Jenya smiles at each of you as you introduce yourselves. To Dreygard and Darthal, she says, ”Hurkenak a throngok.”
After the introductions, Jenya invites you to sit. She herself takes the chair at the head of the table, her face solemn. ”As I said, I do not believe it to be a coincidence the seven of you – capable men, one and all – came together tonight. Ruphus mentioned the missing children. Their names are Deakon, Lucinda, Evelyn, and Terrem. Yet they were not the first people to go missing, merely the latest in a series of strange disappearances and robberies. An evil is at work in Cauldron, and I believe Iomedae has brought you together to stop it. Cauldron is in need of good men.”
Jenya leans forward, palms on the table. ”I have a proposal. I want to hire you to investigate these kidnappings and put a stop to them. Do whatever you can to bring the victims back safely, but above all else, stop the men or women responsible for these crimes. The Last Laugh will not deter me from the path of justice.”[b] Her face hardens to match her strong words. This is not an easily dissuaded woman. [b]”In return for your success, the church will pay you the sum of 2,500 suns, to be split amongst yourselves however you choose. What say you?”
Jenya sits back and lets out a deep breath, a great deal of tension leaving her body. Excellent. I have a few ideas where to start your investigation, but the clues are beyond me to interpret.”
”The Lantern Street Orphanage has two common bedchambers on the second floor – one for the boys, one for the girls. Two children were taken from each room. I have no idea why or how the children were singled out, nor how the kidnappers got in. The orphanage has barred windows and excellent locks on the doors, and the children are locked into their bedrooms at night to prevent any mischief.”
Jenya’s face takes on a tinge of red. ”As you may or may not know, the high priest of our order, Sarcern Delasham, is not in the city at the moment. Though it exceeded my authority, I removed Justice’s Light, a powerful gift from Iomedae, from the church’s vault and used its power to speak with one of the Inheritor’s minions. I asked it the question, ‘Where are the children who were abducted from the Lantern Street Orphanage?’ The answer was considerably more cryptic than I anticipated.” She pulls a sheet of paper from a scroll case and hands it to Diurn, gesturing for him to read it and pass it along.
After everyone has read the note, Jenya slumps back in her chair. ”I believe the first line is a reference to the orphanage’s locks, but what about them? I am stumped. I hope you are considerably cleverer than I am, for I have had no luck deciphering the riddle."
Adolphus nods. He was in need of some extra coin, as his personal allowance had been all but used up to pay for his valet and for maintaining his squire.
"Your Holiness, I am indeed honored to accept this challenge, both for some much needed coin and for the good it will do Cauldron to see that the ignoble will not be victorious."
After passing on the scroll Diurn crinkles his forehead.
"This riddle is not an easy one. Below Cauldron and 'locks' may refer to the lake. Anyone else?"
"Locks could also refer to Ghelve's Locks, on Lava Avenue."
Adolphus is thoughtful for a moment as he considers the riddle.
"I find it strange that the riddle should say, 'the locks are key', rather than 'locks are keys'. This again makes me think that these are not literal locks or keys. And if 'Locks' does refer to Ghelve's Locks, then 'key' might refer to Westkey's Map Emporium."
"Perhaps you are right, Adolphus, though if the riddle referred to "locks" as a singular place, then it would make more sense for it to read "the locks *is* key to finding them". Unless the Inheritor has abandoned classic grammatical conventions." He smiles weakly glancing briefly around the room for support, the joke not sounding as funny out loud as he thought it might.
"Ahem. Regardless, I think the reference to "locks are key" to be little more than a clever juxtaposition and turn of phrase. It more likely points to the children's rooms. Jenya, you mentioned that the children are locked in their rooms at night? Was there any sign of forced entry the night the children went missing? Barred windows, excellent *locks*... that seems to me the best place to take up our investigation. Perhaps there is some clue to found there that will be *key* to leading us to the missing children."
Then, as a whispered aside, "Yes, thank you. I thought it was clever too."
He turns openly to the rest of the group, hopeful for more discussion.
