Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This chapter is a translation of all the encoded messages from the comments of Chapters 32 and 33 of The Last Will and Testament of Cazador Szarr.

In Chapter 32, the following encoded message was included in the author's notes.

hyl fvb zbyl fvb dhua av kv aopz?

pa'z uva avv shal.

pa kvlzu'a ohcl av il fvb.

Its placement implied that it was associated with Amanita Szarr, either by her or addressed to her. It is a simple shift cipher and a number of people (including somekindoffan, AnarchistRedeemed, and ryttu3k) decrpted it to show that the message was:

are you sure you want to do this?

it's not too late.

it doesn't have to be you.

Also in Chapter 32, WooReo12 commented in a reverse of the cipher:

WooReo12: iba bm uva oly, aolu dov?

translation

WooReo12: but uf not her, then who?

Someone responded to WooReo12's message, also in code:

aoha pz uva zvtlaopun hufvul ullkz av ruvd fla. aopz pz h wypchal jvuclyzhapvu. dov hyl fvb?

translation

that is not something anyone needs to know yet. this is a private conversation. who are you?

In Chapter 33, the following message was included at the end of the Author's Notes--

alzapun aopz tlaovk vm jvttbupjhapvu.

jhu fvb zll aopz? jhu fvb buklyzahuk tl?

ylzwvuk pu rpuk pm fvb jhu buklyzahuk tl.

translated:

testing this method of communication.

can you see this? can you understand me?

respond in kind if you can understand me.

This got a LOT of responses and I'm listing all of the translated conversations below. I mark AO3 commentors by their usernames. I call the person sending the encoded messages Cipher. When I interject with my own opinion I've marked myself as Abigail.

Cagan: I do like the number seven.

Cipher: I understand it is lucky in your culture. I am looking for information about an individual named Samas Kul. Can you assist me?

(Note: The cipher is an alphabetical shift by seven.)

Thiboudoux: Ooh, fun! What character is that? Maybe the little thief...

Cipher: My identity is unimportant. Because of the distinction between our alphabets, this is a secure way to discuss sensitive information that most of you will be able to decipher. I am looking for information about an individual named Samas Kul. Can you provide it?

Thiboudoux: I am so sorry mon gars, I have no idea who that is. Best of luck finding out though! Rooting for you, et tutti quanti ;)

somekindoffan: I see you! I hear you! You are not alone or ignored!

Cipher: That is saccharine and irrelevant. I am looking for information about an individual named Samas Kul. Can you provide it?

Abigail: Don't be rude to my readers.

Cipher: You should confine yourself to your sordid dramas.

Abigail: Jerk.

trisarahtopsmuffins: I believe that's the Zulkir of transmutation within the Red Wizards of Thay, is it not?

Cipher: Correct. That is the target. What information can you give me about him? Allies and known enemies would be useful. Historical behavior. Characteristic magical powers or tools.

somekindoffan: Joining the larger research thread to keep things more organised.

somekindoffan: He used to be one of the trusted allies or Szass Tam, the Lich Red Wizard of Thay, but later double crossed him, together with the first princess of Thay when Szass tried to become the sole ruler of Thay during the war of the Zulkirs. It was all a bit of a mess with some of the Zulkirs joining back up with Szass. So there's a whole bunch of allies and enemies in there if you can manage to keep them apart.

Cipher: I approve of your sense of organization.

Cipher: That is very useful. Samas Kul is now a lich himself and seems entirely beholden to Szass Tam. Context for the historical betrayal also be of use. Could you retrieve a list of the Zulkirs who rebelled?

ryttu3k: I can indeed read your missive! Alas, I have no further information on the individual you seek, save that red robes are so OBVIOUS and tacky. Really, guys, get some contrast in there!

Nerdamongnerds: I can read your message, I can understand you.

Nerdamongnerds: This chapter is very very good, if a bit shorter than I would like because I want to read so much more about these two. But don't rush your work or overburden yourself on my or anyone else's account.

Nerdamongnerds: Wait. Shit. I might not be communicating with the person I thought I was.

Nerdamongnerds: If you are a 'young' woman of a more... umbral and sanguine persuasion, please ignore the latter part of my message, as it was not intended for you, though the first part does stand.

Nerdamongnerds: If you are in fact said lady, I am a diligent researcher and can happily offer my services, especially as I have heard you are seeking information on a particularly corpulent human zulkir.

Cipher: I am not Amanita, but I am her agent. Any assistance you provide to me will also further her interests. You have identified my target so I presume you have read my other correspondence. Do you have anything to add?

Nerdamongnerds: Samas Kul, zulkir of transmutation within the Red Wizards of Thay, gaining the position after the assassination of his predecessor, Druxus Rhym, in the year thirteen seventy five, and master of the nation of Thay's guild of foreign trade.

