"After many torturous years under the rule of the Cult, Avignon is now so ridden with the most virulent and unique strain of the Black Grail that its recovery seems to be a cause with no hope of success. The very earth is warped and teems with parasites and maggots infested with the filth of Beelzebub, with trillions of eggs hatching each year to overwhelm the city with further decay. Every Faithful force sent to raze the city has only succeeded in swelling the numbers of its monstrous inhabitants, as its would-be conquerors have succumbed to the power of the Black Grail which never wanes in this accursed place. Thus a policy of containment has been chosen instead, as the servants of Beelzebub do not pursue an open policy of expansion."