Differences

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 ====== The Pope Cycle ======
+//Presented here is the "Pope Plot" in all its overly long glory//\\
 ==== Brother Ambrose is Sent on a Quest by her Holiness ====
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 On you arrival back in the Holy Land you pass the cross to the papal emissary sent by the Holy See. He thanks you profusely and assures you that your order will revive much favour from the Pope for your service. He reminds you to be discrete about anything that occurred.
+==== Ambrose reads the Black Bible ====
+Your research into the laughing knights goes slow. At first you can find no explanation for their existence but as you trawl through reports and documents you discover that the city of Ma'arrat al-Numan has been a cursed place for some time. There have been many reports of missing caravans, missionaries and even whole regiments of soldiers in the desert around that dead city. You begin to suspect that the laughing knights with their unearthly strength and terrible purpose must have been responsible for these disappearances. The history of the city itself  is easy to investigate and as you trawl through the library of Jerusalem you discover one particularly interesting passage in a book recounting the events of the 1st crusade:\\
+//“The siege of Ma'arrat al-Numan went poorly for the crusaders. They had taken half the city and had even converted the great central mosque into a Christian shrine but they could not break the defences of the northern portion of the city. Worse, the heathen host had cut off their western supply routes and the noble knights of the Order of the Faith and Peace were gradually starving. With their supply routes cut off and no sign of reinforcements the knights became desperate and they turned their anger on their Arab prisoners. The outcome of the siege is lost to history but we hear terrible rumours of it; reports of rape, torture and cannibalism abound. The Arabs have never forgiven the Christians for those atrocities and we may never know the truth of them for the city of Ma'arrat al-Numan fell to the Arabs, who broke the siege, though they promptly abandoned it claiming it was cursed by God himself. No Christian has journeyed to the city for a century”//\\
+Your researches into the bible are harder going. If the name in the cover is correct then it was owned by the preceptor of the Military Order that besieged the city; Lady Isabella of Barbara. The bible itself is a stinking mess. Many pages are missing and some seem to be soaked in dried bodily fluids. Over almost every page is the same spidery writing. Often it appears nonsensical; a mixture of corrupted religious rambling and ravings about darkness and demons. At first you think that you will be able to discern nothing from the text but as you study it more closely you see that in some places it is a journal of sorts and you are able to make some sense of a few of the entries.\\
+//“...Cut off. Food running low. Men nervous and weakening...we cannot break the walls...Arabs have us trapped...”//\\
+//“...No food now. The prisoners have begun to die. The Lord have mercy on us.”//\\
+//“...Found a crypt beneath the mosque...used remaining strength to move the great door...found a Cross, here in this city of heathens...beautiful...”//\\
+//“...Have prayed on it. I see now. The flesh will sustain us...The Lord has provided in his mercy...”//\\
+//“...I feel myself full of righteous strength...invigorated...we must find more flesh to transubstantiate...the hunger burns...pray...pray...pray for my soul...I hear the voice in prayer...feed”//\\
+At this stage it is clear that the writer has descended into complete madness and the final entries seem to be covered in dried tears and blood. The pages after this become full of insane ranting and are littered with strange symbols that are from no language that you have seen or heard of, you suspect some of them are written in blood. \\
 ==== The Antipope Steals Papal Gold ====
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 You leave hurriedly thanking god for your spiffy new Papal mitre.