Nerdamongnerds: Tall and fat, brilliant and ambitious, wealthy, with sarcastic cynicism. The human wore a ring of protection that bestowed a protective aura "invisible as air, but strong as steel", as well as a wand of polymorphing cast out of quicksilver. He employed twin tiefling warlocks, Tolyst and Finora, who would be his spies and act as his agents to intimidate his trade rivals in Bezantur.

Though Kul was a strong and trusted ally of Szass Tam prior to the lich's attempt to seize power in Thay, when Tam made his move and began the War of the Zulkirs, Samas Kul allied himself with the Council of Zulkirs under the leadership of the Zulkir of Illusion, Dmitra Flass, otherwise known as the Tharchioness of Eltabbar, or the "First Princess of Thay".

Cipher: That explains the flesh construct with tiefling features that accompanies him everywhere. Given its obviously reduced efficacy I presume it must have some sentimental value or be some manner of mind game imposed by Szass Tam.

Cipher: This is exceptional. I now owe you two minor favors. It would have been more, but some is redundant with information I have received from others rendering it less valuable. I will be in contact about further research and resolving my debt.

Jaceattorney: i see you. very clever

Cipher: Yes. I am.

localdisaster: Impressive work, stranger. Very clever indeed. Do you still need assistance?

Cipher: It is, isn't it? If you have information on who allied with Dmitra Flass against Szass Tam during the War of the Zulkirs, that would be of use to me.

localdisaster: My sources say that she intitally met with three Zulkirs: Yaphyll, Samas Kul, and Lallara Mediocros. But even before then, she was also working with her spymaster, Malark Springhill of Mulmaster. She sent him to gather intel after the riots in Eltabbar. It seems like after uncovering Szass Tam's current scheme that Malark was sent to the Keep of Thazar to convince the tharchions, Nymia and Milsantos to side with the council against Szass Tam as well. This subsiquently brought in Aoth Fezim, a war mage; Bareris Anskuld, an adventurer; Mirror, a paladin ghost; and a legion of griffons. Ther task was to slow the legions of Surthay and Gauros. She was also able to get the following Zulkirs: Nevron, Lauzoril, and Mythrellan, on her side shorty after the victory at the Keep of Thazar. Somewhere around thirteen-seventy-seven, Yaphyll, the Zurkir of Divination, also switched sides and became loyal to Szass Tam. This brings us to thirteen-eighty-five, Yaphyll has a change of heart, but it was too late. She was then bound to Szass Tam's service, forced to preform intense divination rituals, and was killed shortly after predicting the Spellplague. Tammith Iltazyarra, a vampire under Szass Tam, defected from him once she realized she was no longer compelled to serve him due to the onset of the Spellplague. She returned to her former lover, Bareris, and the council. She assisted them against her former master. In the same year, Malark became a double agent for Szass Tam (motivations unclear, thought it seems had something to do with the murder of Zulkir Druxus Rhym) and later killed Dmitra Flass durring the fighting at Thralgard Keep. It seems that he snatched an ruby amulet from her as well, though I do not know the implications of that.

localdisaster: It does seem that Szass Tam may have rewritten history after he begame regent to make his victory appear more decisive than it was, (as dictators are wont to do.) I would be warry about the information avalible in your world about this war. Is there any other information you seek, stranger?

Cipher: This is sufficent. It is particularly relevant for the reason you've cited--your sources are less likely to contain propaganda. I will make use of this and remember you.

Shadowrin865: ... I can understand you. But I do not know who you are. Do you want something? A specific question or answer?

Cipher: I am looking for information on Samas Kul. I understand your position may give you access to privileged information about my world.

Alkitty311: I can understand you. Hello!

Cipher: Hello. I am looking for information on who allied with Dmitra Flass against Szass Tam during the War of the Zulkirs. If you can provide that, it would be of use.

ara: understood! concerned about everyone! what is amanita up to? ascension??

Cipher: Amanita is an intelligent, principled young woman and anyone who thinks she is following in her uncle's footsteps is a fool. That is all I will say on that specific topic.

Zerodolphin8558: I can see this. I understand you. Incredibly enjoying Astarion being angry at Gale...[more commentary on the actual chapter.]

Zerodolphin8558: I see I have slightly misunderstood the context of the puzzle. Oops. May the random person (I suspect Amanita but it doesn’t sound like her so probably not) enjoy my incredibly out of context rambling.

Abigail: I'm sure he didn't mind.

Cipher: Their continued survival is pertinent to my interests. Their interpersonal drama less so.

nikkilbook: You come into my house and ask me if I can understand you, as if Gravity Falls fics weren't the whole reason I got an AO3 account in the first place

Cipher: I presume due to capitalization that Gravity Falls is some sort of inherently redundant proper noun.

RiverWye: Hmm. Is this what Yousen has been up to?

Cipher: Who I am isn't important.

Abigail: (cackles wildly and claps her hands together)

Cipher: Stop that.

