Seravin's Tales of the Night Below (Two Updates this Week - 07/24/07)

[Seravin]

I changed the last line of the last post a bit, so you might want to read that first.

------
Investigations

“You want me to do what?” Asked an incredulous Kellron.

Kestral ignored her friend’s tone. She just had to explain what and why she and Panther wanted and Kellron would agree; everyone agreed with her eventually.
“We need to question Imych Thassel about his death. We’re certain he was murdered but we can’t prove it without some help. Ashimar said that a powerful priest could contact Imych’s spirit and get answers from him.” Kesetral smiled at the paladin sweetly. “Ashimar said he couldn’t do it, but that there were priest’s within the church of Sarath who could.”

“Yes, but…”

“You’re the logical choice to make the request. You’re a full field-captain and they like you. It should be relatively easy to convince them and they won’t ask for some ridiculous amount for a donation.”

“I see, but…”

“It’s for a good cause. I’m certain Imych was killed and if I’m right the killers lead back to the same people who robbed your inn.”

Kellron held up his hand. “Enough already; I agree that this sounds like a good idea. If the bard’s killers are the same people who hired the bandits to rob my inn then I’m doubly for it. The church generally doesn’t interrogate corpses though so we’re going to have some solid reasons for doing this.”

“Well for starters, whoever heard of a man under twenty-five dying without a mark on him?”

“Besides having too much to drink and falling asleep in the cold weather?”

“Rumor says he had an enchanted cloak that warded off the weather.”

“Any facts?”

Kestral sighed. “No, but circumstantial evidence might be enough for an inquiry. Ashimar found a clause in that book of law you guys got last time we were in town.”

“All right; if that’s correct I’ll see what we can do.”

---

Shortly after sunrise the next morning a small group of people huddled around an open grave. The day was cold and gray as if in sympathy of the magics about to be performed.

Imych had been buried in a small graveyard on the west side of the city. Not being immediately involved in the burial, no one had thought to question how or why Imych had been laid to rest in a relatively expensive plot of land.

The priest performing the rite was and older gentleman of the faith of Vieta, the Soultaker. His hair was more white than brown and he was dressed simply in black tunic and trousers. .

The witnesses included Narat, the representative of the Sarathian faith, Ashimar, Kellron, Kestral, and Panther. Jallarzi was still creating a new wand and was unable to attend.

Kellron and Ashimar pulled the dark wooden coffin out of the ground with ropes they had attached after unearthing it; clods of cold dirt spilling into the hole as they wrestled it over the edge.

The priest of Vieta, Mardouc, looked briefly at his witnesses. “Be ready to ask your questions; and remember you only get three.” He ordered and then took three steps to the coffin. “Soultaker, we beseech you.” He invoked as he grasped the lid of the coffin and opened it up. The coffin was expensive and well made. No nails held the lid in place for the lid fit perfectly. The interior was lined with white linen and the month old corpse of Imych Thassel lay within. Mardouc wrinkled his nose at the smell and stepped back one step.

“Vessel of Imych Thassel, in Vieta’s name I beseech you to speak and answer truthfully all that is asked.”

Kellron and Ashimar stepped back as the body moved suddenly with a rustle of cloth against linen. The others moved closer to see within the coffin, morbid curiousity taking over.

The bard was over a month dead yet now the corpse's head swiveled to face Mardouc. “Of course…Death Speaker.” The voice was dry and raspy, speaking of a dust-choked throat; but curiously there was an elegance that harkened back to what the voice use to be.

Kellron cleared his throat. “Ask him how did he die?”

“Can…speak for myself...pot boy. I was stabbed and the wound healed. Didn’t die cold though.”

Ashimar, Kellron, and Kestral exchanged glances.

“Who killed you?” Asked Kellron.

“Don’t know…a man from behind…maybe two. Stabbed then healed…the wound. Mended…my clothes.”

Kellron stepped up to Kestral and Ashimar. “What next?” He whispered.

Kestral shook her head, but Ashimar had a thought. “What about if he knows anything that will help us find his killer.”

Kellron turned. “What can you tell us about your killers?”

“Said I made…poor choices. Find letter…in my room.” There was a rattle and a rustle of cloth and the body of Imych Thassel lay still again.

---

A letter found amongst the belongings still with Imych’s former landlord. It is written in elvish with a feminine hand

Dearest Imych,
Last night was incredible and I can barely wait until we meet again. I implore you to be careful though, for father is quite angry with you. He is not happy with the choices you have made; nor mine, I suspect. Do not mock him, instead save your devilish imagination for me.

I will await you at my booth next evening at the Gaming House.

