View source for The divineThe Divine Treason: Declassified

== Chapter 1: Prelude ==

Long ago, in the days when Ulbrexis Grond and Udos Dro'xun stood strong, there rose among the darkness a kobold named Vippin. Initially one of the many scattered kobolds in the Underdark, he began to fear for the 'heat death' of the world he resided in. During this time, he turned to the lower planes for power, and made a pact of immense power with the baatezu.

The powers of the pact granted him and his kin much power. In addition to the powers of a warlock's pact, he was granted several boons. His tribe, the Shadow Quartz was promised an eternal propagation of a knitted kinship, a tribe above all others. They ensured the survival of the Undertower, the place used for the tribe's warren, despite it being structurally unsound.He was as well protected from dying a normal death, and the baatorian powers that fueled him would ensure his restoration.

This pact, however, came with a terrible price. It would damn not only Vippin's soul, but all those of the tribe as well. The pact would as well be continued by the all-watchers of the Shadow Quartz tribe, a legacy that was to live on even as Vippin grew older. By in large, the tribe did not know of what was going on with the infernal pact, only the all-watcher's closest associates knew the full truth.

With the powers he had, Vippin rained hellfire upon the surface and did much to further the Baatezu's aims. He as well opened the Benwick Rift, and still as of the time of this writing, spews devils forth from Avernus. Our kin grew in power, but we were but puppets to the devil's desires, doomed to damnation for our all-watcher's actions. 

It all soon came to an end just before the great flood came to the depths...

== Chapter 2: Beginning of the End ==

The pact had continued among the all-watchers of the Shadow Quartz. The existence of the pact, and many of the pact's details were hidden from most of our tribe. At first glance, ours was truly a tribe above all others, powerful with many kin who lived in safety and comfort. From the shadows though, it was the infernalists who really controlled the tribe, and we were all but puppets to their desires. Those who disagreed or found out too much without joining in on it tended to disappear. Our tribe had many dark secrets, kept even from those we called kin.

It all came to the beginning of the end when Kiya Ashclaw was chosen to be the next all-watcher. Kiya,  upon taking the position, was presented the pact by Vippin, who demanded, then begged her to sign it. However, Kiya did not know what the pact was, or why she should have signed it, so refused. Vippin throughout all of this, refused to tell Kiya what the pact truly was, even trying to weakly force her to spill her blood on it to keep it going. Kiya still stood resolute, and refused to sign the pact. Vippin, with age catching up to him, even with his unnaturally extended lifespan, left, and later died.

With Kiya's refusal to continue the pact, the baatezu retaliated. The Undertower collapsed, killing most of those who remained inside. Their souls, instead of going to Kurtulmak, were damned to baator instead of going to where they thought they would go. In but mere moments, the tribe above all others was reduced to nothing but a scattering of survivors. The flood came soon after, wiping away what remained of the Undertower, and burying it beneath the waves.

After the flood came, the scattering of survivors came to a new city, Andunor. Were that it was a good place for our kin to begin anew. That, and the devils, despite the pact not being continued, weren't done with us just yet...

== Chapter 3: Arrival Into Andunor ==

Scattered, broken, alone, what remained of the Shadow Quartz tribe convened in Andunor. Once a mighty tribe, we now had only a handful of survivors in an extremely unfriendly environment. It hurt, after my escape from the Illithid, I thought that I had found a tribe and home, but Andunor was anything but a home. It was a place of madness. Pit Town had an emotion dampener which prevented the newly rescued residents from slaughtering each other in the streets, Andunor had no such protection. Even the so called Peacekeepers of the city allowed the denizens to make all out war against one another. Being scattered and weak, we were easy targets...

The drow by in large, ruled the city as they did Udos Do'Xun in the past. Their priestesses were out on the streets flaunting their power in everyone's faces, and those who did not submit to their every whim were either forced into collars or killed outright. The goblins and orcbloods were more than happy to bend the knee. The Duergar oft got into fights with them, and us kobolds did not fare well either. Andunor was also a home to outcast humans, who had been banished from every land above. They had it worst of all, as most of the denizens considered them surfacers and wished them dead or enslaved.

Kiya had survived the flood. We flocked around her as we struggled to survive. We had a purchased home in the Sharps district. We managed, but we didn't have a lot going for us, struggling through each day. The locals kept things tense, the drow kept pushing at us, trying to amp up pressure with threats and violence. Attacks on our kin by drow were frequent, especially on lone, vulnerable kobolds. I had to sneak around the city, lest I be attacked on the streets by one of the many violent denizens. We had an alliance with the Ironguard Duergar, but at this point, it only helped so much, and open confrontations were the norm.

Tensions however, mounted to an ambush in the middle of the city hub, an ambush meant for Kiya. We were attacked by drow, aiming to kill or collar Kiya. We were both killed by the drow's assault. I was fortunate enough to have been rescued and revived in that state. Kiya however, had her corpse taken and destroyed. With that, our all-watcher was gone. 

I was weakened from my revival, and I had many such narrow escapes when attacked on my own. Andunor at this point had gotten dangerous to the point where fleeing was the only reasonable option, at least laying low while the city continued to tear itself apart. Some of my kin would continue their activities at Andunor, trying to make a home for themselves, but for myself it wasn't an option. But I had to go somewhere, anywhere. With Kiya gone, the mantle of all-watcher fell to Zod. With some help and his direction, he directed me towards a place I could hide myself a time and recover...

The surface...

== Chapter 4: Into the Light ==

My first time in the sun, it was an experience like none other. I felt a warmth washing over me. The light was so bright and blinding, but compared to the horrors of the Underdark, it was a whole new experience. Many of those below fear the surface, the sun, everything about it. There were a fair share of dangers there, and not just from the sentient races, but savage creatures as well. Still, such exists aplenty in the depths as well, and given my recent experiences in Andunor, it all seemed so fresh. Journeys considered, it wasn't that hard of one. It was by in large uneventful until I came to a place known as Soulhaven, a monastery in the mountains. I was able to find some refuge here.

