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

[Seravin]

A Fire in the Sky

This is my 500th post on ENWorld

At twenty-two, Martin Stonson was one of the youngest serving Ducal Guards in Corlean. His Grace, Duke Hilmaron, drew his guard exclusively from serving soldiers. Martin had distinguished himself up north, showing both good judgement and good luck while dealing with caravan raiders. It had earned him both a medal and recognition. A few weeks after returning to Corlean with his unit, Martin had been offered a reassignment to the ducal palace. The young man had thought long and hard but eventually accepted; seeing it as another way he could serve.

Tonight he found himself standing in the sanctuary of Latina’s Cathedral, just a candle or so before midnight. He took a deep breath of satisfaction and raised his torch higher, looking about. He felt a special connection with the cathedral and attended services at least once a month. The original name of the building was Crown’s Vigil, referring to the time when it was just a church on the far border; acting as both a watchpost and an administrative building. Now most people felt the name was pretentious and archaic. Martin felt differently but didn’t make an issue of it. The truly important part was the faith the building represented.

Frowning, Martin half-turned away from the white-silk clad altar and looked out over the nave. It was a broad hall with a high vaulting ceiling, both of which disappeared into the darkness. Normally the entire length of the room was lit by magical flames created by the faith of the priests. This evening however the only light was from the smoking torch that he held high. The flickering light showed him only the front quarter or so of the nave. The rich purple carpeting descended the three steps from the sanctuary and ran down the aisle into the darkness. On either side of the wide carpet were the pews where the congregation would sit. The ceiling was out of sight, but on the walls to either side he could just dimly make out the blind traceries coaxed from the stone, depicting the sword and shield motif of the church. Higher up, unseen in the darkness, were large stained glass windows depicting scenes from myth and legend.

The young man nodded slowly. The cathedral was still a rock of faith, solid and stable despite recent events. Turning back to the sanctuary he looked to where Her statue stood. Ten feet tall and made of white marble, the representation was the same as others he had seen before. A slender warrior woman dressed in stylized platemail and bearing a kite shield raised up before her. Emblazoned on the shield was the upright flaming sword of the faith. Her own blade was sheathed but her hand was on the hilt ready to draw.

She stood there righteous and proud, defiant and protective. Everything that Martin envisioned in his goddess, the patroness of the Empire. Latina. Tonight he thought he saw sadness, as he well imagined the goddess was feeling. In the silence of the cathedral, Martin allowed himself to remember the events leading to this evening’s cleansing.

Kerress Raptoran, High Priestess and Voice of the Defender’s Will in Corlean had arrived at the ducal palace just before sundown. The usually smiling priestess had been gravely silent as she passed Martin’s post, but that wasn’t surprising. The news of Colonel Megara’s fraudulent crimes had stunned everyone; it came as no shock that Kerress Raptoran was there to speak for her. For his part, Martin believed that the Colonel was innocent of the crimes and that the investigation would show the strangers had framed her somehow.

The priestess had gained an immediate audience with His Grace and Ker Aruk, his newest advisor. Martin shied away thinking about the elder advisor. The man was well spoken and obviously competent, but it did seem strange how fast the the Duke had taken to the man; especially given all the other events. His Grace was a well known judge of character though, and it wasn’t Martin’s place to question him.

Then the call had come. Captain Brooks had let it be known that all the guards would be summoned before His Grace this evening; in small groups so that the posts would be covered. As the most junior guard Martin had been one of the last four summoned to the Duke’s Great Hall.

Martin shook his head, remembering all the conflicting emotions he had felt. It was obvious that something was wrong. Kerress Raptoran was sitting, slumped on a bench before the Duke, obviously overcome with emotion. Aruk was sitting next to her, his arm around her and whispering to her. His Grace was sitting on his throne and staring at her. Captain Brook had come up from behind. “Stand watch.” He had ordered. “No matter what, stand and watch.”

Martin had been scared before, but this was the first time he had known fear in the Ducal palace. There was something wrong. He knew he had to do something; to somehow fix whatever was wrong.

*Peace.* Said the voice

Terror welled up and Martin knew he was going to do something.

*Peace.* Said the voice again and everything was suddenly all right.

Martin understood then that he was among friends. Terrible things had happened, but if they all stood together things would be all right. The Duke then told them of the betrayal. His Grace told them how the priests at the great cathedral had become corrupted by promises of wealth; of how the priests sold the safety of the city to dangerous mercenaries. Only the priestess, Kerress Raptoran, had the courage to step forward and request the aid of the Duke, unable to stop the corruption herself.

And the voices affirmed it all.

Kerress Raptoran sat their and wept silently, shuddering in shame at her inability to control her church.

Duke Hilmaron vowed to fix these problems and restore order. The church of Braen had already stepped forward to lend their aid. It was time to cleanse Latina’s Cathedral and bring honor back to the church. Later there would be time to deal with the mercenaries; but that would be after the church was re-sanctified.

Martin vowed his sword right there.

Now he was in the church, the corrupted clergy shackled and under guard. Martin’s gaze slid from The Defender’s statue to the silk covered altar and the two figures standing there. Priests of Braen, they wore the cult’s garb of sky blue cotton with white linen trim. As always, their hoods were pulled low over their heads and they kept their hands hidden within the wide sleeves.

*It is time.*

Martin smiled and nodded. The voices explained what he was to do. His faith was perfect. He did this for Latina. He laid the torch carefully down to the stone floor, taking care that it would not set the carpet leading up to the altar alight. Stepping quickly, he walked up to the altar and allowed himself to touch the white silk cloth covering it.

*A willing sacrifice is needed.* Reminded the dispassionate voice. *A show of belief. If your faith is enough then She will manifest.* There was an odd note to the silent voice, but Martin dismissed it. He volunteered for this job and now he would see it through; his honor and duty demaned nothing less.

With a deep breath the twenty-two year old guard draped himself, face up, across the altar as the Braenites approached. One of them moved up to his head and he heard the rustling of cloth from just out of sight.

*Relax.*

There was a gasp from the captured priests and a scuffle started.

Martin smiled, knowing this was his destiny. He barely had a chance to wonder at the purple tentacles as they came down to carress his face, before he died and the altar was desanctified.

---

Quereth Holtson was entertaining visitors. He wasn’t particularly happy about it either. Aruk and his bodyguard, Imtithal, had shown up just after moon-high without announcement. He had nearly turned them away, but he was a businessman and understood that sometimes problems had to be fixed right now.

So he found himself in his drawing room with his two visitors, Aruk seated across from him and Imtithal leaning against the fireplace, listening to how Kerress Raptoran had confronted the Duke. “So it’s all gone sideways then.” Already his mind was thinking about damage control.

Aruk smiled like a cat. “Not as such. I confess I didn’t forsee the woman actually coming to see the Duke, but I knew that someone might. Her prayers triggered all sorts of traps that I had prepared.” He grimaced in distaste. “She still managed to lay one of our tentacle friends low, but the rest proved particularly resistant.” His satisfied smirk returned. “By the time we were finished she had the mind of a babe and could do nothing but shudder against the holding spells. She was quite convincing as the shame-faced woman who couldn’t stand failing her church.”

