3. Ongoing Chronicle: Calligraphy of the Sky

Ongoing Chronicle: Calligraphy of the Sky


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    Inciting Incident & Motivation

    A meteorite has landed in the North. Within the misty crater was found a most rare element, the coalesced aether, an object of great power and potential. Capable of remedying the most grievous of wounds, of piecing back together broken souls, of curing lycanthropy, of piercing the foggiest of arcane veils, of granting the clearest divine sight, and more. It is considered by healers, mages, bards, naturalists and rangers alike as desideratum, a coveted object and a resource of great desire, sought after by many. It is also, incidentally, an object that throws into the mist of uncertainty all manners of divination and prediction.

    Dramatis Personae / Cast of Seekers

    Thus were and are the various factions of the north drawn to the the coalesced aether -- i.e. the aetherite -- each for their own reasons and motivations:

    • The Golden Geese, who were on diplomatic mission to Moonreach Keep, venture forth. They seek to remedy their King, themselves, another, or perhaps an altogether different purpose. Each may yet have their own reasons for seeking the aetherite.

    • The Locus Operandi, who live in Moonreach Keep, some in the service of the Order of the Hidden Moon, and others in the name of the Cleimant Council. Yet again, each may have their own reasons for seeking the aetherite.

    • The Geese were beckoned by Horgrim Blackweave, the ogre magi and necromancer and member of the so-called Deepwood Court. His exact purposes are currently unclear.

    • The Locus Operandi were beckoned by Astrologer Farian to recover the aetherite. His intentions are unknown, though he is a known diviner and fortune teller.

    • The Calderan Lord and Cambion Sorcerer Kzagoth desires the aether, no doubt for his own private purposes. Some rumor the half-fiend intends to use it to become something else, entirely.

    • The Gloaming Witch, Rheya, and her family of familiars, i.e. her wolves, rats, spiders, and myconids, likewise seek the aetherite for an as of yet known objective.

    • The nereid moonfey Estuara has commanded her enchanted legion of kuo-toa to find the aetherite and bring it back to her as tribute.

    • The independent mage Adan Whisperwick is currently rumored to possess the aetherite, having been the one to emerge victorious following an immediate scramble and battle for it. He perhaps seeks to add it to his collection of artifacts, tomes, and scrolls, and of potent and rare magic.

    • The rogue Cleimant and noblewoman Olivia Gor has betrayed Moonreach Keep to throw her forces behind Adan Whisperwick, in an alliance to secure the aetherite for the completion of an as yet unidentified objective.

    • The renegeade Defender Lt. Rixx has similarly betrayed Moonreach Keep, having followed Olivia Gor into the service of Adan Whisperwick, for his own private motivations that remain for now unknown.

    Record of Strife

    The meteorite was detected early. Following the meteorite's landing, the Golden Geese received word from Horgrim Blackweave requesting they retrieve the material for him. Likewise, the Locus Operandi received word from Astrologer Farian, who requested much the same. Neither party knew of the other's involvement until later in the scramble.

    Both saw firsthand the war. On more than one front, and between multiple factions, each seeking the claim the aetherite for themselves. Goblin fungalmancers allied with the Gloaming Witch waged war with their kin who serve Emberhold, and each of the foregoing also held the beaches against crashing tides and invading kuo-toa under the command of the Nereid Moonfey Estuara. That is not to mention the pyromancers, exiled knights, independent lycans and all the rest who howled at the chance for the aetherite -- which seemed to call any and all who sense the arcane, are one with the divine, or otherwise touched by the moon.

    The Golden Geese found the crater first. Followed only a few moments later by the Locus Operandi. And a few moments after that by Adan Whisperwick, Olivia Gor, and Lt. Rixx, and their forces, who made quick work of the foregoing two parties. Their ambush saw the majority of the Locus Operandi caught in a blast, and the majority of the Golden Geese tumbling freefall into split earth. Both parties were presumed dead, as Adan Whisperwick made first claim of the aetherite.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • The following notes are available to all of the Locus Operandi:

    "Quicksilver Research:

    Farian, having modified the lid of the lockbox to allow transparancy and a small degree of transference, had myself and L study the contents. I began by testing whether the reaction we noticed the first time the box was opened was in response to heat sources or specifically living beings.

