A Cardinal Decision

The pope and the Holy Roman Emperor are at odds, and the emperor has besieged Rome, surrounding the city with his army. As the city prepares for the siege, the pope dies. The College of Cardinals convene to pick a new pope. The secular authority of Rome sequesters the cardinals and won't allow them to leave until they choose a new pope. To most magi, this is a distant problem that doesn't affect them one way or another.

But fate intervenes. Supernatural forces move to influence the papal election, and Infernal, Faerie, and Magic intruders manipulate the cardinals so that they will pick a pope sympathetic to the manipulator's selfish goals. The cardinals' selection will change the Church and its influence on the mundane world, changes that will ultimately effect everyone in Mythic Europe. The magi must travel to Rome and untangle a twisted web of supernatural manipulations, cunning lies, secret machinations, and shocking surprises. Can the magi save the College of Cardinals and Mythic Europe?

The tale of the City of Brass is well known in Arabic folklore. Hidden within the Egyptian desert, explorers found the fabled lost city and recovered some of the legendary Brass Bottles of Suleiman. Word of this legend draws the characters (whether by curiosity or necessity) to retrace the steps of this famous adventure and locate the city for themselves. The journey will be arduous, but the real challenge is in escaping from the City of Brass with their lives.

The pope is dead, and Rome is besieged by the Holy Roman Emperor. Threatened by the invading army, the College of Cardinals convenes to select a new pope. The cardinals are far from making a choice. Half of the cardinals want to select a pope who will continue the war against the emperor, and half want to select a pope who will bow to the emperor's desires and end the war. Sequestered until they reach a decision, deliberations have dragged on for days with no clear end in sight. Rome and Mythic Europe wait for their decision.

Why is it taking so long? Supernatural forces hinder the cardinals' decision. Creatures from the different supernatural realms of Mythic Europe have targeted certain cardinals, in the hope of promoting them above the others. They use their supernatural influence to force the other cardinals to vote for their representative. Is the Order of Hermes involved as well? Is a magus meddling in one of the most important decisions the mundane world makes?

As the church elders deliberate, caught in a tide of supernatural influence, the papal throne remains unoccupied, and the sede vacante (the empty papal seat) has other effects on Mythic Europe. Supernatural auras fluctuate, tempers and temperaments change unexpectedly, and significant annoyances everywhere suggest that something is wrong. Can the magi set things right by protecting the cardinals from a variety of supernatural threats until the College elects a new pope? Can they do so without breaking their own Oaths of non-interference?