Jola and Fon’s Love,
Jaylissa

 

[Seravin]

Just Three Days

“…and by Sarath’s Shield and Sword let there be light!” With the completion of the prayer a ball of pale yellow light appeared in Ashimar’s cupped hands. The glow was solid and unwavering in the squire’s hand as he looked steadily forward.

Standing in her office, Colonel Beka Megara observed the conjured ball of divine light and then closed her eyes; mentally counting backwards from ten to one in dwarvish. When she was done she spoke out loud. “The General warned me that there would be days that would challenge me while he was gone.”

Opening her eyes she swiveled about and gave Squire Ashimar a long look. “I very specifically did not hear him say that I would find one of our newest, and until now, most promising recruits admitting to stealing.” She paused a moment to let the full force of her displeasure sink in. “Can you tell me why the most-wise General Vorun didn’t warn me of this, Squire Ashimar?”

“No ma’am.” Ashimar kept his voice very carefully neutral, though his real answer was that General Vorun probably hadn’t expected such a spectacular lack of judgement. Somehow that answer seemed best unvoiced.

“Just three days ago Kellron was asking to dig up the body of the bard. I understood his reasoning that there might have been foul play. I also understood that your companions hoped to recover the bard’s missing instrument. Normally these are matters for the city-watch to determine; but Kellron is a sober individual and it pleased me to do him and you a favor.” Colonel Megara paused.

Ashimar caught his cue. “Yes ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.”

The colonel snorted. “Yet somehow this led you to sneaking into a warehouse, breaking into the secure vault, and then! Then! stealing every portable item of value. Can I assume you did this without the knowledge of Field-Captain Kellron?”

“No ma’am.” Ashimar stumbled. “I mean Kellron didn’t know, ma’am.”

The elderly officer sighed and shook her head. “I am not asking if young Kestral Thendry is involved. I do not want to know right now. If I find out she was involved, unpleasant things will have to happen. I believe things are unpleasant enough”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good. Then tell me of your involvement again so I might understand why Sarath sees fit to continue to grant you some power. Perhaps I’ll understand why I shouldn’t turn you immediately over to the city-watch.” The colonel sat down and made herself comfortable.

“Yes ma’am. Thank you ma’am.” Ashimar paused in obvious thought, the ball of light in his hands providing a small amount of warmth. He didn’t even think about banishing the light.

“When we questioned the body it confirmed that it…he had been killed and directed us to find a letter in his room.” He paused a moment making sure what he was about to say was okay. “Panther and Kestral took it upon themselves to go find the bard’s house and they paid the landlady to let them search through his things. They found a love letter signed by a woman named Jaylissa who apparently frequents the Gaming House. They investigated further and discovered that this Jaylissa was probably the daughter of Grandal Deverex. He manages the Gaming House.”

“I am quite familiar who Ker Deverex is. He has been quite helpful in resolving problems with those in our order who take more risks than is wise.”

“Yes ma’am. Grandal…”

Colonel Megara lifted a finger.

“Excuse me. Ker Deverex has a daughter named Jaylissa who was having an affair with the bard. Her letter warned the bard to be more careful and indicated that her father was angry with him.

We, the group of us, discussed this and it was decided that Kellron would try and meet Kerress Deverex at the Gaming House. Unfortunately Kellron and Kestral were attacked by muggers on the way to the gambling house. They decided to be cautious and returned to our rooms at the Scabbard.”

Ashimar stopped speaking and thought hard on what to say next. The next part was kind of tricky. He didn’t have any direct knowledge of what happened, but he knew in broad terms what was going to happen when Kestral and Panther said they were going to question Jaylissa at her house. Talking to Kestral while he cured the after-effects of her poisoning had also given him some insight.

Technically it wasn’t illegal for someone to disguise themselves as a child and trick your way into wealthy person’s home by playing on the sympathy of a grieving woman; technically. However, inviting your friend who is invisible into the same house without notifying anyone else was certainly less open to interpretation. Searching the grieving woman’s home, stealing her diary, as well as lifting other portable items to disguise the diary theft was definitely illegal; and no one would care that the grieving woman protected her diary with a viscious, if non-lethal, strength-draining drug.

Ashimar glanced at the colonel who was gazing at him with cool interest. So far, the colonel was giving him all the time he needed. “Kestral and Panther decided to ask about the next day and somehow managed to come across Kerress Deverex’ diary. I believe the Deverex household had been robbed sometime that day and Kestral and Panther aquired the diary from the thief. I do not know who the thief was, but he apparently heard of Panther and Kestral’s interest.”

