"I can see through them! They're not human, you have to understand!" he screamed through the bars, but the guard had stuffed cotton in his ears and was quickly losing the fight against sleep. The man in tattered and dirty robes began to pace back and forth. "Too many eyes, and fangs. But where do they come from?" he muttered. "Legs, all legs!" A noise brought him to a stop - a soft whisper came from just outside the bars.
He could have imagined it, but the hair on the back of his neck and arms prickled. "They're coming!" he screamed. Then he did hear it - a squeal and a chattering, and something large slipped in the cell with him. The spider-like horror on the ceiling fluttered and shimmered into existence, rapidly gaining disgusting solidity.
The multitude of dark eyes stared down upon him, and below two vicious fangs seeped noxious poison. He dropped to the floor and crawled back to the corner, but there was no escape in the small cell.
The mage had seen too much and then dared to speak out. Luckily, the city guard believed the broken man was just a vagabond, but they couldn't take any chances. They had finally come. The broken mage whimpered and begged as the horror stalked forward.
The Approach and Isoba the Harbinger
"Your beneficence constantly amazes me, great Emperor. I could not imagine a better man to guide your people."
"Hmm?" the Emperor asked as he raised his glass for more wine. "I expect flattery from my sycophants, Isoba, not a learned and wise man such as you."
"It does not change my opinion, but honestly our last bit of conversation reminded me of the news we heard earlier today." Isoba paused as the serving girl poured the Emperor's wine and then sauntered away.
"You were saying?" the Emperor asked as his eyes slid back to the foreign delegate.
"Quite a specimen. Yes, the governor, who came from the coast. You protected the people for years from pirates, thugs, and monsters, and now they balk at a little tax. If I may be so bold?" Isoba paused and the other man nodded. "I would not have been so lenient. Perhaps its my temper - a dreadful thing it is - but I would have increased their taxes more for his insolence. After so many years of giving, it is only natural to seek a little recompense. The Empire is in need, and it is such a minor tax."
"Hmm," the Emperor mused as he brought his wineglass to his lips. "We have guarded their waters and fields for twenty-three years."
Isoba nodded. "Building an army and maintaining such a great Empire does cost money."
Breaking the Stereotype
Phase spiders, as presented, are simple hunters that stalk the ghostly ethereal looking for prey on the material world. They are strong, agile, and posses a rare ability to cross between worlds, but their stupidity relegates them to being a blunt instrument. The potential for EVIL is there, and it isn't buried too deep.
They just need need to be re-envisioned. A few small tweaks to their nature and a proper background will transform phase spiders from a simple predator into unspeakable alien menaces from another dimension.
The Approach
Kasungu drifts through the Deep Ethereal; part city and part nation, if the alien bit of knotted stability amongst the protoplasm of reality could really be considered either. Every few decades its course takes near the Border Ethereal of a mortal world and the the foundations of the nation tremble. The kasu, the evolved phase spiders that comprise the majority of the population, awake from their period of quiescence, and the natives' focus shifts from their internal struggles and schemes to the approaching world.
Tensions flare and war often erupts as the powerful Kasungu factions bicker over who has what rights to the approaching world. The internal strife usually saves the mortal world from a dubious fate; even though the stronger factions still mount offensives against the world, they are weaker, divided, and scattered. This Approach promises to be different - the Nsanje faction remained amazingly active during the last period of torpor. They brokered deals and struck first during the awakening, now little opposition stands against them.
The Harbinger
It is customary for the powerful factions to send scouts into the mortal world - to asses the nature and strength of the people that could oppose them, and to sow discord whenever possible. Isoba is a noble member of the Nsanje and the honor of being the harbinger of Kasungu falls to him. He came to the world early in the Approach, giving him years to study the cultures and kingdoms of the world. Adept in magic, he blended in until he determined how to best create chaos.
He found the strongest nation, an empire with a determined emperor, and posing as an emissary from a distant land, ingratiated himself with the nobility. Isoba played the role of a pampered and rich foreign emissary to the hilt - tantalizing the other rich and powerful of the Empire with debauchery - but he didn't neglect his duty. He spent time working up the echelon of prestige, until he had the ear of the most powerful Imperials, including the Emperor. The kasu spy used his influence to push the empire into one conflict after another, and provided them with limited weapons and magic from Kasungu - to ensure the kingdom couldn't lose. He has the Empire wrapped around his finger.
Isoba has earned, and paid for, a respectable reputation. He has cultivated friendships and connections amongst the royalty, church, guard, tradesmen, thieves guild - any group that holds any power. He never acts untoward in the public, though he is known to have a temper. Few have anything bad to say about him, fewer still know any minor secrets, and no one knows his true nature and goals.
When not advancing the Approach, Isoba retires to his sizable estate on the outskirts of the city. There his magic and guards maintain his privacy and he is allowed a respite from his facade. Behind closed doors, the Harbinger is a despicable individual. He enjoys torture - physical and mental - for the shear act of causing pain, and practices the darkest magics. The kasu have perfected a dark art that allows them to feed off strong emotions and slowly devour the soul of their victims. Only ensconced at his estate can Isoba truly gorge himself.