-==== The Secrets of her Holiness====
+==== The Cursed City of Ma'arrat is Cleansed ====
+===The Legacy of the First Crusade===
+The last oasis before the city of Ma'arrat al-Numan is the meeting place for all those who have joined together to crush the menace of the laughing knights once and for all. Three great forces have been assembled by Siddig al Naziah, Pavel Korovic and Al-Afdal ibn Salah ad-Din; Siddig his Baghdad Bedouin, Korovic his mercenary knights and Al-Afdal his warriors from Damascus. Joining them are Zafir and Rasha al Naziah, the warriors of tribe Al-Naziah and Princess Petra the famed relic hunter. Looking nervous and keeping quite at the back is the monk Brother Ambrose.\\
+The man Jacob has also joined the group, for he has learned of the terrible history of the laughing knights of Ma'arrat al-Numan, and together with the lore that Brother Ambrose has assembled the two are able to understand the origin of the fell warriors: \\
+During the 1st crusade the Christian Order of Faith and Peace ventured deep into Muslim lands and attempted to besiege the city. Once they held the mosque at the centre of the city the crusaders themselves became surrounded by the Muslim armies. During the counter siege the Preceptor of the Order, Lady Isabella of Barbara, appears to have discovered an ancient shrine deep beneath the city's mosque and within that shrine a relic; the Cross of St. Guglielma of Bohemia. The events that transpired after that are unclear and the histories indicate that either the Muslim or Christian forces were wiped out and the once the massacre was over the great city of Ma'arrat al-Numan was abandoned to the the desert. It is clear that what remains of the Order of Faith and Peace now survive as the monstrous laughing knights and have been sustained for a century by the human flesh that have taken from the caravans and travellers that pass too close to the dread city.\\
+All present agree that these demonic Knights must be wiped out before they can harm more innocent people. At the Oasis the group concoct a plan of attack to ensure that every last one of the laughing knights is destroyed. It is Pavel who steps forward with a strategy to move through the city and systematically eradicate the threat.\\
+Pavel's plan is rather confusing and it takes quite allot of hand waving and complicated scribbling on an old map of the city. Eventually you feel that you have got the gist of it but the timing and coordination involved are precise and you're not sure that you quite grasp the details. Still time is moving quickly and the journey to the city will be long and arduous there is no more time to argue over plans.\\
+===Glory of the Celestial Host===
+From the Oasis it takes four days to reach the summit of the hills that sit to the north of the cursed city and as dusk falls the great host spy the city upon the horizon, the falling sun beginning to touch the silhouettes of the broken towers and crumbled buildings.\\
+//"Do we assault the city by night or risk camping here?"// asks Jacob.\\
+//"If we sleep those cursed knights may be able to catch us unawares as we rest, our best chance is to destroy them before the sun sets"// replies Pavel cautiously eyeing the cover provided by the boulders that litter the landscape around them.\\
+//"We have only hours until dark, can it be done in that time?"// comes Ambrose's voice.\\
+Rasha rolls her eyes //"You forget, we have the support of the 'Angels'"//\\
+//"We must move on the city with all haste, these infidel demons must not be allowed exist a moment more then they have!"// Al-Afdal's voice is firm and he looks with anger toward the city before them.\\
+Ambrose looks faintly embarrassed. //"I will call upon the Host then, let us cleanse this cursed place once and for all."// He kneels on the ground and softly begins to pray.\\
+Above them the sky is darkened as clouds begin to congeal in the dry desert air, around them a great wind arises and beneath them the ground begins to tremble slightly. The clouds become raging thunderheads and deep within them the crackle of lightning can be heard. Brother Ambrose raises his eyes and sighs as, from the centre of the roiling vortex, a golden shaft of sunlight strikes down onto the ground before the party. The sounds of trumpets and melodious harps can be heard as a choir of white robed angels emerge from the great light in sky, their voices rise in unison and they begin a melodic chant of Alleujahs.\\
+//"Well there goes our surprise attack"// mutters Siddig.\\
+The sound of the celestial chorus rises to a deafening crescendo and as it does the shaft of light becomes a blinding, searing white and from the clouds emerges the angel Ophanim. His appearance is rather more impressive since his last grand entrance; he is larger now and wears a magnificent golden cuirass , his silver wings gleam with an unearthly radiance and atop his head is a halo of white fire. Hands on hips and with his wings spread wide he begins to descend through the beam.  As he does his mighty voice booms out;\\
+"BEHOLD INFINITESIMAL MORTALS FOR THE ARCHANGEL OPHANIM IS UPON YOU. I AM THE LORD OF THE HOST INVISIBLE, SENTINEL OF THE THRONE OF CREATION, GUARDIAN OF THE CELESTIAL GATES, WARDEN..."
+//"Yes, Yes, we've heard it all before"// cries Rasha into the sky. Ophanim stops abruptly and he looks briefly annoyed then he pulls himself together and continues his descent;\\
+"I AM THE SWORD OF JUSTICE, THE BURNING FIRE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, I AM..."\\
+//"You're not fooling anyone with all this you know."// Shouts Rasha, interrupting the entrance once more.\\
+//"And your choir's lips aren't even moving in time with the music."// points out Jacob, with an extremely skeptical look on his face.\\
+Ophanim glances up at the angelic chorus who look faintly embarrassed and pretend they can't see his frown. He continues;\\
+"BE THAT AS IT MAY...I AM THE PURIFYING FLAME...."