Imtithal’s lazy grin grew broader. “She did fail. The look on her face as she realized it was most satisfying.”

“So what now?” Asked Quereth, suspicious.

“For your part? Nothing strenuous, but I thought you should know that parts of the plan are moving ahead of schedule. The Duke has already ordered the taking of the Cathedral.” Aruk savored the sentence for a moment. “And I have ordered Balraj and his brothers to provide a suitable…distraction. That should keep the rest of the town busy and identify potential troublemakers.”

“And the illithid?”

“Still leading the Braenite cult. They’ve offered their services to the Duke and will be helping at the palace as well as the Cathedral.”

Quereth nodded. So far it sounded all right. “You wouldn’t be telling me this in person unless you wanted me to do something else.”

“I now have two priestesses that I’m certain some hero would like to free. I need an unofficial place to hide them until I’m ready for them.”

Quereth grimaced. There it was. “There’s an awful lot of danger with that request.”

Aruk’s answer was just as serious. “Treason is always dangerous, and don’t mistake that you are already involved in anything else. Baron Roth will marry Gabrella and take the Duke’s place when he dies. From there it’s a short step to Kalta. I fully expect Roth’s heir to meet and wed Jaz’aldrin’s girl.”

Quereth stared. “You can’t possibly expect to live that long.”

“I’m older than you think. Long life is trivially easy for the illithid to arrange; as you will soon find out for turning over Grandal.” He smiled. “What’s one more betrayal when we’re talking the Imperial seat?”

Quereth thought about it. “I wouldn’t mind some more protection here then. Can any of the Braenite cultists be brought over?”

Imtithal straightened up. “I’ll help you guard them.” He answered. “I have a vested interest in making sure they are safe until we are ready for them.”

 

[Seravin]

A few random thoughts...

This was spurred from the earlier conversation with the players. I decided to advance the take-over schedule just a bit. As the next post will show it was perhaps a little fast - but it forced the players to make some choices. Their choice wasn't what I expected but it turned out okay.

The in-game reason was pretty easy to come up with. The arrest of Col. Megara would have some obvious repercussions - and though the players didn't know it quite yet, Capt. Ladea had also been arrested. It was a short step to have the highest ranking (and level) priestess to investigate - with some obvious consequences. She was next on the list anyway - it just happened faster.

One of the big things I pulled from the Speaker in Dreams was the alliance between the illithid, the devils, and the the thieves guild. The illithid connection was just too good to pass up. Additionally two of the players had gone through that module and I had a reference for Night Below in the captured notes. The module itself was silent on why the illithid and devils were working together, but given my changes that probably didn't matter much.

As it is, the reasoning of why and how the illithid were working with the Treshans was never found out by the players. Not that it really mattered. The player's thinking at this point was that illithid = bad and "dead illithid" = good, and that illithid allies deserved the same treatment.

The one thing I didn't do very well was giving the players feedback on when their actions were having a positive effect. All the ever saw was the bad guys either hiding or getting agressive - and no reasoning behind it. I was thinking the players might try their hand at infiltration so they would get that information, but we changed tracks before they got enough data to act on.

If there's ever a similar situation I'll try and make sure that they have some cowardly contact who can let them know when the bad guys are getting nervous.

Part of this ties back to my weakness in dm'ing characters of these levels and part of it was the player's own unfamiliarity of their new levels. This was pretty new territory for all of us, and the terrain was completely different from the underdark. I was trying to be conscious of letting the players use their abilities - was trying to force them to use their abilities in some cases. Despite all of this I had fun running this arc, and I think the players had fun too.

The only other thing I'm a little disappointed about is the illithid charm monster abilities. This is another case of hand waving - or at least the illithid running a massive bluff on all their charmed victims. As written the illithid are really only capable of making everyone treat them as trust allies - friendly or helpful on the chart, but not 'masters'. For example the Duke in this case would have treated them as good friends and treated them as near equals, dismissing his grand rank while with them (and I can just see how an illithid would deal with that).

My view of illithid is that their charm power is somewhat stronger - making the victim subservient as well as trusting; so that's how I ran it. PC's, being made of sterner stuff, wouldn't necessarily be as subservient at first.

 

[Seravin]

Exchanging Tales

It was late morning when Jallarzi stepped through the gate from the Valley. Her expression was one of impatience. Looking about the entry she heaved a sigh and went to find her companions. The wizardess found her friends in the Blue Room. The grim looks from the night before were still there.

Jared looked up from his book as she entered and smiled faintly. “Good morning. How is the Library?”

Jallarzi wrinkled her nose. “Stupid.” She sighed and then elaborated. “The Library itself is good; lots of books, labs, and everything. The sick wizards are still sick though.”

Jared’s brow furrowed. “Why? Don’t they have priests who can restore them?”

“They’re turning it into a lesson.” She snorted with disbelief. “I asked about it and was told that magic shouldn’t be used to fix everything, and they were using the opportunity to chart the course of the poison.” She shook her head. “Don’t let them take care of me if I ever get sick.”

“No problem.” Agreed Kestral cheerfully, then her voice turned serious. “I just got back from walking a little while ago and we were waiting for you to get back.”

Jallarzi caught the tone. “What happened?”

“The chuch of Latina has a big fire in it right now and people are saying there are monster on the grounds. Oh, and Captain Ladea has been arrested too.” The last was delivered with a sigh that delivered her exact feelings on life’s general unfairness.

“The church is on fire?”

“More like there’s a pillar of fire shooting up through the roof and twenty feet into the air. The rest of the building seems fine except for the permanent flame strike. I didn’t go see it myself but everyone says there are monsters on the grounds.” Kestral shook her head. “I went to go see Captain Ladea to see if she had more up to date information and found out she got arrested last night for high treason. The Watch wanted to arrest me too but I managed to talk them out of it. I came right back here after that and we thought we would wait for you before going out.”

Pursing her lips, Jallarzi nodded her head slowly. “So we’re going to the church of Latina?”

Kellron stood up. “I was thinking that was the best bet. Whatever is happening there is probably related to everything else and it would earn us some good will.”

“I agree.” Said Jared, laying aside his book as he stood up.

Kestral shrugged. “We could use the good will.” She noted as she gained her feet. “How are we going to do this?”

“With the warrant on our heads we should probably go in disguise,” suggested Jared. “That’s not a problem for you…” He trailed off

“I can cast a spell of disguise,” volunteered the wizardess. She considered another moment. “I also have an invisibility spell memorized. Barring a fight, it would last a while.”

“So that helps either Kellron or myself.” Noted Jared. He smiled suddenly with an idea. “Kestral, is anyone looking for you?”

Kestral understood immediately and smiled as she shook her head. “No. You three appear to be the only wanted criminals. No one appears to know that I exist yet.” She pulled out her hair-comb, which transformed into a brown velvet hat in her hand. Kestral felt almost naked without it, she never went outside as her normal self anymore. The young woman hefted it once and lobbed it to Jared. “You could disguise yourself as a solider or something and hopefully divert any notice of an invisible Kellron clanking around. As long as we stay to the streets and avoid untouched snow drifts he shouldn’t call attention to himself.”

They were ready to go a few minutes later.

