The Spurned Cult of Iuz

As the PCs will eventually dis- cover, the cult has researched the magic that trapped their former leader. They have already made several unsuccessful attempts to break the magic that holds her. They will continue these efforts and will eventually be successful unless they can be stopped in time. As they have come closer to free- ing the trapped Falcon, the cult has taken steps to ensure that they can operate undisturbed. They have threatened or ambushed many adventuring parties that have come to Greyhawk in order to drive them out of town, lest they discover the cult. They have also threatened or killed citizens of Greyhawk who stumbled onto their plans and threatened to re- veal them. And they have set fires and launched attacks around the city to provide a diversion for their activities and keep the law busy elsewhere. The cult knows that they are not yet strong enough to challenge the clerics and the Temple of St. Cuthbert. This is the reason that the Temple has not detected their activities. They have, however, had their eye on Talasek for a long time. They know that a man of his dedication can cause them prob- lems simply because of his com- mitment to any cause he champions. One of the cult's minor mistakes was in kidnapping residents of Shacktown to be charmed and used as slaves. They were aware of the shrine of St. Cuthbert there, but were not aware of Nicholi's un- dying dedication or his friendship 47 Carl Cascone (Order #48557288) with Talasek. This link will provide clues to the PCs that the cult can- not afford to have revealed. The cult has spies all over the city. Although they are not nearly as thorough as the Thieves' Guild at watching the activities in Greyhawk, they remain abreast of activities that are of concern to them. All cult members are re- quired to report on any adventur- ers they see entering the city. The cult then keeps a watch on them. If adventurers appear to come close to any hint of the cult activity, they are threatened or ambushed to en- courage them to leave the city. As mentioned, the cult also watches Talasek. Until he met the PCs, the cult saw no reason to threaten him, but his relationship with adventurers gives the cult cause to worry. This is the reason for the attack on Talasek after he hinted to the PCs of mysterious happenings in the city. As adventurers persist in inves- tigating the activities of the cult, the threats and attacks on them become more violent. However, the cult tries to stop short of killing their enemies in such attacks, because a murder would spark more investigation than a street brawl. The cult cannot allow the risk of being discovered in such a manner. The cult's plans are to continue trying to free the Falcon. This ac- tivity takes priority over all others unless the cult is directly threatened and must defend itself.

The cult has recently hosted sev- eral of the members of Iuz's per- sonal cult from Molag. These are the visitors that can be observed entering and eventually leaving the city at night, carrying heavy bundles. Although most of the stone for the temple has already arrived and been put in place, these visitors carry the last of the stone that will finish the under- ground complex. The stone is car- ried in a crate that is similar to a bag of holding, but is capable of holding 3,000 pounds while weighing only 20 pounds. The visitors normally stay with the cult for a few days to rest for the journey home. This also gives them an opportunity to observe the cult and provide Iuz with a re- port on their progress when they return.