Luc takes a look at the note. "Ok, here are my initial impressions. First, wherever the kids are, they're underground (see "under cauldron" and "descend"). Two, "doors with teeth" sounds like traps to me. Three, "precious life bought with gold" could be a reference to slave trading. "Not for long" means if we don't hurry kids could get sold as slaves, maybe. I think we should start at the orphanage, if those locks are as excellent as the priestess just said, then someone working there is involved in the kidnapping or knows something. That's all I got."
Dorian frowns as he looks over the note. He never understood the point of obfuscating useful information... riddle games were all fine and good to hone one's intellect, but not when people needed to know something important.
"Perhaps this might make more sense if we visited the orphanage? Something there could provide a clue to the message's meaning. We could make guesses as to what the words represent all day."
Diurn looks at Valamont and Luc with a look of respect and open admiration.
"Locked childrens rooms it is, well done. And Luc, your reasoning for the rest of the riddle is quite sound as well as the 'traitor within' theory."
I am glad to see I am not the only one with mother issues.
"Let's go to this orpanage and see first hand."
"Thanks, Diurn. However, the half a dwarf thing baffles me. I did not know dwarves cross-bred. Errr, no offense to any of the dwarves present."
Luc's thoughts start to wander....a dwarf and an elf? a dwelf? with an orc? a dworc? With a goblin? a dwoblin? with a giant? Ouch, that's got to hurt!
He suddenly bursts out laughing, after which he says, "Sorry about that." He bows his head in shame.
"'Half a dwarf' sounds like one of those with those strange half face paintings."
"No offense to gnomes or dwarves, but I think gnomes could be considered half a dwarf."
Looking pointedly at the dwarf druid.
"I did say could."
"Wha?" Dreygard looks up from the note with an incredulous expression. "Gnomes and dwarves are nothing alike. Dwarfs are hardy, bearded, and handsome. Gnomes look like weird little humans with funny hair. Anyway. The wall of this city is made of malachite; and a wall encircling the city could be considered a curtain. There may be a cave out there somewhere. Maybe with a. portcullis, which could be a door with teeth. Not sure what half a dwarf could be. Certainly a gnome! Maybe a duerger?"
"But I agree the orphanage may be a good place to start. It also might not be a bad idea to find a member of the Last Laugh and rough him up for information."
"I am thankful for your eagerness to assist. I have one more thing for you. Please, accept these with the gratitude of Iomedae and the hope they will not be needed." Jenya pulls some vials from a pouch and hands one to each of you. The vials are marked with the symbol of a golden longsword, and a label indicating that they are potions of cure moderate wounds.
"If you have no questions for me, I'm afraid I must take my leave. With the high priest away, I have very little time to spare. Feel free to use this room to discuss the task. When you are finished, an acolyte can lead you out. Thank you again for your desire to help. May Iomedae guide you." Jenya leaves. You catch a glimpse of an acolyte waiting outside the room.
"So... everyone wishes to go to the Orphanage." Adolphus asks, though it comes out more as a statement.
"As far as I know, there were no signs of forced entry."
"Yes, I'd like to check out the rooms the children stay in and look at the locks. There also may be an alternate way into the room. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a way to traverse the city by way of the sewers, though I certainly hope not." The dwarf then proceeds to flamboyantly plug his nose and wave a hand in front of his face with a look of disgust.
"To the orphanage then!" Luc tries to sound all commander-like. He then pauses, "Errr..Priestess, who should we ask for there? Who's in charge?"
Darthal has been thinking hard and stroking his beard, almost convulsively.
"It seems to me that, were the answer to be found at the orphanage, those who care for it would already have found an answer; they knew to check for locks, they know the staff and can see who might have been suborned. A through re-check would not be amiss, but 'The locks are key' seems to me to indicate something more subtle than just the locks on the rooms. I am thinking that the next visit should be to Gleve's Locks -- and let us get impressions of the keys used at the orphanage. Perhaps someone there could tell us if someone had recently had copies made of those keys."
"Danger is afoot, and I urge we stick together from this point on so we cannot be defeated a few at a time. We should probably stay together and actually post watches."
Diurn smiles at Darthal, "Darthal has good points, but I think we need to see the actual place the abductions happened. Nothing replaces firsthand knowledge and observations. I am sure a thieves group has some skill with lock-picking, but I get the impression these orphans were not secured with a standard lock."
