Thursday, November 19th, 1671
London, England

As a special precaution, King Charles decided to retain the services of the party in Westminster Palace to protect against any further possible attacks by Kurtz Wielzhelm for a period of time. However, Todd, deciding that it would not be in his best interest to tarry long in London, chose to stealthily escape the palace in the middle of the night for parts unknown. Finally, after many days, Charles summoned the heroes to his court to relay his plan of attack.

With no love for the papal, and no choice, he decided to send the group to Rome, in the hopes that the Vatican Library might have some clue that could aid the heroes against Kurtz. Long odds, though they might be, the library was a massive repository of knowledge, both forbidden and esoteric. Journals of witch hunters, priests and devil worshippers were said to be housed within the massive walls, and there might be much that could be learned from even a quick perusal. With haste, he sent them on horseback into the heart of Italy.

Many days passed, but the heroes finally reached the gates of Rome, and once they showed a guard the seal of King Charles II, they were ushered quickly into a building in the Pilgrim's Quarter and left to wait for the arrival of a priest who would act as their liaison in the holy city.

The priest, Father Dominic arrived, a middle-aged man with the poor complexion and stooped back that comes with a lifetime of study. The party discussed King Charles' proposal to him at length, at which the cleric retired to speak on their behalf to the ranking cardinals.

Much time passed, and just as the heroes were getting ready to leave, Dominic returned with a counter-proposal from his superiors. The Vatican would grant the heroes access to any knowledge they possessed of Kurtz Wielzhelm and his demonic ways, but in exchange, they would need their assistance in a few small matters.

First, the heroes would need to travel south to Naples, just inside the border with Spain. There, a pair of inquisitors had recently gone missing in their hunt for those who wielded the dark arts. The heroes were charged with the task to tracking down the whereabouts, or final resting places of those priests and bringing the information back to Dominic.

With little choice in the matter but to concede to the priest's request, the heroes travelled to Naples, where they met with Father Antonio of the local church. Antonio reported dutifully that the inquisitors had stayed in the church while hunting for spellcasters in the surrounding area. One day, they did not arrive back, which was not particularly unusual, but they never returned. After several days, Antonio had sent the dispatch to Rome that culminated with the arrival of the heroes. He showed them the cells that the priests had occupied, which contained nothing but clothing and an odd-looking book: a metal shod copy of the Malleus Maleficarum, which Alphonze managed to convince Antonio to let the party take with them.

The heroes then set out across the town, questioning locals about what they knew of the inquisitors' disappearances. They heard fearful stories of children going missing in the night without a trace, and how the inquisitors had sworn to stop the menace that was hunting the youth of Naples. Many swore that they had seen the inquisitors leave into the nearby forests, a fact later confirmed by Sister Rosa, a local nun.

The heroes departed into the forest, seeking whatever clues they could, until they happened upon a trail. Following it, they came to a cave that yawned deep into the bowels of the earth. Within, the worst suspicions of the heroes were confirmed: the bones of several children littered the ground, many broken in two for the marrow inside.

Worse still, the cave itself was heavily boobie-trapped by the inhabitants: several ancient and evil faeries which had taken to hunting the children of Naples for food. The heroes began the grim work of vengeance; disabling traps and attempting to slaughter every spriggan and red cap they could find.

Finally, the heroes reached the leader of the faerie tribe, an elderly red cap, his scythe bathed in the blood of a hundred enemies, and his pet: a lumbering troll that the faeries had bullied into submission. Without mercy, the heroes attacked the villainous faerie and his companion. They were able to fell the red cap, but the wounds they inflicted on the troll healed at an incredible rate.

Regediah called upon the flames of Brittania, which was able to disable the beast long enough for Alphonze and Jack to decapitate it so they could burn the head without fear of being disemboweled.

At last, the hard-fought battle was over, and the heroes, pausing long enough to collect the inquisitors' other possessions from the church began the arduous journey back to Rome. They had no want to stay. The whole affair had put a bitter taste in their mouths.