An now Caelam steps up to detail his own experiences....
Session #2
4th of Planting 594 CY
I slept … how odd it is to think of sleep… poorly last night. During my trance I fell into a rare slumber. There my dreams were haunted, plagued by shadows. These were not the memories of childhood I was so accustomed to, but had a surreal quality I found most distasteful. I stood within the city square, Quatraine Square it is named, with something lurking in the unseen darkness. Even after coming to, my mind felt burdened.
I had a headache when I met my companions for breakfast the next morning. It was distracting and left me churlish. Downstairs in the common room, pancakes made from potatoes were being served and already two of my companions were enjoying a meal. Cristof, a priest dedicated to Kord was helping himself to his third, as I would later find out, helping of breakfast, while Kenya ourt quiet dwarven companion was finishing her own. A few moments later Jarvys joined us at the table.
“So, what do we do?” It was Cristof who opened the discussion. We all knew what he meant. Last night’s unusual visit was still on everyone’s mind. And with dawn fast approaching, we had to make a decision quickly.
Kenya shrugged, “Don’t care really. I had nothing else planned for the morning though.”
I nodded agreement. “We should look into that attack last night. We’re not in town more than an hour and already we’re being drawn into the city affairs.”
Even Jarvys, normally slow to make any decision, agreed. “It doesn’t hurt.”
So with that we finished a quick bite, and left for the Gryphon’s Arms. I will say that while the murk and grime of a human city is still distasteful to me, this establishment was like an island of paradise. Fine music greeted us as we entered and a beautiful, at least by human standards, woman was on hand to welcome us.
“Will you be needing rooms for the day? Or just a meal?” she asked of us.
“We were asked to meet someone,” Cristof began. I tried to cut him short, but to no avail. I’ve since learned that he is prone to being rash and naïve. Charming traits.
“Ah yes,” the woman replied, “You must be the adventurers. Please follow me, there’s a booth in the back.”
She led us through the ornate lounge to a curtained booth at the back. Waiting for us was a young man, his clothes smartly groomed. The table was filled with delicately arranged food, and several decanters of drink were waiting. He rose to greet us, but I cut right to the point. It was early, and I was still suffering from a headache.
“What do you want?”
He seemed surprised at my directness. “We have business to discuss, of some importance. Please sit. Enjoy the food while you listen, it’s on me.”
He introduced himself as Silas Arakk, a man from nearby Keoland. As Cristof helped himself to his, I believe his fourth breakfast, Silas explained that his family were once nobles in the city of Istivin, and that during the troubled times they were forced to flee the city. Since the passing of his father, he has returned to reclaim the family’s noble title. However, either through mischance or carelessness, he was unable to find any official declarations of the family titles in his father’s estate.
“I don’t believe my father would be so careless. I came into contact with a man named Erepoth Greytallow, the very same man you found murdered last night, to research these claims. He had discovered that my father had a family vault constructed within the city before being forced to flee. I believe he had finally found the location of the vault and I was to meet him last night to find out where. Of course you know the rest.
“I sent my man, Kyzer Finch, to track you down last night. If the vault exists, I want you to find a way inside.”
“What do you expect to find inside?” Jarvys asked.
“There’s a box that, according to the research Erepoth did, can only be opened by a member of my bloodline. In this case, with the box I can prove my claim. I want you four to retrieve the box.”
“Why us?” I asked. “Why do you think you can trust us?”
“Because you were kind enough to stop and try to help Erepoth last night. And I’m willing to pay.”
Out of the corner of my eye I could see my companions eyes widen. I admit, the prospect of some easy coin by finding a box was intriguing. Something nagged at me though. Perhaps were I clear headed I would have asked more questions.
Silas continued, “I‘ll pay you 1000 gold apiece; a hundred up front and the rest when you return the box.”
“What about the mongrelmen from last night?” I asked him. “Do you know who sent them?”
Silas shook his head, “No, but I don’t imagine they’ll stop coming. Even with Erepoth dead, you four have become involved in this. Perhaps if you can find the vault, you can find out who sent them.”
Cristof paused in his eating, “Well we did find a scroll with what looked like an address on Erepoth last night. Do you still have it Caelam?”
I shot Cristof a dirty look. Again, his naivety shown through. “Yes, it said ‘Refinery – Old Quarter, 21 Granite’” I’ll need to talk to Cristof about subtlety in the future.
Silas looked thoughtful, “That makes sense, my father was involved in refining ores from the nearby mines. It bears investigating.”
I was anxious to finish the deal, get the money and get moving. Apparently nightmares and headaches made me ill-tempered that morning. “Very well how do we contact you? And do you have our money?”
Silas nodded, “I’ll be staying here for the foreseeable future. And I’ve already asked Kyzer to bring the money down.”
We discussed a bit more about Silas' family history, but he was somewhat evasive. Finally Kyzer arrived with money for each of us. With coin in hand we bid Silas fairwell.
“So to the Old Quarter?” Cristof asked. Already I could see his impatience. “By Kord’s curly beard, I need to get some exercise in”
“Soon enough, first I need to do a little shopping” I replied. If we were going to start traipsing about hidden vaults and magic boxes, I was going to need some tools, and the ones I had on me were in rough shape. “It shouldn’t take long.”
Jarvys offered to help me look for someone able to sell me the lockpicks and tools I needed. Had I known it was going to take as long as I did, or be as pointless as it was, I wouldn't have bothered…