Riannonkat2000: hello, I understand!

Cipher: Good. Acceptable.

TwocanToucans: Absolutely can, and may I say I love a good cipher?

Cipher: They are entertaining and useful. This one is particularly elegant because it functions as a shift cypher for you, but a key cypher for anyone on my side, since your alphabet is different from commonspeech.

I understand your position may give you access to privileged information about my world. I am looking for information about an individual named Samas Kul. Can you provide it?

TwocanToucans: That is interesting! I would love to learn more about the differences and similarities in our languages that allow for this type of communication.

Where I am has access to much knowledge. After preliminary research, I can see records of a Samas Kul who wore red clothing and was very wealthy. I also learned about the word 'unctuous', which is a delight. Unctuous. That is fun to say.

Cipher: It will be difficult to explain, but if you give me sufficient valuable information I will attempt to simplify it to the point where you will understand it.

That is imprecise, but technically accurate, you likely have the correct target. What information can you give me about him? Allies and known enemies would be useful. Historical behavior. Characteristic magical powers or tools.

TwocanToucans: The only thing that I love more than surprise cryptography is giving truthful answers to unknown persons without considering who I am speaking with or what purpose they have for asking me questions!

Give me a moment...

Ah! I can see that Mr. Kul seems to have passed in fourteen seventy-eight. I am typing out the number on letters to make it easier for whatever cipher you are using to translate.

That was quite long ago where I am, but perhaps more modern to you. Or maybe not! Founded on nothing, I like to imagine your fourteen seventy-eight was, is, or will be different from my fourteen seventy-eight.

Oh, I am also seeing that he may have had at one point a certainly unique wand of quicksilver. It was magic. The word here I'm not sure how it will translate. Multi-shaping? Plural forms. Ahh, poly-shaping? I don't see how a wand could practically be made of quicksilver though, since that material is a sort of liquid metal at most temperatures where I am. It sounds impractical to the point of being maybe non-literal? Does that help? I can keep looking.

Cipher: The date of his death is somewhat useful. He is now undead.

The wand detail is very useful. Despite your inability to clearly translate I understand what spell you mean, which is information as to his typical tactics. I presume the wand is not actually made of quicksilver as that would be stupid. It is probably an imprecise and poorly conceived metaphor of some kind.

Further information in regards to allies and known enemies would be useful. Historical behavior. Characteristic magical powers.

TwocanToucans: Undead! Now that's a code I'd like to crack! What a world you must live in!

Allies, enemies, behavior, magic powers... I took the evening to commit further research and I do think I've got something for you, mysterious entity inside my personal computing device (MEIMPCD for short - pronounced like "mime-pk'd").

I don't know what a 'zulkir' is, nor what manner of places would bear the names 'Bezantur' or 'Thay', but context clues lead me to presume some degree of governmental status in some city or nation-state. And I believe, regrettably, politics broadly look the same regardless of world. So I'm sure this Mr. Kul had many allies and enemies. I'm not a war buff by any means, but I do see that Mr. Kul allied with a Dimitra Floss... sorry, Flass, against a Szass Tam? Now that's a name I don't think I would misspell. It looks like Mr. Kul actually used to be a close and trusted ally of this Mr. Tam, but when the latter "tried to seize lone rulership" our Mr. Kul took umbrage with that and allied with Flass to "stand against Szass' armies". Armies plural? Was Mr. Tam some manner of conquering warlord perhaps? Politics, bleh.

On the topic of behaviors, it's difficult to take the measure of a man with only dry written records to draw from, but my research did use the term 'unctuous' to describe Mr. Kul, which along with the notion of his being a politician does unfortunately yield a solid image of his character. He was, by all accounts, very wealthy, unsurprisingly, as well as cynical and sarcastic, which actually is a bit surprising since sarcasm in politics is not something I would imagine to be very successful. But Mr. Kul put in effort to present himself as cultured, which is more what I would expect. Perhaps he limited his snarking to private meetings? Or perhaps it was a gimmick he used to encourage a parasocial connection with his base? Or maybe I'm on the wrong track entirely and a zulkir is not as public-facing as the type of politician I am accustomed to. It's a great word though, zulkir is. Zul-kir. Two fine syllables, and there aren't ever enough words with the letter z in them.

Finally, you are asking about magic powers. This is perhaps the subject I am least familiar with, as magic in my world has not revealed itself to me if it does still exist. In fact the only thing that would lead me to believe Mr. Kul was magical at all was the bit about the wand and the ring, which aren't inherently magical items, but again, context clues. My best guess would be at the use of the word 'transmutation' to refer to the type of work that Mr. Kul performed. In my world there were alchemists and men of science who claimed to transmute one material into another, but the field was full of charlatans and conmen. I would hardly call it magic, but maybe in your world it really is possible to turn lead into gold or brew an elixir of eternal life. Which sounds dreadful to me; who wants to live forever? Eternity is such a long time, and a person can only bear so much.

