When we last ventured to the Great Basin…
It was the 33rd of Fireharvest and the members of the task force had captured Marius Kleinheisterkamp and a member of the Keburipemi Syndicate after successfully taking control of the shipment of Cylex and collecting 84,000 gold from the bottom of the channel. Through collective rationale, it was decided that it was too dangerous to take these prisoners back to Kerkrad since their members of their governments could influence or disrupt the interrogation process.
The next morning, with Wil absent, the rest of the part formulates questions for Marius including:
- Did you bomb the Forum on the 34th of Goldwave?
- What were your plans for the Cylex?
- How did you know about the Cylex?
- Who is Hans and where can we find him?
Though a pained interrogation conducted by Oisin, the task forced learned that Marius and his group did not bomb the Forum last month. They were contacted by the Syndicate about if they would be interested in purchasing the Cylex by somebody with a moniker starting with a ‘V’. Marius claimed that the Cylex was going to be used solely within the Eichen Kingdom and for purposes not related to the task force’s investigation.
When the conversation turned to his own political ideas, Marius was must more open. He revealed that he was injured during a covert operation in the Commune of Atrxous by an explosive that he had personally set and checked. After many months of recovery, he was discharged from the Eichen military and returned to investigate the explosion in the Commune. While it was difficult work, eventually he concluded that the only explanation was deliberate sabotage by someone with extensive training in Eichen explosives.
Disheartened, he returned to the Kingdom and started talking with other wounded veterans from the Eichen military and got connected to a similar group. When they examined the office reports about the injuries released by the government, the numbers simply did not add up with what their experiences on the streets said, so they organized and launched an investigation into this manner.
Eventually, deep in the forest, a group of mages reported a strong feeling of death and intense necrotic magic which “felt like the souls of the damned fleeing the area”. Several more months of reconnaissance helped the group pin down the location of a secret research facility, underground and heavily fortified. They were going to use the Cylex to blow in a secondary entrance and try to take the compound by force.
He also said that Hans was his boss and revealed the location of 37 hideouts that Hans has set up.
The Syndicate prisoner didn’t reveal much information, other than the name of his supervisor, Bito Takamitsu. He evidently was a low level drug pusher for the Syndicate and knew nothing about the higher level plans.
Later, when Zorro returned, Oisin mentioned that Marius wanted to discuss something with him, so he and Zorro went back into the room where Marius was bound. Marius started asking some though-provoking questions about Zorro’s injuries and his observations about the number of wounded veterans in the Kingdom. However, when he mentioned using the Cylex to bomb a government research site, Zorro’s sword was engaged and successfully dominated Zorro’s personality in an attempt to kill Marius. Oisin immediately noticed the change in Zorro and quickly called for Wil while using Color Spray to stun Zorro. While Wil was able to get into the room and grapple Zorro, it was Redfern who proved the most useful in apprehending the sword. He summoned a group of monkeys who swarmed Zorro and disarmed him by taking the sword right out of his hands. While the monkeys were then overpowered by the will of the sword, Redfern simply dismissed them, allowing Breagan to pick up the sword and place it in Oisin’s bag of holding.
After that eventful morning, the group packed up and set out back to Kerkrad, using the wagon from Syndicate and their horses which Redfern thankfully didn’t kill.
After arriving back at Kerkrad on Shimmerfall 3rd, you checked your prisoners into the Eaton.