    As I placed my hand upon the lid, the liquid silver pulsed and glowed. Its shifting mirror-liquid began to meld and mould itself into a small pillar, as though reaching up towards my hand. By contrast, when summoning a small amount of fire of an equivalent warmth and proximity, the quicksilver simply remained a shifting puddle, neither inert nor reaching upwards.

    Next, with the visions of the past described by Aen and Ashla in mind, I theorized that the quicksilver might respond to moonlight. An artificial source of that was provided by Farian, and as the moonlight began to glow; the quicksilver within the lockbox began to glow aswell, both gleaming a vivid, pale blue.The quicksilver rippled rapidly at the glow; reflecting the artificial moonlight exceptionally well, and becoming visibly thinner and more dispersed.

    A study of the arcana in effect revealed the expected - a potent aura of transmutation, yet upon close scrutiny I could detect faint traces of transmutation too, thin as spider silk.

    L proceeded with the first of several alchemical reagent tests thereafter, beginning with moonstone powder. The quicksilver immediately began to crawl towards the moonstone powder, over it, lingering and rippling before finally retracting into itself, pooling out and thinning.

    This dispersal or thinning is clearly an indication of a greater degree of receptiveness - of malleability to modifications, using and merging it with other components through magic. Both moonlight and moonstone, then, works akin to a forge, if you'll forgive the somewhat crude analogy. The effect, in both cases, appears to last only for a few minutes, though I'll note that the artificial moonlight fading could be a factor in the first case.

    The aqua fortis thereafter, a highly acidic reagent, sizzled and began to dissolve the quicksilver - there was a harsh hissing sound, followed by acrid smoke, as the quicksilver immediately leaped to the other side of the box. The smoke is toxic, Farian cautioned.

    Salt, next - a sprinkle of it ontop of the quicksilver caused a similar reaction to the above, though milder and perhaps somewhat less hazardous to ones health - I still wouldn't recommend breathing in the fumes without a protective mask.

    Considering Aen's vision of (presumably) proto-Selunite experimentation on lycans, a tentative theory of mine was that the liquid silver was somehow infused with the essence of such a creature. If so, I reasoned that belladonna, while normally not used for alchemical purposes, would cause the quicksilver to recoil. Perhaps a less toxic means of containment, I thought, and so sprinkled a fine circle of belladonna powder around the glob of quicksilver.

    It rippled and shrank into a smaller blob, as though to avoid the encircling belladonna - exactly the sort of recoiling I was hoping for. I then poured the powder directly on top, and the quicksilver's mirror-like fluid stopped rippling, slowing down and thickening into a solid sort of gelly, almost like a brick. Attempting to use it in that form would be very difficult, I'd wager.

    L performed two final tests, one of red stardust, the other of alum. Both reagents caused a burst, a spark of flame and light respectively, against the grey brick. Despite the vivid ignitions, the brick remained solid and wholly unresponsive, however.

    Our studies concluded that the liquid silver is a very potent, very versatile and highly reactive reagent, and can be made to hold almost any shape you need. Whether the substance itself was discovered or created, we cannot say - but it seems highly likely that the proto-Selunites present in this region used it for experiments.

    Just what Whisperwick intends to use it for remains unknown, but his known works to date include infusing goblins with fieldish traits and creating that terrible, maddened Cambion clone for harvesting for parts. All this rather does fall into his general field of interest. I find it difficult to imagine he'd use it on himself though - so either he will bring his subject or subjects to the quicksilver chamber below, or, and I really hope I'm wrong, he's counting on us to bring ... well. Ourselves.

    -Laura Cade"


  • Laura confides with the rest of the Locus Operandi that Olivia Gor approached her at the cliffsides and after a moment's conversation regarding Lt Rixx's current state and possible future, Gor handed over a set of battleplans revealing what appeared to be several of the enemy forces strategies and planned points of entry. The parchments have since been delivered to the war council, along with Laura's own assessment of the encounter.

    "I told her Rixx's fate is still up to debate, but that the harsher the fallout of the siege, the harder it will be to advocate clemency. I think that's a fair assessment and one she'd already deduced, for being prepared with those sketches. I also believe she genuinely wishes no ill to befall the Keep - her betrayal was more about her desperate desire with regards to Highhold, after all. That doesn't make it right, but... it makes me more confident in trusting the intel she brought."