But I digress, again. This correspondence is purely textual and so you are unable to interrupt me when I go on these tangents. Still, I thank you for your patience, MEIMPCD, it's been a delight. I hope you are some manner of Sunday morning cartoon villain, and not a true agent of evil like a billionaire CEO. I hope this information is useful, and that you find a cool rock or see a nice tree today.

Cipher: Despite having to sift through your irrelevant commentary, I have derived some value from your message. And your perspective on eternity is correct. I will as promised briefly explain the premise behind the cypher I am using.

Your language and commonspeech share many symbols, but their alphabets are ordered differently. I have used the ordering of your alphabet as the key for my cypher such that anyone from my side would have to both understand that is the key and know your alphabet in order to decipher meaning, whereas you simply need to shift letters according to the alphabet you are familiar with. This gives you access to these messages, but conceals them from people who could take action against me.

In answering this question, I consider myself to have paid my debt for the information you have given me. We are even.

I did consider naming the speaker MEIMPCD, but he vetoed that.

Sunny_Crimson: I have relevant information about Dmitra Flass.

She is described as being bald with elaborate tattoos and green eyes. However providing you a physical description of the person you seek is made significantly less useful than it otherwise might be because she is also very adept at illusion magic aad therefore experienced with disguising how she appears.

He also is rumored to run a network of spies, and to not be above directly spying for herself. Overall she is a very dangerous enemy to make. Whoever you are you should be very careful with the enemies you make.

Cipher was out of contact at this point and did not respond, but I passed it along.

After about two days of the above exchanges, more cipher was added to the Author's Note at the end of the chapter. It read--

I am about to lose this avenue of communication for some time and will not respond to further messages.

I currently owe--

somekindoffan

1 minor favor

Nerdamongnerds

2 minor favors

localdisaster

3 minor favors

TwocanToucans earned 1 minor favor and immediately spent it on a question.

Your contributions have been sufficiently useful that I may attempt further contact when necessary and possible.

Chapter Text

Someone recently posted a comment about how it might have gone if Gale had chosen any of the other four available spawn in Chapter 1.

I liked that idea so much I wrote an essay in response, and I liked the essay so much I decided to post it here.

Aurelia

Aurelia is wildly competent and useful. More than anyone else, she would take on a mentorship role since she knows how vampire things work, is comfortable asserting that, and will do so in a way that Gale (and Tara) will listen to. The experience of having her as a spawn actually makes Gale considerably more evil than the default AU, because it REALLY normalizes the experience of having a spawn to the point of where he, eventually, wonders why he made such a big deal about it in the first place.

Do they fall in love? No.

Does Tara like her? Yes.

Final Confrontation: Fail

Time until Gale realizes his spawn needs clothing:
One week. It's less fear-based than Astarion, but Aurelia also doesn't expect to be given anything she doesn't earn and registers necessities being withheld as normal. She will eventually ask for practical reasons, probably because she is much more quickly sent out into the world to do things by herself.

Leon

Leon is the most likely alternate AU since Leon is the other runner and Leon is the other person Amantia was keen on Gale possibly taking entirely for Victoria's sake. While Waterdeep isn't exactly safe, Amantia does reasonably think Victoria will be safer and healthier there, particularly with two magic users to protect her.

So Gale's new vampire spawn arrives alongside a thirteen-year-old girl. Leon gets to watch his new vampire master freak the fuck out about the fact he has to take care of a child, immediately institute a panic-room-protocol where she goes in the study with Tara when adventurers arrive, and then rush out to buy groceries because there's nothing in the tower but coffee and extremely expensive catfood.

Leon falls in love with Gale a lot faster than Astarion does.

Do they fall in love? Yes.

Does Tara like him? Yes, but she likes Victoria better.

Final Confrontation: Success

Time until Gale realizes his spawn needs clothing:
Immediately. Leon arrives without a shirt.

Petras

Petras probably doesn't actually get Gale killed with his uselessness, but it's a close thing. He does know some helpful things about vampires and can hold his own in a fight, but most of his other skills just don't apply. Petras has the Aurelia effect of normalizing having spawn, intensified by the fact that Gale can tell he's not very smart and therefore has very little instinctive respect for him. Petras probably, witlessly, contributes the most to Gale's moral degradation. Even though Gale doesn't treat Petras particularly poorly, he increasingly treats Petras like less and less of a person and Petras never pushes back against that.

Do they fall in love? No.

Does Tara like him? No.

Final Confrontation: Fail

Time until Gale realizes his spawn needs clothing:
Fifteen hours. Petras is more used to having things provided for him/not understanding things and having to ask questions. The second time he meets Lord Dekarios Petras nervously asks if the wardrobe is supposed to be empty and how he's supposed to go about luring people back to the lair for his master to eat. Gale tells him to never do that and gets him a shirt.