The cult of luz that currently threatens the City of Greyhawk is a descendant of the cult that was destroyed by Talamar Thraydin many years ago. Although the Cult's leader, the Falcon, was im- prisoned and her assistants were killed, some of the followers banded together to rebuild what they could of the cult. These self-appointed leaders sal- vaged what they could from the cult's possessions and spent nearly one full year poring over notes about spells and the powers of luz before they began planning the revival of the cult. Their plan- ning required several months be- fore they felt confident that they could proceed and be successful. This length of time also allowed some of the uproar caused by the cult to die down. Although most of the informa- tion about the cult was kept secret by the clerics of St. Cuthbert, ru- mors and speculations were still widespread. Superstitious and gossip-hungry citizens managed to keep the cult stories alive for nearly a year after the cult's down- fall despite laws to the contrary. Evil cults are strictly forbidden in the City of Greyhawk, and simply discussing them or spreading gos- sip is punishable by a heavy fine. This did not stop the rumors for a long time, to the cult's disappoint- ment. The new cult leaders learned through their research that the Falcon was sent to Greyhawk to build a new cult of luz. She was greedy for power and saw this as an opportunity to gain the favor of luz and possibly a position as a high-level assistant. This greed, however, was the Falcon's downfall. By wanting too much too soon, she made many critical errors that betrayed the se- crecy of the cult and left her vul- nerable to the plot against her. Had she taken her time and planned carefully, the cult would have grown, rather than being de- stroyed in its infancy. Another of Falcon's mistakes was in choosing her followers. She preyed on teenagers for their vul- nerability, naivete, and the ease with which they could be manipu- lated. She did not count on the concerns of their parents or the lack of commitment of some of these young members, who even- tually became fearful of the cult and wanted it stopped. They pro- vided the vital clues that allowed Talamar and his party to attack. During the course of their re- seach, the new cult leaders trav- elled to the lands of luz north of the City of Greyhawk. They reached Molag, the city from which luz rules his territory on Oerth. There, they asked for assistance in rees- tablishing the destroyed cult. Al- though they were congratulated for their initiative, they were denied any favors. The leaders were told that if they could prove them- selves worthy, they might receive support from Molag. But since the cult had ended in disaster, luz was not willing to waste time and re- sources on bunglers. luz's vendetta luz decided to monitor the prog- ress of the cult, however, since he had a score to settle with Greyhawk. He had been trapped for decades in a chamber beneath Greyhawk Castle by the mad arch- mage Zagyg. When his prison was sprung, attempts were made on his life by a party of Greyhawk's citizens, including Tenser, the arch-mage. luz would like nothing better than to see Greyhawk ru- ined and converted to his own ter- ritory. luz would eventually learn that members of the cult had infiltrated important public offices in Greyhawk. Upon learning this, he decided that these cult leaders were serious about their efforts, and assisted them by providing them with the building materials necessary to construct their un- derground temple. luz's position is that if this cult is successful in its efforts in increas- ing its membership and infiltrat- ing the government of Greyhawk, he will reward them and use their hard-won power to settle his ven- detta with the unsuspecting City of Greyhawk. If they fail, however, he will refuse to recognize them ever again. When the time comes to confront Tenser and the city, he will do it according to his own plan and using his own means. Growth of the Reborn Cult When the new cult leaders were ready, they began their carefully planned efforts to revive the cult even though luz had refused to as- sist them. They were determined to win his favor and succeed where their predecessors had failed. They recruited only the most loyal and trustworthy of the origi- nal cult members. The new cult was extremely selective and cau- tious in their recruiting efforts, hand-picking their members. Be- fore a recruit was approached about joining the cult, he was watched for several weeks to deter- mine whether he was the "right material." Nearly half the recruits 46 Carl Cascone (Order #48557288) who were watched were never of- fered membership because the cult had become so selective. These people never even knew of their po- tential as cult members, so cau- tious was the acceptance process. Of those persons offered mem- bership, only a few, perhaps 5%, turned down the offer. Unfortu- nately for them, they paid with their lives. Their bodies were never found and their bones now decorate the cult's underground lair. Membership grew slowly, gain- ing perhaps a four members per year, but all members were strong in their commitment. They swore an oath of secrecy that they would carry the knowledge of the cult to the grave. As the years passed, the original cult members passed away and the positions of leadership were as- sumed by other members, some- times by vote, and sometimes by decree of the other leaders. Sons and daughters of the members were frequently inducted into the cult as they reached adulthood. For the most part, however, mem- bers were unmarried, to avoid the suspicion of spouses and children. Several marriages did result between members of the cult who met as a result of their cult activi- ties. The children of these mar- riages were declared members of the cult before their birth and at- tended cult activities with their parents as soon as they were born. The cult became serious in its ef- forts to infiltrate the city. The lead- ers pinpointed important positions that they hoped to one day control. They knew that these efforts could take years, waiting for promotions that might come only after the death of key persons. The leaders knew that they could see to the deaths of individuals who stood in their way, but they wisely decided to let nature take its course rather than risk revealing their plot and endangering the cult. With its goal of increasing their power and winning the favor of Iuz, the cult would stop at nothing. They knew that if they could strengthen the cult to near invul- nerability, Iuz would favor them and endow them with powers beyond their dreams. When Iuz recognized the cult's success in infiltrating the city gov- ernment with a reward of supplies for building their temple, the cult was elated and their hunger for power was fueled. This served as incentive to increase their efforts and commitment to making the cult the most powerful in the Fla- naess. By the time forty years had passed since the cult's original de- struction, all original cult mem- bers had died. Those in power had learned much, but felt that they needed some great, powerful deed to win Iuz's favor. They also felt that they needed some agent to help their cause, since their re- sources and knowledge of power were limited. They devised a plan to accomplish both these goals. The cult leaders began to inves- tigate their original leader, who had come to be known as the Fal- con. They studied her writings that had survived since the de- struction, and guessed that she must have been a brilliant and powerful leader. Unfortunately, in her personal writings, the Falcon portrayed herself as far more bril- liant then she actually was. Her notes also did not reflect her greed for power that ultimately caused her mistakes and her downfall. The new leaders realized that she probably had not been de- stroyed, as perviously thought, but trapped in some sort of dimen- sional prison. They decided that this was the opportunity they had been waiting for; if they could free the Falcon, they would accom- plish a great deed and gain an agent of Iuz who could lead the way to power under Iuz. With the Falcon to lead them, they thought, they could surely take over the City of Greyhawk, claim it for Iuz, and run the most important city in the Flanaess.