  • Laura spreads the following to her comrades, discreetly and individually:

    "Um, as you all know, we discovered what seems highly likely to be Whisperwick's true motive for staging the attack on the Keep. I say staging, because it's one big diversion, intended to keep everyone busy enough to not notice him clandestinely utilizing a certain quicksilver mechanism underneath the Keep. While old, it's still functional and built into the chamber in a way that prevents it being moved. I find myself wondering about how or if it connects to other similar nodes, but we havent the time to research such matters just now.

    It seems that the quicksilver can act as a means by which to emulate and thus make use of the aetherite proper - it has similar properties in and of itself, being a powerful reagent in transmutation magic, and I wouldn't be surprised if the effect could be multiplied using both. The aetherite's dissipating however, so the deadline given is clearly a hard one.

    Our um, most recent finding is also quicksilver, but of a peculiarily reactive kind. As we opened the ornate crescent moon lockbox it was contained within, the substance within seemed to come alive, shifting and mirroring us - forming the semblance of a face and small reaching tendril 'hands' before it fell back into seeming inertia. It was rather perturbing, but we need to study it further, given Whisperwick's evident interest. The only thing is... May Celine and her order seem keen on secrecy with regards to this proto-Selunite cult and their artifacts. So we'll need to keep it hushed for a day or two to give our group's arcanists time to work.

    Hopefully, the more we learn, the more educated our decision will be on what to do with the mechanism below us. And of course how to deal with Whisperwick's arrival to that same place."


  • L agrees that helping Farian is probably best. She nites mentally to herself that this is probably the best way of keeping the possibility of snagging the aethertite for herself alive. Keeping such thoughts to herself, it ways heavy on her demeanor when she agrees.

    She makes another mental note to ask Farian for a scroll of teleport to learn the spell for later.


  • "While I loathe thinking of us as somehow instrumental, I do agree we are in a unique position to thwart Whisperwick's plans beyond this keep. We must trust that Moonreach holds enough hands as capable as our own to hold out against the siege and hope it falls apart when we distract Whisperwick enough."


  • Octavia also recommends Farian's task.

    "If the keep is unassailable, then focusing on killing even more bugbears and giants is a waste of time and life. While I commend Lord Stockley's desire to save more lives, that will leave Whisperwick unimpeded in whatever task this distraction of an assault is attempting to mask. Let's focus our efforts on finding another disturbance, and see if we can spy on Whisperwick and discover what he's truly up to."


  • Ashla makes it known she agrees with Laura, favouring Farian's recommended course of action.


  • In preparation for the upcoming siege, different members of Moonreach Keep have approached the Locus Operandi, with recommendations on their next group effort.

    The Locus only has time for one major group effort between now and the siege. Each action comes with its own benefits and costs.

    The options are below.

    • Astrologer Farian: "The failure of divination magic does not render Whisperwick any less predictable." Farian believes that Whisperwick's planned attack on the Keep is designed to fail, and that the Locus Operandi should focus their efforts on uncovering and curtailing his true objective, whatever that might be. To that end, he suggests clandestine research, investigation, and observation.

    • Ava Brokenblade: "To siege our Keep is a colossal error. Let us eradicate both the fire giants and bugbears, and cull their numbers for a lasting peace." Brokenblade believes that the ill-designed siege is a unique opportunity for a trap and massive counter-attack against the bugbears and the fire giant forces. To that end, she requests the gathering of potent arcane materials to fuel the magical counter-attack.

    • Jecken Stockley: "Everyone is at risk. Please, help me minimize all possible casualties." Stockley believes that the main priority should be to reduce the number of deaths resulting from the siege. To that end, he asks for aide in gathering materials and repairing the keep's defensive structures.

    OOC Note: Please use this thread to deliberate and make the choice, which will determine the events for the upcoming weekend.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Laura brings the following to the attention of all members of the Locus Operandi, after she, Ashla, Octavia and 206 spoke with various members of the Keep regarding the upcoming attack:

    "Um, so first of all I've been working on calculating the location of Whisperwick's towers and I think we've got one pegged. It's in the very southernmost portion of Moonreach province, and I'm rather excited about seeking it out. Like Farian, I'm convinced that Whisperwick's true motives are nothing to do with attacking Moonreach, no more than it was to rule Caldera Manor, nor even possessing the aetherite.

