Nephtys said:
More please.
Your wish is my command. Just don't get used to it..
2.2 A Difficult Decision:
When the companions emerged from the Vault after opening the treasure room, most of them were injured and all of them were exhausted. Still, their first order of business had been to let Mayor Varnsen see the corpse of the strange ‘bride’ and ask for his help in identifying it.
The man had been too young at the time of Baroness Amelia’s disappearance to be able to remember her features but his friend Aniel - being an elf - still could. After examining the body for some time, he affirmed it wasn’t the Baron’s wife. Indeed, the woman - whoever (or whatever) she had been - rather reminded him of some unsavory creatures which had long plagued elves and humans alike in the region: the
Shatraugs (3).
That disturbing news was counterbalanced by the fact that - in all probability - the adventurers had not only solved but also put an end to both the disappearances and the disease which had plagued the locals for the last 40 years. Thus, the mayor hailed them as heroes and tried - not too subtly - to convince them to stay. After all, if Weston was to recover fully, it would need invest.. er.. protectors.
The companions politely yet firmly declined. Kalveig and Siubhan were bound to return to their monastery. Pelrind wished to travel abroad and had convinced Musadoc to accompany him, if only for a while. As for Eirak, no one knew what he intended to do but, from the way he grumbled, it didn’t seem likely he would settle down in the barony either.
They spent the next two days back into the Vault, exploring every room and passage (except for those obstructed by a cave-in) systematically - solving magical enigmas as needed - to gain access to the rest of the NeMoren’s wealth.
Once more, Musadoc surprised his friends (and himself!) by revealing he had an innate knack for appraising items of all kinds (4). So, they gave him the task of coming up with an estimate of the treasure’s value.
With the halfling occupied with his inventory, Siubhan spent her days caring for Pelrind and any villager in need of medical attention. Meanwhile, Kalveig - unwilling to risk seeing the boggers return - rounded up some men and, with their help (and Pelrind’s guidance), provoked the collapse of the humanoids’ access tunnel.
Eirak was seldom around. He was leaving Weston every day at dawn, returning only at dusk. If there was a purpose to his long walks, only he knew what it was. But the time spent outdoor was apparently beneficial to his mood as the latter improved steadily.
One week after they had first come out of the Vault, Musadoc summoned them to the manor for a meeting. The time had come to divide their ‘inheritance’...
**
They had assembled in the office where it had all started, except neither Varnsen nor Aniel were present this time. The massive desk was covered with a variety of items which had been neatly grouped by category.
While the others were all seated, Musadoc was standing on the Baron’s chair. It was too big for him to sit on and, by being upright, he felt he would have a better view of the proceedings anyway. His notes were on the desk in front of him for easy access in case he needed to refer to them.
“Friends, as you well know, we found a number of objects which Pelrind and the lady Siub-”
“Forgive me for interrupting, master Musadoc.” Siubhan raised her hand. “I think I speak for all of us when I say that - given our recent adventures - there is hardly a need to continue using titles among ourselves. May I suggest we simplify things by resorting to first-names solely?”
The halfling looked around and, given no one was voicing an objection, nodded and smiled before continuing. “As I was saying, thanks to Pelrind and the la.. er..
Siubhan’s help”, he grinned sheepishly, “we determined that certain items among those we recovered were - for lack of a better word - ‘magical’. Most of them were draughts of healing.. something I sure wish we had had back then!”
Most of the others wordlessly thumped their right fist on the desk to underscore their approval of his statement.
“Ahem, sorry.. there were also a few defensive draughts, and two scrolls which Siubhan deciphered. I’ll let her describe them in a moment. Finally, we have the orb of light, the silver ring from the Burrower’s lair, the statuette from the room with the stained glass, and the hammer Eirak.. ah..
found in Kragor’s tomb (5).”
Everyone’s attention was on the dwarf. Of all the artifacts the halfling had enumerated, the weapon was the only one Eirak had stubbornly refused to hand over to Musadoc, not even for a cursory examination. Even now, the warrior cradled it in his arms, as if daring anyone to challenge him for its ownership.
“Dunno what the fuss is ‘bout. It’s part o’ me share, nuff said.”
There was a moment of awkward silence during which the others expected Kalveig to react aggressively to the dwarf’s egoistical stance, but - to their surprise - he didn’t. Instead, the holy warrior calmly addressed Pelrind.
“In your opinion, is it a spellblade?” (6)
The elf blinked. “I can’t tell, really. Enchanted weapons aren’t my forte. It has been expertly crafted, that much is sure. And the metal it is made of is unknown to me but, though I am familiar with the Earth’s ‘bones’, I know next to nothing about alloys.” He shrugged. “It
is magical, so chances are that it is a spellblade. Could it be more than that? Quite Possibly. The fact that it was named certainly suggests it is. I am afraid you’ll have to ask a loremaster if you want a confirmation.”