"Those were my thoughts as well, Darthal. I too, believe the message is more subtle than what everyone else believes. But the orphanage is a good place to begin our investigation."
Adolphus begins putting his armor back on, checking to make certain that it has been cleaned thoroughly, or as much as he could in the past few minutes. The silver chain is carefully inspected in the process.
"I think the orphanage is the best place to start. Like I said, we could speculate all day on what the note means. Perhaps 'locks' refers to locks of hair and we should visit a barber. Or, as Luc could tell you, a gunlock... is there a gunsmith in the city? Or part of a canal. People are 'locked up' in a prison."
Luc puts on his duster, which feels all warm and cozy now. "I'm no investigator but the best place to start always is the scene of the crime and that means the orphanage."
Valamont nods his head in admiration toward Dorian, "We are all agreed then, excellent." The half-elf stands, sweeping his cloak from the hook he hung it on.
As he dons the thick cloak, he whispers, "Yes, I thought the barber idea was clever to - I wish I'd thought of it. No, you're right- he's certainly a smart one."
His green eyes take in the whole of the group, "Well, shall we be off then?"
Diurn points to the potions--"Let's conserve these valuable resources as much as possible, possibly to keep me conscious if down. While conscious I will try to heal everyone as much as possible. Everyone fully healthy now?"
Diurn nods at Valamont and rises too. He looks up as if to get divine inspiration and smiles.
"This group working together cannot be stopped. I don't know about you, but this purpose and cause have pulled me out of a melancholy and funk I have been in lately. Let's go save some orphans."
Everyone fully healthy now?"
"O'ive still got a scratch, but it's not serious so no need to waste resources yet. I appreciate the attention, however. Let's go find these children and put an end to these bandits."
Before she leaves, Jenya answers Luc's final question. "The headmistress of the orphanage is Gretchyn Tashykk."
When you leave the room, the acolyte dips her head and whispers, "Follow me." She says not another word until you reach the entrance. "May the blessings of Iomedae be upon you."
Exiting the church reveals the reprieve from the rain is over. Night has fully fallen on the city. Few people are about the streets, and the temperature has dropped considerably. Perhaps it would not be the best idea for a multitude of heavily armed and armored men to arrive uninvited at the orphanage at night.
Adolphus sighs in exasperation at the falling of dark.
"Perhaps, gentlemen, we should try this on the morrow? A good night's rest in our beds might help us recover from the fight and give us some insight on the riddle. I would also like to ask the Vanderborens if they know anything further about the orphanage. It's one of the buildings they own."
"I think one more night in our own beds should be fine. But I recommend we all pack and travel as if we may not be back for a while. We are safest together from tomorrow on."
Diurn channels again
"I will be fully recovered on the morrow. Meet here at the crack of dawn?"
"Children are in danger," Darthal growls. "Let us meet swiftly at the orphanage, perhaps in an hour. I must go fetch my armor from the Blackaxe embassy, if we are to be tracking down malefactors. Also the keen nose of a dog may smell out what we cannot. I will bring mine."
"As much as it pains me to say this, and to disagree with the only other representative of my brethren, but I don't think we'll do the children any favors by jumping into this feet first. If we are fatigued, we may falter where we may otherwise ave prevailed."
"I see wisdom in both approaches. Like Darthal, I am anxious for the missing children and reluctant to sit idly by while they remain in the clutches of some half-a-dwarf villian-in-a-riddle. On the other hand, I can't imagine the 7 of us tromping around the orphanage in the middle of the night would be good for the children who yet remain in Headmistress Tashykk's care.
If we do opt to rest for the night and start fresh in the morning though, I recommend that we then meet at dawn, as Diurn said. However, I would suggest we meet at the orphanage instead of here."
"Okay, let's visit the kiddies."
"One of the problems that I see with this approach is that we would be disrupting the Orphanage itself by barging in on it when they are likely trying to get the young ones to sleep. Daylight would also be considerably more effective for visibility to us non-dwarves."
"You think the young ones are not already disturbed by their missing peers? Besides which, it's still very early. Let us go to the orphanage and find what may be found. Then we can consider our next course of action once we know more."
Darthal seems animated and excited.