    He told me outright when we spoke that he seized that simply for the convenience of staying undetectable. Even if he does lie often, opportunistic behavior like that is well in keeping with his character, and from what little I know about his research, it's not really related to divination. So, my assumption is that he's working on something he knows is objectionable to a lot of people and doesn't want to be disturbed at a critical stage.

    Maybe um, Kzagoth or Marielle would know a bit more about his research passions, in fact? Either way, we have the tower's location to make good on whenever we're all ready and able.

    That said, the Cleimants have presented us with alternative missions to tackle, and we promised to present them all to the group. Realistically we'll only have time to focus on one of them, and my own preference is the first for reasons just stated. It's not just that I think Farian's right about an ulterior hidden motive, it's also that I think we're uniquely equipped to persue that quest while the other two can be taken on by others.

    [FARIAN]: Research, investigate, and attempt to uncover Whisperwick's collateral attack motive.

    [AVA]: Secure magical weaponry and reagants for a devastating counter-attack during the siege, to potentially wipe out the bugbears and fire giants.

    [STOCKLEY]: Acquire materials and patch up the Keep's defenses, to maximize safety and minimize casualties.

    It's up for debate by you all though, so um, feel free to disagree with me!"


  • Clergy Correspondence
    Nightal 17/12/25
    From: May Celine & The Order of the Hidden Moon
    To: Thalaman Fisher

    Thalaman Fisher,

    The Cleimant Council previously requested your assistance, and has since received your refusal.

    We hereby accept your refusal.

    I do not intend to invoke the debt your family owes the Church of the Hidden Moon. A debt for our actions during Col Geroldine's war, for your own life, for that of your Herald Isaac Thaddeus, and that of your cousin Elizabeth's unborn child.

    I have also heard of your graceless, cynical, and base rebuke your brother Caleb, and of the way you humiliated him before the members of your court after he approached you to offer his cooperation in earnest and with sincerity. I do not intend to invoke that either.

    You owe nothing. These are charities freely given, in the name of the Moon.

    Should your heart change, know that Moonreach Keep requires no assistance. Our priests and mages are well ready for this and any siege.

    Be warned, finally, that the Fire Giants have expanded their reach beyond the Giantspire Mountains, in the wake of the retreat, isolation, and sickness of High Hold's Lord. There is a possibility that they eventually march through Peltarchian lands and townships, if not your walled fortress city.

    Should you require aide against any such incursions, we will gladly and freely lend it.

    I will pray for you.

    On Behalf of the Cleimant Council, Moonreach Keep, & its Lord Protector Caleb Fisher,

    -- May Celine, High Priestess of the Hidden Moon.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Royal Correspondence
    Nightal 17/12/25
    From: King Thalaman Fisher
    To: Cleimant Council

    Dear Traitors & Liars,

    My spies inform me that one of your former compatriots, Olivia Gor, has defected from your council to join the very cabal that now intends to besiege your Keep.

    I am also informed that you have in your gaol the former Peltarchian Defender Lieutenant Rixx, who betrayed his city and his King to join your rebellion, and has since betrayed that rebellion in turn.

    It seems you now taste the same treason you once prepared against my Crown.

    I have well received your request for aide.

    I will consider providing aide, and protecting your decaying Keep and its pack of seditionists and criminals, after you complete the necessary tasks to prove you are capable of even the smallest wisdom. Namely, I trust you will:

    • swiftly deliver to me Lieutenant Rixx, so that he might face his King's judgment and execution for his crime of treason.

    • convince my blood brother the bastard to abandon the pretense of Lordship over that far-flung wasteland, in the same way he has abandoned his treasonous intent of taking my Crown from me.

    • instruct my brother to return to the Jewel to face me, that I might decide his potential legitimization, his fate and his position in my family.

    Do these things for me and I will then further contemplate your request for assistance.

    Your King,

    -- Thalaman Fisher.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Official Correspondence
    Nightal 17/12/25
    From: Cleimant Council
    To: King Thalaman Fisher

    King Thalaman Fisher,

    A cabal led by Adan Whisperwick intends to lay siege upon Moonreach Keep.

    Rest assured our Keep and your brother are well-defended, that we are well prepared, and that we have already intercepted the plan of attack.

    Should you wish to lend reinforcements, we will gladly accept them.