“But I bet you could guess.” Said the Colonel with a grim smile. “Like I said though, those matters are usually best left to the city-watch. If you find yourself questioned by the watch I expect you to answer them as fully and as truthfully as you would me.”

“Yes ma’am.” Ashimar collected his thoughts; the colonel couldn’t have just told him what he thought she told him. Did she?

“The diary didn’t prove anything, but Kerress Deverex did write that she was concerned that her father may have had a person named ‘Lore’ kill the bard. We knew it wasn’t proof though, so based on some other rumors Kestral got a job at one of the warehouses that Ker Deverex was responsible for running.”

“The place that you robbed? You used her knowledge to break in?”

“No ma’am. Another one nearby.”
Unsaid was that Kestral had gotten her job as the child, Beth, through Jaylissa’s recommendation. Rumor was that street-children were to be left alone in Corlean. Waif’s were protected by Father Dark in Corlean; unspoken was that any child was potentially a courier for the mysterious Father Dark.

“Kestral expected that she might come into contact with illegal activities at that particular warehouse which might have led us to this Lore person.”

“Did she?”

“Not yet, but she is running courier jobs delivering small amounts of goods and notes. While we have no proof that any of it is illegal it was highly suggestive. Additionally it was discovered that there was a concealed tunnel that went from that warehouse to the next one over. The entrance and exit were covered with spells.”

“How did Kestral discover this if she’s been acting as a courier?”

“She didn’t, ma’am.”

The elderly woman’s mouth quirked. “Very well. What happened next?”

“We discussed it and it was thought that this second warehouse was used for smuggling. We…that is, I thought that everything in this second warehouse was mostly likely stolen, so last night I was able to sneak into the warehouse without detection, make my way to the secure vault, and check out the contents.”
Though it had been a close thing. He and Kestral had nearly been caught, but thanks to her quick thinking they had managed to get hidden before the guards showed up to investigate a noise.

“How did you find it.”

Ashimar smiled slightly. “I looked for the most protected route, ma’am.”

“It may be that you’re smarter than you are wise. You should try to be both in equal measure.”

“Yes ma’am. Once I discovered the harp was not in the vault I thought to punish the criminals by taking what they had stolen away from them. This was my own idea at the time and obviously wrong in retrospect.”

“Obviously. You never checked out this other warehouse, did you?”

“No ma’am.”

Colonel Megara was quiet. “You have left me in a difficult position. I will admit that I admire the skills it took to get into that vault. However if word gets out that the order has resorted to stealing, worse stealing becase we didn’t know better, our reputation would be seriously harmed.” She paused in thought, her fingers tapping a rhythm against the wood of her desk.

“Squire Ashimar, you will return everything you have stolen back to this warehouse. Additionally you have two weeks to prove your suspicions. If you cannot then I will most likely have to turn you into the city-watch.”

Ashimar didn’t breathe or move, but imperceptibly he seemed more relaxed. “Yes ma’am. We’ll find it.”

“See that you do. Dismissed.”

Ashimar dismissed the ball of light, saluted, and about-faced. Before he could march out of the colonel’s office though, she spoke again.

“And Ashimar? Don’t do anything to bring yourself in here again.”

“Yes ma’am.”

 

[Seravin]

Questions, Answers, and Problems

Blonde-haired, blue-eyed Beth walked through the late morning streets of Corlean. The morning was chilly and she knew she was running late for her day at the warehouse, but she took the time to observe the people around her. The woman across the street with the dirty brown hair, sharp nose and scowl; the gentleman approaching with the light eyes and hair who seemed to be some sort of laborer; Beth took her time to look them all over, finding something of interest in everyone she glanced at. Her sharp mind filed these features away for later use.

--

The well-appointed coach was moving faster through the narrow streets than was really wise; but the driver was one of the best and if he narrowly avoided slower moving pedestrians, at least he advoided them. Soon the coach was at its destination, and while it wasn’t a record-setting time, the passenger, Grandal Deverex, had no cause for complaint.

Stepping out of the coach, Grandal looked up at his driver. “Thank you, Tyver. I’m not sure how long I’ll be.” Grandal’s voice was devoid of his usual pleasantness.

Tyver shrugged philosophically. “I’ll be here Ker Deverex.” There wasn’t much more to be said. Ker Deverex already knew that and was walking away before Tyver had begun to reply. Which was just as well really, Ker Deverex was not a happy man right now; and bad things happened when Ker Deverex wasn’t happy.

--

Grandal stalked towards the warehouse but stopped before entering through the main doors as he usually did; the current problem was distracting him more than he liked. Curling his lip in disgust, Grandal altered his path to the back door of the attached offices.

