To Your Excellency Belgratore Gladomain Pasha of Sanctuary, Suzerain of Shulim, Boyar of Gladomantia, GRAFT Ritter, Chairman of the Company etc… [abridged]
Pursuant to your commands, I have employed our network of spies to gather intelligence on your former companions. You will note, most wise and omnipotent one, that I, at great risk, personally surveyed the affairs of several targets. Once the data was gathered, I fed it to your robot assassin #23’s logic circuits to analyze the relative power and influence of these individuals, as well as how much of a threat they pose to your Excellency and his most benevolent and wise regime. Furthermore, I have humbly submitted recommendations for action based on #23’s and my own lowly assessments.
Forever your most humble and obedient servant,
-Implacable Autocrator
Azax the Flayed, Vizier and Mage
Summary
Azax lives a solitary and secretive life in the Bloody Tower which rises from the grounds of your own Palace. He is called “The Flayed” because his body hosts to mites that causes his skin to appear transparent. He is originally from the city of Jeb Shun and is of uncertain age. The wizard sometimes acts as your advisor and you have conferred upon him the title of Vizier with an annual stipend of five thousand gold pashas. He has a membership with the Company as a Chairman, owning one quarter of all shares. Your Excellency has granted him exclusive rights to all alchemical creation and distribution within Sanctuary and he owns a shop that sells potions and elixirs. He does not hold membership with GRAFT, and instead hoards his wealth somewhere inside the Bloody Tower. We estimate this wealth to be well over one hundred thousand gold pieces. Azax was instrumental in the rebuilding of Sanctuary after your most glorious ascension to power. The Wizard animated the bodies of those slain in the Battle of Tamtum and used them to clear the rubble, reconstruct streets, and rebuild important structures. Since the aftermath of Jabba, he has proven to be of great benefit to the city. He discovered that the local climate would support sugarcane and built the first of the plantations enriching himself and, of course, your Excellency.
It is widely known that the Mistress Jangaiva, proprietor of the Jade House and a powerful wizard herself, has a standing offer of marriage to the Flayed Wizard. Azax has repeatedly rejected this offer.
Our spies have been unable to gain access to the interior of Bloody Tower (those that have tried have suffered terrible deaths from traps and wards). However, we can make assumptions from high probability calculations based on careful surveillance and examination of supplies being brought into the tower by the Wizards undead servants. The Wizard possesses a flying Yeti Roton ship, modified with laser rifles. He employs intelligent spell casting familiars that bear his own bloody face. It is likely that within the tower are magical portals to other parts of Abbith. The Wizards agents oft times purchase Shulimites when they are available on the slave block and are known to make special request for specifically colored Shulimites. Once these slaves are brought into the tower, none are ever seen again.
#23 Assessment: Azax is a Wizard Evoker of 10th level. He has created several magical spells and possesses potent magic items. He commands at least a dozen thralls of minor power and is capable of summoning much more powerful allies. He most certainly knows the secrets to several Yiggian Rituals. Threat Level: Very High
Implacable Autocrator’s Recommendation: Azax has proven to be valuable to his Excellency and makes a potent ally. He is however a wizard and likely capable of usurping the Pasha’s exalted position. Direct assassination is unlikely to succeed. I suggest we lay a trap that involves a far flung mission taking him far away from the city. Alternately, the Mistress Jangaiva may be the key to destroying the wizard. The Thunderbots could then reduce the tower and capture the wizard’s wealth for his Excellency.
Mephisto, Guild Doctor, Llama of Magnitude
Summary
Mephisto is a human priest of Shagor of at least fifty years of age. He traveled with Azax into space, but our reports of that time indicate that he suffered a coma while there and may not recall the experience. He raised a temple to Shagor within the Company compound that is now an observatory and fashionable salon for the wealthy to receive phrenological prognostications. He was a member of the Company, but sold his shares retaining only the title Llama of Magnitude within the temple of Shagor. He receives a tithe from the temple “for research purposes” that we estimate to be around two thousand gold per annum. While still a companion of your Excellency he was initiated into the Vat Guild with the application of a synthetic rubber skin to his feet. Since that time, Mephisto has become fully encased in the rubbery armor of a Vat Guildsman.