    We await your response at Moonreach Keep.

    -- The Cleimant Council.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • As of Nightal 09/12/25, from the cosmopolitan lights of the Kingdom of Peltarch to the frothy chill mists of Moonreach Keep, the following situation stands amidst the intrigue of the north:

    • Adan Whisperwick currently possesses the rare aetherite, sought after by various factions, including those within the province of Moonreach, within Moonreach Keep, and the Locus Operandi - including its lyacans, and those seeking its curative properties.

    • He is also targeting George Longcloak, who is currently in a strange and elemental-like state, as a potential source of energy. George has been ripped in twine; seemingly separated from his body, now resembling more the firey-clones he has created in the past. He is at least alive if not well, after the Golden Geese have recovered him from one of Whisperwick's towers.

    • Kzagoth and the Caldera Manor have yet to reconcile; the former having launched a seek-and-destroy operation and siege against Adan Whisperwick's various towers, and the latter still reeling from Whisperwick's betrayal.

    • Thalaman Fisher has rebuked his bastard brother Caleb's offer to abdicate the throne, and rumors abound he is considering even further action against Caleb and the Moonreachers.

    • Peltarch's treasury is spent; the rebuilding efforts having consumed the entirety of all gold, and the Crown is now indebted by an unknown but presumed excessive amount. The Crown's dole of charity is dry, and non-existent. There are doubts of the King's commitment to law. Overall, King Thalaman's approval ratings are at an all-time low.

    • Dacre Aberdeen, leader of the republican autonomist rebels, is in dealings with the Golden Geese, and the face of the growing sentiment against the King and against royal politics in general, and a growing call to return to electoral and democratic politics.

    • He has revealed the involvement of an occult faction that plays at Peltarchian politics behind a veil of anonymity and secrecy. Their motives as of yet remain unclear.

    • Lokelani has lost her name to a fey who tricked her into giving it up; having only recently recovered the "L" from the fey that has captured it. The fey remains at large. Lokelani remains subjugated to the fey's will and whim.

    • Aoth Sepret Fisher, Princess of Peltarch, is rumored to have been sold to Lord Bellos, a magocratic ruler of a large estate in Thay, with influence over various mages throughout Faerun. The lord is known to be a cruel and wicked man.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit / Eternal]


  • Sebrienne sends a consolation letter from High Hold regarding George’s death to Rey, Isolde, Aoth, Cormac and Perom. A separate letter goes to George’s fiancee aboard the Wisp. If she’s notified when and where, she attends the funeral.

    After the funeral, Meadow joins Captain Hrresh’s legion .

    Lia is heard to say, “Well that sucks. He was a nice guy”, and crosses his name from a list.

    Octavia doesn’t really know George, and unless word makes it to Moonreach, there’s no comment from her.


  • Laura, who's spent the time since the meteorite's impact on researching the coalesced aether in the libraries of both Moonreach and Peltarch, intends to attempt a casting of Legend Lore focused on similar instances hinted to have occurred in the region in the past - such as the aetherite being employed as a weapon by the Aurealites, for instance. While she fully expects the results to be vague, her hope is to find some form of recurring pattern through studying past impacts of a similar nature.

    As for finding Whisperwick, Gor and Rixx, Farian's confirmed that divination is unreliable throughout the area and so legwork, exploration, keen eyes, ears and noses will be more important than ever in her estimation. Though it's possible Whisperwick's secluded in a pocket plane, the same might not be true for the eloped Cleimants. A Sending to Olivia Gor, urging her to rethink, is currently considered, though Laura doesn't deem herself the best suited to sway anyone's heart.

    To make matters worse still, the fey now possessing Lokelani's name has reappeared, with a demand for the aetherite as the first item on 'errands' for Nameless to earn back her name by. And soon after her unwelcome visit came another, that by a looming ogre mage in a black robe and cowl - Horgrim Blackweave.


  • Cormac, who had said he'd meet Isolde and the others at Moonreach and head out early - has yet to arrive, there are even suggestions he never left the city at all...