+//"Could you at least hurry up, we've got a city to besiege."// Calls Zafir\\
+Ophanim looks crest fallen and for a moment it seems as if the shaft of light may wink out. Ambrose turns to the group and whispers;\\
+//"Don't upset him, he seems to take it very personally if you question his angelic nature."// He raises his head and shouts into the maelstrom //"Oh wise and mighty Ophanim, we must hurry lest this city of abominations escape the justice of the Lord."//\\
+The angel's face brightens and with a flap of the shimmering wings he alights before brother Ambrose with a bow;
+"BUT OF COURSE PIOUS BROTHER. LET US BRING THE WRATH OF THE LORD DOWN UPON THEM WITH ALL HASTE"
+//"Finally"// mutters Pavel as the Choir of Angels retreats into the dissipating clouds high above, one of them seems to scratching its rear.
+//"Well he knows how to make an entrance, I'll give him that."// says Al-Afdal his voice dripping with sarcasm.\\
+With the Archangel flying above them the armies descend the pass towards the city of Ma'arrat al-Numan. About a mile from the fallen walls of the city the three armies divided into their separate strike forces. With waves and mutual blessings of good luck the forces move to surround the city at three sides while Jacob, Ambrose, Rasha, Zafir and Petra move into the centre of the city via the great central boulevard.\\
+===Black Humour===
+Much like during Ambrose's previous foray into the city the place is apparently deserted. The orange light of the setting sun reveals no demons hiding in the shadows and even the light emitted by Ophanim fails to illuminate any ambush in the dark alleyways and abandoned shop fronts that they pass. As they venture further into the city the shadows lengthen and the fell aura of the place begins to weigh heavily on them. Finally they approach the great market square of the city in the centre of which stands the ruined mosque, the minaret has been partially destroyed and from the remains of its summit flies a banner on which is a silver heart pierced by a red sword, beneath the shield are the words “QUID ITA SERIUS”.\\
+Like the rest of the city the square is empty and devoid of any sign life, the buildings bordering it ruined and bleached by the sun.\\
+//"Where are they?"// mutters Zafir.\\
+The sun is little more than a line of fire on the horizon now and the square is rapidly falling into night. The group spreads out and cautiously searches the buildings surrounding the square while Ophanim rises into sky above to observe the entire city. It is Petra who pushes open the door of the Mosque and ventures into the cool darkness within. She edges cautious into the vast central prayer hall and comes upon the macabre detritus left behind by the knights; human skulls, rotting arms and bloody pelvic bones litter the floor of the place, most of them picked clean of flesh. The stench is atrocious but she ventures on towards the huge altar that has been erected at the far end of the hall. It is covered in blood and seems to have been desecrated since Ambrose was last in the place. Of more interest to Petra however is the sack by the altar's side, it too is covered in blood but within she can see the gleam of gold. She hurries over to the altar and grabs the bag. As she does so, someone laughs.\\
+Outside in the city another laugh echoes across the rooftops, reverberating in the passageways and arches that surround the square. The group look around and high above Ophanim turns to the source of the maniacal laughter. As Petra rushes from the mosque, from within which peals of hellish cackling are now pouring, a second laugh joins the first outside and then a third and then more and more until the night air is saturated with the terrible sound.\\
+"THEY HAVE ENCIRCLED YOU TINY FRAIL MORTALS" roars Ophanim from high above. "GUARD YOURSELVES"
+//"Something’s gone wrong"// cries Zafir as he draws his blade, //"The armies must be driving them towards us, we'll be trapped here by the fool Korovic!"//\\
+Around them the insane chorus of laughter are growing in volume and intensity and it sounds as if an army of Hyenas is descending on the square. The mad harmony rolls around the marketplace, the laughs merging and interfering until they party feel as if they are trapped within a reverberating cage of the approaching insanity. At first they see no movement anywhere in the square but then with a cry of alarm Rasha points. Atop the roof of a high house stands a figure; Its chainmail is rusted and torn, it’s links filled with dirt and dried blood; on it chest is a ragged tabard, the vestiges of a white cross still visible but now mired in filth and gore;  In its hand it carries a great sword, its blade nicked and dull but still, no doubt, deadly.  As it moves it drags the blade's tip along behind it and all the while it laughs; emotionless, discordant and continuous. With an inhuman leap the laughing knight jumps from the roof and lands with cat like grace on the ground below.\\