Violet

Violet is the most interesting AU to me. Violet is similar to Astarion in a lot of ways, being smart, sharp, resourceful, funny and very emotionally raw. Gale would find her compelling in many of the ways he finds Astarion compelling. 'Horribly impressive' indeed. But she wouldn't be scared of Gale at all. Violet would launch herself out of the coffin directly into pressuring Gale to become what she thinks of as a 'normal' vampire lord. Violet would quickly figure out that curiosity is her best tool for getting Gale do to things and ask leading questions and suggest he do increasingly ruthless things to learn about Dhusarra and the strange street-spawn.

Violet would also try to seduce him. Gale would push back much more directly against being seduced and be militant about treating her as a person, which would frustrate and bewilder her. They would have a lot of increasingly direct arguments about morality and practicality and why the fuck aren't you having sex with me, I know you want to, and do I have to explain, again, why that would be morally reprehensible? Violet would be just as wildly vulnerable to Gale's gentleness and care as Astarion is. Gale would find her bewilderingly likeable.

Gale and Violet basically have a race--can he redeem her faster than she can corrupt him. Who wins depends almost entirely on whether Violet manages to recruit Tara as an ally. Tara does not like Violet, but is very vulnerable to Violet's argument: "If your wizard doesn't start acting like a real vampire, the real vampires are going to *kill* him. You are letting that happen. Are you going to let that happen?"

Do they fall in love? Yes, but how healthy it is depends on who wins the race.

Does Tara like her? No.

Final Confrontation: Depends on who wins the race.

Time until Gale realizes his spawn needs clothing:
One hour. After being deposited in her room Violet immediately leaves to explore the entire tower, finds Gale in his study, drapes herself over him (startling him), and asks him if the empty wardrobe is a mind game or he's discouraging her from wearing clothing. She is disappointed to learn that he just forgot.

Chapter Text

This chapter is a translation of all the encoded messages from the comments of Chapters 43.

Cipher: Communication window open.

I desire the following information:

The location or content of the the book: 'Necromantic Codexes, Their Enigmas'

Information on the research, current activities, or location of the man Ilyn Toth.

I will pay in kind with information. I have the following knowledge that may be relevant to your interests: detailed research on the nature and culture of vampires, extensive historical knowledge of the Szarr family and their household in Baldur's Gate, and extensive information about trap making.

RiverWye: Hello again, Yousen! Ahem, sorry, Cipher.

I believe the book Necromantic Codexes, Their Enigma is currently located in the basement of Philgrave's mansion in the Lower City of Baldur's Gate, though there is a small chance that it is in Moonrise Towers in the shadow cursed lands. For your sake I hope it is the former.

If however, by chance, you are actually interested in the Necromancy of Thay, that is located in the apothecary's cellar in a blighted village near the Emerald Grove druid encampment. There are a number of traps leading to it, but a master such as yourself should have little issue with them. To actually read it, however, you are going to have to contend with some unpleasantness deeper beneath the blighted village.

Yousen: ...fine. Yes. Hello.

I do not believe an expedition to the shadow cursed lands is currently within the scope of our resources. While that information may be accurate, it is not useful.

Philgrave's mansion. Understood. That information is pertinent and actionable. I will send it to the necessary parties. That is worth one minor favor now and two more if it proves accurate.

It is very interesting the connections that you people are capable of making. I do not need that book as urgently as I have need of the translation codexes, but I am interested in its location. Unfortunately, there are many blighted villages along the coast and this Emerald Grove is not a significant enough encampment that I have heard of it. Are there any other significant landmarks near this village? Where is it in relation to nearby cities?

RiverWye: Being near a druid grove it is unfortunately in the wilderness without many landmarks. I can tell you that it is somewhere between Baldur's Gate and Elturel along the Chionthar River, and it is near an inn called Waukeen's Rest. If that location is not known to you or findable on a map the Zhentarim could likely assist in pointing you towards it, if you have any contact with them.

Could I turn in my current favor to inquire about what you need the translation codexes for, or is that behind the scope of a minor favor?

Yousen: I know where Waukeen's Rest is. Strange. That area is well traveled, well patrolled, and relatively distant from the Fields of the Dead. I did not think there were any villages nearby that could be described as 'blighted.' However, I have been removed from the Sword Coast for months now. The landscape may have changed. The approximate location of a copy of the Necromancy of Thay may be of interest to some of my contacts. That information is worth another minor favor.

That is an appropriate exchange. I have engineered a situation wherein I have access to a number of complex necromantic texts. Part of the reason I have been given unrestricted access to these texts is because their owner does not believe I am capable of reading them safely. He is currently correct. After I secure certain excerpts from the Codexes he will no longer be correct.