 

[Seravin]

Trust Me

The central building of the Corlean Library is separated from the main street by a small courtyard. Directly across the street is a small, lightly wooded park. As a matter of course, only students generally wander the courtyard of the Library; general distrust of wizards by the populace keeps everyone else away. This morning however there were several small groups of well bundled up people gathered both on the street and in the park. Some of the folk were the non-apprentice students who had been given a sudden holiday by Master Wymeah; others were fearful citizens who were hoping that the wizards could help with the problems afflicting the Latina's Cathedral.

Kestral was the first out the front door, surveying the street and looking for anything suspicious. She spotted the man almost immediately as she casually scanned the little groups of people. He was the only one by himself, standing under a tree in clothes that weren’t nearly warm enough for the weather. His head had snapped up as she had walked out of the building and his gaze followed her briefly as she circled the courtyard.

He was an older man with black hair and a goatee. He was of medium height and build, and was dressed in what appeared to be expensive black and gray clothes. His only acknowledgement to the chill was a heavy, dark cloak; but even that was casually cast open and couldn’t be providing any real warmth. Kestral thought she had seen the man from somewhere before but couldn’t quite recall where.

Jared, who was disguised as a northern mercenary in chain shirt and bearing only a dagger, and Jallarzi, who was disguised as dark-haired student, were next out the door. They immediately drew the watcher’s attention and Kestral used the distraction to move towards the closest group of people; hoping to lose herself amongst them. All the while she kept one eye on the man. She was glad she had. The man looked uncertain for a moment and then raised a hand in an obvious spellcasting gesture.

Jared and Jallarzi recognized Kestral’s sudden change in stride and manner and took care to keep walking as if they were by themselves; letting the distance between themselves and their friend widen. The soft clank of Kellron from behind them and the careful closing of the door let them know that their friend had joined them. “Kestral’s onto something.” Murmured Jared, just loud enough for Kellron to hear.

Kestral drifted around the little clumps of people, circling closer to her target without being noticed. His focus was now entirely on Jared and Jallarzi and he seemed to be concentrating abnormally hard on them.

A snippet of conversation momentarily distracted the young woman as she passed the last group of people.

“…wizards aren’t going to save us; they’re all sick. I heard the cult of Braen is protecting the Duke now. Boren says they’ve already killed one monster that escaped from the Cathedral grounds…”

Kestral didn’t stop, curious as she was. She would bet that the watcher was using a detect magic spell and had identified her friends for who they were. As quickly as possible she completed her circuit and ended up just behind and to the left of the man.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Asked Kestral politely but firmly.

The man jumped and whirled on her bringing his hands up reflexively. Kestral tensed but saw that the mysterious man wasn’t continuing through with the motions. Instead his eyes narrowed on her and she allowed herself a sardonic smile, confident that he wasn’t going to see anything.

Apparently satisfied the man relaxed ever so slightly. “My name is Lore and I’m looking for two gentlemen.” He waved his hand towards the approaching Jared, Jallarzi, and the invisible Kellron. “I assume that two of those people may be the ones I am looking for.” His voice and manner were cultured and polite, but hardly diffident.

Kestral nodded. Maybe.” With that the two waited for Kestral’s three friends to approach.

Jared was the first to speak, with his questions sounding like orders. “Who are you?”

The man bowed. “As I just explained to the young woman, my name is Lore and I’m looking for two men, both members of the church of Sarath. Jared and Kellron are their names.” He nodded to the apparently empty spot just to the left of Jared. “Would you and whoever is standing to your left be them?”

Jared stiffened slightly and considered. There was no point denying it at this time. The man didn’t look like a member of the Watch and he was starting to pique his interest. “I’m Jared.” He admitted, pointedly ignoring the second part of Jared’s question.

Lore waited a moment and then smiled. “Ah. I see. Well, you’re right not to trust me I suppose given the current troubles of the city.” He paused to collect his thoughts and then continued. “I represent someone who would like to speak with you.” He turned slightly and bowed to Jallarzi. “And you also, milady.” Seeing that he had their attention he continued. “This person wishes to discuss matters of importance and hopes that you will deign to meet them.”

Jared, Jallarzi, and Kestral shared glances. “Go on.” Said Jared.

“That’s all that I can offer at this point. Would you be willing to agree to talks?”

Kestral shrugged, indicating that she didn’t quite trust him but didn’t think he was obviously lying either. Not that he had said much at all.

Seeing no objection from his friends, Jared asked the next obvious question. “When and where?”

“They would be willing to meet with you now if convenient. I happen to know that they hoped you would be immediately available.”

“Let’s do it.” Rumbled Kellron.

Jared, Jallarzi, and Kestral murmured their agreements.

---

Lore led them north and east through the streets to north trade district. The journey was made in silence, neither side wishing to speak to the other. Soon enough they were at their destination, an older-looking two-story warehouse built of grey stone and weathered wood. It was one of the smaller ones, perhaps only fifty feet square.

Lore led them to a side door and knocked twice. “The person I represent is just inside.”

Kestral grimaced. “You first.”

Lore bowed. “Of course.” With that he opened up the door and stepped inside.

Jared, Kellron, Jallarzi, and Kestral followed him in.

The warehouse was unlit with the only light coming in from the open door behind them; showing them what looked to be a nearly empty warehouse floor before it disappeared into the darkness. Lore spoke a quick word and disappeared.

“Damn it.” Swore Jared.

A woman’s voice broke the stillness. It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the warehouse. The voice was calm but ice-cold. “You killed my father.” Announced the woman. “So now I am going to have you killed. Make your peace.” Kestral’s heart dropped as she recognized the voice.

There was no time for protest, as the woman’s sentence was punctuated with the distinctive twang of released crossbow strings. Three bolts clattered about the three visible friends standing in the open doorway. Fortunately they all missed.

Kestral was the first to react, yelling “Its Jaylissa!” as she pulled out her enchanted light amulet from her pouch. Unwrapping the amulet she flung it twenty or so feet towards the center of the room. The enchanted light revealed that the warehouse wasn’t as empty as it had first appeared. Scattered about were numerous crates stacked two or three high, providing cover for any number of waiting enemies. An upper platform at the far end of the room was revealed at the extreme edge of the light. The friends could just make out four shadowy figures standing up there.

“Kill them.” Spoke the woman’s voice again. Three of the figures began reloading their crossbows while the fourth, Lore, began chanting in a clear, strong voice as he pulled out an amber rod. A ten foot wide stroke of lighting spat from the rod and arced to Jallarzi and Jared. The lighting seared both of them, but they each twisted aside and managed to avoid the full effect of the stroke.

Jallarzi moved off to her left and invoked a spell of see invisibility not wanting to be surprised. Meanwhile both Jared and Kellron drew their weapons and broke right, towards where they thought the stairs to the upper platform were.

Kestral looked about and considered her options next. Deciding, she drew her own sword and closed the door behind them to slow down any unexpected attacks from that direction.

Jaylissa snarled and fired her crossbow at the same time as the man to her right did. Again, they both missed. Lore, who was standing to Jaylissa’s left cast a spell that Jallarzi immediately recognized as shield. The fourth figure, a man dressed in rough peasant clothing dropped his crossbow and ran for the stairwell. He moved quickly and was at the bottom of the stairs and in a guard stance in just a few moments. He bore no weapons but there was no doubt that he was dangerous.

