Dextral Manus by Matt Lichtenwalner
Written by John Payne
Illustrated by Matt Lichtenwalner
Edited by Jonathan Jacobs
The sins of a father are visited upon all his generations.
Background
Kemuel has served in House Lithos for hundreds of years, and he thought he’d never see a Fel Rose again. Two of the three known texts used to summon the foul vine were destroyed long ago. The last was translated into a tongue known only to Kemuel and the god he serves. At the time, the two entered into a friendly pact to protect House Lithos.
The gods, however, are not keen to keep secrets or promises. Like any other creature that loves to talk, a god can only be trusted for so long.
Kemuel was, like many others, overjoyed at Immeril’s resurgent health. He believed that his potions and treatments were what had kept Immeril alive for as long as they did. However, it wasn’t until he traveled with Immeril that he discovered the prince’s secret. One night while traveling in town, he found the body of the town’s mayor in a back alley. Kemuel recoiled at the discovery, but the signs were unmistakable: the rigid, pale look of man drained of all his life’s vigor. The body had all the signs of the Rose. Kemuel knew that the last person seen with the mayor was Immeril, who also had looked sickly earlier in the day. His late day resurgence of vitality suggested no there was no other answer.
Kemuel had seen the allure of the Fel Rose before in Rykos’ grandfather. The Furum overcame the frail king while Rykos and Caquel were still in their first century of life. It took the priests decades to find all the Furum spirits and contain them once again. It had been hoped that after the last spirit was sealed, that they would never be seen again. The existence of the Fel Rose soon became a closely guarded secret and faded into legend.
Once Kemuel put all the pieces together, he sought an audience with Rykos. The course of action was clear – Immeril would have to be exorcised. The exorcism might kill him and it would certainly bring the return of the wasting disease if Immeril survived. Although highly revered, Rykos would not listen to Kemuel. Instead of rewarding the loyal priest for a timely warning, Rykos’ placed a virtual death order on his head, ordering that should Kemuel accuse Immeril of a capital crime, he would be stripped of his title and banished into the Outer Fringe.
Mission
Kemuel has assembled the priesthood again to deal with the Fel Rose. He hopes to save Immeril and prevent him from suffering his great-grandfather’s fate. Armed with ancient magicks to fight the Furum and mystic objects to divine the future, Kemuel seeks to keep Immeril alive long enough to destroy the Furum and undo the curse of the Fel Rose. Time is short, even in humans terms. It will not be long before the spirits overcome the prince, making exorcism impossible. At that point, the only solution is death.
He travels with Immeril as one of his attendants in order to keep a close watch on him. When the prince needs to find another victim, Kemuel uses his magicks to find suitable victims that will not be missed. If someone begins to suspect that Immeril is behind a victim’s death, Kemuel and his network of associates use any and all means short of violence to cover the evidence and assuage the victim’s families.
Kemuel also uses various artifacts to peer into the future. Through investigating what is yet to happen, he hopes to find the best possible course of action that causes the least harm. After many audiences with Immeril and providing choice advice so often, Immeril dubbed the priest, Dextral Manus, his good right hand.
Structure
Kemuel, the high priest directs the loose association of priests, courtesans, and a handful of Visha. Only Kemuel knows that Immeril is using the Ritual of the Fel Rose. At a base level, all members know that a malignant force exists that must be destroyed. However, very few know about the needs for live victims and only Kemuel himself knows that Immeril is involved.
Generally, Kemuel directs various members to perform certain tasks: track a person’s movements, research an old magick, engage in small commerce, etc. Other leaders are set up on an as needed basis. As the curse of the Fel Rose grows more powerful, the organization will increase in size and specific direction. Recently, Kemuel has even provided arcane knowledge to select Visha to fight and contain the dreaded Furum spirits.
Benefits/Drawbacks
Kemuel is noted for a dour proverb he repeats a bit too often: “Fathers and old men exist to mitigate the folly of children.” The drawback to being Kemuel is knowing the truth and being very limited to act upon it. Others in the group may deal with a guilty conscience for setting up the murder of innocent victims.
Another drawback is the suspicion of the Visha. The Visha generally act as one. Having Visha get too close to others, even a respected adviser like Kemuel, is seen as an act of disloyalty to the Visha commanders.
The only benefit to Kemuel is the belief that the Fel Rose will not work on him. Kemuel survived the ritual when it was performed on him, though he does not know why.
Adventure Hooks
- One of Immeril’s attendants secretly approaches the PCs and asks if they can perform a certain duty for the proud House of Lithos. If they agree, the PCs will be directed to follow a local townsperson that Immeril has recently befriended.
- One of the Visha question the PCs about suspicious activities. They will be accused of spying on the Visha and plotting against Immeril himself. Once brought before Immeril, he will befriend the heroes and apologize for the misunderstanding – only then to request the party carry out a specific mission, lest he change his mind.
- A Furum spirit is loose and while fighting it, a priest will come to the PCs aid and effectively seal the spirit in a book. Talking with the priest afterwards, the PCs will learn of another Furum spirit that is being tracked and cornered into combat. Invitied along, the priest will provide details of the groups, including information about Kemuel.
Join the forum discussion on this post
Dextral Manus by Nevermet Press is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.nevermetpress.com/contact.