+//“What the hell are these things?”// Asks Rasha as she too draws her knife.\\
+//“The consumption of flesh has changed them”// replies Jacob //“They’ve lived for over a century sustained by it, who knows how strong or resilient it makes them. Let us hope they can still die.”//\\
+All the around the great square the knights are emerging now. From over the rooftops and from alleyways they come. Their faces are emaciated, stained with blood and everyone one of them is contorted with the fell humour that animates them.\\
+//“There are so many of them...”// says Ambrose softly as he crosses himself //“So many souls damned by this terrible place.”//\\
+//“I fear only death can free them from the terrible sin that has ensnared them”// replies Jacob resolutely as he also draws his gleaming blade.\\
+The hoard of Knights moves in, some with weapons and some with only their blood stained fingers quivering before them. The entire party are now drawn into a small knot before the doors of the mosque, which they slam close to guard their rear.\\
+//“Just how strong are these thi...”// asks Petra as the first knight charges the laughter never stopping.\\
+The speed of the maniac thing is impossible and Zafir barely has it chance to raise his blade before the Knight crashes into him. Its strength is prodigious and Zafir cries out as the thing attempt to wrench the blade from his hands but with a twist he breaks free and with a great sweep of his blade severs the thing's head.\\
+The eyes of the other laughing knights do not seem to even register the death of their comrade but as he falls they tense and begin to move. As they urge forward from above comes the battle cry of the Archangel;\\
+“FOR GREAT JUSTICE!”\\
+In his right hand appears a burning sword of Dawn, fire dripping from the radiant blade and in his left a golden spear wreathed in celestial light. As the Knight closest to the party leaps the angel slashes through the air with the great blade and from its tip a wave of fire roars. As the great arc of flame touches the Knight at the apex of its jump the thing is utterly consumed before the inferno slams into the Knights behind it.\\
+At that moment from the great thoroughfares at the east and west sides of the square the forces of Al Afdal, Pavel and Siddig emerge pushing more of the chuckling monsters before them.\\
+===Battle Before the Mosque===
+There is chaos in the great square of Ma'arrat al-Numan. The three armed forces have driven the Knights into the square, there to trap them. However in its centre, by the great doors of the cursed Mosque, are trapped Rasha, Zafir, Jacob, Ambrose and Petra. Petra, Jacob and Zafir have created a whirling ring of steal about the group and any Knight that enters is cut down. Rasha darts in between the arms of the stronger fighters cutting at the ankles and eyes of the knights if they get too close, though the things seem to shrug off the injures with little effect. Meanwhile Ambrose has his eyes tightly closed in prayer as he leans on the mosque’s door while above him the shining form of Ophanim rains destruction down upon the laughing monsters as golden fire strikes from the point of his spear even as the knights are burned to nothingness by the scythes of flame pouring from his sword.\\
+The combined forces of Al-Afdal, Pavel and Siddig strike into the rear of the Knights, greatly outnumbering the cursed warriors. However the strength of the Knights is monstrous; they seem to easily tear limbs from torsos, picking men up bodily as they do so; their punches crush armour as if it were parchment and when they strike with their blades men scream as their bodies are hacked into bloody chunks by the dull weapons.\\
+At the head of his warriors Al-Afdal is torn from his mount as one of the Knights rips the throat of the beast out. With a cry he rolls to the ground even as the Knight turns its crazed emotionless gaze on him. In an instant however the son of Saladin has righted himself and he drives his blade into the creatures skull with a furious strike. The thing quivers, gurgling laughter still pouring from its open mouth, and it reaches out toward Al-Afdal with its bloody hands. With wrench the warrior pulls his sword free and the Knight's head ruptures. The laughter stops and the thing falls dead.  \\
+Pavel is having a hard time of it as well; his mercenaries are holding back the line of Knights, keeping them within the square, but some of the fiends are leaping past the front lines landing behind his men and tearing them apart from the rear. Raising his blade and with a great battle cry Pavel rallies the men around him and engages the enemies that have got behind the lines. The General is fearsome in battle and he cleaves through the Knights left and right, their laughs cut short by his fury.\\
