deception or merely an oversight?