Zenith Trajectory – Chapter 1
OOC Notes:
1155 for 3rd level characters
965 for 5th level characters
Loot:
No loot this time but the split from disposal was 8,421 each.
This Week’s Adventure:
After averting disaster during the flood season, things quieted down considerably. Which, I have to say, was something of a relief. I was beginning to think that Cauldron was a magnet for disaster, but it seems it just may have been having a bad run or luck. Once it became clear that there was no immediate disaster waiting for the Blue Tygers, they each started drifting to their separate long term interests or goals. That’s not to say we disbanded – difficult considering we never “banded” in the first place. But it was more like a vacation while the rains fell and everything stayed quiet.
Maris poured herself into her studies at the academy. Bellsin and Kris… well suffice to say the few times I checked up on them, they were managing to find trouble but nothing too dire. Kris visited Sasserine a few times, if for no other reason than to relieve the boredom. Astrid enjoyed the break, and also took some time to establish some of her other identities in Cauldron.
Elizabeth took her time cleaning up affairs from the last adventure. She visited merchants and brokers as needed. One visit to Tygot was indicative of all the other visits; when she arrived, there was a man in robes – a tax collector – accompanied by a half-orc guard who Elizabeth recognized as a former mercenary from a prior campaign. After they departed Tygot’s comments echoed those of the other merchants – that the tax increases were ruining them. It ate into the profits from the adventure noticeably.
Once the profits were fully realized however, Elizabeth set about a new project. Requests from some of the others added to her work.
“A full set of plate and two chain shirts…” she said, concerned. “That’s going to take a lot of metal.”
“And you can bet it won’t come cheap,” I said. “I don’t know where you’d even find it in this town.”
“You won’t. But I suspect someone in Sasserine has it or can get it. But for something like this, you don’t just walk in off the street and buy it. It’s going to take connections. Let’s see if Maavu can help with that.”
And off we went to see Maavu. Elizabeth was greeted warmly upon entering, having gained some recognition both as a seller and a minor hero. Her usual broker got to her in due time. She requested a personal meeting with Maavu and was seen after a short wait.
“Miss Elizabeth, lovely to see you again,” he said sincerely.
“And you Master Arlintal,” she replied.
“Not to rush things but I’m afraid I’m overwhelmed at the moment. What did you need that Ivan couldn’t help you with?” he asked, to the point.
“Oh, I know you’re busy and I’m sorry for taking your time. But I suspect this would need your touch. I am looking for something special and I don’t think I can get it without connections.”
“And what would that be?” he asked, slightly curious.
“Mithril.”
“Ah. That shouldn’t be too hard. How much?”
“About fifty pounds should do it,” she said simply, as if it were a bushel of potatoes.
Maavu stopped and looked at her, then eventually said “You said ‘fifty’, not ‘fifteen’?” She nodded. “Well, yes I can see why you’d ask to see me then. I think I can get that for you. Not here of course – Sasserine and the Iron Lords would be the place. But I don’t think they’d see you if you walked in without an introduction so you’re quite right on all counts. But I think I can arrange it.”
And he was right. He arranged it and within a few weeks, there was a king’s ransom in mithril delivered to Gurnezarn’s smithy. The metal was challenging to work with but Elizabeth had time, and patiently, painstakingly, set about creating the armor.
Bellsin and Kris were quite pleased with the results for their chain mail, and Elizabeth’s new plate was stunning – she really poured her heart into it and the results showed. It took her months, but the results were worth it, and it kept her busy, if not me.
Which brings me to someone who kept himself almost as busy – Glyph. About six weeks after the turning of the waters, he gathered everyone at dinner.
He said “I find myself in a position to create magical items of some power now. I do this for its own sake, and the advancement of my art, but it is also part of my contribution to this group – to protect and aid you, and that strengthens us all. So if there is something you need, tell me.”
And tell him they did. He spent weeks closeted away, emerging only for food and the occasional bath. He worked on weapons, armor, and even some kind of bizarre magical dog. He was tired and busy, but he seemed to be genuinely enjoying his work.
When Elizabeth finished her armor, she naturally took it to him, although I could tell she was hesitant. He seemed genuinely impressed with it – not every day one sees a full set of mithril plate armor, as beautiful as it is functional. Without any further word, he immediately set to enchanting it, determined to make it better.
I can’t fault his devotion to his art, that’s for sure.
There was one other pursuit to which the girls devoted themselves – finding work. It looked like the adventuring business was winding down, and while they were certainly not desperate for money, they were trying to look to the future. There was word that war was about to erupt to the north involving the Horned Society. But then word came that the Grey Guild had gotten involved and put a quick end to it. A few months later, a traveler mentioned that some kind of demonic incursion was going on in the Shield Lands and the forces of Iuz were on the move. It would be a long trip but likely good paying work. Then the requests for soldiers suddenly stopped – rumor was that servants of Dravot had stepped in.