The small, dingy office was unchanged from his last visit; two scarred desks dominated the middle of the room, while in the corner a small iron wood stove drove the chill from the room. Across the room was another door that led to the main floor. The warehouse manager, Raul, a paunchy, tough looking man in his fourth decade, was sitting at the larger of the two desks looking over a sheaf of papers. The man was alert however and looked up at Grandal’s entrance; seeing who it was, the dark-haired man stood quickly with a look a respect.

“Sit.” Ordered Grandal, waving to enforce his order. Then, composing himself, sighed. “You heard?”

Raul nodded. “I heard, both of them. What did they get away with?”

Grandal’s face curled up into a snarl again. “At home? Some minor things, nothing that can’t be replaced; but it was so…amateur!” The last word was filled with venom. “Jewelry, loose coins, and some baubles.” Grandal took a deep breath. “It would almost be funny if it wasn’t so embarrassing. What happened at Adar’s warehouse is less funny and not amateurish. Every lock, trap, and spell bypassed; and every portable item takened. “

“You think they might be related?”

Grandal frowned. “I don’t know. They don’t seem related, but the timing seems too coincidental; and what happened at my house bears no resemblance to what happened at Adar’s.”

Raul nodded. “You’re here about the girl I’m guessing? It’s too much of a coincidence that she showed up here the day of your robbery.”

“The girl showed up then? I was wondering if it was all a ruse; she showed up with flowers for my daughter from someone. Maybe this was all innocent after all. I won’t know until after I talk to her though.”

Raul started to speak and then stopped himself. Grandal caught it. “What?”

Raul shrugged. “She seems like a nice enough kid. Bright, quick, and doesn’t ask questions. I like the kid, but I suppose your servants did too.” Unspoken was the letter of recommendation signed by Grandal’s daughter.

Grandal was a bright man who prided himself on knowing how to read people. The half-elf knew what Raul was leaving unsaid and why. He admired the man’s discretion, but then that’s why he had his particular job. “Is she here?”

“She should be here soon. I have her running simple errands right now to see how dependable she is. So far she’s working out pretty well.”

“I can wait then. In the meantime, let’s go over the shipment coming in this afternoon.”

--

There were two quick taps on the door leading to the main floor of the warehouse. Grandal and Raul looked at each other and Raul called out, “Enter.”

The door opened up cautiously revealing Beth. Raul smiled paternally at the young girl. “Beth, come in. I have someone for you to meet. He needs to ask you a few questions and I want you to answer him to the best of your ability.”

The child nodded tentatively and cautiously entered the office, giving Grandal a furtive look as she walked towards the proferred chair. Grandal used the time for his first impression of the child. The first thing he noticed was that she seemed older than her apparent years. Her movements were controlled and possessed a grace beyond most children that age. She actually reminded him of his daughter when she was young. The girl also seemed very aware of her surroundings, keeping an eye on him the entire time, sizing him up in return he realized. She’s a survivor. He thought approvingly. It’s a shame that children still need these skills, but she has them. Good.

Once she was seated Grandal nodded at Raul who bowed, excused himself and walked out into the warehouse, closing the door behind him. All would be well. If it wasn’t, well, better that there were no witnesses.

Grandal smiled pleaseantly at the blond-haired little girl. “My name is Grandal Deverex. I’m told your name is Beth?”

The child nodded warily. “Yes, sir.” She replied.

“Good, good. I’m told you met my daughter yesterday, Jaylissa? She wrote you a letter that told Raul to give you a job?”

Again the child nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“Well, yesterday somebody robbed my house about the time you were there. Did you see anyone when you left?”

The girl tensed, almost imperceptibly, before answering. “No sir.”

He almost sighed. He had been hoping that she was truly innocent. Instead, Grandal shook his head. “I don’t believe you girl. You’re lying.”

He could see the panic well up in her eyes as she shook her head. “No! Really! I was just there to deliver flowers to the pretty lady. The man said she was unhappy and wanted to cheer her up.” Beth was looking just over his right shoulder.

CRACK! Grandal’s hand slammed down on the table. It startled the girl and she looked at him directly. He locked his eyes with her. “No more lying girl. This is important and I don’t have time for it.”

The girl sniffed and tears started streaming down her face. “I’m sorry!I’m sorry!He offeredme silver and Ineededthemoneyformysisterandeverything. Hejustwantedme todelivertheflowers and openthedoorforhimand…”

“Slow down girl!” Granadal halted her headlong explanation and thought. This time he believed her and she had said enough for him to piece together what happened. Now he just needed to confirm a few things.

“I’m sorry Beth.” He started gently. “It’s just that some important things were stolen from me and I need to find out who did it. I’m going to say some words in elvish for a moment.” He smiled reassuringly. “You can think of it as a prayer.”