RiverWye: ...I may have mistaken the timeline of events, and also forgotten a rather pertinent detail about how I learned of the location of the Necromancy of Thay. The maybe-blighted village either was formerly or is currently called Moonhaven. If the village is currently alive and thriving, then the apothecary in who's basement you can find the Necromancy of Thay is in fact Ilyn Toth.

Yousen: I have heard of Moonhaven. It was destroyed over a century ago, when the area was considerably less safe and stable. Given the ravages of time and bandits I would not have expected it to be intact to the point where it would still be recognizable as a village. However, it is convenient to my purposes that it is. That is good information and worth another minor favor.

(Author's note: *I* made a mistake. I thought Moonhaven had been destroyed in recent Absolute army activity, but it is stated in game that it was razed and Ilyn died over a century ago. I'm kind of tempted to change the timeline, because I think it would be *interesting* for Ilyn to still be around and potentially suffer the consequences of whatever you decide to reveal about him, but that would be too confusing.)

LitbySalpLight: Hello Cipher! Hope you're doing well (I also hope Abigail is doing well, since she is carrying this message).

The information you are looking for is hopefully as follows:

The book 'Necromantic Codexes, Their Enigmas' is possibly located in the Philgrave's basement, (of their mansion if the estate needs to be determined) and is a treatise on necromantic literature, such as codexes and tomes, as well as how to decipher them.

Ilyn Toth appears to have researched, at least in part, necromancy, and possibly the Necromancy of Thay, according to a librarian's note in an edition, unless that was a misdirection.

Good luck!

Yousen: Hello. Relatively speaking, I am doing exceptionally.

Your information on the Codexes confirms the information I received by RiverWye. It is good to have confirmation from multiple sources, so I will give you a minor favor for that.

I was already aware that Ilyn Toth is a necromancer, so that detail is too general to be worth a favor.

Thank you.

ryttu3k: Supposedly the one known as 'Ilyn Toth' was killed around a century ago, while hiding undercover in a town called Moonhaven, in the Western Heartlands. According to his former familiar, a... rather foulmouthed quasit named Shovel (or possibly Basket, or maybe Fork?), "Illy bit the big one! Good riddence and fuck you very much!"

Would you happen to know of the origins of the spawn kept by Cazador Szarr? Specifically, is there anything you can share of the mortal life of Astarion Ancunin?

Yousen: That fits the timeline. Pity that he's dead. They would have been more pleased by the opportunity to take him alive. However, this information about his location and the nature and identity of his familiar is very relevant and worth a minor favor.

I know a great deal about the origins of Cazador's spawn--more than they do, in some cases. Here is one minor favor's worth of information about Astarion's mortal life:

The surname Ancunin has two parts. The prefix an- is a superlative carrying the idea of "very" or "most." The rest of the name -cunin is derived from the old noun 'cunn', which is the elvish word for 'prince.' It can be literally translated as 'most princely.' This is a meaningless detail of linguistics, but one that I suspect will please you.

There are elves with the surname Ancunin currently living in Silverymoon. They have not been useful. There is one elf with the surname Ancunin currently living in Baldur's Gate. He is a zoning magistrate whose focus is resolving disputes that relate to the Public Health Act and issuing hostelry and residential licenses. I briefly considered him as a potential ally, but discarded the idea long ago. The disruptive potential was not worth the relatively minor potential use of his influence.

ryttu3k: Fascinating! Thank you for those details, and best of luck with your searching!

earlgreylavender: Hello Yousen! Wonderful to meet you. I must confess, before you confirmed your identity, I thought I was talking to a certain mirror I once met in Ilyn Toth’s basement. I’m not sure how sentient said mirror is, but they may be a useful ally/source of information. They are located in the apothecary’s cellar in the ruins of Moonhaven, along with the book “The Necromancy of Thay”.

I can confirm what the others have said about the location of the book you seek. …this may be revealing too much, but I have read that there is a note in the alley next to “Bruc and Pishe’s Emporium” that will allow you to enter Philgrave’s mansion.

While I am uncertain of your broader motives, you did say you were an agent of Amanita. And as far as I’m concerned, reducing the number of extant vampire lords that are not Amanita or Gale Dekarios is a good thing. With that in mind, I have two pieces of possibly useful information for you.

First, there is a powerful divine artifact hidden below Rosymorn Monastery, just outside the Shadow-Cursed Lands. In the right hands, it could be of great use to your or your allies. Unfortunately, the monastery is currently occupied by a Githyanki creche, which would need to be either defeated or evaded in order to recover the artifact. If you or your allies become capable of this, please inform me. Due to the nature of my world I possess detailed knowledge on the traps surrounding this artifact and how to defuse them safely.

