Chapter 16

The Jarl's Castle was a great monolith of tiered stone on a hill overlooking the main street of Jannathstaad. Five levels of towers and walls rose up along the hillsides, leading to a great keep at the crest of the hill. There was only one way into the Castle, a long wooden bridge that spanned the width of the gully that formed the main road into Jannathstaad from the landward side. Unlike Caer Jannath, the Jarl's Castle didn't have a private dock, as it was on the other side of the town from the docks. That was largely because the Fjord that led into the harbor had its own defenses, a pair of towers with a ship chain that could be raised between them to prevent entry.

Furthermore, the Castle was well-defended by a garrison of well-equipped and well-drilled warriors in breastplates or chainmail armor, equipped with spears, swords, and shields. As we were led into the Castle via the Bridge, passing under the first gate into the lowest courtyard, I spotted two groups of these guards waging a mock battle with blunted weapons. The discipline of their shield walls was ironclad, not something you'd normally see in a raider port like Jannathstaad, but then, these were Northmen, and we Northmen were a martial people by any stretch.

Regardless, as we were led past the drilling Guards, up through the various gates and courtyards, and into the Jarl's Castle, I couldn't help but feel that the defenses here were quite formidable. It would be a bitch and a half to take the Jarl's Castle without some major advantages. I'd imagine a sufficiently powerful spellcaster would be able to do it, as would something like a sufficiently old dragon or sufficiently powerful party of adventurers, but a normal force? Forget about it. You'd have better luck trying to command the tides. Clearly, that was the impression that our guide wanted to give. It was a power play, likely meant to warn us off trying to screw the Prince in whatever dealings we were about to have.

Speaking of our guide, he was one of the Prince's Men. A grim-faced warrior in Plus Two Chainmail with a Plus Two Keen Longsword hung off his belt, who gave his name as Erik. Erik was taciturn as he led us through all the gates and terraces before finally leading us into the keep. We entered the Great Hall, with its many banners taken from defeated enemies and raided towns displayed as trophies, and were guided to the left, up a set of stone stairs, and out onto another level of the keep. Here we were led into a small room facing the sunrise of the early dawn with racks of weapons, battered shields, looted statuary, and racks of armor on display. Once again, this seemingly served to impress the power of the Jarls onto any visitors.

"Wait here, the Prince will be with you shortly." Grunted Erik, before leaving.

"Well, I'd say they certainly know how to make an impression. Look at all these trophies, there must be a fortune's worth of weapons in here alone." I mused.

"Some of these are magic. Look at this, I'm reading basic enhancements and a keen enchantment on here." Mused Janessa, scrutinizing a sword.

"Some of these states would be worth quite a bit as well. This one's a Prism Original, you can tell by the way the jades are set for the eyes. Prism is known for blending gemstones into sculptures more or less seamlessly." Pointed out Selima.

"I wouldn't know. Surface World Art is all dead stone and cold metal. We like to use living coral under the sea." Shrugged Shavariel.

"If nothing else, it's definitely a power move." I remarked.

"I'm glad you recognized that." Came a booming voice from the doorway.

Turning, we beheld a large blonde Man with a close-cropped beard and long hair. He was wearing a circlet with ivory tusks and mithril adornments set in bronze on his head that bore a general Plus Two Enhancement to Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma, signifying his position as Prince of Tearheim. He also wore Hide Armor that had more enchantments aside from the general Plus Three Enchantment which I couldn't identify at a glance, an Amulet of Natural Armor Plus Three, a Ring of Protection Plus Three, and had a Keen Bastard Sword of Shocking Burst Plus Three slung across his back. This was Magnus Ullrsson, the Prince of Tearheim and currently, the most powerful Non-Umberlant on the Island.

I bowed slightly to the Prince, my Companions following suit, only for Magnus Ullrsson to wave off the formalities, good-naturedly.

"No, none of that. I've heard you dealt with Ironhand Rognvaldr and his crew. If you have that sort of power, then there's no need to stand on ceremony with me." Insisted Magnus Ullrsson.

"Thank you, Prince Magnus." I nodded.

"So, tell me. Did you find anything interesting on Rognvaldr's Ship?" Questioned Magnus Ullrsson with a knowing grin.

"We did. We buried the cargo he was carrying, though his logbooks speak of a massive conspiracy afoot on Cadfael Island. The Umberlants are clearly not willing to stay confined to their new Island. I believe they wish to spread through the whole archipelago." I responded.

"And do the rest of you also feel this way?" Queried Magnus Ullrsson.

"I was there during the takeover of Caer Jannath. The Umberlants brought pirates to sack the town. Those sorts of people will never be happy with what they have." Added Janessa.

"Yes, the Skaug Corsairs, apparently. You were lucky to escape and not to end up taken to a slave auction in the Nelanther Isles." Concurred Selima.

"I will not be made a slave again, no matter if it is decreed by a goddess." Scowled Lady Shavariel.

"Well said! I must confess to having misgivings of my own. Unfortunately, my father favors the Church of Umberlee. I fear the Wavemistress of the Temple he allowed built by the harbor has seduced him." Admitted Magnus Ullrsson.

"How so?" I asked.

"How else? Priestesses of Umberlee are not called on to be celibate, after all." Shrugged Magnus Ullrsson.

"That seems a dirty trick to gather power. You wouldn't see Deneir commanding people to do that." Frowned Selima.