Jallarzi did a quick scan of the area around her with her enchanted sight. Satisfied that there weren’t any lurking surprises she eyed Jaylissa and invoked a spell of hold person. Jaylissa gurgled and froze in the middle of the reloading process.

Jared, seeing Jallarzi’s strategy, stopped and targeted the man to Jaylissa’s right with his own prayer of hold person. His spell took also, and the man froze mid-load. For his part, Kellron charged the man now standing at the bottom of the stairwell, shouting Sarath’s name.

The silent man was unfazed by the invisible shout and the pounding of metal-shod feet, deigning only to raise his guard higher. Despite this, the strike of Kellron’s sword nearly crippled the man. He twisted with the blow as well as he could, but Deverat’s enchantments were backed up with supernatural might. Unlike most men, the unarmed man ignored his wounds and if anything, looked more determined to block the way of the now visible Kellron.

Kestral could sense that it was almost over. Only Lore worried her and so far she hadn’t seen anything that Jallarzi couldn’t match. She scanned the darkness at the outer edges of the light, just in case.

With his two companions frozen, Lore made a decision. “Hold them a moment longer!” He shouted. With that, Lore reached out and grabbed Jaylissa’s arm and spoke the same word he had invoked earlier, disappearing with Jaylissa with a dimension door spell.

Jallarzi swore as she scanned the upper platform. “They’re gone.” She yelled, seeing only the frozen crossbowman.

The man at the stair looked calm, knowing his doom was before him, and let loose with a flurry of blows at Kellron. Two of them hit, one of them rocking the paladin back on his feet. Anyone else would have been stunned but Kellron shook it off. He retaliated with two quick strikes of his own, the second of which struck hard and true, killing the man.

Jared charged up the stairwell and made his way to the crossbowman and added his own swear words. “That could have gone better.” He noted, looking around.

“At least we have someone we can question.” Noted Kellron, coming up the stairwell.

“Thank Sarath for small favors.” Agreed Jared. “Help me disarm this guy; we should probably get out of here quickly. Who knows who’s waiting to charge in after us.”

---

The four friends held a quick conference. It didn’t take them long to decide upon a course of action. Jallarzi used a scroll to cast a second spell of invisibility on Kellron while Jared used Kestral’s hat to disguise himself as their prisoner. The two men waited to see Jallarzi teleport away with Kestral and the prisoner and then made their own way out of the warehouse. They would meet up at the Library as quickly as possible.

 

[Seravin]

No, Trust Me

Apologies for the delay. DnD Online is a pretty cool game though.
Fortunately I was already working on this post...

----

Geoffrey Windemere shifted nervously from foot to foot while keeping an eye on the Modolan warehouse. Things were bad; real bad. Vigorously rubbing his hands over his arms to keep warm, Geoffrey reflected that being a torch bearer might not have been a bad career choice after all. It might have been marginally safer than the city and far safer than the current job.

”I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Thought Geoffrey for the twelfth time this morning. ”They took out the Blue Diamond, the Gaming Den, and and the Blue Gorgon.” He stamped his feet to relieve both the cold and his growing fear as he thought over his current circumstances. "They took out Ker Deverex! - didn’t know he a wizard himself.”

”I never should have told Radik what happened to me. Should’ve just told him the two womenn had disappeared. Why did he have to tell Lore of all people that the women had taken me to…wherever?”

Seeing movement down the street, Geoffrey moved deeper into the warehouse doorway and waited for the walkers to approach. As he suspected, it was Lore. Word was starting to get around town that there was a new curfew; something about the cathedral being on fire. With the free-mage were three familiar faces; two soldiers and the scary-beautiful white-haired wizard. There was a fourth person but while she looked vaguely familiar Geoffrey determined she was a stranger.

”Father Dark must be loving this.” thought the dark-haired young man somewhat cycnically. "He’s already looking for this lot and here Kerress Deverex pays for an assassination. He gets paid for what he already wanted done.”

Worry tugged at Geoffrey’s mind, but he managed to put it down. ”Valadan’s the best there is.” He reminded himself. ”And the woman has a Ereskian bodyguard; no one gets by one of them." For the first time today he let himself smile as he watched them enter the Modolan warehouse. ”Lore will surprise them.” He told himself – finally managing to push his worry away.

From his vantage point across the street Geoffrey heard the crack of thunder and saw the interior of the warehouse light up briefly. The door closed quickly after that. Geoffrey heaved a sigh of relief and settled back. Things were being taken care of. He only had to watch out for surprises coming up or down this street. Besides, if anything did go wrong no one expected him to get involved; he was just a hired watchman.

The budding young criminal had barely finished that thought when a soft, unnatural double-hum sounded behind him and faded away. Geoffrey jumped and whirled around to face the new danger; his calm heart was now beating like a dwarf’s hammer. He paled at the sight.

It was Lore and Kerress Deverex, standing there recovering from Lore’s travel spell. Lore was panting a bit, and the woman…the woman was still. Geoffrey’s heart stopped as he recognized the same effect that the wizardess had captured him with less than a month ago. As for Lore, Lore was always calm; scary-calm. It was his trademark. The free-mage knew he could kill you with a word a gesture and everyone who dealt with him knew it too. Right now Lore looked scared and that terrified Geoffrey even more.

Lore caught his breath as he focused in on the room and then on Geoffrey. With an effort of will the older man composed himself. “The ambush didn’t work.” There was still a note of fear in the man’s voice. He had never so badly underestimated his opposition. There was only one option right now and that was to retreat.

The free-mage managed to regain a measure of his usual calm. “Watch the warehouse.” He ordered. “If any of the marks come out you let them go. Note their direction but do not try and follow them. When they’re safely gone, or after an hour, head back to the safe house.” He paused, and then added. “Wait. If you see them leave, wait until they are safely out of sight and check out the warehouse.”

Geoffrey nodded, relieved that he wasn’t going to have to face these folks. He had been given a very stern warning by the one soldier and had no wish to cross paths with them again.

Orders given Lore reached out (Geoffrey would have said tenderly if it wasn’t so ridiculous) and touched Kerress Deverex on the arm. Invoking a word he and the woman disappeared through what looked to be a glowing rip in the air. The rip hummed softly and disappeared.

Geoffrey turned his attention back to the Modolan warehouse.

---

Geoffrey didn’t have to wait long. Only a minute or two passed after Lore left when the door of the warehouse across the street opened. At first Geoffrey couldn’t tell who was at the door and he didn’t dare stick his head out further to get a better look. He didn’t have to wait long for his curiosity to be satisfied though. Relief flooded through Geoffrey as he recognized Valadan.

Geoffrey had never met the assassin personally but he had seen the man around and had gotten a look at the man earlier this morning. Valadan belonged to the Night Sashes and he was Father Dark’s choice when people had to disappear. Seemingly normal, an onlooker couldn’t tell just by looking that Valadan was a nearly emotionless sociopath. Not quite yet thirty, Valadan had already killed some forty-odd people; most of them for money but not all.

