Airwalkrr's Greyhawk: Maure Castle IC

Kal smiled to Mapata with charming smile knowing his friend here as a bit on edge... he tried to ease his mind with a bit of word for comfort.

"As long as your mission serves the greater good my friends this particular lady will back you should you need it, or at least that's what I understand from scriptures of her generosity" Kal said softly in his exotic tone.

"You are overly confident as usual warlock. An old desert serpent like me learns not to trust anyone at firsts. Mapata's confidence is won, not granted." the half orc says bluntly, still looking at the human female before him.

Justine

“It is an honor to meet you in person, Jallarzi Sallavarian,” Justine says, bowing before the mighty wizardess in a gesture of gratitude for her proposed offer to help them. Of course, she would have her own motives, or at least Justine thought as much. Nonetheless, it was quite an honor for them.

“This is a dangerous venture we will be undertaking, so any help you are willing to offer is greatly appreciated.”


OOC: Arcana 25

Jallarzi's countenance turns suddenly stern at the mention of the Silver Key of Portals. "I see you wish to cut to the quick. Very well."

She moves over to a shelf upon which rests a small, nondescript wooden tinder box. Of all the magnificent items on display throughout the room, you reckon it must be the most mundane of them all. You would have never noticed it had she not drawn your attention to it. She retrieves the box from the shelf and takes it in her hands before her. Then, leaning ever so closely so that her lips almost touch the lid, she appears to whisper words so soft you would be surprised if she even uttered a sound at all. As she finishes, the latch to the box snaps suddenly open. Jallarzi slowly opens it so that the back of the lid faces her. You can see inside the tinder box is a very plain tarnished silver key.

"This is the very key that Mordenkainen and his then apprentice, Bigby, used to gain egress into the levels below Maure Castle many years ago. I will loan it to you on one condition only. During Mordenkainen's expedition, his group came across a demon-handed man who was obsessed with the castle and it's lore. Mordenkainen and Bigby slew him, and left the dungeon for other adventures, but recently, there have been signs. The fact that you are being asked to investigate this dungeon is one of them. There are those who fear evil may have waxed in the time since the last expedition to this place. If you find that this is true, you must promise to lay to rest any such evil, as the portents I have seen if nothing is done bodes ill for the entire region."

Jallarzi holds out the tinder box containing the key, implying that by accepting it, you agree to her terms.

After some time in deep silence, the paladin rises from his meditation with a disapointed look on his face. Roshan sheaths his family blade and leaves a small donation to the temple coffers before excusing himself.
As he hadn't been gone nearly as long as he thought he would be, the dragoon makes his way to the ancient tower of this city's wizard's guild to look for his team. When he gets there he lets a page know who he is with and waits patiently outside in a shady spot for them to finish sifting through all their arcane scriblings.

Kal-fen

Kal looked to his left.. then to his right seeing if anyone was brave enough to take the key before he did. It was true that the warlock was indeed no champion of the light and the good in this world however he was no fool. If she had told him he needed to slay a dragon for the key he'd ask which one and where he could be found no matter it's size. To pass up an artifact such as this before him was not something he could ever... or even WOULD ever do.

Slowly his dark gloved hands reached for the box. Knowing that by taking it he was entering into a non contractual agreement with one the most POWERFUL mages alive or dead. He grasped the box with one hand, his other ran over the key, his lithe and long fingers massaging over the powerful artifact cautiously before looking back up to Jallarzi to speak.

"M'Lady do you know how the two gained access to the Castle with the keys assistance? How does it work? Is there a command word to activate it?" the inquisitive warlock asked as he fired a few questions at her hoping she could quell his dire need for answers. "And lastly is there anything else you can bestow upon us be it physical or verbal, or other that would prove most useful to us in this endeavor?"

Justine

“Its form should probably be seen as a metaphor,” Justine quickly interjects.

Mapata sighs. "The day humans learn that there is simplier ways to do things instead of utterly complicating everything, the world shall know peace. Or at least I shall."

Jallarzi looked Kal-fen in the eye as she answered him. "My understanding of the magic of the key is that requires one to merely touch the key to any locked door and the portal will open. Whether there are other powers, I cannot say. Legend has it the key was forged by Dalt himself, the Suel patron deity of locks, doors, and portals. With the vested power of a god, the key might have all sorts of other effects that have yet to be discovered.

"As for other assistance, I can only tell you what I know of Maure Castle and what befell Mordenkainen and Bigby on their expedition. I know of the demon-handed man and his obsession with the castle. I also know that there are levels beyond the ones explored by Mordenkainen and Bigby. What I do not know is what secrets those levels hold. However, given the history of House Maure, they are likely to be the resting place of numerous arcane secrets, experiments, monsters, and gods know what else. When the Maures retreated to their castle and terminated virtually all contact with the outside world a thousand years ago, they left many questions unanswered.

"If you have any specific questions or concerns, I will do my best to address them."