The Thorn (Prize Part I)

Prize Part I was the third story of this chronicle.

Dramatis Personae

• The Penultima
• Vanus
• Ultima Holdings
• Rain

Plot

The Penultima were invited by an unknown person to dinner with them. The mystery host, an aging, decrepit man, called himself Vanus and identified himself as someone the local consilium would called "Wicked". Vanus reveals that the object that they had lost to an unseen force after the assault on the Banishers (see Failing Potential(article:432b769c-5bde-463c-a3de-608655746c62)) was a powerful supernal artifact, The Thorn. The old gentleman was reluctant to share other details about the artifact however. The Scelestus then also revealead that this artifact was taken by a pylon of the Seers of the Throne: Ultima Holdings, who had veiled themselves with spells as they took out of @[Sojack's grasp. He asks the cabal to retrieve it from the pylon, after which they may do what they like with it, and in fact some help in identifying weaknesses in the pylon's Sanctum defenses.
After some initial hesitation, the Penultima decided to retrieve the artifact, after all, at least it would be out of the hands of the Seers. Arondight, protected by various spells, was chosen to infiltrate their sanctum and take the Thorn, which he managed without any significant hiccups.
However, things spiraled out of control from there; as a warning, which informs Sojack that Ultima Holdings knows that they have taken the Thorn, ends up leading him to be captured by the Seers, as he had spontaneously decided to watch their sanctum on his own.
Sojack ends up trapped in his own Oneiros by Maximus while Ultima Holdings extracts what knowledge they can from him. As soon as the Penultima had realized that Sojack was MIA, they tried to contact him by phone, which was picked up by Maximus. As soon as they had understood the situation, they attempted to negotiate Sojack's release but only managed to convince Maximus to spare him for the time being, until a satisfying accord could be found. Luckily for the Penultima, they could not return the Thorn anymore, as Sojack had already given it to the Russell Road Lorehouse (without discussing this with the rest of the cabal), but Maximus was able to think of other valuables the Penultima could offer: Reperations in tass and a service rendered - leading to Temporal Chaos and Sneaky Business.

Backdrops

Locations

• The Penultimate Sanctum 
• Ultima Holdings Sanctum