  • Isolde departs Peltarch following George's death - leaving so early, or perhaps late, that the sun has yet to rise over the rooftops of the city. A note on the door of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency's simply reads: 'Closed' - though those close to the bardess would know her intended destination's once again Moonreach Keep. Here, she intends to seek out Jonni, assuming he's still at work in the tower, as well as Flamekeeper Ereda, though she also ensures to reply to Horgrim Blackweave's Sending with one of her own, as the ferry glides through the mist-shrouded waters:

    "Horgrim - Whisperwick got George. Abducted, dissected, dead, cannot locate soul to resurrect. Don't go after him alone. Find me at Moonreach Keep. Please. ~Isolde~"


  • Newspaper - The Peltarch Times
    Eleint 03/11/25 (Three nights following impact event.)
    By: Lorelai Phinkwell
    In: The City of Peltarch

    Headline: LONGCLOAK DEAD, LEGION MOBILIZED

    Longtime Golden Goose and Defender Captain George Longcloak is dead.

    He was abducted and killed, it seems -- for whatever insane reason -- by a mage that has been publicly identified as Adan Whisperwick, who apparently resides somewhere in the Province of Moonreach or beyond.

    Dowager Queen Martha Fisher has offered a reward of 500,000 gold coins -- apparently the near entirety of her personal coffers -- and her royal favour to anyone who brings back Adan Whisperwick's head.

    Former Defender Captain Renius Hrresh has apparently come out of retirement and rallied soldiers, mercenaries, adventurers, former or retired soldiers as well as mages -- indeed, anyone with a sword or spellbook -- who would join his cause to bring about the Queen's will and revenge for Longcloak's death. Roughly 100 men and women have flocked to his cause, forming a new legion that now prepares to hunt down the killer mage.

    The Peltarch Times wishes them well, with high hopes of success, though cautions them to take care against the mage who it seems is no stranger to making enemies.

    Godspeed then, in the name of the Jewel.

    -- Lorelai Phinkwell / The Peltarch Times.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Public Circular - The Fabled Quill
    Eleint 03/11/25 (Three nights following impact event.)
    By: Lysander Pendrake
    In: The City of Peltarch

    It is now widely known that Peltarch Defender Captain George Longcloak was abducted from the Peltarch Commons yesterday through arcane means, namely a baleful teleportation spell. He was then killed at the destination. The Golden Geese have since recovered his body.

    The Lighthouse Temple has confirmed it.

    The body is not responding to resurrection.

    Longcloak was a respected Captain, and indeed, for a long time, the most popular. Not among the current ranks -- that would be Captain Jorino -- but among independent military observers. Retired soldiers, attentive nobles, and diarizing Bards pointed to him as the most level-headed. One who, at least on the surface, did not play politics or seek to aggrandize himself. That is despite his affiliation with the Dowager Queen.

    Yet there were also darker rumors. Those which stemmed from his association with the Golden Geese, that seemingly ageless band of adventurers of reputed arcane and esoteric power. There are unsettled whispers across the North of those who reported seeing Longcloak in flames. In their campfires, their hearths, and torches. Of those who say he made a bargain with a demon. That he may even be possessed or worse.

    For my part, I doubt the veracity of such rumors. I judge George Longcloak not by such mere allegations but by his real actions. Longcloak was a tempering force behind the more hot-headed and impulsive members of the Golden Geese. He was - in this author's opinion - both just and pragmatic, reasonable and careful in his approach. Qualities which are sorely lacking among the more famous adventurers.

    And now he is dead.

    All you adventurers who do read my circular, take note. The important part now follows.

    I have the identity of his killer on good authority. The one who balefully teleported George Longcloak -- indeed, the one who murdered him -- is none other than the mage Adan Whisperwick. A man devoid of conscience, whose actions are guided exclusively by self-interest and deception. A morally deprived mage who hides behind servants, agents, pocket planes, and magical veils. With any luck, none of these will be enough to hide him. Not from the Golden Geese, or any other who would avenge the death of one of Peltarch's most honest, earnest, and purposeful heroes.

    Sincerely,

    -- Lysander Pendrake.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Magic Message (Via Sending)
    Eleint 02/11/25 (Two nights following impact event.)
    From: Horgrim Blackweave
    To: Members of the Golden Geese

    Golden Geese,

    It is I, Horgrim Blackweave.

    You have failed to acquire the anomaly and subject it to arcane controls.

    The anomaly is a critical threat to the realm's order.

    Note that predictive divination magic on the subject is now impossible due to its effects.

    If you cannot acquire and control it, I shall.

    -- Horgrim Blackweave.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]