During the reign of Jabba, the Vat Guild bunker outside Sanctuary was repeatedly assaulted by deep ones. The Guildsmen’s ancient laser weaponry held off the assault, but through the long siege several Guildsmen were slain. After your Excellency defeated Jabba, Mephisto quickly rose through the depleted ranks of the local Vat Guild and is now the “Chief Research Officer” with the title of Doctor. Unfortunately, we know very little about Mephisto’s own agenda, but we calculate with a high probability that the local Guild acts in accordance with the known principles of the worldwide organization. Spies have observed that Doctor Mephisto’s Guild sometimes takes in Shulimite test subjects. Additionally they are known to have several robots, as well as a giant flying manta creature for transport.
As I am sure you recall, shortly after the start of your Excellency’s reign you were burdened with hundreds of war orphans and the regrettable spawn of the deep ones and their unfortunate victims. At the request of Doctor Mephisto, many of them were turned over to the Vat Guild in a program you helped to fund. The Guildsmen turned the sea blood spawn into drem to feed your people during those lean years of famine at the start of your illustrious reign. The war orphans were placed in a program to create a cadre of loyal agents for your Excellency. We have not yet seen the fruits of this investment, although our informants tell us that some of these orphans have in fact been released back into the streets of your grand city.
#23’s Assessment: Mephisto is a 9th level Priest of Shagor and leader of the local Vat Guild. He is encased in armor that protects him from normal weapons. He has access to ancient technology and powerful laser weapons, as well as robots and efficient computers. The local Vat Guild is known to have a bio-pool and the capability to produce custom biological lifeforms. This is balanced by the fact that they are known to separate themselves from the affairs of state. Threat Level: Medium
Implacable Autocrator’s Recommendation: Your Excellency should demand to know what has become of his investment in the Orphanage for Special Children. If the Vat Guild failed to produce the promised agents or mislead you, then recompense should be made. I humbly suggest you request a conditioned clone as compensation.
Ibash the Lame, self proclaimed Khan of the Purple Waste
Summary
A longtime companion of your Excellency, Ibash is a warrior of Samarajan decent. His light blue skin indicates he is of the ruling Rajanya caste, but it is known that he was orphaned and raised in a Yeti monastery. After the victory over Jabba, you granted him leave to construct a fortress on the bluffs west of the city and there he dwelt with his wife and son, a bulwark against threats from the interior. As your Excellency remembers, at a feast hosted by the Company on the one year anniversary of the defeat of Jabba, the Yellow Wraith appeared in your midst. During the fray, Ibash’s wife, a Shulimite woman, was slain. After your most August Personage defeated the wraith, Ibash was stricken insane by grief and, despite your wise council, he took the body of his slain wife into the wilds of Shulim in the hopes of finding an Elf Witch to revive her. Seven years passed and all assumed he had died in the waste. Recent intelligence indicates this was not the case.
In your benevolent greatness, your Excellency opened the city to the natives of Shulim and in the past year more and more refugees have sought the shelter of your mighty arms. These Shulimite wretches brought rumors of a human warlord rampaging across Shulim. Protected by fearsome Bone-Zombie Death Commandos and riding a giant flame spitting tank this despot put native villages to the sword, forcing allegiance or delivering death. Naturally, you commanded your humble servants to investigate these rumors. As a native yellow Shulimite myself, I undertook this mission. It was no great task to find the horde ravaging the lands. Once I located the forces, I bravely and adroitly posed as a member of the host and confirmed that this human despot was in fact Ibash, now styled the Khan of the Purple Waste. I can attest that Ibash has clearly lost his mind; he carries the skull of his wife as a banner and seeks only its council. He raises the host and ravages the lands purportedly to crush the Elf Witches who have called their own tribes together at K’n-yan, the great gold temple that once housed Shub N.