Second, I have heard legends of a man named “Xenk Yendar” who may be a powerful ally in a fight against Szass Tam or his minions. He is a paladin who fled Thay as a child, and now wanders the Sword Coast as an adventurer. He is known to be a friend to the desperate and/or morally dubious, and I believe if you approached him in disguise or with a modicum of caution he would be sympathetic to your cause. …The only issue is, I am unsure if he exists in your world or not. If you are unable to confirm his existence through sources in your world, please treat this as a mere rumor or fairytale.

Yousen: Hello. I am not pleased to have been identified, but I anticipated it and since your community has no ability to directly influence events in my world it will likely not have any significant consequence. Understood about the potentially sentient mirror. 

Understood about the alley. I will deploy people to explore that. That information is worth one minor favor now and potentially one more depending on the efficacy of the information on the note.

Recovering and using a divine artifact stored outside of Baldur's Gate is not within the scope of our personal resources. However, we have contacts who would be very interested in that. We could trade the information for certain essential resources and you could be assured that the recipient of the artifact would employ it to remove extant vampire lords and other equivalent creatures. If you can give me detailed knowledge about the traps and the population/defenses of the Githyanki creche that would be worth a major favor.

I will pass along the name Xenk Yendar. The worth of that information will be dependent on whether he exists.

(Author's Note: ...GOODNESS me. That has the potential to change a few things happening in the background of this story.

This is not going to happen, but when you suggested they find that particular divine artifact I immediately started thinking: 'But who on earth could use it safely? They're all vampires and none of them have tadpoles.' Then I immediately had an image of Amanita carrying the The Blood of Lathander wrapped in a tarp going to find Victoria and going -- 'Hello Vicki. Would you be interested in lessons on how to wield a mace?')

earlgreylavender: Thank you for the favor.

…Upon second thought, I may have misjudged the danger involved in retrieving the artifact in question. Oh dear. Well, let me first say that stealth is highly advised when approaching/ infiltrating the Githyanki creche, and secondly that this task should probably be undertaken by a group of people with similar training and abilities to the mercenaries employed by Ranaya Anteos (though preferably not the morals). If this is not possible, an individual may attempt it, but in that case they would need to be even more powerful and stealth would be even more of a priority.
Deceiving or persuading the gith is possible, but difficult- they are very suspicious of non-gith and not inclined to help anyone who doesn’t have what they want. Magical compulsion or outright lies would be more likely to work than earnest bargaining.

Before entering the gith creche, it is necessary to retrieve the Dawnmaster’s crest from the ruins of the monastery. If you (Yousen’s contact) attempt to take the artifact without the crest, you risk setting off a powerful divine weapon that will destroy the entire monastery and almost certainly kill you and your allies. The crest is found in a room with stained glass windows depicting the former Dawnmasters of Rosymorn Monastery. To retrieve the crest, place a battleaxe on the altar of Master Vaseid, a warhammer on the altar of Master Seed, and a mace on the altar of Master Stockhold. These weapons can be found around the monastery, but it’s quicker and easier to bring them with you.

There are two entrances to the monastery, a main door and a spiral staircase that leads to the
basement. The main door is guarded by two githyanki, the staircase by none. Both entrances lead to an antechamber patrolled by 3-4 guards. To the north-east is the Captain's Quarters, which contains a magical forcefield that must be disabled in order to access the artifact. There may be anywhere from 4-8 githyanki here, depending on who’s out hunting that day. Once the forcefield is disabled, you may proceed to the Inquisitor’s Chamber.
Despite the name, you will hopefully not encounter any gith inquisitors nor kithraks here, as they have bigger problems at present. If this situation changes, exercise extreme caution. In a corridor on the left side of the Inquisitor’s Chamber are two statues of Lathander. The southern one must be turned westward and the northern one eastward. Beyond this, there is a secret chamber lined with traps that send out pulses of divine energy when activated. These can be disabled by finding and attacking their energy sources.
After disabling the traps, place the Dawnmaster’s crest into the slot on the altar, and you will receive the Blood of Lathander, a mace with powerful divine magical properties.

Yousen: This information is exceptional. You have summarized what is clearly a complicated situation into comprehensive details. You should feel pleased with what you have accomplished here.

The alley tip was useful. Xenk Yendar exists and could be useful, however his profession and history makes him a complicated contact. We are exploring avenues of engaging with him safely.

You have three minor favors and one major favor. The window open communication is closing, however I have some ability to prioritize contact with people who I owe. You have my permission and encouragement to contact me at any time in this manner.

Yousen: Communication window closed.

Final Ledger

RiverWye - 3 minor favors
LitbySalpLight - 1 minor favor
earlgreylavender - 3 minor and 1 major favor

somekindoffan - 1 minor favor
Nerdamongnerds - 2 minor favors
localdisaster - 3 minor favors

I have some ability to prioritize contact with people who I owe. The above individuals have my permission to contact me at any time in the usual manner.

Chapter Text

somekindoffan: Hi Cypher! How are you doing? I've got a minor favor to ask.