+As the encroaching soldiers drive the Knights deeper into the square the group by the mosque is becoming overwhelmed. Jacob and Zafir look exhausted and Petra only just manages to free herself as one of the Knights grabs her by the throat. Above them the Archangel swoops closer and as his eyes flare a ring of silver fire erupts around the group, the Knights caught within it are disintegrated instantly and the party are brought a brief respite from the onslaught of their foes held outside the ring.\\
+It is Ambrose who notices the shadow first and screams out but the Angel sees too late. From the dome of the mosque above leaps one of the monsters slamming into the Angelic form. With a great crash and flutter of wings the Angel careens in to the ground, the Knight on its chest, outside the protective ward of flame. Though the laughter of the legion of Knights does not alter it seems to convey a grim tone of victory as they swarm onto the fallen Angel and Ophanim’s form is lost beneath a pile of the maddened fiends. Ambrose can do nothing but look on in horror.\\
+Siddig looks in terror as the magical fire around his family members begin to fail and the laughing Knights reach menacingly over the flames with their blood-spattered hands. With a shouted command he calls a group of the Bedouin warriors to him and they push into the swarming forms of the Knights and begin to fight toward the Mosque. Siddig , it seems, is no warrior but his men protect him well and he seems determined to reach his family members. The Knights fall back before the onslaught of the Bedouin and even as the last of the silver flames flickers out Siddig reaches the doors of the Mosque, the Bedouin surrounding the party. Quickly they begin to draw back towards the main force, lest the Knights overwhelm them. Across the square Pavel calls out;\\
+//“We must fall back and draw them to our forces encircling the city! They will overwhelm us here!”//\\
+As Al-Afdal opens his mouth to bellow a response the shockwave hits.\\
+===The Ten Condiments===
+In the centre of the square a vast explosion rips through the Knights, demolishing the facade of the Mosque only just vacated byZafir’s group and hurling the monsters in all directions. The wave of force throws men from their horses and camels even on the outskirts of the square and the city reverberates with the sound.  In the centre of the blast stands the dishevelled looking Archangel; his sword and spear have vanished and his halo appears to be sitting crooked on his brow but his eyes burn with a terrible golden light. With a flap of his silver wings he soars into the air above the square.\\
+The Knights recover quickly from the blast, faster than their opponents, and begin to tear into the lines that a moment ago had held them back. It seems that in moments the tide of the battle may turn but the booming voice of the Angel fills the square.\\
+“YOU WOULD DARE ASSAULT A LORD OF THE HOST AND HARM THE FAITHFUL!” The fury is evident in his voice and he seems to grow even greater in stature as he speaks, the light in his glowing eyes becoming ever brighter.\\
+“I AM A SERVANT OF THE LORD AND BY THE POWER OF THE DIVINE TRINITY I SHALL SMITE THEE! IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER! OF THE SON! AND...” He pauses and the light in his eyes dims as they focus into the middle distance.\\
+“OF THE SON AND THE...THE...UM...”\\
+Down below the Knights continue to drive into the lines. Siddig’s group has almost rejoined with the main force but the maniac fiends are swarming over the smaller group of Bedouin tearing many of them to shreds. Ambrose ducks as a bloody claw rakes over his scalp and he screams up at the Angel;\\
+//“Holy Spirit! Holy Spirit! Father, Son and the Holy Spirit!”//\\
+Ophanim looks at him puzzled and then with smile the brilliance in his eyes returns.\\
+“I SHALL SMITE THEE! IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER! OF THE SON! AND THE HOLY SPIRIT!” He roars, his voice deafening.\\
+The Archangel spreads his massive wings and flings wide his arms as light envelops him. The wings move from silver to white as a searing radiance pours from them. For an instant the figure of Ophanim blazes with an incomprehensible brilliance, brighter then the heart of the noonday sun itself, and the world is lost in a white nothingness.\\
+Silence falls upon the square and across the city. Everyone reaches for their eyes as globs of colour float across their blurred vision. As their sight begins to return once more they see the city in shadow with the dimmed form of the smug looking Angel floating high above them. The laughing Knights are gone and around them the square is full of many differently coloured squat pillars.\\
+Petra, first to regain her senses, reaches out and touches a mottled brown one. It collapse in a cloud of dust; she cries out reaching for her eyes and sneezes.\\
+//“Blarrg! Pepper!”// she croaks between snorts.\\
+Pavel reaches out to a pillar next to him, this one a polished shade of red. With a slurp it collapses as the think gelatinous goo it is composed of falls to the ground. He dips a finger in it, sniffs it and then places it in his mouth.