Tall, dark, and non-descript, no one messed with Valadan. Geoffrey was almost relieved to see the man. The young man watched the assassin close the door and make his way down the street; showing no sign of a fight that had sent Lore himself running.

Geoffrey waited until the man was closer before going out to meet him. “Valadan!” He called, waving an arm to get the man’s attention.

Valadan stopped and turned to look at Geoffrey. Geoffrey paused as he realized he might have done something wrong. There was no thrown knife however and while Valadan’s hand strayed to his sword hilt, he didn’t draw it. Still Geoffrey moved closer before he started speaking again.

“Valadan. What happened? Lore said the ambush didn’t work.”

The assassin’s face was grim. “It didn’t. The others teleported out and left me behind.” He gave Geoffrey an appraising eye. “What’s the plan?” He asked

“Lore wanted me to check out the warehouse if everyone was gone and then head back to the safe house.”

“I see.” Valadan considered for a moment. “Don’t bother checking out the warehouse; there’s no one left in there.” He gestured vaguely down the road. “We should head back to the safe house and report.”

Geoffrey nodded and turned down the street. “Okay.” He said agreeably.

Seeing that Geoffrey was waitng for him to move, Valadan again gestured vaguely down the road. “You lead the way, I’ll watch for followers.”

Geoffrey didn’t like it but if the assassin wanted to kill him, he hardly had to wait for Geoffrey to turn his back. Suppressing a sigh Geoffrey turned and started the journey back to the safe house.

---

The safe house was an older two-story house only a few blocks away. Despite its age, the building and the small grounds around it were well kept. A small, waist-high stone wall surrounded the grounds. It certainly didn’t look like a criminal hide out. In fact, anyone investigating the ownership of the building would find that it was owned by a minor merchant family from Karos; who were renting it to others. In theory it was currently unoccupied and being watched over and administered by the Holtson family.

Geoffrey led Valadan right to the gate and was about to open it when Valadan bid him to stop.

“Hold up.” Said Valadan.

Curious, Geoffrey turned to the man. For the second time today Geoffrey paled in fright. Valadan’s form shifted and blurred for a moment and Geoffrey was now facing one of the soldier allies of the wizardess. ”Jared.” His memory reminded him.

“I thought we told you that you shouldn't work for Father Dark.”

It was phrased almost like a question but Geoffrey found he couldn’t answer.

The fighting man looked disgusted. “Just go. Go and don’t come back.” He warned and then smiled grimly. “I can promise you bad things will happen to anyone working for Father Dark today.”

Geoffrey was still unable to move.

“Go!” Hissed the man.

Geoffrey’s eyes widened and he took off like a rabbit. He wasn’t going to come back here. He didn’t know what he was going to do, but he knew that much.

Jared willed the hat of disguise to change his form back to that of the assassin and watched the young man disappear from view. He spit once, shook his head, and then made his way back to the Library. At least now he knew where their attackers were.

 

[Seravin]

Preparations

It’s never been really spelled out but I have certain mental images when the characters prepare for an upcoming battle.

For Kellron, I see a tall, broad-shoulder man with dark hair. Clad in plate armor he takes care to check each strap and buckle, ensuring the fit is both comfortable and secure. Next, he fixes his large steel shield to his arm, testing the weight. Finally he draws his sword, Deverat, and looks along the length. The adamantine blade, the color of dark steel, doesn’t have a single scratch or nick along its perfect length. Still he gravely inspects the blade, perhaps asking it if it is prepared for another fight. Deverat of course answers with a serene affirmative.

Nearby is Jared who has a similar build and coloring as the paladin. The cleric is going through similar procedures; perhaps he and Kellron helping each other don their armor. In Jared’s case, Finslayer’s answer is a confident "We’ll get through this with my help", tinged with the disappointment that they’re not going after the kuo-toa yet. Of course Jared has his own unique checks himself. He’ll check his silver holy symbol and say a brief prayer to Sarath. Next he’ll go through his pouches and magical pack to verify that he has blessed water and spell focuses as well as looking at each potion of scroll.

White-haired Jallarzi is next. Eschewing the traditional robes of the Library, the half-elf wizardess is dressed in comfortable traveling clothes. Her cloak, a gift from the Library, is thrown back over her shoulders as she secures a quiver and a dagger to her belt next to her carefully cataloged pouch of spell components. On the table next to her are a dozen wands or so, prizes taken in previous battles or ones carefully crafted. She picks each wand up and examines it with a critical eye before sheathing it in her quiver. As she picks up her white, crystal-topped staff she looks at Sarah, her familiar, who yawns lazily. The black cat slowly gets up, stretches and strides over to the young woman who bends down to stroke the cat. With a flick of her tail Sarah jumps into the extradimensional folds of Jallarzi’s cloak.

Strangely, I think Kestral has the most preparations, if only because she has no focused role in battle. She fills in where needed; doing the little tasks so that the others can focus on striking their enemies down faster. Her leather armor isn’t as complicated to put on, but she still needs to check the fittings. She then checks each of her weapons; her magical shortsword, her daggers, and her bow and quiver of arrows, making sure that everything can be pulled free instantly.

Kestral then checks that her enchanted amulet is accessible, but wrapped so as to betray no light; followed by checking her pouches to ensure all the little tools that make opening doors are where they are suppose to be. Finally she goes through her magical pack and performs a quick inventory. Once satisfied she looks to her hands to makes sure that she's wearing the rings she wants to, dons Ashimar’s gloves of dexterity, and finally looks at herself in her hand mirror activating its alluring magic. Normally she would also change her appearance with her magical hat, but today that has been given to Jared to wear.

At this time, not quite seven months since Ashimar, Kellron, Jallarzi, and Panther first met, less than a five people understand quite how powerful these heroes have become. To some extent, isolated in the Night Below as they have been, not even the heroes understand their new role.

For strength of arms there might be three others in the city of Corlean that could meet Kellron or Jared in open combat and hope to win, and even then the fight would be very close in regards to Kellron. It has been a month and a half since anyone in the city has seen these men fight though and their skills are half-again as good as they were since.

Jared’s faith is the equal of anyone in Corlean. The members of the cult of Niela know of and understand his strength, as does Colonel Megara. However the cult is isolated and they do not spread rumors. As for the colonel…she is indisposed and not answering questions.

Jallarzi has gone from sorceress, to wizard’s apprentice, to journey-mage, to master in all but name, in less than seven months. Capable of traveling where she will and disintegrating inconveniences, on this day there is now only one wizard in Corlean who is stronger and his agenda is his own.

Even Kestral, physically the weakest of the four, is a competent fighter and if partnered with a fighting companion can deliver devastating cuts. She has no learning of magic, yet weilds a variety of magical items, some very potent. Her biggest strength is her anonymity and her social skills. Not just a courier anymore, she is to the social environment that an elven ranger is to the forest. She can go anywhere, speak to anyone, and gain all the answers that can be attained. Their enemies know of her, but have no answers about her.

If their enemies had seen them leaving the Libray this afternoon those enemies would have been worried. Using magic to disguised themselves with illusion and invisibility again, the four friends went to discuss the current state of affairs with their enemies.

