The first plans to curb thralldom went nowhere. Entrenched in the Underworld, Death's Demise was too powerful to assault, guarded by writ and contract. The words of the Great Bard and the Justice That Is warned of great peril in attempts to bring Undeath to any such heel by force.

There was another path.

Sceptical at first of success, the adventurers of Cyrene and Targossas considered a new avenue: if force might result in cataclysmic harm to the cycles of death and life, might not a solution that forestalled conflict be better? It was a dangerous gamble, for the King of Undeath had proven treacherous, ambitious, cunning, and lethal in equal measure throughout his long life.

Nevertheless, Pryla'ari agreed it might yet pay dividends to negotiate the return of the boundary between life and undeath to its natural state.

They sought to bargain.

How then to proceed? Slith was nowhere to be found. He did not occupy his throne in Cor Kanth. Even if they could speak to him, what might they say? He would surely demand something in exchange. After all, they were asking him to cede hard-won territory.

They needed leverage.

Learning of the fury in Undeath's King at the indignity in the demise of his friend, Cyrene and Targossas appealed to Pryla'ari once more. They asked of her passage into Memory, that they might retrieve the remains of the Prince of Woe and bring them back to the Prime Material. There they could be disposed of with the gravitas and solemnity Slith felt his friend deserved.

So it was that with the help of Shial, Shaman of Riagath, Pryla'ari sent six mortals and one spirit into the Memory of Old Shallam. The gentle and brave boy Dawlish joined his friends for one more adventure; he guided them wordlessly through the streets of that embattled city and safely back to their world.

With the remains of Pazuzu in Pryla'ari's safekeeping, the next great challenge loomed large before them. They had to reach the unreachable, and offer Slith terms.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Summary: Resolving to end the thralldom of mortal souls, Cyrene and Targossas chose to forego violence and instead seek accord with Slith. They would offer Pazuzu a funeral worthy of his role in history; the first step was to retrieve his remains from Memory in Chronos of 946 AF.


Penned by My hand on the 9th of Lupar, in the year 949 AF.