For a while, I thought about putting the diamonds requirement into my Neverwinter Nights game. Ultimately I decided that the XP penalty for dying is enough (my campaigns are scripted to cost 1 level for raise dead and 10% of a level for resurrection; true res isn't available in NWN).
The way this campaign is going, I'll likely have denuded the entire region of diamonds by the end.
On another note, after a month or so of very little writing (as I said before, I was
really ahead for a while), I've started scribing regular updates again. I'm in the early stages of
Thirteen Cages right now. Expect a few twists and turns in the road ahead...
* * * * *
Chapter 329
The next two days passed swiftly, for despite their uncertainties and their lack of hard information there was a great deal to do. Mole led them back and forth across the city seeking information, but even though gold coins and sometimes the threat of violence changed hands frequently, they were not able to turn any of their faint leads into something tangible. Jenya’s
discern location likewise failed, a grim portent indeed, given the power of the spell.
The tremors within the volcano continued, and the panic within the population grew with each passing hour. Some left the city, piling their belongings onto overladen carts pulled by tired animals, scattering onto the four roads that wound down from the volcano town. But most hunkered in their homes, too fearful of any action that might tip the delicate balance that kept the city poised on the edge of the precipice. The day after the assault at the Cusp of Sunrise a mob formed at the Town Hall, demanding action, and blood was again spilled as the Watch clashed with desperate people afraid for their lives. Only the presence of Arun, along with a company of his followers, kept the situation from devolving into a mad riot. Bereft of strong leadership, the city seemed to be adrift. Ankhin Taskerhill had apparently given up his aspirations to serve as Mayor; the merchant was seen leaving the city on the road toward Almraiven along with most of the members of his household, all mounted and moving with the speed and determination that bespoke long planning. Jenya appeared at the Town Hall in the company of Meerthan Eliothorn, Maavu Arlintal, and Arun Goldenshield toward the end of the day, and met with Teerson Skellerang and his officers, along with the leading municipal officials. While they shared a consensus on the need to maintain order, the visitors pointed out the importance of provoking confrontations and breeding further chaos. A new schedule of patrols by the Watch was instituted, with most of the mercenaries that Vhalantru had hired to be kept in their camps outside of the city for the immediate future. Arun’s force of volunteers had handled themselves well during the clash at the Town Hall, and they were deputized into service in the Watch, along with others who had past experience in the militia or other military bodies and were known for being level-headed and reliable under pressure. One of Arun’s recruits was a grizzled oldster named Alowyn Tristane, who as it turned out had spent six years of his youth as a campaigner in the armed forces of Tethyr. Arun installed Tristane as liaison between the Watch and the temple forces, and while Skellerang clearly didn’t like it, he knew the way of the wind (and the tenuousness of his own position, for he had been a vocal support of Lord Vhalantru before his true nature was revealed) well enough not to stand in the way of the changes. It was well after midnight by the time that the last of the meetings had adjourned, but there was a slightly greater sense of reassurance among Cauldron’s government now that
someone had stepped forward to provide direction.
The next day was even busier. Despite their commitment to continue seeking information that might lead them to the Cagewrights and Zenna, all of the companions found themselves drawn into the vacuum of power, taking to the streets in an effort to keep order and reassure the populace. Dannel used his music and oratory to defuse a potential riot in front of a merchant’s stall. Accusations of price gouging had circulated, and the crowd didn’t need much incentive to start breaking things. Firing an arrow between the fingers of an angry man who’d reached forward to grab a hanging gourd of lamp oil on the side of the stall might have also helped to quell the brewing anger of the dozen or so townsfolk, and encourage them to be a bit less rash. There was a tense moment as one of the men, standing beside the elf, angrily reached for the dagger at his belt—only to find that it had vanished, along with most of the other weapons that had been carried by the gathered townsfolk.
At least Mole agreed to put the weapons into storage at the Temple of Helm, rather than selling them.
Arun and Hodge spent the morning at the temple. More volunteers had showed up there, wishing to assuage their own fears by being useful. Arun put them to work or directed them to the Town Hall or to other quarters of the city, depending upon their skills and experience. Some of the recruits had developed a uniform of sorts, a thin surcoat of blue cloth marked with the sigil of a hammer done up in hasty black stitching. It wasn’t as impressive or as professional as the garb worn by the Watch, but there was a certain reassurance in seeing the small teams of men and women in blue rushing throughout the city, moving with purpose and determination. Often the Hammers (as they quickly became known) would arrive at a destination to find a good dozen or so people hot on their heels, eager to help.
Beorna remained at Jenya’s side, and her dominating presence, clad in her adamantine plate with her two huge swords slung across her back, certainly helped the High Priestess push her points when dealing with Skellerang or the other town officials. She met again with Maavu and some of the other leading merchants again that morning, and when she returned to the temple shortly after noon, she already looked like she’d had a full day. Dark circles were visible under her eyes, but she held her head high, and didn’t flinch away when several of her acolytes greeted her return with a press of important details that required her attention.
As the morning turned into afternoon, the sky grew darker, with heavy clouds gathering over the city. Flickers of ochre light that might have been lightning stirred within that dense morass of gray, although there were no sounds of thunder. The quakes continued to build, with two or three tremors coming each hour now, although none as yet had been severe enough to cause any more than slight damage.
Dannel and Mole returned shortly thereafter, their faces grim at what they’d seen in the city. Despite the odd lack of wind and rain, it felt like a storm, with the iridescent haloes of yellow energy flaring within the thunderheads floating low above the city serving as an omnipresent reminder that something bad was brewing for Cauldron. The four companions—five, as Beorna rejoined them from inside the temple—gathered for a hasty meal in the stableyard, in the lee of the old wooden structure.
“I will likely have to return to the Town Hall shortly,” Beorna said as soon as she’d taken a seat on one of the bales of hay stacked up against the stable wall. “The High Priestess is due for another several meetings this afternoon, but she has taken seclusion in her chapel, and damned if I’m going to let anyone pull her out before she’s ready.”
“She has risen to the challenge of providing leadership in some tough times,” Dannel said. “I’ve known many who presented themselves as harder, tougher, to the world, but who folded under less pressure than she’s faced.”
Another flicker of eerie yellow light flared within the gray depths of the cloudbank, directly above the city. “I so do not like the looks of that,” Mole said.
Hodge paused in the process of stuffing sausages into his mouth so snort and offer his view on the subject. “If ye weren’t all fools, ye’d be leavin’ this accursed place well and far behind. Anyone with sense could see that somethin’ be brewin’, an’ it ain’ nothin’ good. An’ we just sit ‘ere, waitin’.”
“I don’t think we’ll have long to wait,” Arun said. “Whatever is gathering here, it is seeped in taint. The Cagewrights are making their gambit, and we will have to stand against them.”
Hodge grumbled, but didn’t respond. The conversation died out then, and they ate in silence, quickly, as if guilty for even a brief respite in the day’s activity. Or maybe they were just eager to be back in action, even if without knowledge of what they were fighting against, in order to keep difficult questions and niggling doubts in check.
As they were finishing, a hint of motion drew their attention around. Jenya stood there in the doorway to the rectory, limned in a halo of light from within the building, giving her a saintly, otherworldly look. The companions could instantly see from her face that something was very, very wrong.
“What is it?” Arun asked, even as Beorna strode purposefully across the courtyard toward her patron.
Jenya sagged slightly against the threshold of the outer door. Tears shone in her eyes as she looked up and fixed them with an intent stare.
“Cauldron is lost,” she said. “We must evacuate the city!”