Kalveig nodded slowly. “Then, here is what I suggest. These four items bear the strongest dweomers, correct? Since there are four ‘heirs’, each of them should be entitled to keep one. If Eirak’s choice is the hammer, so be it. Unless I am mistaken, neither Pelrind nor Siubhan could use it, and it seems too large for Musadoc to wield properly, so...”
The others quickly nodded their assent, too happy to avoid another confrontation with the dour dwarf.
“I would like to claim the calisil as my share, if you don’t mind.” The elf stroked protectively the orb of light. “It was crafted by my people and I would see it returned to them.”
Again, nobody disagreed.
“That leaves only you and me, Siubhan. The ring or the statuette?”
The priestess smiled benevolently at the halfling. “Pick one and I’ll gladly take the other, my friend.”
“Well, I could say I simply like the sculpture but, in truth, Pelrind told me a few things about it that aroused my curiosity. In all fairness, I think you should hear them too before we decide.”
The elf picked up the figurine. “Observe its dull green color and slightly mottled appearance. That’s ‘serpentine’. It’s not exactly a gemstone. I would even say it’s rather common if you know where to look for it. Highly resistant to fire, it’s easy to work with and my own clan uses it extensively for works of art. Other colorations exist but the green one is prevalent. In fact, that’s what gave the stone its name as - apparently - someone thought it looked like a snake’s skin.” He shrugged, indicating he didn’t know if the story was true.
“Anyway, the figurine depicts an owl. An eagle owl to be precise. It’s standing straight, wings folded, and eyes open. The style is elvish, I am sure of it. Yet, it doesn’t have the ‘wild’ quality usually associated with my people’s work. It’s too serious-looking, and this leads me to believe that a
Bshehe - you would say ‘city elf’ - was commissioned to craft it. There are a few of us that have chosen to live among humans in their cities, usually because there is a huge demand for our ‘brand’. After a few years, it’s not unusual for them to lose their link to the
Ahlenh Gonh - the Source of Life. One can tell by the quality of their workmanship.” He frowned, clearly dreading to share such a fate.
“Now, take a look at the base of the statue. Notice the ring of tiny letters circling it? That’s elvish. They spell what I think are the command words to activate the figurine’s powers. Furthermore, there is the engraving of a sword under the sculpture. Correct me if I am wrong but isn’t that the symbol of one of your human gods?”
Kalveig nodded. “Aye, Maal, Lord of Justice and the Dead.. and Morwyn’s son I could add. Actually, if I am not mistaken, the owl is sacred to him. It’s his ‘divine pet’ or something like that. I have seen many paintings representing him with one standing on his shoulder, as if advising him.”
The elf grinned. “As I thought. If my guess is right, this figurine acts as a receptacle for the spirit of a giant owl, such as those that nest in the deepest parts of the domain of my forest-kin. I am reasonably familiar with the process because I know of similar items holding elemental spirits captive. Basically, its owner should be able to release said spirit under a corporeal form for a limited amount of time every day.. or week perhaps. Since there are two sets of command words, it is safe to assume there is a secondary power. And given the statuette’s aura displays the color of divination, I would surmise that it can also provide its owner with some kind of advice (7). Once you have decided who shall receive it, I’ll teach him - or her - the formula. Oh and, just so you all know, the ring bears an aura of abjuration. Thus, it is probably a protective item of some sort.”
“That owl sounds like a companion tailor-made for you, Musadoc. Since I already have one,” she glanced briefly at Kalveig who stiffened unconsciously, “you can have it. I would prefer the ring.”
“Thank you la.. Siubhan. Very generous of you!” The halfling pocketed the statuette, slightly impatient to try it out. “Now, for the monetary part. Please, keep in mind that it is difficult to give an exact figure given the kind of valuables involved. So, you’ll have to forgive me for staying vague. The good news is that what we found
should amount to in-between 2000 and 2500 golden crowns (8) per heir, perhaps a bit more. I haven’t included in that total the two shields we set aside for Eirak and Kalveig in replacement of those they lost during the exploration of the Vault, nor the alchemical items we split between us.”
As he saw eyes popping out, he quickly added. “Wait! Wait! Before you get all wound up, you should hear the bad news. First, little of that sum is available in coins. Most of it consists of antiques - cumbersome ones, I might add - that will have to be transported to a sizeable town and traded. Second, as astounding as it may sound, I don’t believe this is all we were supposed to find. Think about it for a minute. The wealth of the NeMorens was legendary and yet, what did we recover? Mainly old weapons, outdated armors, tapestries, etc... But coins? No. Altogether less than a thousand, and most were commons or knights. My guess is that there is a room in the Vault which we haven’t discovered yet and which holds the ‘real’ hoard of the NeMoren family. Take a look at that sketch.”