I have heard through the grapevine that you have studied the concept of clairvoyant empathy, and I'd like to learn more. I know the basic concepts on what it is and what it does, but I'm particularly curious about natural aptitude. I know lords can get better at it with practice, like with all things, but are there people who are just naturally talented at it? Or on the other hand, spawn that are naturally talented at being on the receiving end of clairvoyant empathy? Or say that, hypothetically, a vampire lord spend a lot of time strengthening their connection to a favourite spawn, and then they passed away and the spawn got a new master. Would the new lord have an easier time with the clairvoyant empathy?

I'm not sure how much information a minor favor is worth, and this is a sensitive topic, but I'm happy with whatever you can tell me!

I hope you're having a lovely night, and good luck with your necromantic research!

Yousen: I could give you a minor favor worth of information on this topic. However, if you answer the following questions I will give you a major favor worth of information:

How did you hear about clairvoyant empathy? Is it from your ability to view our world telepathicly/remotely? Who is talking about that concept and to whom? Did they identify me?

somekindoffan: I did indeed hear about clairvoyant empathy through my ability to view your world remotely. Nobody broke your trust and identified you. I was, let's call it eavesdropping, on a private conversation between the two vampire lords that have been of particular interest to all the people talking to you from our extraplanar position. The one that you know personally spoke to the one you (as far as I'm aware) haven't met about the mechanics of clairvoyant empathy, and mentioned a source who has studied this topic. And since you are studying various necromantic topics and are a known associate of said lord, I assumed that you either were the source or knew who they were talking about.

That said, these people are not aware that they are being observed by an extraplanar audience, and although we are largely harmless (since we have a lot of knowledge but don't have a way of interacting with your physical reality, except for the current method through which we are communicating) I do feel hesitant to speak in too much detail about private conversations. Especially since you have a line of communications with one of the parties involved that is (somewhat) less ethically dubious. Unless, of course, it is very important and greatly favourable that this information reaches you through extraplanar means.

Yousen: Your logic is sound, your implications are transparent, and you have confirmed that this is not a dangerous breach of secrecy. That is valuable enough that I will give you more information. I will not be providing specific identification, just as you did not. The data set I will discuss contains a single empath and seven targets (1-7).

Because the data only contains one empath it is impossible to draw conclusions about the comparative talent of the empath. It is possible to draw extensive conclusions about the relative SEV and AEV levels of the seven targets, which I have done.

'Talent' is an inappropriate and unspecific term. These are the terms I use:

Specific Emotional Volume (SEV) -- The emotional intensity a target is experiencing at a specific moment. Valued between [1 and 100].
SEV [1-10] - Dreamless sleep. Numbness. Serenity.
SEV [11-25] - Suppressed emotion. Calmness. Mild discontent. <- (Ideal range. Tenable. Maintainable. Unsuspicious. Boring.)
SEV [26-50] - Normal range of mortal emotion.
SEV [51-75] - Elevated emotion. Anger. Happiness.
SEV [76-100] - Highly elevated emotion. Panic. Ecstasy.

Ambient Emotional Volume (AEV) -- How generally 'loud' a target is, measured by how often the empath responds to their emotions as compared to other targets operating at the same SEV. Valued between [-0.5 and 0.5]

How much attention the empath pays to targets 1-7 is determined by the SEV adjusted by the AEV. Here are some excerpts of the approximated AEV levels of the seven targets from a variety of years.

1375 DR
Subject 1 - AEV 0.08
Subject 2 - AEV 0.16
Subject 3 - AEV -0.12

1402 DR
Subject 1 - AEV 0.13
Subject 2 - AEV 0.26
Subject 3 - AEV -0.22
Subject 4 - AEV 0.21
Subject 5 - AEV 0.09

1485 DR
Subject 1 - AEV 0.15
Subject 2 - AEV 0.36
Subject 3 - AEV -0.42
Subject 4 - AEV 0.22
Subject 5 - AEV -0.05
Subject 6 - AEV 0.05
Subject 7 - AEV -0.02

A number of conclusions might be extrapolated from this data. Most pertinent to your question--the AEV value is not a static quality of an individual.

I have no data on whether these scores would transfer to a new empath.

somekindoffan: This is very interesting, thank you! I can't find any pattern in the data yet at first glance, but I will look into it deeper and see what other information I can find out. Shall I report back next time you open the communication window if I find promising new theories?

Yousen: Do so. I have have additional information that I could share about extrapolations I have made, such as a period where Subject 4 almost eclipsed Subject 2's reliably high AEV, the methods by which Subject 3 managed to reduce his AEV to almost the lower theorized limit, and the identities of the seven subjects if you are unable to deduce that from context. This will of course cost favors.

You have proven sufficiently useful and reliable. If you have information you think might be of use to me, you may contact me at any time and attempt to barter.

somekindoffan: Thank you! I will use this power wisely, and spend some time reflecting on this information!