Sinistral Manus by Matt Lichtenwalner
Written by John Payne
Illustrated by Matt Lichtenwalner
When you act in charity, do not let the right hand know the left.
Background
The Sinistral Manus is fiercely devoted to the members of House Lithos, especially the royal family. This group is led by a man that has been devoted to Rykos and his children for hundreds of years. He witnessed the events of Rykos’ grandfather and saw what the Furum had done. The Furum almost wiped out house Lithos and half the kingdom along with it. He also was party to the cowardly deal the preists made with the god of House Lithos.
Knowing that the deity has brought back the Book of Unbidden Rituals, the founder has vowed that the threat will be eliminated without making deals. The Furum will be destroyed. The Book will be destroyed. There will be vengeance against the God of House Lithos. He will be exposed as a fraud, a coward, and a petty trickster.
Kemuel has vowed that he will not allow House Lithos to be dishonored again. After protecting Immeril for a few years, he has learned that expedient means will create collateral damage. Sometimes, he believes, the innocent cannot be saved. They can be sacrificed to uphold the honor of House Lithos.
Kemuel has made contact with the newer cult of Magherbryn spreading throughout the Elven kingdom. Seeing the possibilities of the ancient priest supporting his cause, Magherbyn has sent a messenger to help Kemuel in whatever way she can. Going by the name of The Emissary, she describes herself as a person that is able to get things. With the help of Magherbyn, a minor god, she has access to the underworld and the dwelling place of the gods.
The Emissary has promised the help of creatures that are equal to the Furum creatures appearing now and the more powerful Furum yet to appear. Kemuel has not taken advantage of this offer yet. Using the forces of the Emissary would reveal his new allegiance to Magherbryn and prevent him from effective protecting Immeril. Kemuel, however, realizes that time is running out for Immeril and that the Furum and the Book must soon be destroyed.
The Emissary has also alluded to the possibility of a cure for Immeril. Kemuel doesn’t trust this insinuation and as such, still resorts to other means to find a cure. These ‘other means’ include the use of disposable thugs and reprobates to harvest a number of items that require a certain moral ambivalence to get. Kemuel has searched for traditional cures for over two centuries now – he knows that he has to think more like a human to have a chance of saving Immeril.
Mission
As events unfold, the objectives of the Sinistral Manus change. The continued presence of the Furum and The Book of Unbidden Rituals will require Kemuel to make painful decisions he has otherwise attempted to avoid. He understands that it is only a matter of time before more powerful Furum emerge and the magic of the book will consume Immeril.
One of the primary purposes is to prevent anyone from discovering Immeril’s secret. In the short term, Kemuel is still able to offer bribes and avoid violence to protect the prince. The other objective include destroying the Furum and the Book of Unbidden Rituals. To that end, he has enlisted the help of a minor god and his messenger. Kemuel hopes to destroy the book without involving Immeril’s personal guard, the Visha.
In the end, the overarching mission is to save House Lithos. When the Furum get out of control, or Immeril’s secret is threatened, Kemuel will resort to the unthinkable to protect House Lithos. He has already sworn vengeance on the deity he has served for almost a millennium. He will, if necessary, sacrifice Immeril outright.
Structure
The Sinistral Manus is a name invented by Kemuel for associates that are not connected with the Dextral Manus. Kemuel never hires the same person(s) to work for both organizations.
At any given time, there may only be two members, Kemuel and The Emissary. At other times, there may be upwards of one hundred. Members are recruited in an ad hoc manner, usually with the goal of acquiring certain items believed to have powerful curative properties. Only Kemuel and the Emissary direct the groups’ activities, each directs any number of individuals at a given time. The only exceptions to this practice are three or four groups of professional, yet amoral adventurers scattered throughout the kingdom that have done more than a few jobs for Kemuel.
However, neither the Emissary nor Kemuel have any qualms in recruiting members, even other elves, to be test subjects. Kemuel has tested certain ‘cures’ on unsuspecting victims. The Emissary has hired a group of adventurers just to watch it be slaughtered.
Benefits/Drawbacks
If someone has been contacted by Kemuel or the Emissary to perform a job, that someone is considered expendable. There is no loyalty or protection offered to those hired into Sinistral Manus. The best case scenario is to do the job well enough to be hired again for another job.
Adventure Hooks
- The Emissary approaches one of the elven PCs. He attempts to convert the elf to the cult. If the elf converts or plays along, the Emissary asks the new elf to prove their devotion to Magherbryn by performing an act of service.
- An agent of Kemuel approaches the party and asks if they want to search for some hard-to-get items for an ancient wizard.
- The Emissary befriends various members of the party, pledging a rendezvous later that night. When the party arrives, they encounter horrific creatures that are bent on destroying them.
If the GM decides to use a side quest for a future adventure, the items Kemuel seeks include but are not limited to: the blood of a unicorn, the heart of a good dragon, the search for an artifact located in the underworld, or the sap from the Tree of Life (or similar curative artifact).
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Sinistral 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.