"Gentlemen, let's work together on this. True nobility comes from self sacrifice. But not self sacrifice to the point of weakening and exhaustion. I believe the consensus is to meet at the Orphanage at Dawn. That suits me far better than marching into the orphanage in the middle of the night."
He continues to buckle the last few straps on his armor as he speaks to the group.
"I can also bring my squire tomorrow morning, so this armor is more manageable."
Luc waves goodbye and goes to his apartment. He will be at the orphanage at dawn.
"I suppose it's likely that even if we did find a lead at the orphanage tonight, it might not be one we could follow up on until the morning anyway." Valamont shrugs and walks off, nodding to the group as he departs. As he leaves, he hoarsely whispers, "No, mother, that excuse won't help me sleep if, when we do find where the children have been taken, we're a handful of hours too late to help them. Of course I'm worried about them. Yes, thank you - I never was fond of riddles. Speaking of that, what do you think 'half-a-dwarf' means? What? A beardless dwarf? That makes no sense!" The rest of his one sided conversation is lost when he rounds a corner.
You each go your separate ways after agreeing to meet at the Lantern Street Orphanage at dawn.
You stand in someplace dark and cold. You cannot see, as the darkness has totally consumed you, but you know that it is dark, because you feel one with the darkness. As the light begins to filter through your senses, you see you are in an immense cavern of stone. Yet all is not right. Rather than the comforting feel of stone around you, all you can feel is fear. Light comes from cages that hold writhing insect-like beasts whose pods give off a soft, red glow.
Before you stands a small boy, less than a decade old. His black unkempt hair falls in front of his face, causing him to shake it from his face. You can see his eyes glisten with fresh tears running down his freckled face. You recognize the boy as Terrem, one of the kidnapped orphans, but you cannot understand why you know him. You’ve never seen the child before in your life, but you can sense his identity as if you feel his very life force.
You look down at your hand and you see that you are once again the gray humanoid with writhing tentacles on your back. Terrem seems to notice this as well and begins to scream. His screams cause a terrible pain in your ears, and causes you such immense discomfort that all you can think about is to make the screaming stop.
You look back to the child, and now you are screaming as well.
Floating disembodied eyes are all around Terrem, never taking their gaze from him. There are perhaps a dozen of the orbs, but it is difficult to know their exact number because they constantly wink in and out of existence. You blink, and now each floating orb is writhed in green flames. The eyes do not seem bothered by the flames as they begin to spew out a noxious black smoke. The smoke fills the cavern, slowly covering the boy, Terrem. As his face is covered by the veil of smoke, he screams louder.
And as he is taken away from your vision, you see his tears have turned to blood. It flows all around his face, and just as he finally disappears from your vision, you glimpse a symbol upon his face. You don’t have the time to make out what it is, however, as the smoke and darkness consume the boy.
You wake with a start and a groan. Will these incessant dreams ever stop haunting you?
When you arrive at Vanderboren Estate, your old nemesis, Todd Vanderboren, greets you with an insult, as usual. "Father asks you to deliver a note to the mayor and it takes you the entire evening? You really are quite pathetic, aren't you? Is it really any wonder the Ministhrien family is in such sorry shape?"
Todd follows you into the house, dogging you with snide comments the entire way. When you speak with the major domo and inquire after Lord Premiarch and find that he has retired for the night, Todd jeers, "What, you thought he'd stay up just for you? He's a busy man, with far more important matters to attend to than dealing with an upstart ward with delusions of grandeur!"
When you arrive home, you find a note from your master in the Arduun clan in its customary spot. It reads:
Darthal Blackaxe has the potential to cause us a great deal of grief. Gain his trust, and dissuade him from his search in the map emporium.
You shake your head after reading the note. It never ceases to amaze you how efficient the Arduuns are at gathering information.
The next morning dawns bright and cool, with no hint of the rainclouds from the previous night. Near Cauldron’s rim, a gentle breeze blows from the east, but it descends into the city, it twists and swirls, picking up speed. At the lake, the wind blows fiercely, carrying the stench of sulphur up from the water.