Alone, in a human run place. Most of the travelers who came by were quick to sneer at me, or give me distrusting glances, though I met no outright hostility. Some of them were even friendly, if cautious. One of the monks, Amadeo, was the first to have spoken with me and treated me with fairness and kindness. It was something I did not expect, but it was definitely appreciated. One of the other monks, Hinglo, provided me with food and we were able to share a few cooking recipes. Suffice it to say the whole experience came as a shock given what I'd gone through.

I spent a lot of my time lying on a couch. Despite the unease I felt in the place, I was largely left to myself. This left me some time to contemplate the events in my life that led to this point, something which monasteries encourage, ironically enough. Struggling to survive left few chances for contemplation. It's the situation of many of my kin, sadly. 

I recalled the tenets of the Shadow-Quartz tribe that were in the Undertower. Among them, I recall was DAMNATION UPON THE MAMMALS: No mammal is your friend, only a tool to be used at best. Publicly, there was a lot of hatred for the surfacers, perhaps stemming from the time of the great expulsion when the races of the dark were expelled from surface settlements and cast below.Organizing raids to kill and enslave surfacers was a passtime, and many were the calls for unity to burn the surface lands. I never understood the fervor for it, perhaps because the expulsion was before my time and I'd never suffered from surfacers, or perhaps it was simply an excuse by the drow to rally against a common, if invented enemy. There was real tension behind the conflict, but I had to wonder how much of it was based on legitimate grievances and how much was based on assumptions or outright lies.

I also had to contemplate our kin's position. In all of our legends, our people are meant to be serving at the claws of dragonkind as favored servants. Yet this didn't measure with reality. Why did our kin struggle to survive in hostile, forgotten places? Many are the tales of our kin being attacked and eradicated by surfacer adventurers, but why did the dragons allow this to happen? It seemed like we had either fallen out of the grace of dragonkind, or they did not care. The reality didn't seem to match up with what my personal experiences. I wondered if I was alone in this, but given the tales I'd studied, and all the stories of warrens being under constant assault, struggling to even survive, I had to question everything I thought I knew.

I didn't want to overstay my welcome in Soulhaven, as much as the place's tranquility was a welcome reprieve from the constant, violent insanity of Andunor.. Still, I couldn't stay forever and do nothing. My kin still needed me, and it wouldn't be fair to them if I didn't give them my all. If nothing else, to ease my troubled mind. After a time, Zod came to lead me back to Andunor. The doubts that plagued my mind didn't cease, and I'd have to find the truth about it...

And I found it... and what I found didn't give any ease to my troubled mind...

== Chapter 5: And Back Down into Darkness ==

Things were difficult without all-watcher Kiya. Zod was a good and caring leader, and what few of us were left, he took good care of. None of us however could survive continued assaults by the drow, so we'd learned to keep a low profile. Our alliance with the Ironguard Duergar helped to an extent as well. Jharrik in particular was a helpful ally. Strong, industrious, he and his clan made for good trading partners. They were also willing to tell the drow off to their faces, and strong enough to get away with it (most of the time anyways). He was on good terms with Kiya, so continued the tradition with Zod. Despite our situation, which was less than ideal, things were starting to look up.

This was however, when I started to discover the issues regarding our tribe's pact.

Several times, Zod would receive imp messengers, making certain demands and attempting to pressure the all-watcher in particular. Zod was very secretive about the whole affair. I did what I could to help him out where I could, though some of our tribe were of significantly more difficult disposition Our tribe seemed a lot more fractured than we once were. Perhaps it was a side effect of our smaller numbers, perhaps because of some of the infernalists within, or sometimes just some of my kin being generally difficult.

A chance meeting however, clued me in on more of what was going on, when I was there when Zod was approached by the imp. Naturally, he wasn't interested in renewing the pact at all. I eventually shot the imp to make it go away. Zod was aware of the pact that was shared by the all-watchers. However, he didn't know all of the details, and did not know infernal. Our understanding of the situation was however, that our whole tribe was damned to baator because of this pact, and it was something we were trying to rectify. Further understanding of it wasn't easy to come by, as we didn't have any tribe members who both knew infernal and were trustworthy. Kiya as well, knew little of the pact's workings. When she was chosen as all-watcher and given the pact to sign, Vippin refused to disclose any of what was written upon it. Refusal garnered Vippin to try and even have Kiya cut herself with one of her claws to sign it in blood for her, though she wouldn't have it. He even begged her to continue it, but refused to explain a single line of what was going on with the pact. Kiya told Zod what little she knew. We kept this a deep secret in the tribe, kept even from newer tribe members. We feared that if the others of Andunor knew, they would jump to take advantage of us. Even Jharrik, our closest ally, was kept in the dark about this affair.

Life went on, we gathered what information we could, tried to gain what power and clout we could as well. We still had a few run-ins with the drow, but their wrath was largely directed towards the outcast humans that populated Andunor. The goblins, orcs, and gnolls were quick to join them on this. As for myself, I showed more sympathy to the outcast humans than the others did, which helped us form some uneasy alliances.

During this time, the outcast humans were in much the same situation my kind were, except most had no allies. Even my kin treated them as filth, the irony of our situations being so similar lost on them. I'd met a few who would later become rather prominent, such as Achuak'Iejir Stormwind, a green dragon blooded human, and Azuilah the gatekeeper. Azuilah at the time was a councilor in the sharps, something which rankled the drow and greenskins to a great deal.

I still remember how I met the green-blood, she would later become a large part of my life in the depths. Despite her dragon blood, the drow still treated her as any other human. In our first meeting, I had to hide her away in some of the secret places I found to throw some drow who wanted to collar or kill her off track. We all survived that encounter, thankfully. Given her dragon blood, some of my kin were a bit warmer to her than most humans, though she still had a tough time settling into Andunor. She'd learned to lay low and build her power, same as many did in the city.

Our fortune, what little we had, soon shattered once again.

All-watcher Zod had many secrets, kept carefully from even his own allies and kin. He was a follower of Bahamut, and was working to free Andunor's slaves, and in addition to trying to free our kin from the pact's influence, was also selling out Andunor to the surfacers. Many times, he'd hear of raids those of the depths wished to do to the surface, and he'd tell his contacts above about it, giving them warning in advance so they could defend themselves. This came to a head when he was discovered. The denizens of Andunor were soon to jump on him at that, and sent an assassin which killed him. I was devastated by the news, even more so when I knew it was one of our own kin which discovered and sold him out. And just like that, the weight of the pact, and freeing our kin from it's influence fell to me.

