Interlude: What You Have Learned

General Summary

Ustalav is a nation ruled by monsters, figurative and literal. Tamrivena (and, indeed, most major towns and cities) may not be run by vampires, but definitely exist for them. The concentration of people make for efficient feeding, at the very least. This faction tends to encourage the worship of Urgathoa.   But they are not alone. The rebels besieging Tamrivena have many werewolves in their ranks — in fact, the soldier fought by the party in the mine was posted there to prevent soldiers from leaving the city. The nobles and folk from the countryside tend to be enemies of the cities, seeing the vampirism brought by “civilization” as a disease.   Which brings us to Hearthwick. The mayor, Oliphar Bulbanius, was a quisling. He supported the country folk, providing cover for their agents and supplying support for the cause. Unfortunately, he had to do so under the watchful eye of the priest of Urgathoa, Borrin . To do so, he used a Cloak of Elvenkind to slip in and out of the village.   Not knowing the details, the Farlander Zoltan Muddybrook simply sought to blackmail the mayor, thinking that Bulbanius had a mistress. When he arranged for Falco to steal the cloak, he had no idea what risk he had brought to the mayor or himself. Or, you know, Falco.   When Borrin “disappeared”, Bulbanius thought he was safe to contact the rebels without trying to be cagey. He could not have known just how Borrin could be rejected by the grave due to his pact with his goddess.