The Reconquista: Part I (Shadows over Istivin)

[Branding Opportunity]

Stepping past the storage room, you enter the well room. Its dimensions are indentical to the previoius chamber, except that a low brick well rises from the floor. Bolted to the ceiling above is a pulley for lowering a rope and bucket. The bucket is half-full of water and a dipper rests arcross its lip.

A quick peek down the wall reveals that the water level is only a couple of feet below floor level. At first glance, the water looks wholly normal.

As far as you can tell, there is only a single exit (other than the one you came in through) leading west. It immediately opens into a four-way intersection, with three corridors stretching off in the cardinal directions.

The distant lantern light down the westerly corridor shines a bit brighter as you are now closer to it and seems steady.

 

[Thanee]

Latalya

“Looks clear.”

 

[James Heard]

Mavic silently took the scene in and tried to match it up with what he knew of the area, applying his intellect against the puzzle to try to discern where evil cultists (or whatever else) that might have summoned the malicious ooze from the sewers might find themselves naturally inclined to reside. He glanced at Eshanna in quiet communication.

Interesting.

 

[Ranger Rick]

Turning towards the others, George asks, "which way?"

 

[Scotley]

Morley

"Doesn't matter to me, but I'd guess whoever spends time down here would stay in the well lighted areas."

 

[Ranger Rick]

"Doesn't matter to me, but I'd guess whoever spends time down here would stay in the well lighted areas."

George cocks his head, "silly human, not if they have a form of dark vision."

 

[Scotley]

Morley Human Ranger

Replying to George Morley queries, "Then why the lantern?"

 

[James Heard]

"On the other hand, there are all manner of creatures that prefer the dark. I myself prefer the night rather than candlelight, because of the ether spirits that are exuded from the vapors of the wax elementals and damage the pores of your skin. Why, just the other day I was telling Eshanna about a cream I had been developing in my head and..."

Looking at the blank stares from his companions, Mavic stopped.

"What? Just because I am a stout performer of magical arts I can't be concerned with clean skin?"

Eshanna, in the background, just shook her head wearily - her face in her hand.

 

[Hypersmurf]

"Doesn't matter to me, but I'd guess whoever spends time down here would stay in the well lighted areas."

"Not everyone," Reivik puts in. "The guards, certainly. The prisoners? It's traditional, in such dungeons, for everything to be as depressing as possible. We're looking for a secret in the Deeper Dungeons... I'd think the light would be leading us away from that goal."

"Our information suggested that the sewer tunnel leads directly into the Deeper Dungeons. We don't want to go much higher into the Keep itself, I'd think."

 

[Scotley]

Morley Human Ranger

Morley shrugs resinedly, "Okay, deeper into the dark depths it is, but I can't say I like it."