With Zod dead, our tribe soon scattered. The few that were left, even the other mutinous kin that made up the tribe couldn't maintain leadership, and this spelled the end of the Shadow-Quartz tribe. The other kin that were a part of the tribe went their own separate ways. I myself, had fallen under some suspicion, with even Jharrik asking me about Zod's activities. 

Alone in a hostile world, I had become the bearer of an infernal contract with the weight of all of my tribe's souls resting on my shoulders. Unfortunately, I had no one whom I could turn to for help on it, at least openly. Infernalists had a lot of power in the city and they would have killed me if they knew what I was trying to do. I couldn't even trust my own kin with this, for the pacted as well would have turned on me, and even those not pacted would have been difficult to work with, either through malice or incompetence. Jharrik, despite being an ally, had no care for things like this, plus he'd be the type to work with devils. The others, definitely not. So I had to move on, and gather what I could on the matter in secret, never telling anyone more than what they absolutely needed to know.

It seemed as though the whole multiverse was against me. My allies were unreliable. The surfacers would mostly kill my kind on sight. Those around me were darker still, and I had infernal machinations to fight off alone. And yet, for the sake of my tribe's souls, I had to endure and find a solution...

== Chapter 6: The Full Picture ==

A long journey awaited me, every night I'd stare at that pact, trying to decipher every bit of information I could on it. By the gods, it was all fine print, and in a language I was unfamiliar with too. That was the first thing I tried, finding someone who I could trust and knew infernal. The two things are often leagues apart however, so I took to learning the language. I was looking for every scrap of information I could. Anything that could help me. I took to learning all I could about Vippin as well. There was the partial relief that the devils stopped coming after us with Zod and the tribe's demise, though part of me wondered if it was because I was beneath consideration. It struck me that I was as a squig trying to stand against an army, yet couldn't back down no matter the hardship.

My first order of business was expanding my range of contacts. Jharrik was helpful for acquiring wealth, training, and supplies, but had little in the way of information. Zod had surface contacts and I knew a few, so I started from there. The monk I'd met prior, Amadeo, was also someone I could contact. He'd shown me kindness in the past, so was more reliable than most of my neighbors in Andunor.

Speaking of Andunor, the attention of the drow and greenskins largely turned against the humans after my kin had scattered. They were always aggressive towards them, but it got worse when Azuilah and Ann Thrule, two outcast humans who were councillors of the Sharps, decided to steal the treasury and then vassalized the district to Cordor. It was a move which most of the denizens of the dark hated them for, and this extended to any humans that walked without slave collars. Still, the irony was that none of them could see how their own actions drove them away from Andunor. Alas, self-reflection was a rare thing in the dark.

Around this time, Achuak'iejir Stormwind, the green-blood human I met prior, was organizing the outcast humans. She was looking to start a cult of Tiamat, and several of the outcast humans and scattered kobolds flocked to her. Her following was weak at the start, but it steadily grew in power. As the cult grew, I made some cautious inquiries with Stormwind at first, about Vippin's activities. She did some digging for me, and it turned out that Vippin had conflicts with the followers of dragonkind as well. The dragons were disgusted at losing our kin to infernalism. So I had an invaluable ally in this affair here. I'd helped her set up a power base in Andunor in exchange for her help in this regard. I arranged her to meet with Jharrik and got a working business relationship between her and the Ironguard. It established some defense against the drow, as well, though things were still tense. While I didn't tell her everything at first, Stormwind later turned out to be someone I entrusted this matter to almost fully.Circumstances led me to finding a silver dragon's egg in the Underdark. It was something I had to guard in great secrecy. I reached out to my surface contacts and got it to a silver dragon. I'm grateful I was able to save the unborn dragon, and it got me a close ally who I was able to confer with regarding the whole matter and his own contacts. It was an irony, working with followers of Bahamut and Tiamat simultaneously. Something that wasn't lost on me. I'd sort of settled into the role of an information broker for almost every side I could get contact with. In a way, I continued on Zod's work.

Amadeo turned out to be very helpful as well. He knew a lot of Vippin and the tribe I'd come from. He'd told me about Vippin's common hang-outs, The Obsidian Asylum, Sencliff, and the Cloven Hoof. I'd also learned of our tribe's connection to Benwick. The Devil who made the pact with Vippin was Luc Deitrich, the current steward of the Devil Infested keep, and it was Vippin who opened the rift in the first place. He was also the one with the custody of my tribe's souls. I had some places to investigate, and a score to settle now.

My next step was something that was completely mad. I had to explore baator and confront the steward. Easier said than done. Sneaking around outcroppings of settlements and reading messageboards, overhearing conversations, and other spy work done. I found myself meeting a knight at the gates of Benwick. The initial meeting was a bit tense, but sir Gracielo of Benwick was surprisingly welcoming of my presence, saying that any good folk wishing to take back Benwick from the devils was welcome. Some of his companions were less welcoming, though we soon got underway to the task of fighting devils. It was hard fighting, for certain. I was using every trick I knew to fight for our lives and at every turn, it was some of the most intense fighting I'd done. We'd gone through the keep and catacombs, fighting the devils everywhere. Eventually we came to the rift chamber, and I saw Imperator's remains. I couldn't help but weep at seeing a once magnificent silver reduced to such a state by the devils. We soon crossed into the rift, and entered Baator.

We were greeted with a host of devils on the other side. After the battle settled, I saw atop the cliffs, a statue depicting Vippin, the archmalefactor. He had a similar statue in our warren, which we looked on with reverence. I could only look on him with scorn. We had little time for such things however, as we ventured deep into Avernus. The journey was long and hard, eventually coming upon a styx dragon. I'd never felt such fear and conflict before facing him, us kobolds are meant to serve dragonkind, not slay them. And yet I had to or it would have killed us all. It was indeed a dragon, corrupted by the lower planes, and yet that same ache didn't go away even after it was dead. I had to keep my thoughts to myself on that matter, though. I had work to do. We headed back to the forward camp after the jaunt into baator, to recuperate, share what we'd learned, split the spoils. I departed for below after I shared with Gracielo some of my tale. I didn't tell him everything, but he later learned the blanks from Amadeo. We'd gone on several more hunts through Benwick together, and even travelled through Kohlingen at one point.

