Expedition 0: Questionable Alliance (Agamemnon)

I talked to Ulman again.  That man is out of his gourd ... but I don't dislike him.  I think he is a man who has been driven to extremes by being powerless in a dangerous world.  Thanks to my orcish heritage I am strong and fearsome, while my human side grants me intelligence and a powerful presence.  Ulman has none of these benefits.  But he does have the will to survive, and the balls to risk his life in the pursuit of that survival.  That has to be respected.

Now we just need to ensure he does not become so obsessed with power that he turns to the pursuit of evil.  Keeping him this side of that chasm is a worthy endeavour.

I hope one day he will tell me what actually happened to his wife, if he ever had one.  I suspect knowing that will reveal why he is who and what he is today.

In any case, I have struck a deal with the mad necromancer on behalf of the Great Downward Engineering Company.  I realised that money for Ulman is a means to an end, a way to acquire the deeper knowledge he seeks.  Our party is a much quicker means to a much more interesting end, and so he readily agreed to this proposition: We will gift to him any necromantic items we recover from Rappan Athuk, and consider that the establishment of a line of credit for his services.  Henceforth we will pay only one-third the price of his services, most notably his resurrections which now attract the far more economical pricetag of one thousand gold pieces - much more within our meagre reach.  Most usefully it also grants us immediate access to his restorative powers, even before we have furnished him with any items of interest.

I needed to clear this matter with Shades first, as it is his company for which we work.  The selling point for him was the restoration of Karina's husband to life: as a tengu he feels a great sympathy for those people condemned by circumstance to lead a criminal life, and as a lord - lord of a shithole, sure, but lord nonetheless - he feels responsible for his charges.  I proposed this ideas mostly for pragmatic, or perhaps selfish reasons: Ulman's power is not divine, and so I do not understand it, and cannot trust it until I see its effects with my own eyes.  This experiment, if it works, will not just slake my curiosity, it will also reassure my compatriots of the safety net we have woven when we face mortal danger in Rappan Athuk.  Timidity will win us no battles; the confidence to forge ahead into the darkness is an invaluable boon to us.  So I pray to the Elven Bastard Ulman can pull this off.

Of secondary concern are the three ... recently-retired bandits currently in residence in Castle Calaelen.  As I have previously noted, we underestimate Karina's grief.  Her grief has a perfectly justified outlet in hatred directed towards us, and though she seems to possess herself now, we cannot trust that she will remain so cowed if an opportunity for revenge on those who took her love away from her presents itself.  Winning her good will ensures that we remain safe, that we are not forced to kill her, and also gives us a chance to turn her and her colleagues to good.  Once again, this is a worthy endeavour.  Snook agrees - which is fortunate, because I would not proceed with this plan without having him on board.  The dwarf has a much more refined sense of good and evil than I do; he is an arch pragmatist - the very best kind of paladin - so if he tells me he considers a course of action to be too great an ethical compromise, I will bow to his superior moral compass.  I am fated to walk the grey line between right and wrong; I need people like him with me to ensure I do not fall.

Which reminds me: Shnookums and I need to have a conversation, and soon.

The paladin also informed me that he would be keeping a very close eye on both our friendly neighbourhood necromancer and the newly-returned ex-bandit, in case they slide too far to the black end of the spectrum, or bring something evil back into this world alongside the man's immortal soul.  I expected nothing less from my stalwart companion.

In one surprising but very welcome twist, however, Ulman had one additional requirement before he would agree to our partnership: that I ensure he is returned to life if, during the course of his enquiries, he dies.

I agreed immediately, and have made this my personal responsibility, and not just because I like the man and his ... family.  Ulman knows the danger inherent in what he is doing, and he forges ahead regardless, but not without due caution and contingencies.  Something in his mind is clearly broken, but he yet retains his reason.  This bodes well for him, but also means he can be brought to good, or at least influenced to steer clear of the worst excesses of the necromantic arts.  The man can be saved, and, I fancy, he wants to be saved.  I can respect that.