Beth sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Seeing that she was calming down, Grandal recalled the first real spell that he ever learned and invoked it. Detect Magic was a simple spell, allowing the caster to determine if a person or item was enchanted. It was possible that the girl was enspelled in some way, either charmed or scried, or under some sort of illusion (for whatever reason).

The girl looked at him quizzically, not understanding the words he spoke. He unfocused his gaze for a moment and looked her over. Nothing; the only magic within his gaze was the ring on his right hand, and a slight glow from the bottom of Raul’s desk. Grandal noted three aura’s of conjuration and the one transmutation from the desk. He made a mental note to investigate the desk; but the girl was clean.

He focused on the girl again. “See? That wasn’t so bad; just some words.” His voice hardened a little. “Now, tell me about this man. Who was he? What did he look like?”

“He was just a man. He offered me two silver to deliver the flowers.”

“I know. You told me that. What did he look like?”

Slowly, Grandal extracted a description from the girl. Seeing that she wasn’t going to be punished she was eager to help and she apparently had an excellent memory. Grandal knew he was looking for a human man, about his size, with ragged blonde hair and blue eyes His hair was the same color as mine and his eyes were blue like a flower). The man had a thin goatee (and a beard in the shape of an upsidedown triangle); and when Beth met him the man was wearing a white shirt and dark pants and wore the badge of a stonemason.

This man had paid Beth to deliver the flowers to his daughter. She was supposed to find a free moment to let the man in and then leave. The thief paid her two silvers for the task when she let him into the house. Grandal was annoyed at Beth, but he understood her motivation. She was an orphan living on the streets with a younger sister who apparently was picking up a cold. Grandal would have done the same thing and shown less remorse. He resolved to help her once he got these other problems resolved.

“All right Beth. I think you can go now. Thank you for answering my questions. Go see Raul and see what he needs you to do. Then tell him to come see me.”

The wide-eyed Beth nodded and climbed out her chair and headed to the door.

Grandal leaned back in his chair and thought. First, he had to find this stonemason; obviously a disguise of some sort, but if the thief was stupid he was still using it. Grandal allowed himself a small smile while thinking up ways to make the thief pay for setting foot into his house.

At the same time he needed to find out who had done the Adar robbery. He had already sent a description of the stolen warehouse items to every fence in the city and messengers were on their way to Karos, Harrow, and Jeralin, the three closest cities. The stolen items had no value until they were sold, and whoever sold them would have a late nate visit within a day of selling.

--

Kestral knocked on Kellrons’ door at the Scabbard. The paladin answered the door, looking surprised at Kestral’s presence. “Kestral? What’s the matter?”

Kestral refrained from asking why he assumed anything was wrong. “I think I may have made a mistake.”

Kellron sighed and ushered her in. “What happened?”

Kestral entered and waited until he closed the door. “You know how I went to work at the warehouse in disguise?”

“Yes.”

“Grandal Deverex was there when I got there. His place was robbed after I talked with Jaylissa and since he knew I was there at the time, he wanted to see if I knew anything.”

“And…”

“Well. I did know something, but he couldn’t tell him that, so I lied. Only he figured it out and I had to come up with another lie. He believed that one.”

“Kellron closed his eyes for a moment. “Sarath.” He whispered. “And?”

“Well, I told him a man had paid me to open the door when I left. Naturally, he wanted a description so I gave him one; but I could only think of a person I saw on the street today so I described him.

Kellron waited patiently.

“Based on what we found out, I think Grandal is capable of and will have this man killed and I don’t know what to do.”

“I…see.” So Grandal’s house was robbed and when asked about it you gave up an innocent person as the culprit?”

“I was alone with the man. I thought he’d kill me.”

“I see. We have to find this man. Do you think you can?”

Kestral nodded.

“Good. We’ll find him, and maybe we can dress Ashimar up as him and attract attention. It will help determine what we’re up against.”

Kestral thought hard and her form shimmered briefly. In the space of a few minutes Kellron was facing a rather innocuous looking, young tradesman, almost his size with unkempt blonde hair and a rather thin goatee. “He looks like this.” She told the paladin.

Kellron nodded. “I see. I hope you learned your lesson on lying."

Kestral nodded.

“And you and I need to talk when this is over. If you had anything to do with this robbery it would be best that his things were returned.”

“It was an investigation!” Defended Kestral. “Jaylissa’s diary expressly said she thought her father had Imach killed!”

Kellron felt a headache coming on. “We’ll let the guard decide that. In the meantime the diary needs to be returned and right now it’s more important that we find this man before something happens to him.”