There was an entrance to the third layer of baator in the Underdark as well, in a ruined city named Tollidor. Since it was so deep in Underdark territory, I had made a habit of exploring the place with groups of allies from the depths. I had few genuine allies there, but a few who could band together to rampage through the acidic swamps of the plane. Stormwind and her group were helpful in this regard. We scoured Minauros, and then came up to Dis, a place where Deitrich had holdings. There's a way up to Mentiri Maximum Security Prison. We'd seen several of Vippin's artifacts there, as well as many caged demons. We'd eventually come to the Cloven Hoof, another of Vippin's haunts, and found out what we could there. I'd continue to participate many groups into both sides of his Deitrich's holdings, all while keeping each side ignorant of their participation in the other side. The groups I were working with would kill one another if I wasn't careful in directing their movements. 

Sencliff was another matter. Azuilah and Ann Thrule went there after their banishment from the Sharps.  I had to trade a few favors with them. Mostly again, intelligence on the Underdark in exchange for their knowledge, though I also made a few efforts to try and get their banishment from the district repealed, which were unsuccessful, but I did make an earnest effort to do it. I did as well, help them with hosting several events around Sibayad, either playing music at art festivals or being the announcer at their arena. They had shown me Vippin's artifacts in Sencliff, and gave me instructions for how to get past the defenses of the Obsidian Asylum as well, which I later entered with Stormwind. Of particular note, I came upon the Liber Diabolica in Sencliff, a powerful infernal tome which Vippin used to help in infernal rituals, and supposedly made pacts through it. It was behind heavy wards, but even with them I could feel it's malevolent presence just from standing in the same room as it, it felt more like a force than a tome. I had a feeling it would come up again, but for now, there wasn't anything I could do with it. At the very least, I could do nothing with it safely.

All of these investigations took place over the course of several months, if not years. Each night, I'd study the accursed pact, using what knowledge I had to figure out each piece of the puzzle. I'd shown it to Stormwind and the Silver dragon, though studying it with Stormwind, I eventually had to come to a very startling conclusion. The Silver confided that selling the soul of another was impossible, because the gods protect the souls of their followers. However, Vippin was also allegedly, a chosen of Kurtulmak. I'd searched long and hard for the answer to how such a thing could be possible in spite of the laws of the gods. Through long hours of study, through much time, effort and danger spent investigating the planes and how they worked, I eventually came to one awful conclusion...

Kurtulmak was responsible for this, or had a hand in it.

I didn't know it for certain, but it made sense, as much as anything made sense in this awful situation I had been placed. I'd suspected this truth for a while, but as I gathered evidence, knowledge, and lore, the situation seemed ever more damning to this conclusion. Could the one who was raised to godhood by the Concordant have committed such an act of divine treason against our people? Many of our tribe worshiped Kurtulmak. And if the souls went to him, then he could pay them off to Deitrich to pay for the pact...

I lost a lot of sleep over the possibility as I studied the damned infernal pact ever further. If it was true, then so many other horrible conclusions could be drawn as well. I had to wonder how many of our people's traditions were lies built by a foe we worshiped as our protector and savior.

In one of my raids against Mentiri in Dis, I'd come across a damned kobold soul, who had confirmed that Deitrich had his hooks in the kobold tribe north of Cordor, they were facing a similar corruption that my tribe had fallen under, and most of them didn't even know it. Desperation in their fight against surfacer adventurers and Cordor made them a very easy target for opportunistic fiends to twist to their purposes. This all proved to me that what happened with the Shadow Quartz was not an isolated incident. I did what I could to help, and gave his mortal remains back to his tribe. It was the least I could do, and hopefully it would persuade the rest of the tribe to abandon infernalism. A hope in vain, perhaps, but I had to try.

Could much of what we were taught simply have been lies? Did Kurtulmak betray his divine purpose and sell us all out to the devils? Were our conflicts with the surfacers and gnomes just another one of the baatorian manipulation that we've fallen under and are blind to it, as we were so many other things?  Is this why kobold-kind has lost the favor of dragonkind?

The questions kept coming, and I sought answer after answer, continued my work. I felt ultimately, alone, caught in a web of deceit and corruption that has taken many of my kind, and has sunk in deep. But I couldn't stop. I had to keep going. I had to get the souls back from Deitrich, and make that devil pay.

If only trying to defeat thousand year old conspiracies against foes many times more powerful than you was so easy...

== Chapter 7: The Devil In The Details ==

I knew I was due for a showdown with Deitrich. Sooner or later it was going to happen. I had to be ready. I'd been raiding his holdings in Benwick repeatedly and even that failed to garner much attention from him. He wasn't going to come to me, I had to go for him. The pact had mentioned the peaks of Avernus, I assumed his lair was located there. I'd been confiding with Stormwind on this matter, and we worked to get what information we could, at least when we weren't being distracted by Andunor's many insanities.

I was also able to confer on the matter with another, elder Versvesh of the Sevateem, an old kobold and one of the few remaining of Orias' tribe. He was undoubtedly unnerved when I shared what was going on with Kurtulmak's divine treason, but I needed more information, more proof. With his help, I'd searched through the old kingdom of our kin on Red Dragon Isle. Ruins of what once was, but much of the history there was lost to time and to sabotage by the Drow, who didn't want evidence of other races' great kingdoms to be around. That alone wasn't enough for me, and so I set out and with his help again, I met the resting ancient red, Orias, and asked him about the matter of Kurtulmak's indiscretions.

Admittedly, I had managed to make two drow friends in the city, Sabal and Vasiira of house Melath. While I didn't trust them at first, they steadily became acquaintances and even friends. They were a merchant house of drow, which meant that unlike the more violent Lolthite drow, they were willing to do business with my kind, and were helpful in regards to supplies and information. Vasiira in particular,  was helpful for wizard consultation, while I served as an informant to their house. A pity that Sabal didn't last too long in the city, though, once she was outed as an Eilistraeean, she had to flee the city. Vasiira stuck around for longer, as while suspicions remained, she had a steady seat in the sorcere. Ironically, they were removed by Stormwind and her following with some aid from the Lolthite drow allies. Much as I tried to be a benefactor to both sides, I found my loyalties being strained in multiple ways. It was a tough balancing act, to keep all of my contacts from killing each other, and being forced to make choices that benefited some at the expense of others, and keeping secrets from all of them. Ultimately, I had to be true to my initial goal, getting my kin's souls back from Deitrich, and aiming to defeat that devil.