 

[Seravin]

Enemies and Allies

Lore (not his real name) sat alone downstairs, appearing to be quietly reading, but in reality trying to patiently wait for news from Geoffrey. The boy was already late and the sorceror was beginning to wonder if this was a sign to move on. He had confidence in the boy’s natural cowardice however and was certain Geoffrey wouldn’t do anything that looked life threatening.

Still, he had already underestimated the strangers once, and only the grace of Hyla had let him turn a complete disaster into just a rout. He wouldn’t allow himself another mistake like that. Lore owed both his life and his loyalty to Grandal, and with the half-elf now gone Lore would see that Jaylissa was served in the same manner.

How he could best serve was the question of the day. Grandal was gone and no one knew if he was a prisoner or dead. Jaylissa, despite recent problems with her father, wanted him back and those responsible to pay. Lore supported both goals whole-heartedly but something was nagging at him. Grandal had prepared for some sort of retaliation by the Sarathian adventurers but an all-out-assault on the Gaming Den during business hours had never been considered. Now the Sarathians were staying at the Library, but Lore would bet that Grandal wasn’t there.

There were too many questions and not enough answers. Prioritize. That’s what Grandal would have done. See to Jaylissa’s safety, find out where Grandal was, and deliver revenge as required. Everything else was extraneous. Lore sighed, a decision reached. He would give Geoffrey another hour and then they would leave. Quereth was Jaylissa’s god-father and would help provide protection.

Knock-knock-knock. There was a knocking at the door.

Surprised, Lored looked up even as he was setting his book aside. Quickly he made his way to the foyer and, ever cautious, checked the small window to the side of the door before answering. Amazingly, Valadan was standing there; his hand tightly gripping the arm of the woman who had snuck up on Lore earlier. The sorceror was relieved enough to see the assassin that he didn’t stop to consider that the woman was still armed. Lore opened the door with a relieved smile and invited Valadan in.

---

Jaylissa stared at the ceiling of the room she had taken for herself. Supposedly resting and recovering, she was instead reliving this morning’s ambush and counter-ambush. Her father would have wanted her to pull a lesson from the debacle; ironic considering that his own thirst for revenge had led to this. She was letting her emotions color her planning, a family trait it seemed, and she was finding it hard to care.

For a time she had allowed herself to hate her father for Imych’s death. They had never talked about it but she knew Grandal had ordered it. Imych had broken too many rules and Grandal’s bedamned secret had forced him to deal with it. In truth, what had hurt worse was that business had taken precedence over her.

She almost hadn’t forgiven her father for that. She might never have forgiven him, but four weeks ago, just after his humiliation, he had brought her into his world. There at the dinner table he told her he wanted her to be his heir in business as well as in family. This had been his, as well as her mother’s, plan for her once she was old enough. From her education in Overdorn with her elven ‘cousins’ to his trusting her with certain business secrets; these had all been designed to make Jaylissa ready to take over for Grandal. If she wanted to.

Jaylissa had discovered two things that night. First, that she still loved her father. Second, that up until now her life had been without purpose. She had supposed that she would marry someone her father approved of and be shuffled away. Now it seems that her father was making sure she was ready to make a choice; and it was to be her choice.

Grandal had started her graduate lessons that night, beginning with a who’s-who of Corlean and moving on to his most recent mistakes and the plans to correct them. Jaylissa had been disturbed by some of the plans, but the plundering of her personal effects by the hypocritical Sarathians had convinced her to go along.

Now it had all gone wrong. The Sarathians had taken their measure of vengeance and she had taken her own shot and failed. As her father had started to recently say, it was time to focus on the important things. She was going to do whatever it took to get her father or his body back; and this time she wouldn’t let revenge get in the way.

Knock-knock-knock

The pounding at the door roused the flame-haired young half-elf. Geoffrey would have just entered. Frowning, she swung herself lightly out of bed and moved to the bedroom door, reaching for her shortsword and dagger. She was still dressed as she had been this morning, in nondescript tradesman clothes. Jaylissa opened the door quietly and made her way to the top of the stairs where she could hear some man’s voice speaking to Lore. They were seating themselves in the lounge just off the foyer as she reached the stairs.

“We need to talk.” Spoke the man. The voice was familiar, similar to Valadan’s but not quite. “And we would like to do it calmly without Jaylissa going crazy. We’re hoping you could help explain all of this to her.”

“I…see.” Jaylissa could hear the tenseness in Lore’s voice and she could imagine him sitting back in his chair and casually making sure his arms were free. “You’re not Valadan, are you?” He asked.

A woman’s voice answered. “No.”

Jaylissa’s hand drifted to her sword belt. She knew who these people were.

The woman continued. “My name is Kestral and we’re here to just talk.”

Jaylissa’s keen hearing caught Lore’s slight exhalation as the other man spoke. “And I’m Jared of the church of Sarath. I swear that we are here to just talk.”

The woman, Kestral, continued. “Based on this morning we think you believe that we had something to do with Grandal’s disappearance. That’s not true. We’re being framed.”

There was a pause before Lore answered. “I see.” It was an obvious conversational ploy to draw them out but Jaylissa could tell that the sorceror was willing to listen to more.

Distrubingly, Jaylissa found herself willing to listen also. The voice oozed sincerity and the young half-elf found herself considering that the woman at least believed it to be true.

Lore gathered his thoughts and continued. “What happened to the real Valadan? And Halloran for that matter?”

The priest, Jared, answered. “The real Valadan is a prisoner right now. We found out he was an assassin and he’ll be turned over to the City Watch. Unfortunately the other one didn’t make it and died in the fight.”

Lore sighed. “I’m sorry to hear about Halloran. He was a monk of the Perfected Self and was hired to protect my lady. His loss will incur a financial obligation."

There was a pause while the sorceror considered and Jaylissa ruthlessly put down the brief pang of sadness she felt. She hadn't been close to Halloran but he had followed through on his oath to defend her to the death.

Lore started speaking, interrupting Jaylissa's thoughts. "You said you're being framed?"

“We can’t prove it conclusively.” Continued the woman calling herself Kestral. “We were at the Blue Gorgon during the attack waiting for a deal to continue through. We were at the the temple of Sarath when the Blue Gorgon was attacked.”

“With a mage of Jallarzi’s skill it wouldn’t be that hard to teleport around.” Suggested Lore.

“Which is why I said we can’t prove it conclusively; however with a mage of Jallarzi’s talent we wouldn’t need to. We certainly could have killed Grandal anywhere and not have runined our names.”

It was such a matter of fact statement that Jaylissa’s heart nearly stopped at the assumption that her father was dead.

“I can’t argue with that.” Said Lore. “That leaves us the question on who did do it.”

“We don’t know yet; but we want to find out. We came here to see if we could put our information together. That’s assuming Jaylissa can be convinced not to try and kill us every few minutes.”

There was another one of Lore’s long pauses. “I don’t know why but I think I’m starting to believe you. The question is whether or not my lady will. She may consider me a traitor just for talking to you.” There was another pause, then “Can I contact you at the Library?”

“We’ll be there off and on.” Said Jared. The displeasure in his voice was obvious.

Jaylissa made her decision.