Peace is not good for the business of war. But peace or no, Cauldron still attracts trouble.
The girls and I were ambling around the warehouse district taking care of some minor business when a lot of screaming and crashing erupted nearby. We came around the corner to see an umber hulk ripping apart people and buildings.
“Can’t be,” Elizabeth said. “Must be an illusion or something – a real umber hulk? Not likely.”
Astrid concurred, and they drew weapons and charged. The umber hulk was doing a fine impersonation of an umber hulk – people were panicking and confused, it shot beams from its eyes and generally ripped buildings apart. As the girls got closer, they felt the wave of confusion wash over them. It was certainly starting to look like an umber hulk to me.
Elizabeth got close and cut deep enough to pierce its shell and it shrieked and clawed her in return. Behind it two gnomes ran up and each cast a magic missile – the missiles streaked at the umber hulk but then ricocheted off when they hit.
The umber hulk leapt at the ground and retreated.
The gnomes stared down the collapsed hole with the girls, then looked at them and recognized them. “We’re with the guard from the MTA – the Magical Threat Authority. I’m not sure we can do much to help you though – this is more your thing.”
Astrid was thinking fast. “If you can’t do much to him, are there any spells you know that can help us?”
The gnomes started nodding so hard I thought their heads would pop off, and then each cast a spell, and magic settled around the girls and they were now blurry and out of focus. A loud crash down the street signaled the resurfacing of the monster and the girls wasted no time in gong after him.
One street over Maris had been moving towards the same crashing when there was screaming above her and a woman, who had been trying to escape the now-burning building, lost her balance and dropped something. From the screaming, it was safe to say it was a baby.
Maris acted without hesitation and sticky webs sprung from the air between buildings. The baby hit, bounced, rolled and eventually slowed down stuck in the sticky tangle, gooey but safe.
The girls closed in on the umber hulk, and it was ready for them. The bewildering nature of the creature’s multiple eyes was not enough to make them stop attacking but it was sufficient to make their attacks sloppy and wild, and the umber hulk amused itself by denting the new mithril armor several times but some timely help from Kris kept the injuries from being life-threatening. Finally Astrid managed to land a solid blow and caved the creature’s head in.
There was the usual questions asked and what not afterward, but for the most part the Blue Tygers left the city watch to clean up the mess, including the thief that Glyph had caught trying to take advantage of the confusion. In many ways the rumors that followed in the wake of the event were more interesting than the attack itself – one rumor suggested that Maavu had been keeping it as a pet and would feed people to the monster. Another rumor said that Maavu had been seen fleeing the city on a black horse with clouds where the hooves should be.
And I can say that this was not an isolated incident – it seemed that with the end of winter, trouble was waking up from its hibernation. Upon return to the Drunken Morkoth, we found Lady Celeste waiting for us in a private area. She asked that we have dinner with her tomorrow evening and that we would find it to be profitable. She gave Astrid a small white card:
Cusp of Sunrise
Obsidian Avenue, Northeast.
Asking around revealed that the Cusp of Sunrise was a well known dinner club for the nobility with an exclusive membership. It was owned by a noble woman – Ophelia Knowlern who lives in Hollowsky. This naturally lead to some frantic shopping for appropriate attire for the evening. Elizabeth was simultaneously mortified by the amount of money she was spending on clothing and resigned to the fact that this was the price of doing business in Cauldron.
At the appointed hour, the Blue Tygers arrived at the Cusp of Sunrise. It was an ivory colored building with a central tower as tall as the city walls. An iron bound door offered a simple sign saying “Cusp of Sunrise. Members only,” and masked the sounds of music and gentle laughter behind it.
A large man in a blue robe opened the door in response to our knock. “Welcome to the Cusp of Sunrise. I am Renjin,” he said, bidding the group inside. Elizabeth offered him the card, informing him that they were to dine with Lady Elizabeth.
He looked over each of the group carefully. At first I thought he was looking for weapons, but dress weapons were part of the normal attire and several of the Tygers wore them openly. Finally I realized he was seeing if everyone was properly dressed. “Smashing outfits,” he said, nodding. Everyone had spent a fair bit of coin to be properly dressed and have appropriate jewelry. Well, almost everyone. Renjin leaned in to Kris and said “I believe you’ll find a wonderful jeweler on Magma street – ever so tasteful.” Then to everyone “I believe the Lady has not yet arrived but please enter and be welcome. As invited guests you have access to all areas save the East Wing. Enter the Grand Library behind me and feel free to eat and drink.”
The group entered into the large central tower – perhaps a hundred feet across, and covered in bookshelves. There were scores of nobles but only a few were actually reading. Most were sipping wine, or playing dice, or eating in plush leather chairs. I didn’t see Lord Valantruu in scanning the room but there were a dozen people standing near a cluster of statuary listening to someone talk, with occasional titters of laughter drifting across the room.