There were some other distractions from Andunor, such as that incident regarding the sharps being vassalized by the Table, made possible by two councilors of the Sharps, the orog Marinhos and a goblin selling us out to the Table. The following of Tiamat had grown powerful by now, so we had rebelled against the vassalization. It was a messy fight, and several times we had to fight against the drow and their greenskin allies. Still, we defeated the drow and were able to remove the vassalization,, though it was a long, bloody affair.

All of these challenges however, paled before what came before me.

I was finalizing my plans to make my move on Deitrich. I wanted the support of the church of Tiamat on this. Unfortunately, I only had Stormwind with me when I went to face Deitrich. My initial plans were to have the flight of dragons fly to his home, and force him to release my kin's souls at bladepoint. Alternatively, I thought to utilize one of Vippin's artifacts, the Liber Diabolica against him.

Unfortunately, we went to a third plan, contacting one of Deitrich's minions, an imp, who then invited us to his halls. It opened a portal, we stepped in. I thought I could do this, I'd gathered every scrap of information I could. I'd studied that pact in every detail. I'd been pressing his forces at every opportunity. He's noticed us, it was time.

We'd entered the halls to negotiate. The place had a diabolic perfection to it. Massive pillars of iron, columns with infernal decorations on the side, we went up the tower to the room where we found him. There he was on a central dias, sitting on a chair, operating a panel of some kind. At each of his sides were statues of black dragons, wings outstretched, mouths agape. But what drew my attention was my foe, Luc Deitrich. He looked human, immaculately dressed in the finest clothes I'd ever seen. Yet he was the very picture of a cultured, diabolic mastermind, and his fine appearance did nothing to diminish the menace that he represented with his posture and presence. He looked upon us like one would look upon a bug, barely worth notice, as though what he was doing on his panel was more important to him. We approached, holding the pact in hand, and we bartered hard to release the souls that he had taken unwillingly by the power of Vippin's pact.

I thought I had been prepared, and had the advantage, but he was able to tear apart my offers, insights, and arguments left and right, effortlessly, he still barely deigned notice us. The only thing he referred to me as was The Pest of Benwick, as though all my efforts against his holdings truly meant nothing. The verbal sparring between us and Deitrich went on for some time, until Stormwind made him an offer. She would promise the protection of the Church of Tiamat towards Benwick, safety from adventurers, in exchange for his release of the souls taken unwillingly by the pact. He looked to one of the statues, as if asking for it's advice. It was a guardian of sorts, it would seem.

He then stood up and looked at us, when it was agreed. However, he looked at us with a triumphant look, and then revealed that of souls unwillingly taken, he had none, and asserted that all of the souls taken from the Shadow-Quartz were given to him willingly. He looked so smug, superior, triumphant. I pressed him for clarification, but he said he had explained everything he needed to. He then opened a portal home behind us, and went back to his panel, and ignored us further. Even after I tried prodding him for more information, none was yielded. Stormwind looked crushed as well, but beckoned me back home with her. I stood there a while, staring, but eventually, it all hit me. I left his realm, defeated and broken.

We went to the Spore Farms, which I had owned at the time. We sat in a chair, hugged and cried. We both, all our hard work, all the information, skirmishes, everything done against Deitrich, he dismantled effortlessly in the course of a few hours. A key mistake which I had made, I felt, led to all of this. I felt as though everything I'd done, every effort, was for a cause that didn't exist, and ultimately wasted. We both felt it, I could tell. Her ashen face held no secrets from me, as my whimpering expression held none from her. It was defeat, pure and simple.

I wanted to go to the Silver Dragon I knew. We... weren't on good terms at this point in time, angry enough to have wanted me dead. I was going to tell him of my failure, and then let him kill me, I figured I deserved it. I'd lost hope for my kind, thinking we were forever doomed to be puppets to the baatezu's will. I'd even thought of how a 'monster's kindness could be crueler than one's hatred, poisonous to everything it touches despite any well-wishes. One of his paladins tended to me first however, and despite confessing my wishes, she advised me otherwise, and encouraged me to continue to try and set things right. I didn't meet the dragon again then, which allowed me to live and continue on. I'm grateful for that, and that we managed to mend our relationship later, though it would take much time and effort for that to happen.

I continued on with my life from then on, returning below. Even then, I did what I can to tell my kin the tale of Vippin's pact, and warn them of the dangers of infernalism and how it would corrupt them from within. I couldn't save the souls of my departed kin, but I could at least work towards making sure the baatezu would not sink their claws into the ones still living and all those yet to be. I'd of course, kept contact with my surface contacts, figuring that if I couldn't save my kin, I'd work towards sealing the Benwick rift. Deitrich had harmed my tribe, I would see him pay for it if it was the last thing I did.

Time passed, but events however, took a strange turn, when Elder Versvesh did something that I believed impossible... and Dartak, one of the long dead all-watchers of the tribe, returned...

== Chapter 8: Downwards Ascension ==

Elder Versvesh had managed to call back Dartak to life. When Andunor was yet young, Dartak fought the Beast in Andunor's Cage. The Beast is a sort of demonic construct, the final challenge of the cage. Those it defeats it not only slays, but devours their souls.  Dartak had fought the beast and lost, and his soul was destroyed along with whatever remained of him. Dartak was one of the all-watchers who had signed the pact. Perhaps he did it as a way of escaping his eternal damnation.

I was highly suspicious of Dartak. By all logic and reason, there was no way he could be alive. And yet he still was. Even barring his improbable return, I resented him with almost every fiber of my being. He was one of the all-watchers who kept the infernal pact going. He was one of the reasons that our kin were in the situation we were in to begin with. I couldn't think of him as anything but a traitor to all of us. I loathed him, and any cooperation between us was rife with rivalry and distrust. I didn't share what I knew with him, and I'd cautioned some of my kin to be wary of him and his motives. I tried to discover what truths I could about him. I suspected he didn't trust me either. By all means, if he was part of the infernal conspiracy, he definitely shouldn't have.