Kestral nodded mutely, he was right.

 

[Seravin]

The above scene was fun when we ran it.
Kestral's was continuing her charade as Beth in case it might lead to something interesting, but no one in the party had expected Grandal to show up at the warehouse that morning.

Kestral's player found herself thinking fast trying to come up with a suitable lie; unfortunately her bluff score was about equal to Grandal's sense motive.
Grandal blew his spot roll against her disguise, made his first two sense motives by a wide margin, and blew the last sense motive by about 15 points. I think this was another time that Kestral's player rolled a natural 20.

Kestral's player was sweating things when she realized that Grandal was not speaking elvish and instead invoked some sort of spell. When she found out it was a detect magic she was very glad of the money she invested in her amulet.

She was less happy when she realized that she inflicted who she believed to be the head of the thieves guild on top of some poor hapless laborer. Fortunately she had the presence of mind to lie about where the man had approached 'Beth'.

 

[Capellan]

It's fun seeing PCs getting caught out by their own cleverness. At least, it is when those PCs are other people

One thing I like about this group (and this story hour) is the fact that they often use diplomacy and investigation to get things done ... but the things they do can still have consequences. Good stuff.

 

[Seravin]

Why thank you - I've got good players who are patient with their DM.

This entire arc was a learning experience for me and the players. It started out as needing a break from trolls and morphed into letting the folks with the social skills shine a bit.

In retrospect it took too long to setup, and some players were bored; however it gave the party some good background to play with later on. By about this point in the game, the players had about four different plans going, trying anything that looked like it might work. It made for some good fun, and made the resolution that much sweeter.

 

[Seravin]

Speeding Forward

The rest of the day went quickly.

Ashimar returned his stolen goods to the warehouse late that afternoon, flying above the streets using the magical cloak they had recovered from the bandits at Broken Spire. He avoided comment by the simple expedient of an invisibility spell provided by Jallarzi. The task was completed simply enough when he through the sack of goods through the open front door. Inside the sack was a sermon on the evils of stealing and working with those of evil intent.

Sadly, it is unlikely that those who read the letter took its contents to heart; for while some of the returned items were added back to the secure vault other items just ‘disappeared’. To date those items are still officially missing.

--

Jallarzi spent several hours at the Gaming House that night, having arranged a meeting with the senior manager of the Adar’s Warehouse, Grandal Deverex. She had arranged the meeting under the pretext of needing a safer place to store an unspecified item then the warehouse’s normal secure vault. Jallarzi was chosen as the one person that Grandal most likely hadn’t met yet. Ashimar and Panther were outside waiting for her.

The obvious worth of her possessions and her unflinching acceptance of the cost of security had earned her the meeting. It was her and her friend’s hope that they might induce Grandal to lead them to whatever secret vault he used for ill-gotten gains.

Both were seated at a private table on the second floor balcony, overlooking the main floor of the house; a bottle of wine and two glasses sat between the two. Below them, patrons went about their business of losing money and enriching the house.

“I’m afraid what you ask is quite impossible Kerress Jallarzi.”

Jallarzi, in a brand new, stylish purple dress, smile sweetly. “I doubt that it is impossible. I’m sure your people see the vault all the time. I just wish to reassure myself of its security, especially since I have an item of value to place in it.”

Grandal interrupted her train of thought. “I’m quite sorry, Kerress, but I’m sure Adar’s vault is quite suitable.”

“For some people perhaps,” Jallarzi paused, “however I heard about the robbery.” Jallarzi looked around to make sure no one was near. When she spoke next, it was with a lower tone of voice. “I have in my possession a magical staff of frost that I recovered quite recently. Unfortunately I will be traveling and I’m unwilling to take it with me at this time.”

Grandal smiled encouragingly. “I understand that Kerress, and in light of that, I will admit that we do have a more secure vault for smaller possessions. Its security lies as much in its secrecy as anything else though.” He paused to take a small drink before continuing. “You can believe me when I tell you I understand the value of this personal possession; but you must also understand that I cannot bring anyone to this vault.

I understand that you are a student of the Library, so you yourself must know of what could happen if we let just anyone know the location and defenses of this vault.”

“I’m not just anyone…” Began the young half-elven sorceress.

“I appreciate that.” Interrupted the older half-elven businessman. “However, even if that is true, and I believe that it is, I cannot take the chance. What I can do is arrange to pick up this personal possession of yours at a to-be-named place. From there I can assure you it would go into a private vault completely secure from magical scrying. In return you will have a contract backed by the wealth of Quereth household.”