The kasu noble isn't an individual to be trifled with. Isoba is a brilliant, amazing tactician, polished speaker, and wizard of some power. He's likely to note threats to his plans early, and will take whatever action necessary to nullify them. However, he is also very sure of his superiority and the near certainty of Kasungu's dominance of the world. Thus he may misjudge small scale threats (adventurers) because they, initially, don't have the power to affect the grand scheme. It's the one hope any opposition to Kasungu has.
Apocalyptic Instigator
Isoba isn't the only spy active on the world - dozens of other kasu have wormed their way into every major civilization. They're slowly pushing the powers into a large scale war, one that will decimate the fighting population of the world, and sap the strength of the great nations. First, the denziens of Kasungu will feed on the hate and suffering of the war, and then when the world is at its weakest, they will feast upon the flesh of the survivors and leave only a desolate husk of a planet behind.
Isoba, being the first and senior noble, has the honor of of instigating the beginning of the end. The threat of war looms on the horizon, everyone can feel it, but the Harbinger and the other spies aren't through manipulating the populace yet. Only once war is unavoidable will he whisper in the Emperor's ear and contentedly watch the forces of the Empire march forth.
Forces of the Approach
Tens, if not hundreds of Kasungu natives have crossed over to the approaching world to feed, create general chaos, and help instigate the apocalypse. Kasu, regular phase spiders, ethereal marauders, and a host of ethereal based creatures similar to their terrestrial counterparts, like doppelgangers, air elementals, and wraiths plague the world.
Those that need to operate amongst the populace must be magically transformed to fit in. If they have the skill or some prestige, they use their own magic or procure magical items that allow them to revert to their natural forms when in private. Alternatively, some suffer permanent polymorphs, a situation that makes many of them bitter, itching for conflict. The former usually serve as spies or mock emissaries (like Isoba), while the latter serve as their guards.
Kasu, the native phase spiders of Kasungu, differ from the regular stock like humans differ from ogres. They are smaller and weaker, but they are also far more intelligent and devious. Also, the kasu have kept a rapport with the phase spiders and the "brutes" often follow the smaller spiders' commands.
Basic force - Thug Squad - 8 thugs Basic overt force - Hunter Squad - 1 kasu & 2 phase spiders Advanced force - Emissaries' Goons - 1 polymorphed kasu, 4 thugs & two ethereal marauders in the ethereal Advanced overt force - Nighthunters - kasu sorcerer & 2 wraiths Elite force - Emissary Honor Guard - 4 polymorphed kasu monks Elite overt force - Kasungu's Fangs - kasu assassin & 1 advanced large air elemental
Isoba has a number of individuals at his command, mundane and otherwise. For basic dirty work he relies upon simple human thugs, but when a true problem arises he sends a number of his personal guard (emissary honor guard). If it's a serious situation, he can call upon 4 highly trained and specialized killers that will diligently hunt down and eliminate any impediments to Kasungu's Approach.
Kasungu
Part nation, part city, Kasungu is a loose web of congealed and spun protoplasm. Structures hang like enormous bundles of knots, or spires of gnarled coral in the vastness of the Deep Ethereal; the method of their construction is a secret art known only to the kasu. Mhurdau, the vile heart of the complex web, is a congested tangle of structures that constantly thrums with the movement and conversations of the multitude of beings it houses.
Currently the Nsanje faction holds sway in Mhurdau and throughout Kasungu, but usually multiple factions share and vie for control. Those that don't support the Nsanje have fled to the periphery, to more defensible locations, where they can lick their wounds, plot, and wait for the Quiescence.
Thornwood Estate
Isoba holds three properties inside the Empire: Thornwood Estate on the outskirts of the capital, Jteche Manor in the heart of the city, and his private ship, the Mistwind. Thornwood is a large estate of over a hundred acres, primarily comprised of dense and pristine forest. Its grounds are heavily patrolled by Isoba's guards on this world as well as in the Ethereal - Isoba values his privacy. The estate's mansion is a sprawling affair, but most of the rooms sit empty because Isoba actually resides in a twisted complex built in and around the manor in the Ethereal.
Isoba prefers to do his entertaining in the capital at Jteche Manor, and he has spared no expense in decorating the large mansion. The Harbinger's parties are known to be exclusive and they hover on the line of scandalous, making an invitation all the more desired. Isoba tries to spend the majority of his time at the Manor - it easier to stay involved in Imperial politics - and only retires to the estate a few days out of the month.
The Mistwind is the emissary's private vessel, and the means by which he officially arrived in the Empire. He claims to have traveled from a southern land on the far side of the world. Tantalized by sailor and merchant the tales, he ordered the Mistwind's construction and sought out his destiny. The ship is now almost a permanent landmark of the harbor. Isoba rarely steps aboard, and then it's only to officially return home to procure weapons and goods for the Empire's cause.