You arrive at the Lantern Street Orphanage at the agreed upon time. The building is a squat, unattractive two-story building made of charcoal-colored stones and held together with mold-encrusted mortar. The bars on the tightly shuttered windows give the impression of a holding cell, rather than a home for children. Unlit lanterns hang on either side of the oaken front door. Mounted on the door is a green copper knocker shaped like a smiling gargoyle’s visage, its nostrils pierced by a copper ring.
A few moments after knocking, the door opens a crack and an elderly halfling woman’s face peers out. Her eyes flicker with suspicion. ”Who sent you?” she asks curtly.
Diurn pulls back his hood and smiles at the halfling.
"Why we are strictly charged by Lady Jenya herself to get to the bottom of these disappearances. I am Diurn, maam, a servant of Arshea. My companions and I are very concerned and rushed over to help as soon as possible. Can we please come in?"
Diplomacy
The next day, Adolphus arrives wearing the same royal blue noble's outfit. He greets the lady at the door with an elegant bow. Trudging behind, instead of following closely behind him is a young lad of no more than 16 years, carrying a large trunk which can only be Adolphus's armor. Adolphus's sword is strapped to the boy's back, adding to the weight.
Adolphus occasionally looks back with a smile. "Come along, boy, can't swing a sword if you don't build some muscle."
To the lady of the house, he adds to Diurn's discussion.
"Merry morning, mistress. As my cousin says, we are here by request of the Church of Iomedae, to see what we can discover about the disappearances. We would have come last night, but felt that it would be too intrusive."
Darthal trudges up the road toward the orphanage, clad in black hide armor, with a frisky dog trotting at his side on a long leash, and occasionally wrapping the leash around the dwarf's short legs.
Not being much for speaking to halflings, he glances around at the windows, looking at the upper story to see if any of the windows show signs of entry, or methods of easy approach to them, and wonders again at the insanity of humans in building above ground. Even if the children are on the top floor, it's still far too easy for anyone to climb up there, or for the children to climb out. Could something have called them?
Dorian leaves the Drunken Morkoth inn after preparing his spells and meets the group at the orphanage. He stays towards the back, leaving the talking to those more disposed to the social arts.
The door swings open, revealing the elderly halfling woman. "Apologies fer me rough greetin’, but the children be havin’ a bad time lately. Me name be Gretchyn Tashykk. Ye say Lady Jenya sent ye? Knew them Iomedaeans would no leave it alone. Only good church in this rottin' town." Her cheeks color red as she looks at Diurn. "No offense, young master."
She leads you through the foyer and into a cramped office, papers stacked on every conceivable surface, even the floor. "Sorry fer the clutter. Hard work it be tryin’ to find homes fer the children." She seems to take notice of your number for the first time and chuckles. "Think there be too many of ye fer this place. Come this way."
Gretchen brings you to the empty schoolroom. Battered desks and a small chalkboard that had seen better days half a century ago are the lone furnishings. She sits at one of the desks with a sigh. "Me old bones be sore in the mornin’. By the Abyss, they be sore all the time now. Now, what can old Gretchyn do to help? Already been bunches of people here searchin’ the place. Mornin’ after the children disappeared, the town guard turned the place upside down and questioned all me staff. Said they'd keep loolkin', but Gretchen can read between the lines. They dun give up the same day."
"Then there be the half-elves, said they was workin' fer the Lord Mayor hisself. Never seen them around these parts afore. They asked me the same questions as the guard, but did no speak to the other staff or the children before leavin’.”
”So, ye’ll prob’ly want to be talkin’ to the staff also, am I right? There not be many of us. Can’t right afford to pay much beyond basic livin’ expenses, and even that be stretchin’ our budget tighter than me likes. Let’s see now, we got Jaromir Copperbeard – he be one of ye folks –“ she nods to Dreygard and Darthal ”the gardener. Neva Fanister, our nurse and sometimes teacher. Temar Flagonstern be the one who cooks, if ye can call the gruel he puts out food. Willow Altherfell’s, our schoolteacher, be another half-elf. The children just love her, can’t see why meself. Then there’s Patch, our janitor.” Gretchyn’s face crinkles into a warm smile filled with something akin to motherly pride when she mentions Patch.
Gretchyn looks at Adolphus. ”Ye seem to be the sweet-talker of the group. Who ye be wantin’ to talk to first? The children or one of me staff? Or have ye got more questions for me?”