Jallarzi leaned back, defeated. It was obvious that the businessman was not going to budge. Frustrated, she capitulated. “Very well Ker Deverex, I will need to think about this.” She smiled at him. “I’m afraid I have a controlling nature and wish to know everything.”

“I quite understand. I’m the same way myself.” He stood and bowed. “If you will excuse me? Please let me or the Adar managers know your decision.”

--

Meanwhile, Kellron took an evening dinner near the Central Square. Earlier that day he had gone back to the grave of Imach Thassel, dug up his body and had a priest do an invocation to detect the presense of poison, something they had forgotten to do earlier. Magical evidence was insufficient in a court by itself, but every bit helped.

In the morning he would join Kestral and the others in finding the poor uknowning man who had the wrath of probable-murderers pointed at him. It was felt they would have a better chance of finding this unknown man in the morning when they knew the general area where he worked.

Kellron looked across the table at his dinner companion, Tore Daergan, a lean-looking woman about his age. The blonde-hair, blue-eyed woman was a witch on loan to the church of Sarath from the church of Latina. Even more oddly, or perhaps not, she hailed from the Duchy of Relk far to the south. Colonel Megara had introduced the two of them earlier in the week as someone who could be of some use in their quest. ”Her intuition is uncanny and she can tell when someone speaks a lie; she would be useful in your quest.”

Kellron had spent the last few days with Tore learning more about the young woman since then; and he knew it had probably kept him from getting more active in Kestral’s and Panther’s investigation. That would change starting in the morning, tonight though was another dinner to learn more about Tore. It was in his mind to see if she would join them later when they returned to the underdark.

“So, Colonel Megara told you what we are doing?”

Tore nodded gravely, spending her talent silently to learn what she could of this man. So far she liked what she sensed. “She has. I understand that wizards and priests are being kidnapped and sent deep below the ground.”

“That’s right. We’ve eliminated the bandits who were doing the kidnappings in the County of Haranshire, as well as the orcs they were trading the victims to.” He shrugged. “Now we just have to find out who the orcs were passing them on to. The svirfneblin called them illithid, but we have yet to meet them.”

Tore stiffened at the word. In the Hidden Vale, that was a black word from a black time. “I see.” Was all she said.

“You know of them?”

Tore shook her head. “Not directly, but there are stories. Things banished to the darkness in tales meant to frighten children.” She wrinkled her nose while fighting the urge to reach for the sword she had left behind. “The stories say that they consider all things are theirs by right, and they eat the brains of their slaves. None of have been seen in living memory that I’m aware of though.”

Kellron sat back and mulled her words over; that wasn’t much to go on. “Well, tell me about yourself. The colonel says you hailed from Relk.”

“I do. I came north some years ago in the service of the church of Latina.”

Kellron nodded. “I’m told now days that that is unusual. Something about witches not being liked in the southern cities?”

“You know?”

“The Colonel told me.” Seeing her obvious suspicion, Kellron leaned forward and tried to be encouraging. “It doesn’t’ matter to me. I trained with a few witches when I was a squire. They were good men.”

Tore nodded slowly, relief flooding back. It was always difficult revealing her talents; you never knew how people were going to react. “I was fortunate at the time I ran into some trouble. There was a visiting priest of Latina from Karos. He took charge of the situation and helped not only me, but my family. When he journied back north I decided to go with him to pay back my debt to the church.” She shrugged. “Eventually there was a request by General Vorun for an inquisitor and I was posted here.”

The two continued to converse long into the night. Both were pleased with how the evening went.

 

[Seravin]

Ambush Part 1

As morning dawned over the city of Corlean, Marik Lorland woke up as one of the most sought after people in the Silver City, though as a reasonably honest man he would have been the first to deny it. A stonemason by trade, his family had learned the craft from his great-uncle, Poul, who in turn had learned the craft from the dwarves of Myrkun-Lor; a fact the family took great pride in. Still, this matter of pride was not what made Marik so sought after; the root of his sudden elevation in life lay in a lie.

If asked, Marik wouldn’t have remembered the little girl on the street who had regarded him so intently while he hurried to his next job site. Perhaps it was the high forehead and short-cropped brown hair. Maybe it was his eyes that were just a shade too close together to be handsome. Maybe it was nose that had been broken or his burly walk or just his dust covered clothes. In the end it didn’t matter what about his description that had stuck in Kestral’s sharp mind; for the end result is that it was Marik’s image that Kestral recalled when questioned by Grandal and her near perfect memory provided the details to make it possible to find him.

It’s really not surprising just how surprised Marrik was on that cloud-ridden morning as he walked to work when two men came up on either side of him and hustled him into an empty alleyway without so much as a by your leave.

“Anyone out there?”