I confronted Versvesh about bringing him back, and how what he did was possible. He was a part of the Cult of the Dragon when he was younger, but such gave him knowledge of many obscure and powerful rituals. He had prior entered the cage and defeated the Beast, and recovered a piece of Dartak's mortal remains. With the ritual he used, he was able to restore Dartak to life. Despite his assurances of Dartak's soul being his own and his purposes true to our kin's, I had to keep my suspicions. I told Versvesh of Dartak's signing of the pact. I'm not sure what Versvesh's thoughts were on the matter, but I wouldn't so easily set aside my suspicions of him.

I was making my moves on Deitrich's holdings, but so was Dartak. He made a move on Sencliff, and managed to steal the Liber Diabolica. Naturally, I was rather disturbed when I heard about it. Given the Liber's power, and especially since Dartak was a warrior, he did not have the ability to make the wards needed to contain such a fell artifact. I had planned to get it away from him and somewhere safe, fearing that he would continue on Vippin's legacy and doom us all. Before I could however, he had bargained with the demon lord of the 363rd layer, and utilized the Liber's power to steal the souls of our tribe away from Luc Deitrich. The Liber was since lost, I still dread when I think about what could have come of the fell artifact.

Soul gem in his possession, part of his bargain involved raiding the surface, the settlement of Guldorand was targeted. He assembled a force of kin, drow, others of the dark, and demons. He invited me along as well. Naturally, I was again suspicious of his motives, but I didn't have a lot of time. I figured that I couldn't trust Dartak or the Demons with the gem, which he said was under a curse by the demons, which would destroy the souls if release was attempted.

The Raid had commenced. I was mostly there looking for an opportunity to get the gem away from Dartak, though I didn't get such an opening. They knew we were coming in advance, and they had an Emerald Dragon defending them. I had to stand back, as I didn't believe in fighting a dragon on behalf of a demon. I by in large, didn't participate in the raid, sitting back and waiting for an opportunity to snitch the gem. Even if Dartak could be trusted, which I wasn't certain of, I could not let the gem fall into the wrong hands. That chance never came. The damage from the raid was mostly contained, though the demons were satisfied with what came of it. They let Dartak keep the gem and allegedly removed the curse on it that would destroy the souls contained within.

Dartak now had the gem, but he seemed uncertain of what to do with it. For all of his strengths, and he was a formidable combatant, he wasn't much of a planner or scholar. He had the cards now, I had to come clean to him. It wasn't an easy confrontation between us. I admitted to the resentment I held towards him, for signing the pact, for having left me to fend for myself as I alone worked for years to undo the damage he had contributed to. He explained his decisions to me, how he signed the pact only to try and save our kin, and find a way to free us from it, though he never had gotten the chance prior. He mentioned he didn't want to sign the pact, but felt he had to to preserve the tribe. I didn't like his explanation, but I could at least accept it, and he seemed to be working towards freeing the souls from their damnation, a quest which I had shared. Despite my reservations, and I had many, I shared with him my plan for saving the souls.

We didn't have the means to release them ourselves, given how the souls were damaged, simply breaking the gem would likely have destroyed them. My plan was to take the gem to Io's realm, the dragon Eyrie, the resting place of the dragon gods. In my journeys, our kind's ties to dragonkind had proven themselves, and the dragons who knew of the matter of Vippin's pact and Kurtulmak's betrayal had all been supportive. I figured that the dragon gods would be willing and able to help the souls. Dartak seemed to have his own reservations, but didn't seem to know what to do with the souls now that he had them, so he agreed to help with this plan. He'd insisted on holding onto the gem, for the time being. I gathered he didn't trust me either, which was fair. We'd see this through, though. 

I did what research I could, and got several scrolls of gate from Vasiira. The spell is most commonly used to call an outsider to serve in battle, but it had a rarer function of being used for planar travel, something which is difficult on the island due to turbulences in the fabric of the planes, but doable all the same. I'd studied what I'd need to do to make it go to the Dragon Eyrie. I'd briefed my kin on what I knew of the Eyrie as well. I had to make sure they would behave, since we were going to the most sacred realm of dragonkind.

Once we were all ready, we gathered. We went over the plan, and I prepared the gate scroll. It was time to finally put this matter to rest once and for all. I was extremely nervous, the souls of our whole tribe were on the line here. The stakes were high and we couldn't afford failure. That all seemed secondary though, as I read the scroll and opened the gate...

And we crossed into the Dragon Eyrie...

== Chapter 9: All Coming Together ==

Myself, Dartak, Rekken Drekken, Vuuld, Riyit, and Atrilabax, we entered into the gate I had conjured. It almost seemed to have been sucking us in, I'd maintained my focus on the gate for as long as I could,  though it seemed like an eternity at the time. We crossed through without incident.

Before us were a place beyond wondrous. A huge cavern of decorated marble, covered in the most intricate of carvings I'd ever seen, studded with gems of great value and beauty. The place we were in seemed like a cavern, and yet the height of it seemed to go on unto infinity, clearly enough for any dragon to fly freely forever. It was a place that would be the envy of any dragon's lair or kobold's warren, perfect in just about every manner.

But before us, was a spectral brass dragon. Possibly a servant of Hlal or Aasterinian. His presence was magnificent, and even though he towered above us all, he was perfectly friendly towards us. I remember bowing to him, the others with us showing signs of respect. He dipped his head to us in turn, despite being a great dragon, he showed us every respect he could, fully welcoming of our presence. After our brief introductions, he beckoned us to come with him. You are expected. And we followed. I was a little worried, given I had told no other of my plan, but we followed along with the dragon. We came to a large, expansive, hollowed out cavern, held aloft by shining pillars. Above us, out of sight, the flapping of wings could be heard. Admiration of the surroundings however, was interrupted when I looked upon those present before us.

Leading the procession was a skeletal looking spectral dragon. Despite the outward look of an undead dragon, there was nothing vile about him, having a sort of living vitality to him. An arbiter of Chronepsis. His expression was entirely impassive, but he had the air of being the empitome of an impartial judge.