He unfolded a large piece of paper on which he had drawn a map. “See that corridor blocked by a cave-in? The one that was going straight ahead on the other side of the secondary door? According to my calculations, it leads to the same area as the collapsed hallway that was just beyond the skeletons’ lair. The surrounding rooms and hallways delimit a square-shaped area, roughly fifty feet across. Ample space for one or more chambers...”
“Can ye gain access to it?” The mere possibility that they could be more gold down there had obviously caught Eirak’s attention.
Musadoc grimaced. “Yes, but not without the proper equipment
and people trained for that kind of operation. There is no way of knowing just how far the cave-in goes, nor how unstable the walls and roof have become. For all we know, the entire room could have collapsed.. in which case it would take months to excavate. On the other hand, we
did recover enough wealth to finance such a work, so...”
“But that would delay our departure for weeks, possibly months. We would have to go to the nearest town, sell the items recovered, use the money to hire miners, then come back and stay around the whole time since the entrance of the Vault requires the four keys to open” interjected Kalveig.
“True.. but if you would all trust me with your keys, I could supervise the whole procedure and then send for you when we ‘hit gold’ so to speak” answered the halfling.
This started a debate about who was willing to stay or, more to the point, who was unwilling to leave without his/her key. When the first angry comments were exchanged, Siubhan interrupted them.
“Please, my friends! Enough of this. There is something else we need to discuss first. As Musadoc mentioned, two magical scrolls were recovered. The first holds a spell that can free a body from whatever fell influence compels it to stay immobile. The second could very well answer many of the questions which have gone unanswered since our exploration of the Vault. Namely: what has happened to the baroness and the elf-ring of the NeMorens?”
Kalveig raised an eyebrow. “Is it a spell that will allow you to contact the White Lady or one of her servants?”
“I guess you could say that.. although that is not exactly
who I had in mind...”
“Now you’ve got me confused, Sister. If not the Lady, then who?”
“Ahem.. the person we found in the Vault...”
Comments were suddenly heard from all sides as the others finally realized what she had in mind.
“She is talkin’ ‘bout foul necromancy, ain’t she? Durn! They just don’t make them priestesses like they used to...”
Kalveig shot a venomous glance at Eirak and then turned on Siubhan. “You can’t be serious! Do you have any idea of the dangers involved!?!” (9)
She reddened but sustained his gaze. “I do actually! First of all, the scroll describes not only the ritual but gives detailed instructions to minimize the chances of botching it. Second, you seem to forget that, while I walk the Path of the Healer, I also follow the Path of the Erudite. Casting this spell
is allowed to those of my Order, though I will grant you they don’t make a habit of it.”
“But-”
“But nothing!” The others recoiled in surprise. It was the first time the young priestess had displayed such uncharacteristic anger. Siubhan bit her lips, clearly trying to calm down. When she spoke again, her voice was steady but steely. “I know what you are thinking: ‘she isn’t ready’. Well, I honestly think I am. Besides, more is at stake here than my personal safety or ‘how much gold we can dig up’. The NeMoren’s good name has been blemished due to our findings. A young woman is still missing and, without the elf-ring, the locals could be facing poverty in the near future. You have all taken terrible risks in the Vault while I stood by and did nothing. Now, it is my time and, though I would rather do this with all of you, I am fully prepared to go through it alone if needs be.”
Her companions looked at her and then at each other with a mixture of disbelief and embarrassment.
“Would it not be.. ah.. wiser to let the Holy Mother of our monastery do it? That would lessen the risks, no?” Kalveig’s voice was pleading.
“No. I considered the possibility but it has been almost a week since the ‘bride’ died. By the time we reached the monastery, the scroll would be powerless to reach her soul. Besides, the Holy Mother isn’t an Erudite, so she couldn’t cast the spell even if she wanted to. It has to be tonight or never.”
“I’ll come.” Surprisingly, it was Eirak who had just spoken. “I always pay me debts...” The gruff dwarf got up and left the room without another word.
“Can’t say I really look forward to this”, he sighed, “but we started this journey together and we’ll end it the same way.” Musadoc jumped down from the baron’s chair and went to gather his equipment.
“I will come as well.” Pelrind patted Siubhan’s shoulder before adding in a low voice “Just make sure you do this for the right reasons, my friend. Pride and self-pity usually don’t coexist too well...”
As the elf exited the office, holy warrior and priestess were left alone. During the silence that followed, they both realized something had changed between them. It was an event all Faithful Sons and Matriarchs experienced sooner or later when a priestess finally gathered the courage to assert her authority over her bodyguard (10). For Kalveig, it was the second time this had happened. He hadn’t expected it so soon, and it brought back bittersweet memories. As for Siubhan, she was at a loss about what to say. A part of her wanted to apologize, but another part insisted she had done nothing wrong.