Elizabeth was looking up and noticed two people looking down at them, and down at her in particular in both sense of the word. They were wearing elven chainmail but managed to make it look completely inappropriate on their frames. Elizabeth smiled back at the Lathenmires and nodded in greeting and they turned away in a huff.
As the group gravitated towards a table near the wall, a voice across the room began shouting in a huff. “I want these ruffians… these thugs removed from this place at once. This is an insult sir!” There was some harrumphing and muttering.
Lord Taskerhill was still blustering. “I am a senior member of this club and I insist, nay I DEMAND…” and he was cut off.
“Oh please! Some of us are trying to enjoy a polite evening Taskerhill.” Lord Valantruu’s voice was polite but calm and mocking. “And while you constantly remind us of your membership here, you are not the only one who is a longstanding member who contributes highly to the Cusp. So please shut your mouth – unlike your daughter you are not highly skilled in its use.”
Lord Taskerhill turned bright red, and Elizabeth was satisfied to see that the nobleman had understood the full weight of the barb. But he had no real reply. “The quality of this organization has dropped dramatically. It won’t do. Good day sir.” And he left.
Bellsin muttered to the group “Don’t go away mad. Just go away.”
After the dust settled, Lord Valantruu came over, and Elizabeth thanked him for his words. “Not at all,” he said. “The least I can do – the floods may be down but I, at least, still remember who we have to thank for it. I must have you over for dinner some time to thank you properly.”
The group had drinks, then dinner. Lady Celeste was delayed for some reason and it was suggested they not wait for her. As the group was enjoying some desert wine, one of the blue-robed attendants came to the table. “The Lady Celeste has arrived. If you’ll follow me?”
We were escorted into a private room in the East Wing. Lady Celeste was inside, along with a dwarf who was so old and emaciated that he almost passed for a skeleton. His beard was ragged and thin and his fine robes and hint of chain mail beneath them couldn’t conceal the ravages of time on his body. Greetings were exchanged and the dwarf, after drawing a long, difficult breath, spoke in a wheezing, strained voice.
“Thank you Celeste. You’re the cities of the hero right now, and it’s heroes that I need. I’ll pay you well if you can rescue my son from the Underdark. I am Davken Splintershield. You recently repaired my son’s statue, and it would please me greatly if you would repair my son as well. My son, Zenith – I have not seen him since we parted ways at the Malachite Fortress.”
The dwarf stopped and caught his breath. Even this much was an exertion for him. Lady Celeste put her hand on his shoulder to quiet him and spoke. “What the Iron Lord is trying to say is that he has reconciled with two of his three sons but the last – Zenith – led an expedition of dwarves into the Underdark years ago after they abandoned the Malachite Fortress. He was determined to lead a crusade against the Underdark. We are not sure of his end result, but his departure depleted the reserves of the fortress and the dwarves were forced to abandon it. The dwarves came above ground and went their own ways. Zenith was one of the righteous – the Dwarven Defenders. They were chosen to defend the underground approaches to the fortress but it was a duty they abandoned when they chose to take the fight to the enemy.”
“I pleaded with him not to go,” Splintershield said. “He struck me during our argument. It almost came to the drawing of blades. I have not been a good father to my sons. I was harsh, cruel even. I drove them all away. My wife Marta with her dying breath cursed me for driving our sons from her and making them bitter against us. I will waste away to nothing unless I reverse this curse. I wish to see my son again and make amends.”
“My Lord, what if your son no longer lives?” Elizabeth asked what was on everyone’s mind.
Splintershield started to answer then collapsed into coughing. Lady Celeste said “Arcane and divine divinations have shown that he is – he is being held prisoner in a koa toan shrine north of the city called Bhal-hamatugn.”
“If you find the shrine, you will find my boy. How many dwarves could there be in a shrine?” Splintershield gasped. “You will know him by his great righteousness, his jet black beard, his jackass nature, and the standard of the Splintershield which he is honor-bound to bear. Unless he has become very different, he would never let it fall.”
He took a drink of water then went on. “I will pay you each four thousand gold pieces, or six thousand in armors and armor from the finest artisans in my clan.”
“Also,” Lady Celeste added “I will sponsor you at the Cusp. You may find this useful.” And expensive – Maris knew that this was something on the order of a thousand gold pieces itself. It shows great faith if she is willing to vouch for them in this way.
“As for the ‘how’, the Stormblades have collapsed the access to the Underdark from the Malachite Fortress. But there is supposedly a way in a fissure north of the city. One of the Iron Lord’s clansmen heard this from a man called Crazy Jarred. I have here a map to his home, some two days north by horse.”
Astrid, ever the professional, had one question. “My Lord, so that we are clear. Are you asking us to find him, free him, and ask him to come to you? Or are you asking us to retrieve him, willing or not?”
The Iron Lord shook his head. “I must make amends with my sons. I would not ask you to compel him – to do so will not lead to peace between us. I ask that you do what you can.”
A quick glance around showed that everyone seemed willing. Astrid said “We will find your son. We shall leave in the morning.”