With him as well was a large red dragon's spirit, tended to by two spectral kobolds. Prideful, powerful, arrogant, the red seemed to look at us with a mixture of interest and amusement. Even Orias, great and terrible as he was when we met, seemed to pale against this red dragon.

There was also a messenger of Kurtulmak. I looked at him, the being looked sickly, more like a devil than like a kobold. I found his presence unsettling. I wasn't at this time, fully certain of Kurtumlak's indiscretions towards my kind, but I had a lot of heavy suspicions, and this just added to it. The other dragons didn't appear to give him much regard, either.

Among them as well, was a balor. I really wasn't sure what it was doing there. But it wasn't particularly remarkable, with all the snarling, firey idiot rage I'd expect of a demon.

Last, but not least, Deitrich stood there. Or rather, one of his faces, known as Maximillion. I knew he had multiple consciousnesses, this was one of them. My eyes locked on him. He didn't pay us any regard, but I couldn't take my eyes off of him, watching his every move. We'd faced off before, I knew what happened then. In that moment, all of the awe and wonder and welcome I felt in the place I was in was replaced by a cold, calculating fury. This wasn't going to be easy.

The Arbiter asked us Tell us your cause, let the assembled hear. I replied with our cause, to let the souls of our kin rest in the eyrie. Dartak handed the gem over to me, which I had slowly, carefully offered to them. As I went to do so however, Deitrich interrupted us, calling for a moment. Our attention was on the devil in an instant.

He spoke forth his claim, saying that the tribe was sold by Malefactor Vippin. He claimed the bindings were a legal and well respected contract. The demon interrupted, but no one seemed inclined to listen to him. He did however, claim a portion, citing that it were his that took them in the first place. Kurtulmak's agent spoke next, saying that the souls worshipped him, and therefore belonged with him. Deitrich stated that they were not in fact devoted, stating that if they were so devoted, they wouldn't have sold their souls. The bickering continued, the Red joined in next, stating that the kobolds souls were not their own, and that they belonged to dragonkind, and that their willingness was not a factor. This continued, the Brass and Arbiter remained quiet. 

At this point, Atrilabax was the first of us to make our voices heard, demanding to know how Vippin could have sold souls that were not his, a good point, but Deitrich replied, citing past legal precedents, citing that they made no efforts to object to the pact, and referring to a case prior. (Gathron Vs The Stygia, in the second Sencry). At this point, I replied, stating that the gods protect the souls of their followers, and that they cannot take souls unwillingly into their grasp. I interrupted him when he stated that they didn't object again, stating that they couldn't object to a pact they didn't know existed.

The Arbiter was quick to stop the bickering, calling for order in a booming voice. He looked to Deitrich, demanding to know if the souls explicitly agree to be taken. He stated that Vippin did so on their behalf, at which point, the Arbiter declared that the contract cannot be held unto them, only onto Vippin himself. I wondered what was to come of the other all-watchers who signed the pact willingly, but I kept that question to myself. With a word, the Arbiter stated that Deitrich and his case were dismissed.

Deitrich looked straight at us, in a moment, his superior, smug demeanor had completely collapsed. He scowled, and we shared a long stare. He was grinding his teeth together in a fury. Despite the intensity of our staring contest, it didn't last long before he left in a defeated, furious huff. I watched him the whole way out, before he vanished in a puff of smoke. I bowed my head to the Arbiter after that ruling. One down, two to go.

I asked for the souls to be granted rest in the Eyrie, however, Kurtulmak's agent and the Red started bickering at this point. Kurtulmak's servant stating that the souls belonged to him as they revered him in life, while the Red stated that the souls of kobolds belonged to dragonkind and not a Degenerate Renegade. At times I wish I could have asked the Red for more about Kurtulmak's indiscretions, but now wasn't the time. The arbiter stated that the souls would make it intact to the destination that was decided, despite the damage to their souls. The Brass, strangely, was entirely silent.

At this point, I'd requested that the gem be inspected to ensure it was free of any magic that would cause complications. The Arbiter approved of it, directing the brass to inspect it. The Brass did so, saying it was free of any malign influences. It was placed on a pedestal in the center.

The demon at this point got uppity, saying that the souls were broken and battered, and stated that they must be destroyed. The Brass was quick to call the demon out on his attempted deceit. The demon got more hysterical, saying that they deserved it since it was theirs,  though I retorted that they gave it to us willingly and no longer had a claim on it. The Brass called for the demon to be dismissed. The demon approached to snatch the gem, though Dartak and I quickly stood in front of the gem, weapons now drawn, and we hissed threats. I called for the demon's dismissal, while Dartak angrily stated that if it approached the gem, he would descend into the deepest pits of the Abyss  and utterly annihilate him. After this, the Arbiter, in his booming voice, stared straight at the Demon, and uttered a single word. Leave. The demon backed up, and then departed. Two down, one to go.

Kurtulmak had the strongest case with the pact declared invalid. The souls worshiped him in life, so they should by right of the gods, go to him. The Red had retorted, stating that Kurtulmak was a rebellious traitor, and the souls had no place in his realm in Baator, and that all kobolds belonged to dragonkind. I had prepared for this, and I asked to be allowed to  present evidence to the court. The Arbiter motioned for me to continue.

I held onto it for many years, Vippin's original pact. I pulled it out and showed it to the court. I first asked the messenger of Kurtulmak if Vippin was chosen by Kurtulmak, he said that to his knowledge, it was not, and re-asserted his right to the souls that revered him. I made this speech to the court:

The Steelscale (name for Kurtulmak) was empowered by the Concordant, to champion our kin, in order to stand strong against injustices committed against us. However, during his travels, he came across a mention, never confirmed, that the souls taken by this pact, were handed over by Kurtulmak.How else would the devil steward have claimed the souls? Would ask before the court now, that while he doesn't know the truth, that if this /is/ the case, that the Steelscale handed over the souls to the devils, that the Steelscale would have thus betrayed the Concordant's charge, and thus be unworthy of taking the souls. So I would ask the Steelscale's messenger, so that this court knows, did the Steelscale, at any time, guide Vippin or his kin to the baatezu, at any time, guide Vippin or his kin to the baatezu, or sold our kin's souls to the baatezu?