Why do I feel so guilty over it, then? she thought.
Finally, Kalveig broke the silence. “By your leave, Matriarch.” He bowed and made for the door. The fact that he had used her formal title wasn’t lost on her. As he was about to walk off, he stopped in the doorway for a second. Without turning to face her, he added “For what it’s worth, I think you did a great job in the Vault.”
Siubhan continued to look at the spot where he had stood for a long time after he was gone. When the tears came, she didn’t fight them back...
**********
(3) a.k.a. ‘hags’
(4) Actually, it was his
Divine Inspiration ability which had just become active (see the Rogues Gallery for details)
(5) And what of Lisette’s ring, you’ll ask? Well, in my world, hags had to become really crafty to avoid pesky inquisitors, so they developed a way to mask an item’s magical aura. Basically, by investing more time/gp/xp in it, they produce an object which reads as ‘normal’ if examined by
detect magic as long as the caster fails a Will save (vs DC 20 in this particular case). Both Pelrind and Siubhan failed and thus overlooked the ring.
And yes, I stole that idea from the old (2E) Al-Qadim setting, so sue me
(6) See the Rogues Gallery (Chapter 1) for complete details
(7) I know, not exactly the ‘standard’ model of
serpentine owl. This variety is created exclusively by Maal’s priesthood. It has the ‘giant owl’ function too but the ‘normal owl’ power is replaced by ‘cryptic augury’ (which is a nice way for me to have fun and hand out a clue to my players at the same time
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
)
(8) Drachenhold coinage: 1 gp = 2 ep (electrum piece) = 10 sp = 100 bp (bronze piece)
Neither pp nor cp exist. Platinum is too rare to be minted, and the old kingdom of Pellham was already using bronze pieces before the Cataclysm, so the habit stuck when the Drachens took over. The various pieces are nicknamed as follows:
gp: ‘crown’
ep: ‘noble’
sp: ‘knight’
bp: ‘common’
(9) Yes, they’re talking of the
Speak with Dead spell. So, what’s so dangerous you ask? Well, I never liked the way that spell made it to 3.5E. It has become so simple and efficient that they’ve taken all the fun out of it. Thus, I modified it quite a bit.
For starter, my version once again uses the caster’s level to determine just how old the creature interrogated can be. No more 5th-level cleric asking questions of a 10,000 years old corpse!
What’s more, I don’t subscribe to that ‘imprint of the soul’ stupidity. Come on! We’re talking necromancy here. Conjuring the soul (or spirit) of a dead person to force it to answer queries should involve more than holding one’s holy symbol above a corpse for 10 minutes!
The way I see it, you drag (literally) a soul back from whatever afterlife it had and (try to) interrogate it while it’s still confused enough not to make you pay dearly for the favor. Since the session lasts 1 minute per level of the spellcaster, that leaves a lot of time for something to go wrong...
There are 4 parameters that have to be taken into account here:
a) how powerful was the person at the time of her death?
b) how traumatized was she by her death?
c) what kind of afterlife has she enjoyed (or suffered) since then?
d) did the spellcaster have anything to do with her death?
That will determine how accurate and/or truthful the replies will be. Beyond that, the more the spell lasts, the greater the risk of the soul trying to do something ‘bad’. This can range from possessing the caster to escaping as an incorporeal undead.. or worse.
Hence, that’s not the kind of spell you cast everyday, nor is it cast lightly (at least by non-Evil spellcasters).
(10) This is actually seen as a ‘necessary evil’ by elders of Morwyn’s priesthood. They know the Matriarchs’ mission is too important for them to ‘play it safe’. Hence, it is vital that they be allowed to complete it without being hindered every step of the way.
Faithful Sons, due to their training, often become overprotective of the Matriarchs they are supposed to guard, especially if the holy warrior is a veteran and the priestess is young and inexperienced. Thus, all Matriarchs must learn to ‘say no’ when their bodyguards try to influence their decisions because of what they deem an ‘unacceptable security risk’.
A Faithful Son who cannot ‘yield gracefully’ to his Matriarch quickly finds himself reassigned to the units protecting Morwyn’s temples and monasteries (where he won’t be in a position to order a Matriarch around). Matriarchs who prove too weak-willed to assert their authority when the situation calls for it are usually relegated to the infirmary of a monastery (where they will take orders exclusively from the Holy Mother in charge).
Only strong-willed Matriarchs paired with efficient but obedient Faithful Sons receive ‘high profile’ missions.
**********
See you all back in June for the next update!
Edit: added note #10
