XIV. The Second Level

The party had teleported back to the nobles' inn in Stantin, in a nook out of sight of the residents. The Duke once again obtained lodging, and the party rested and refreshed themselves. An urgent meeting with the basileus was requested. Soon the request was granted, and the party once more found themselves in the presence of Nicephorus VII, this time in a smaller audience room. 

The party all bowed before the basileus. "Majesty, we have returned with great tidings! Our quest has succeeded beyond our hopes!" The Duke then described their infiltration of the Most Praised One's stronghold and their denunciation and execution of the false prophet, in broad daylight and in the sight of his followers. He did not, however, detail the magical means by which they had carried out the mission, saying only that the party had found their way "by the grace of the heavenly powers."

Then, from a silken pouch at his side, the Duke brought out the severed head of the Most Praised One and presented it to the Basileus. Nicephorus gazed into the lifeless eyes of the false prophet, a look of astonishment and admiration for the party on his imperial countenance. "A child rapist, and a coward as well," observed the Basileus. "How could such a beast ever have gained such a following?"

The Duke replied, "Majesty, the answer to that question may never be known." He continued. "This will surely aid you as you begin the liberation of your lands from the grip of the savages. Now that their god has been exposed as impotent and their prophet has been consigned to the infernal regions, they will surely crumble like the sand of their wretched homeland."

The Duke went on. "If it please your Majesty, I now desire to return to my northern home, and free the realm of Kingsland from the savages." But Nicephorus smiled, and replied, "We see that you have not yet been informed. Your friends the Varangs have already crushed the infidels! They have all but abandoned much of your homeland, and those that remain will surely fall before you on your return. A return which we will, as agreed, fully support, along with your claim to the throne of Kingsland."

Nicephorus then turned to the other party members. "And what might our Empire do for you, brave ones? You have but to name your reward, and it will be granted if it be within our power." Arnold intended to ask for plenty of treasure, but Edward spoke up first. "We only wish to return to our homes as well, with the thanks of the Duke and of your Majesty." "You shall have it," answered the basileus, "and you shall reap a handsome bounty as well."

The party were indeed presented with a considerable bounty of treasure, as well as honors and rank within the Vatic Empire. The Duke was rewarded with an alliance with the Empire and the title "Mantoctonus", or "Prophet-slayer". But after several days, the party finally returned to Stansbury. There, the Duke began to make plans for the final liberation of the whole of Kingsland, as well as for his claim to the throne. He invited the party to remain and witness his final triumph, but warned them it would require at least several weeks to accomplish. The party, however, desired to return home without further delay.

"I understand, my friends," said the Duke. "Before you go, we have the matter of your compensation to attend to." The Duke fully honored his commitment to the party. Four gunsmiths were assigned to accompany the party back to their world, along with a supply of rifles, pistols and ammunition. Honorary citizenships and noble ranks in Kingsland were conferred. Each party member received a sizeable treasure chest as well as a supply of nobles' garments.

The party rested for a few more days. During this time, Edward, recalling that he was a paladin of Hieroneus, began to discuss the faith with others in Stansbury. If, he thought, he could win a sufficient number of believers for his patron god, perhaps a connection with Hieroneus could be established on this world!

Finally the day came for the party to return home. The city was returning to its pre-conquest state. Commerce was reviving, especially the taverns, wine merchants, arms dealers and women's clothiers! The party revealed to the Duke the location of the hidden mirror; the Duke assured them he would guard the building to prevent unauthorized access. The gunsmiths were also briefed, and were assured that they would be allowed to return upon completion of their advisory assignment. Without further delay, Firiona activated the mirror, and the party stepped through. As expected, the gunsmiths' mirror-duplicates attempted to kill them, but Edward and Green Arrow quickly slew the weak, and unarmed, mirror-gunsmiths. Once back in the locked, hidden room in Greyhawk, the party, with the gunsmiths, teleported back to their home in Darksea.

Firiona contacted the Enterprise upon her return, requesting a meeting to report on their mission. She still had doubts about the wisdom of introducing firearms to their home plane.

The party, accompanied by the gunsmiths, were brought to the Liaison Office where they had received their mission. The gunsmiths were escorted to a meeting with Enterprise members from the Research Department. The party themselves met with Lessic to report what they had seen, learned and done. Lessic expressed great satisfaction with their performance. "We shall meet again tomorrow to further discuss your activities," he said.