And there it was, in plain view of the entire court of dragons, I had just accused Kurtulmak of Divine Treason.

Kurtulmak's messenger seemed unable to account for how the devils got the souls in the first place when they worshipped him, and nervously stated that if the accusation were true, then he would have heard of it. The Red however, was quick to pounce on the opening, calling out Kurtulmak on his disloyalty to dragonkind. After the arguments, and Kurtulmak's messenger failing to defend the accusation, the Arbiter dismissed Kurtulmak's claim on the souls, and it was ruled that his case was dismissed, and the souls were to remain in the Eyrie. The messenger of Kurtulmak was rather displeased, saying it was better to rule in the hells than serve in the heavens, but then left. The Brass dragon handed off the gem to the Red, who departed with it. Dartak wasn't fully happy with the result, he wanted the souls themselves to be able to decide what was to be their fate, though it was as the brass told us, they were too damaged to make their own decisions.

The trial had come to a close, we bowed our heads to them, though before we left, the brass wished to ask us something. He asked us for our reasons for undertaking the quest, despite it's many difficulties, and for putting so much into helping their souls. We each gave our answers. I remember mine...

They were our kin, and this one's tribe. Once he found out about the baatorian treachery that ravaged his tribe and kin, he knew he had to do something about it, to stop it however possible. And it's not an isolated incident either. You have said that many of our kin didn't deserve a better afterlife. I'm hoping this will not always be the case.

The brass seemed pleased with my response, offering this in response:

It has been found by those of the Metalic shades - that when one views enemies as... friends yet to be made? Ones circle of friends grows ever wider. And ones enemies deminishes. But this is a hard lesson, and a dangerous one. Perhaps one you are not ready for. I hope you shall be, at some time. Some of our delegation expressed doubts, but he replied thus: Ah. But it is in the smallest falling of pebbles, that the avalanche starts. Do not underestimate yourselves. They were words I took to heart. Hopefully one day wee would be worthy of them.

With that, the Arbiter declared it was our time to return. We said our farewells, and then departed the Eyrie.

Many long years it was I had this task weighing heavily upon my shoulders. And now it was done. It was done. I could barely believe it, that after all of my struggles, all of the intrigue that I'd gotten involved in, all of the dirty business I was a part of, all of the shadows, lies, betrayals, struggles, battles, and adventures, it was finally done. My tribe was free from damnation.

They were free... and so was I.

== Epilogue: ==

It's been a long time since that fateful day, I cannot stop thinking about the heavy implications this has for kobold-kind. What we're supposed to be and what we've become, it's painful to think of it all. How we're all alone in a hostile world surrounded by those who see us as   monsters yet know not why. It goes to show as well the Baatezu can't be trusted. In my first failed match with Deitrich, he claimed that we could get no unwilling souls because there were none, and yet what the dragon gods found contradicted this, and that there indeed were. How Deitrich could have supported such a contradiction still puzzles me, at least until I figure that when one makes the rules, theycan twist and distort them to serve their own purposes, and in the case of the Baatezu, they always will.

But most troubling of all was the secret about Kurtulmak. According to our people's legends, he was raised to godhood by the Concordant to protect our kind after a great injustice visited upon us by Garl Glittergold, god of the gnomes. But how can one raised to godhood to protect our people get away with selling out our kin to the baatezu. It makes me question just how much of our people's legends can be believed, and I dread wonder just how deep the lies our people suffer have gone. Is the story about Garl even true? Or is this another lie to keep us where we are? Was his selling of our tribe's souls to Deitrich a one time error, an act of unforgivable treason? Given all that I've seen, from the deep baatorian corruption, to the way the dragon gods regarded Kurtulmak, to that the Arbiter of Chronepsis accepted that Kurtulmak had betrayed his divine obligations and was denied souls that worshiped him in life, I  must conclude the worst about Kurtulmak. He's possibly the greatest threat to our people in all the realms.

Our kin are in a struggle to survive surrounded by enemies. Adventurers come to slaughter our kin, seeing us as monsters who do the same to them, raid, murder, and sacrifice people to devils. In response, we do all we can to survive and get justice for our slain kin, pushing us to darker and more desperate measures to survive, which only further heightens hate against our kind. This situation is one that benefits only the devils, pulling puppet strings on both sides to keep the slaughter of both sides going forever. And we all fall for it so easily.

It's an unfortunate situation for my kind, fighting for their lives at every turn against those who we've been manipulated into fighting by those we consider our benefactors. It is a situation that by design doesn't allow much room for understanding and reflection upon what we've become.

I can only hope this, that with the truth out there, that kobold-kind will be able to cast free of the shackles we've been put into. I hold no illusions that this will happen easily or any time soon, and likely won't happen within the author's lifetime, much as I yearn for it.

And maybe, if known by those who currently consider us naught but monsters and foes, that even if peace will not come in a long time, that it is at least understood why this is the case. Maybe, in time, those preconceptions which trap our minds will break and we can all grow better for it.

Dear reader, you now hold many terrible truths in your hands. I hope that for the sake of us all and those yet to be, that this knowledge, terrible as it is, is not forgotten and is put to the benefit of us all.

== On Vippin's Origins: ==

I had long suspected Vippin pre-dated the great expulsion, an event where many peoples of the dark who once walked the surface and lived in surface cities were cast below at blade and arrow point. I'd confirmed that this was indeed the case. 

Vippin was far different than how I came to know him. A driven, sociable, and friendly person, he was content to let others handle leadership. It was certainly not what I expected to hear out of the one who would become such a dark villain. 

It all changed when our kin were banished in the great expulsion, much pain and humiliation were felt by Vippin and his associates, and it didn't end there. When they came below, the drow visited every humiliation upon Vippin and his kin that they could. The only mercy they got was that they weren't killed on sight, the drow preferred to enslave them instead.

The kobolds who were displaced below formed their own tribe. He wasn't even the first all-watcher, as I thought he was. Instead, that was Hawg Bluescale who first led the tribe. One which they could run in the shadows as they built their power to shine in a hostile world. The Shadow Quartz.

Concordant's grace and best regards to you dear reader,

Crinukh Shadow-Quartz
<br>Tarsakh 13th, 140 AR

*The C is depicted on a shadowy quartz crystal, stylishly painted on the page.*

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