Another interesting note for consideration, last Night of the Screaming Eels, another Samrajan Rajanya appeared at the fete of Sahibi Chand. After defeating the Sahibis’ prize Pehlwani warrior, he subsequently showed up at your Red Alcazar demanding an audience with Bashar Marmat and claiming to be son of Ibash. By our calculations, Ibash’s son (who is missing) should be about twelve years old, so it is unlikely this man’s claims are true. He does bear an uncanny resemblance to Ibash, however…
#23’s Assessment: Ibash is a 9th level Fighting Man-Captain, as well as a 4th Level Psionic. He carries a space weapon that changes shape. He commands the unquestionable loyalty of 100 intelligent Bone Man Zombies known as the Death Commandos. He is considered the Khan of twelve tribes of Shulimites, who can field nearly one thousand warriors. Ibash has an ancient Yeti Flame Tank that is used as a mobile command post and shock weapon. Threat Level: High
Implacable Autocrator’s Recommendation: I believe your Excellency’s forces could defeat Ibash’s horde, but it might be at the unacceptable cost of at least one Thunderbot. It is likely that they will crush themselves against the dark powers of the Elf Witches. I believe we should endeavor to make sure this does not happen. The Shulimites, if properly organized and trained, could be a powerful tool in your skilled hands, and the “Khan” has started this process. Your Excellency is the true Suzerain of Shulim, and we must find a way to bind Ibash into your service; if he can be made to bend a knee to the Pasha the world will be your oyster. If he cannot, then he should be assassinated.
Refulgent Perfection, Abbot of the Wind, Master of the Bone Temple
Summary
The Bone Man monk known as Refulgent Perfection joined forces with your Excellency after you miraculously fell back to Abbith from an exploding spacecraft. He assisted you in your noble march back to Sanctuary and proved his skill in the battle against Jabba. Claiming that he was ordained to take the Bone Man “Sutra of the Wind” to the people of Sanctuary, he established a monastery in the ruins of the old temple of Dagon. The monastery became a haven for Shulimite refugees that your benevolent rule allowed into the city. Refulgent took the title Master of the Temple and requested that, in order to feed his clergy and the refugees, your Excellency grant the temple ownership of the lands around the monastery for the growing of boonchi (a native bean rich in nutrients). In your most gracious wisdom, you agreed to the Monk’s request, on the condition that any profit made from the boonchi crop would be transferred to your own coffers. You now net around two thousand gold yearly from this crop.
The first class of monks were the brood of your former pet, the Blarka known as Skreek, as well as the sons of Ibash and your Bashar, Marmat. The pups have since passed away, but many of their own brood still study the Way of the Wind. Ibash’s son mysteriously disappeared from the monastery after a year. Marmat’s child, who now styles himself as Shimmering Wisdom, has attained a position of power within the monastic hierarchy, second only to Abbot Skrackle, a grandson of Skreek. Today, there are twenty full fledge monks, a dozen of whom are blarka, and around fifty lay clergy and novices. The temple is still a gathering place for disposed Shulimites, who come to receive aid from the monks.
Your Excellency will be pleased to know that we have long had an agent inside the Bone Temple, none other than the son of your loyal Bashar. Through this agent, we have been able to gain intelligence on the particular teachings of the “Sutra of the Wind”, the training regime of the monks, and their capabilities. I will not bore your exalted mind with the primitive religious ramblings of the Bone Men’s sutra, suffice it to know that they recognize no gods and seek violent confrontation in order to “waken the sleeper within”. They do not seem to practice violence without principle however, mostly fighting each other or undertaking pilgrimages to seek “teachers of worth” to fight. Their training is intense, consisting of extreme physical and meditative exercise. This has kept their numbers low, as only a very few can withstand the rigor. Their capabilities as fighters are impressive; they shun armor and seem to be able to move with preternatural quickness. These Bone Monks train with weaponry, particularly the bow, but they prefer to use their own bodies as weapons. We have reliable reports of Refulgent himself killing stout warriors with a single unarmed blow.
Recently Refulgent Perfection departed the temple for the interior of Shulim. Shimmering Wisdom reports that he purportedly left to seek out and fight a semi-mythical “Bohdi of the Wind” as the final step in his own enlightenment. Abbot Skrackle is now in charge of the daily affairs of the monastery.
#23 Assessments: Refulgent Perfection is a 9th Level Yin Monk. He can command a dozen 4th level monks and as many as twenty 1st level monks. He is extremely capable at infiltration and evasion. He is also in a position of considerable influence over the Shulimite population of Sanctuary, although it is unlikely that he will use this influence against the Pasha. Threat Level: Low
Implacable Autocrator’s Recommendation: We do not know if Refulgent will return from his religious quest in the wilds. In his absence, we should arrange the assassination of Abbot Skrackle so that our agent will assume control of the Bone Temple. Having a direct line of “spiritual” influence on the superstitious Shulimites could prove useful to his Excellency. If Refulgent returns, we must be extremely cautious of his intentions, but if it proves necessary, our agent has the ideal access to eliminate the Bone Man.
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