When they met again, Lessic presented the party members with their promised reward. Each was provided with ten thousand gold pieces, along with a valuable magical item of their choice. At this point, Lessic asked Mediel (who, after all, was not yet an Enterprise member) to leave while he discussed certain additional matters with the rest of the party. Mediel agreed, advising Lessic that he desired to return to his monastery for meditation and spiritual refreshment.

Once Mediel had left, Lessic said, "Your performance in the assigned mission was quite extraordinary. We believe that you are now ready to advance again within the Enterprise. If you desire to do so, we can proceed with your promotion here today." Firiona quickly asked what the Enterprise intended to do with the weapons. "I'm concerned about these weapons spreading into the world at large and creating havoc," she said.

"A fair question," replied Lessic. "I can only tell you now that the weapons will not fall into the wrong hands, and that they will not be used for any evil purpose. If you decide to accept promotion within the Enterprise, you will learn more. Do you wish to be promoted?" All agreed that they did indeed wish to be promoted.

"So be it." Lessic pressed a button on his desk. A door opened, and two figures entered, both unknown to the party. "Andronikos Phaskos, Director of Armed Forces," said Lessic, referring to a tall, powerful man dressed in military garb, "and Brennian, Director of Exploration," referring to a youthful-appearing half-elf man. They then proceeded to induct the party into the second level of the Enterprise. Each was given appropriate second-level passwords and recognition signs. They were advised not to reveal anything they were about to learn to anyone not at least a second-level member of the Enterprise.

They were further reminded of their duties to the Enterprise. "Your first loyalty must always be to the Enterprise, without exception," said Andronikos. "This also means that any activity you engage in must be performed to benefit the Enterprise to the maximum extent. If your activity can be performed in two ways, and one way benefits the Enterprise while the other does not, the former must be chosen. Do you understand?" The party signaled their agreement.

"Very well, then. You are welcomed to the second level of the Enterprise. We are certain you wish to know more about the nature of our activities." Firiona readily agreed. "Know then, that the Enterprise has a number of primary enemies, and that among these, the most important are the drow, as well as their allies throughout the multiverse," said Andronikos. He continued, "Our long-term goals include locating all drow cities in the entire multiverse; undermining drow society, in particular encouraging internal strife (which is not difficult to do); thwarting drow military actions; gathering intelligence on Lolth, the Spider Queen, as well as her abodes including the Demonweb Pits; and learning ways in general for defeating the drow in the Underdark and elsewhere."

Brennian added, "You have already been of considerable assistance to the Enterprise, by virtue of your contact with the Ashen Compact and with the drow renegade Sovan in particular, as well as your recovery of the tome entitled Spawn of Lolth from the former temple of Wee Jas in Darksea and your location of doors from Sigil to planar locations controlled by Lolth."

Andronikos continued, "You are familiar with the symbol of the Enterprise." The party nodded their assent. "Know then," he went on, "that the symbol has added significance beyond a mere recognition device. Consider the primary charge: the spider-eater. What do you think the significance of this charge might be?" Edward quickly responded, "Spiders are the symbol of Lolth!" "Precisely," said the Director. "Spiders are the symbol of Lolth, and of the drow. And spider-eaters prey on spiders. As the Enterprise intends to prey upon the drow."

The officials concluded the promotion ceremony, and suggested that the party take time off to reflect on their new responsibilities, as well as to pursue their own interests. The Enterprise would be in contact with them when their services were required.

Over the course of the next eight months, the party members spent much time back in Darksea, which had revived to almost its former glory and was now a center of commerce and industry. Trade with Verbobonc and beyond, to Greyhawk, was well established, as was communication with Pellak and the surrounding areas. Meanwhile, the Enterprise recovered the mirror from the hidden room in Greyhawk and transported it to another location under Enterprise control. The Exploration Department used it to access the various planes and other locations the party had identified, as well as others the party had not examined. The Research Department utilized the expertise of the Stansbury gunsmiths to further evaluate the function and utility of firearms on Oerth. The gunsmiths were dismissed after about six months so that they could return to their homes, and were escorted through the Plane of Mirrors and back to Stansbury without incident.