“That won’t be necessary, Lore.” She said as she descended the steps into the foyer and then crossed into the lounge. The stunned silence was its own reward. “I heard everything."

She stood in the doorway momentarily trying to make an impression of calm strength while fixing the images of the two messengers firmly in her mind. “It sounds like we have much to discuss.”

The woman, Kestral, smiled. “Thank you for trusting us. Our companions are outside, could we invite them in?”

Jaylissa pretended to consider as she made her way to a chair. Lore stood as she sat and moved to pour her a drink. “I don’t think so.” Said the half-elf. “It would be better for now if our numbers are equal right now; a semblance of neutrality if you will.”

“Very well.” Agreed Jared as Kestral nodded. Neither of them insisted though both believed that Jallarzi and Kellron would take it as a rudeness. After this morning’s fight Jaylissa had every right to be cautious. In all likelihood Kestral and Jared could take Jaylissa and Lore by themselves.

Once Lore had given Jaylissa her drink and sat himself down again Jaylissa took control of the talks.

“For the sake of argument I’m willing to believe that you didn’t have anything to do with my father’s disappearance. Why don’t you tell me what you think you know.”

Kestral collected her thoughts and took the lead. “For starters we believe that your father is Father Dark. We think that in the process of trying to get revenge on us for what we did two months ago that he trusted the wrong people and was either kidnapped or killed for it. Since he’s a wizard it’s a fair guess that he’s been kidnapped but it’s hard to say for sure.”

Jaylissa took a drink while she gathered her thoughts. “It’s plausible.” She conceeded. Reaching another decision she heaved a sigh. “My father is not Father Dark; or rather he’s not always Father Dark. He shares the title with another person who I will not name at this point.”

Jared interrupted. “Could he be responsible for what happened to your father? A power struggle of some sort?”

Jaylissa waved her free hand. “That’s unlikely. He’s my god-father. I think it has to have been someone else.”

Kestral made the connection and assumed Jaylissa was talking about Quereth Holtson. She refrained from voicing her suspicion though. “Well whoever it was set us up at the Blue Gorgon and then framed us for looting it. Was that your father’s idea?”

“No. I don’t believe so. Up until a few minutes ago I assumed you four were behind that. Father would have approved of it though. He was furious with you after your last visit to Corlean.” She nodded to Jared. “As a Sarathian you might be pleased to know that you embarrassed him greatly. As a direct result of your actions the organization lost a full third of its strength and capital. He spent a lot of money and time trying to find out all he could about the five of you.”

Jared nodded gravely but didn’t express any pleasure. “And Ashimar?”

“The young priest? That was my father; at least he capitalized on the man's death. He found a wizard who claimed to have the priest’s soul and purchased it.

“Who was the wizard?”

Jaylissa shrugged. “I didn’t get his name but I did see him once. He was perhaps five decades old with white hair and eyes. The only thing that stood out was that he’s the first wizard I’ve ever seen that cared about his appearance.” She let that sink in and continued. “Father purchased the soul and then worked out a scheme with his partner to sell it back to you in such a way that would embarrass you. This way he’d get the money back with interest and you’d have no legal recourse in getting it back.”

“That worked.” Noted Kestral. Then she changed course. “Has Quereth been working with anyone new recently?”

Jaylissa raised an eyebrow. She got the sense that Kestral dropped the name on purpose. Now she knew that Kestral knew who Grandal’s partner was. “New business partners? Maybe. I believe he was arranging lodgings for a Braenite cult. Since the attack I’ve seen some of the cultists hanging out at the Gaming Den.”

Kestral and Jared glanced at each other. Then Kestral looked back to Jaylissa. “So what now?”

Jaylissa’s green eyes flashed fire. “I want my father back.” Said Jaylissa firmly. “I also want the bastards to pay.” She looked to her two guests. “Will you help me?”

Again Kestral and Jared looked at each other and as one they slowly nodded. “We can try.” Said Kestral. “If he’s still alive.” She looked at Jared as she spoke. “We can do some magical investigations also.” The priest nodded agreement. “If he’s in town we should be able to find and retrieve him.”

Jaylissa held herself very still, then nodded. “Very well. If he’s dead there’s always a chance at Silver Well.” She took another drink. “If he’s dead I want whoever killed him to be dead too.”

“We’re not hired killers…” Began Jared.

Kestral interrupted before the priest could finish. “I’m willing to bet that whoever is responsible won’t be captured willingly.” Said the woman placatingly. “Even if we do capture them, there would jail and quite possibly a death sentence.” She paused and then looked to Jared.

Jaylissa frowned. She preferred revenge, but if the responsible person was in jail a death sentence wouldn’t be too difficult to arrange. “Very well.” She agreed. “To be clear about this, you’re going to find out if my father is alive and who kidnapped him. You’ll help me get him or his body back if he’s in town.”

Jared touched his holy symbol and nodded. “We swear it.”

“That will do. As enemies you four have been bad luck for my father. Let’s see if having you as allies will turn that luck around.” So speaking Jaylissa raised her free hand to her shirt collar and reached for something just under the cloth. Grasping something she pulled upwards.

Kestral cocked her head as Jaylissa’s head was momemtarily blurred and was then obscured by a black silk, excutioner-style mask which had no eyeholes . Jaylissa pulled the mask over her head and shook her hair free.

The half-elven woman looked at the mask a moment and then threw it to Kestral who caught it easily. “My father made these. It can provide a magical disguise and prevent magical detection. If you do all you say you will you can have it.” So saying Jaylissa stood up, signaling that the meeting was at an end.

Kestral and Jared both stood. “We have to deal with some things this afternoon.” Said Kestral. “We can meet back here tonight and keep you updated on what we find out.”

Jaylissa looked about the lounge. “This was supposed to be an anonymous safe house. Since it’s not so secret I’ll head back to the family house. I don’t think I have to worry about being safe from you right now.”

The bargins made, Jared and Kestral said their goodbyes and left, meeting up with Kellron and Jallarzi who were just outside.

 

[Seravin]

Originally Posted by Joshua Randall
Ohhhh yeah... *rubs hands in glee, anticipating the coming carnage*

That was my thought at the time. Jaylissa and Lore were 8th level. Valadan and the monk were 7th. The entire ambush was to let the party relieve some frustration and provide a prisoner for interrogation.

So the party takes the captured Valadan back to the Library (in Corlean) and makes him their prisoner. They then decide to go have a talk with Jaylissa. I thought they were being facetious when they were discussing what to do.

Nope.

They split up at the property to look less threatening, go up to the door and knock. Sorceror's don't have very good spot skills. Sense motive isn't a class skill either.

Then they just up and tell the truth and be reasonable and everything. I could expect it from Kestral the social-ninja (just made that up today ), but Jared's player is usually a little more agressive.

That was another time that Kestral pulled a 19 or 20 on her diplomacy die-roll.

All in all, it went pretty well for the party.

 

[Seravin]

Originally Posted by Joshua Randall
Murphy's Law, D&D version: When you design a social encounter, the PCs fight; when you design a combat encounter, the PCs talk.

