Arcade’s Journal -- Lord Tarim-Loial

...finally received word! Lord Tarim-Loial, Alix’s father, is due any time. Have tried to make the Manticore as presentable as possible, with much spit and polish. We have heard terrible things about him from Alix, but knowing how Alix’s judgment of personal character works, he may actually be a very sweet, kind, old man....

...the lord arrived early in a splendid coach, and was announced by a footman. Alix was completely taken by surprise by the timing of his father’s arrival, but he tried to put a good face on things. The rest of us remained below in the common room while Alix went with his father upstairs to Alix’s private suite to talk things over. Naturally, Nolin and Tom-Tom could not resist following them to eavesdrop!

This time their curiosity was most fortunate. Behind the closed door they heard a sudden thump, followed by a hoarse scream. Nolin yelled down for assistance and we burst through the door. There we found the "lord" holding Alix aloft by the throat, slowly strangling him. Nearby, Cambion glowed like a miniature sun in its sheath, but Alix had been unable to draw it. It seemed that the doppelgangers had returned once again, probably to retrieve Cambion while repeating their assassination of Alix.

Nolin and I blasted the creature with multiple ’Missiles. Sorely wounded, it dropped Alix. As it tried to crawl across the floor, I picked up Cambion and handed it wordlessly to Nolin. Nolin began to move towards it. It suddenly transformed, before our eyes, into a young pregnant woman and began beseeching Nolin for mercy. Nolin briefly stopped dead, obviously recognizing the woman from his past. A look of terror crossed his face, followed by one of pity, and then of disgust. He finished the beast with a curse and a single stroke. The doppelganger in death became rubbery, and nearly featureless....

...just as we were asking Stavros to have the head stuffed for the trophy room, we were summoned downstairs. Lord Tarim-Loial was arriving for real at last! While Stavros hid the body, we examined the footman. It turned out that he was a dupe, as Cambion proved. We formally greeted the lord, and informed him of the duplicitous actions of the false lord. He was most pleased with our actions, and thanked us for saving Alix. Cambion, held surreptitiously, indicated that this lord was the real article. Again Alix and his father retired upstairs, and they resolved many issues between them.

Afterwards, the Defenders were invited to visit the family manse in Kindric, with transport to be provided by the house coach, in a few months’ time.

Alix later informed me that the lord was quite impressed with me. A most excellent afternoon.

Later, Alix, Tom-Tom and Cadrienne spent some time roaming the town with Cambion, looking for any other disguised shapechangers. (We have become very wary, indeed!) They nearly set upon a druid they encountered in the market, but thankfully, they stayed their hands.

Cadrienne has again been having vivid dreams, this time of circles of mushrooms. The druid was able to give her the name of the particular mushroom when she described it. We suspect that these mushrooms may constitute the mystic faerie circles of the northwestern forests.

Oania the dryad, the brownies, and Frolic the dragon all have been indicating that something untoward has been happening to the faerie circles, causing the entire wood to sicken. We decided, as a group, to investigate the problem ourselves....