+//“Not bad”// He mutters under his breath.\\
+All around the square people rub their eyes as the world returns and begin to examine the knight sized pillars. Some seem to be made of salt or sugar and remain standing when touched , others seem to be made of vinegar, fish paste or indeterminate brown liquids and splash to the ground at the slightest disturbance, popping like huge bubbles.\\
+Ophanim descends to earth, his radiance lessened to observable levels. Looking extremely pleased with himself he walks jovially over to Ambrose who appears to have been drenched in thick Dijon mustard by one of the popping pillars.\\
+“NOBLE BROTHER AMBROSE” Intones the Angel, “THE ENEMIES OF GOD ARE DEFEATED. STRUCK DOWN BY THE POWER OF THE CELESTIAL HOST.”\\
+Wiping his burning eyes clear Ambrose looks about him and says weakly //“Yes...”//\\
+Ophanim’s smile falls slightly and he looks rather unhappy at the response, his wings drooping. Catching the look of disappointment Ambrose quickly continues;\\
+//“Very...um...”// he looks at the assorted pillars around him, //“very...biblical.”//\\
+The Archangel beams and once more places his hands on his hips.\\
+“THEN I SHALL AWAY MINUSCULE MORTAL FOR MY WORK HERE IS DONE!” he says and with a mighty beat of the silver wings he leaps into the air and races off toward the horizon.\\
+Rasha walks over to Ambrose, carefully stepping around of pool of what appears to be horseradish, and looks at the retreating form of Ophanim.\\
+//“By Allah, I hate that stupid Angel”// she says to no one in particular.\\
+//“He means well.”// says Ambrose at he looks down at his sodden robes, //"I think."//\\
+=== A Scourged City ===
+The city is cleansed, the laughing Knights destroyed. Within the remains of the ruined mosque the group find the entrance to the ancient shrine that once must have been discovered by the cursed Knights. It is a dark cave that has been chiselled into a strangely perfect cube, with an apparently Christian altar sitting at one end. There seems to be nothing of religious significance within it any more but the knights appear to have filled it with the gold and treasures taken from their victims.\\
+As Jacob reaches down to pick something up a laugh fills the room and dread overcomes everyone but no manic Knight jumps out to devour them. However there is a Knight; in the corner, amongst the treasure, emaciated and ragged like the others but his laughs are punctuated with words, though with little meaning. He huddles there while his eyes move wildly yet unseeing, his face contorted into the grimace of humour. Al-afdal raises his blade to strike the Knight dead but Ambrose and Jacob rush forward to stay the blow.\\
+//“He may yet be redeemed”// says Jacob\\
+//“We shall take him back to my monastery.”// Says Ambrose. //"Perhaps there he can get the help he needs."//\\
+The expedition is both righteous and profitable with much gold and a variety of treasures recovered. With the shrine emptied the party make to leave but as they turn away Jacob gasps. Now revealed on the floor, where once it was obscured by the piles of stolen valuables, is a complex mosaic of interweaving black and white lines. The pattern is perfectly symmetrical and it has a eerie alien beauty to it. Many of the things depicted are unrecognisable but in the very centre is a black cross and under it is the word "AXIOS".  \\
+==== The Antipope Discovers The Secrets of her Holiness====
 Cardinal de Tartars appears to have vanished off the face of the earth. No letters pass between her and Rome and your agents in the Vatican tell you that even the Pope seems unaware of her legate’s location. Obviously you are pleased that the horrible harridan won’t be pursuing you in the near future, but it is mysterious. \\

Differences

Crusade! Index