“The entire city, but it doesn’t look like anyone only we were following him.”

“Good.” The speaker, a young man perhaps a decade Marik’s junior, though fully as tall and broad in the shoulder, turned to face the stonemason. “We apologize sir, but we have it on good authority that there are men out there looking to kill you. We’d like that not to happen.”

Marik was about to reply when a short, young woman turned the corner and entered the alleyway. “Looks to be clear.” She said.

“Who are you?” Asked the confused stonemason. It seemed clear he wasn’t going to be mugged, but none of this made sense.

The tall man spoke. “My name is Kellron and I am from the church of Sarath. We have reason to believe that a group of thieves is looking for you, quite possibly to kill you.”

“Wha…? How? Why?” Curiously, Marik discovered that he wasn’t scared, the presence of this young man seemed to calm him, but that still did nothing for his confusion.

The man looked slightly embarrassed. “Your description was given to them. What we would like to do is get you to safety and hide you for the next day. In the meantime we’ll have somebody impersonate you and lure these men out.”

Considering the circumstances Marik should have bid the strangers with their mad proposal goodbye, walked away, and not looked back. Something made him trust the young man though; he had the serious look of a soldier and a sincerity that literally shone through.

“What do I need to do?”

“Come with us.”

It was as simple as that. Marik was given a heavy cloak with a hood and was quickly escorted to a nearby, if unimpressive, inn. The room had already been rented and two Sarathian church-guardsmen in street clothes were inside. Marik spent the day quietly, listening to war stories from his protectors. It wasn’t how he expected to spend the day, but given the circumstances it could have been worse.

 

[Seravin]

Ambush Part 2

HmMmMiNG-iNG-iNG!!! Three argent missiles streaked through the air with a variable pitch hum. Edath didn’t have time to wonder at the sound though as he threw himself to the side to no avail; the missiles swerved in mid-flight and struck him in the back as he rolled to his feet. Stumbling, Edath looked around at the fight he and his companions now found themselves in.

A beautiful woman with long white hair, dressed in worn, brown travel clothes, and bearing a pale white gem-topped staff stood about sixty feet away, her free hand lowering as she bore a smile of satisfaction. She hadn’t been standing there moments ago.

No one had mentioned anything about a sorceress. This was supposed to have been a simple job; pick up the mark and take them to the Diamond for a little question and answer period. Edath looked about for his companions. Lore was still spell-cloaked and out of sight, but Burke and Ramos were moving in towards their target. Lore would take care of the sorceress.

The mark was turning and watching the events unfold, no surprise or fear was evident; instead he pulled out a shortsword and took a defensive posture. Then out of their own spell-cloaks of invisibility, two fighters bearing the insignia of the church of Sarath appeared with swords drawn, one of them bearing a flaming sword the other a rapier. The rapier-wielder closed with Edath as the other went to interpose himself between the mark and Ramos.

Edath cursed as he and his companion were engaged, then smiled as he heard Lore begin shouting. KRAKK-AKK!!!. Lore appeared as a lightning bolt formed between his outstretched hands and went down one side of the wide alleyway the mark had led them down. The bolt arced down the right-hand side of alley, striking the weilder of the flaming sword as well as the sorceress, though both managed to dodge out of the way and avoid the full brunt of the stroke.

The sorceress smiled nastily in return, raised her gem-topped staff, and invoked a storm of ice shards around Lore. Shards of ice and bitter cold rained down about Lore and Burke who happened to be close by. Edath had watched the exchange out of the corner of his eye, with most of his attention on the rapier wielder. “Break off!” Ordered Lore.

Edath’s smile disappeared as he traded blows with his rapier wielding opponent. The man was good and in a straight-up fight might be able to take him; unfortunately this seemed to be a straight-up fight. He didn’t have any room to run as the mark they had been trailing had glided up behind him. Burke and Ramos both stepped back though and downed the invisibility potions that Lore had given them.

Edath watched as Lore invoked another invisibility spell and disappeared and cursed his luck. This was ending badly and he took a savage satisfaction as his foes cursed as his allies disappeared and fled. A few seconds later however the rapier wielder knocked him unconscious and Edath didn’t have to worry about anything else for awhile.

 

[Direwolf82]

Heya Seravin,

Just wanted to say, fantastic Story Hour you have going here and to thank you once again for the conversion notes on Night Below. My group is currently tackling the trolls and having a rough time at it. Although, it will never beat when I first ran this campaign for my brothers and some friends, none of them had ever even heard of trolls and were scared almost to death(both as players AND characters back in the 2e days) when they headed back out the caves to find trolls all alive and well.

Keep up the good work, it's an incredibly good read =)

Direwolf