[hijack]
It never fails, does it? I had a situation like this in my campaign recently:
Me (DM): You enter the negotiation chamber and see Eluchir, who is representing the kingdom of--
Player1: I quickdraw a dagger and throw it at him for 6d6 sneak attack damage.
Player2: I cast an empowered flame strike.
Me: *beats head on desk*
[/hijack]

Although you did say that your group usually gives villains one chance to negotiate before laying down the smack, so perhaps their discussion with Jaylissa was to be expected.

Heh. I like your version of Murphy's Law. It does sometime feels that way. You're correct that my players will generally give an enemy a chance to talk - however that chance usually expires with the first poisoned crossbow bolt and/or lightning bolt.

I don't think my players have ever pulled what yours did. You have my sympathies.
Although there was the near-disaster during the raid on the Cathedral of Latina. That should be two more posts from now.

 

[Seravin]

Odds and Ends

The heroes made two quick trips before they were to meet with Jaylissa at her house.

Their first trip was back to the warehouse to check on the body of Halloran, the dead monk. They quietly stripped the monk of the few magical items in his possession in order to prevent the equipment from being stolen and used by criminals. Not having a good way to dispose of the body they left the ravaged body on the floor of the warehouse. Later, when they were not wanted, they would direct the City Watch to pick up the body. Little did they know that their time to deal with the monk was short.

Though still unknown to most, the city was falling sway under the influence of both devils and illithid, creating a spiritual cesspool within the city. Halloran’s spirit, nearly as lawful as these creatures, was growing uneasy. Failing in the defense of his charge and then having his corpse looted without so much a prayer the spirit of the monk began to grow angry. In three short days the warehouse would soon be haunted by a vengeful ghost.

---

Their second trip was to the basement of the Library of Corlean, where there were four sturdy cells capable of holding anything from a small dog to a large giant. The assassin, Valadan, was stripped to his underclothes and manacled to the bars in one of the cells. His care and feeding passed uneventfully, punctuated by one notable exchange.

Kellron was trying to get Valadan to provide them with more information on what the assassin knew about Father Dark.

“Why should I trust you?” Asked the assassin.

“Because I am a paladin of Sarath and I will not lie to you.” Kellron’s chest almost puffed with pride.

Valadan snorted. “So what? Everyone knows that the title is just a political appointment to give the church some validity”

Kellron sputtered for a few moments, but the interrogation was effectively over.*

---

The sun was still up when they left the Library, but just barely. Cautiously the four friends began their way to the Deverex estate under the cover of various illusions. Again, Kellron was invisible while Jared and Kestral used their disguising head gear. Jallarzi alone was disguised without the aid of spell, dressed in clothes and makeup raided from the Library.

So far they had been lucky and had avoided any official contact throughout the day. The luck evaporated just two streets away from the Library. Only a few feet out of an alleyway, the group began crossing a wide street, hoping to duck into another alley.

A quick call of “Halt!” from down the street caused them all to stop momentarily and look.

A squad of Watchmen had turned the corner only sixty feet away and had easily spotted Kestral, Jallarzi, and Jared in the middle of the road.

“Hells.” Muttered Jared. Jared, a lieutenant in the Church of Sarath, didn’t want to fight the Watchmen. It would be a slaughter and they were only doing their jobs. He caught Jallarzi’s eye and the pair took the only remaining option. Fighting was out so that left flight. The two turned and ran away from the guards.

Kestral’s eyes grew wide for a moment and then inspiration struck.

“Guys! Wait! Hold on! It’s the Watch! Come back!” The young woman, disguised as Semina again, then turned to the approaching Watchmen. “Thank Latina you’re here!” She said breathlessly. “We ran into some crazy people casting spells just a few streets up that away!” She said pointing back the way she and her friends had just come from.

Kellron, unable to run very far in full kit, had stayed with Kestral. As a general principle he disapproved of lying but none of the Watchmen seemed interested in questioning him at the moment. Of course he was invisible and they couldn’t see him but the paladin decided to not let that affect his decision to remain quiet.

The Watch-sergeant signaled for half his squad to go after the fleeing man and woman while he used the priviledge of rank to talk to the reasonable woman.

“Who are you?” Barked the man. He looked tired and worried from the stresses of the day.

Kestral remembered to look properly relieved as she spoke. “My name is Semina and I work at the Blue Gorgon. We were going to meet some friends when these crazy people started threatening us a few streets over.” She took a deep breath. “We thought they were the people who attacked the Gaming Den, so we ran for it.” She then looked apologetic. “We thought you were them. I’m sorry.”

Jared and Jallarzi had gotten over a hundred feet away when they realized that Kestral wasn’t with them. Hearing her shouts the pair skidded to a stop in the wet snow and turned, hoping they were about to avoid a fight. Seeing that the Watchmen were being reasonable they raised their hands and trudged back to the squadmen who were running to catch up with the pair.

The seargent was a good man and despite a slight disposition to laziness believed in doing his duty. Everyone knew about the attackers of the gambling house a few days ago. In fact there were standing orders to try and apprehend them at all costs. He looked over the woman calling herself Semina with a critical eye and then glanced at her returning friends.

The sergeant also deemed himself a fair judge of character. Unfortunately for him, Kestral’s skills at lying were quite unfair. The sergeant decided to trust the breathless young woman. “There’s a curfew ma’am. You three need to get indoors as soon as possible.”

Kestral nodded, wide-eyed. “Yes sir. Our friend’s place is just a few streets over.” She then looked fearfully down the alley she had just come from. “You might need to hurry to get to those crazy people.”

The Watch-sergeant nodded. “Come on men! Let’s go see if we can track these people down!” He called. His men groaned slightly but followed him as he turned and broke into a trot down the alley.

Kestral, Jared, Jallarzi, and Kellron broke into a collective sigh of relief.

---

They made the rest of the way to the Deverex estate without incident. Lore met them at the door and invited them in. The group was invited to use the estate for the next couple days until the current crisises were resolved. Unfortunately the sorceror had grim news for them as he explains why there is a curfew in place.

“The Cathredal is under siege.” Explained the sorceror. “The rumors say that the priests have locked it up and are defending it with the aid of fiends. That might be as far as it went except that people off the street have just been going up to the temple to join the Latinans.” He shook his head. “The Sarathians have now taken to the streets to quarantine the Cathedral and people say they’re planning to raid the Cathedral sometime tomorrow. They better do it soon, because some of them have been defecting too.”

The news sparked a debate amongst the friends on whether to help immediately or wait until the morning. When asked, Deverat urged immediate action to defend the Empire. Upon finding out that kuo-toa were not likely involved, Finslayer opined that they should head back to the Night Below and finish the more important job. In the end they decided to wait until the morning. The news of fiends manning the walls of the Cathedral provided enough incentive to wait until they were fully prepared.

Under Jaylissa’s hospitality the four friends went to bed and had a quiet evening. Only Jallarzi was disturbed. While studying the wizardess sensed the presence of a scrying sphere appearing. With an angry snort she atttemped a dispel magic against the spying magic but it was unsuccessful. Unable to do anything else the wizardess waited patiently to see if the spell would disappear. Fortunately it did less than a quarter of an hour later. Once it was gone she left her room to notify everyone else.

The four friends waited together for about an hour and then went to bed. There were no other distubances.

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*I soooo loved this exchange.