"Dirty or not, it's happened. Now we need to figure out a way to fix it." Insisted Janessa.

"Can you not simply call out this Priestess in court?" Questioned Shavariel.

"It's not that simple. My father's court has many who would see that as a cheap power grab. Maybe too many. I would need proof of the Umberlant Conspiracy to stand a chance at rallying the Court against the Umberlants. Pirates are one thing, My Father was already preparing to face the Skaug Corsairs, but if they're acting under the direction of the Church of Umberlee, that's a whole different kettle of fish." Sighed Magnus Ullrsson.

"We could give you Rognvaldr's Logbooks if that will help?" I offered.

"Yeah, that should help, shouldn't it?" Queried Janessa.

"It would be a good start, but I'm afraid it wouldn't be enough. Wavemistress Aud would simply wave it off as an independent actor or possibly a Zhentarim trick to blame the Church for their own wrongdoings." Refuted Magnus Ullrsson.

"That would be believable from the Zhentarim." Mused Selima.

"So what would be sufficient proof?" Asked Shavariel.

"Any truly incriminating proof would be held in the Temple down by the docks. You would have to be very sneaky, very strong, very lucky, or preferably, some combination of the three to get your hands on it. Failing that, catching Wavemistress Aud in the act of treason would be your only other recourse." Informed Magnus Ullrsson.

"We might be able to do either of those." I intoned.

"Whichever attempt you choose, you should choose in the next tenday or so. My Father is away currently, scouting for the Skaug Corsairs with part of the fleet. He should return in one tenday's time and if we want to have the best chance of succeeding, we will need to catch him just as he's returning, before Wavemistress Aud has time to crawl into his bed and remind him of her charms." Warned Magnus Ullrsson.

That was news to me. The Tenday had already begun yesterday, which meant we had at most eight days before we would have to return to Magnus Ullrsson with proof. That was going to limit the amount of money we could get by selling off the loot we still had from Rognvaldr if we wanted to be able to pull this off in time. It was nothing we couldn't handle, though and I said so to Magnus Ullrsson with confidence.

"Understood. We'll return before the tenday is out with proof." I nodded.

"I have few doubts that you will. A group as powerful as yours should be able to think of something, after all." Grinned Magnus Ullrsson.

And with that, the Prince of Tearheim turned on his heel and strode out of the trophy room. Erik returned shortly afterward to escort us out of the Jarl's Castle and we soon found our way back to the Hammerdown to talk about how we planned to go about this. Essentially, we had two options, either sneak into or attack the Temple of Umberlee, or try and effectively stalk Wavemistress Aud to see if we could catch her in the middle of some sort of treachery.

"I mislike the idea of attacking a temple, but it is Umberlee." Frowned Selima.

"Oh yeah, I didn't think to ask how you might feel about that, given your own vows." Remarked Janessa.

"Umberlee is no friend to Deneir." I remarked.

"Umberlee doesn't have friends period." Snorted Shavariel.

"True. I have fewer objections than would be usual to that plan. I would be wary, however. Attacking temples carries certain risks of being cursed or worse." Insisted Selima.

"Well, the alternative is to tail Wavemistress Aud and see if we can't catch her red-handed." Shrugged Janessa.

"That seems like it would rely too much on the whims of fortune." Grumbled Shavariel.

"The Winds of Fortune might not be as fickle as you'd think." I pointed out, gesturing to my cloak pin worked in the shape of Tymora's Coin.

"You may have Tymora's favor now, but I don't think it wise to rely on that." Cautioned Selima.

"So then, we're back to attacking or sneaking into the temple." Mused Janessa.

"We can do both." I reminded.

"How do you mean?" Questioned Shavariel.

"Why don't we try sneaking in and if we get caught, fight our way through?" I reiterated.

"Both plans at once?" Queried Janessa.

"Why not?" I asked.

"It seems as good an idea as any." Shrugged Shavariel.

"Indeed. Besides, Janessa can cast the Spell of Invisibility on us all to begin with." Concurred Selima.

"That's going to severely limit the number of Second Circle Spells I can cast in a pinch." Warned Janessa.

"It should be fine, Janessa. It gives us our best shot of sneaking in." I insisted.

A round of affirmations went around the cabin. That, it seemed, was our plan. As soon as we managed to sell off some of this excess gear we looted from Ironhand Rognvaldr and his crew, we'd attempt to infiltrate the temple. That selling took us around six days and we only managed to get around four thousand Danter for the whole lot due to the time crunch we were under, splitting it equally with each of us getting a thousand Danter. However, by the seventh day of the Tenday, we were prepared to try to infiltrate the Temple of Umberlee.

Hopefully, we could sneak in under cover of invisibility and get out before anyone spotted us. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the meeting with Prince Magnus Ullrsson of Tearheim. It turns out that there's intrigue going on in the Jarl's Court at Jannathstaad and Prince Magnus' Father is being effectively played like a fiddle by Wavemistress Aud of the Temple of Umberlee. It doesn't help that she's hot and using that to her advantage here, but Jarl Finehair never heard the warning against sticking your dick in crazy, since that doesn't seem to be a thing in Faerun.

Now Robar and Company need to sneak into the Temple of Umberlee and retrieve ironclad proof of the Umberlant Conspiracy in the Isles so that Magnus Ullrsson can do his thing at court and get his father to abandon the Church of Umberlee in preparation for striking back at the Conspirators.

That operation is coming up next chapter.

Stay tuned. . .