Stabbing his target in the good eye, and ramming it deep into his brain, Kaern then removes his dagger and balances his feet on the villain's back as he draws his sword from the man's spine. Flexing his legs and making a quick prayer to Olladra for luck, he leaps from the body and attempts to drive himself in the direction of the Deneith tower...
"By the host, let me make it," he thinks as he falls towards the tower hundereds of feet below, waiting until he's within 100ft. or so to crack the feathfall token and gently glide to the ground.
Not particularly religious, Gryn still walks towards the central flame, keeping an eye to either side. Bowing before it, he makes sure to pay proper respects towards it.
Courtesy given, he then cautiously moves towards one of the huddled forms, "Excuse me, I was hoping you could direct me towards the keeper?"
You drive your dagger into his eye and the body falls limp. A crossbow bolt lodges deep into his chest poking out the other side, barely missing you. From the towers below you can make out some shouted words through the buffeting wind in your ears.
"...cease fire...marshall up there..."
You dive through the air with the feather fall token in your hands and time the break perfectly to float to the wide tower courtyard. Above you the Deneith skycoach veers around trailing a line of flame and heads toward the courtyard. The other skycoach teeters around in the air then rights itself and banks south west toward Dura.
As you turn away from the flame you notice the figures in the corner are staring: an older man and woman with two young boys. They watch as you approach, the man answering your question, suspicion in his eyes.
"You aren't from around here. Do you follow the Flame, my friend?"
"That, I gather, is not a normal occurrence around here, right?"
Gryn pauses a moment, as though thinking how to answer. "I used to, as a young boy. But that was a long time ago, and the world's changed since then." He extends his hand out towards the newcomer, "The name's Bale."
The crossbowmen continue raining bolts toward the retreating skycoach. Their leader, a bald man clad in Deneith green and gold continues to shout orders, then nods toward you with you a look of respect.
"Captain Nadem, marshall." He raises an eyebrow toward the body of the black robed figure, blood spattered around his now concave body. "No, this is very far from a normal occurrence. But my concern now is with the fleeing skycoach. Did you happen to get a look at it's designation?"
The Deneith skycoach careens toward the courtyard still trailing flame. It's hard to make out movement inside, but the driver seems to still be in control.
The man glances at your hand then looks back up at you. "Bale, eh? Well, this place is hallowed ground for the faithful. Faela keeps this place sacred. She's the only one who does. If you're here to make trouble..."
"Now that's no way to greet a stranger, Toph." A slender half-elven woman in fine gray robes steps in through the front door. The hem of her robes is darkened with dirt, but a shining silver pendant dangles from her neck in the shape of a flame. Three goblin children dressed in rags brush past her toward the large flame in the middle of the room. "Careful now, children. It's not for play. But if you listen carefully it may tell you a story."
The goblins settle down near the fire, their open eyes glistening in the firelight. The robed woman smiles at them then walks toward you.
"Now how can I help you? Mr. Bale, is it? My name is Faela."
"No offense taken. He's merely trying to protect what's precious to him. You've got to respect that." Gryn turns back to Toph for a moment. "I'd tell you not to worry, but I doubt it would help. But I will say that I'm not here to cause anyone here trouble."
Turning back to Faela, he lowers his voice, "I do have a couple of questions for you. I'd rather ask them in private if I could, but I'd settle for out of earshot."
Taking a look around, he quietly speaks to Faela, "I'm looking for a boy named Ethan. I have good reason to look for him down here. Not sure what he's gotten himself mixed up in, but I need to find him for his own sake." He glances in the direction of the huddled masses before continuing, "I know you might feel like your protecting him by not saying what you know. By Khyber, you might be right even. But I can also tell you he's been acting erratic. Don't know the reason for it either. No matter, for his own sake, and whomever he may involved with, I need to find him and help him. For Ethan's sake, please tell me what you know."
Crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow, Syn looks over to the taller boy. What now?
"Come in, Peter, no need to stand back there. Especially if you have something important to say."
In his mind eye he could make a fair recollection of the coach.
Faela leads you to the other side of the large room and offers you a chair, taking a seat across from you. She listens intently to your words, waiting until you've finished.
"I can see this boy is important to you. And you seem earnest in your request. But as you said the protection of the people of this community is paramount to me." She glances at the goblin children as they start rough housing, the metallic fire dances in her eyes.
With a crackle in the great flame you feel a wave of peaceful energy wash over you . The children settle down, staring at the flame in awe. And in the far corner the scowl nearly disappears from Toph's face as he returns to his stale bread.
Faela turns back to you, her own face seemingly serene, but still masking some concern. "Can you tell me more about the situation? Is this boy related to you? Or do you have some other kind of connection to him?"
Peter frowns and heads over to you. "Somebody's been asking around about a kid. Somebody from upstairs. I don't want to spook nobody, but I think this one matches the description." He points a thumb at Ethan whose eyes go wide.
"Course it could be you, eh Karlo? Mom's finally come back for her little baby." The other guys join in a chorus of "Mama's boy."
"Cease fire!" With a shout from Capt. Nadem the crossbowmen stop shooting. "No need to waste any more ammunition. But keep your eyes peeled."
"Get some water over here!" Nadem shouts as the flaming skycoach heads for the courtyard floor. It lands hard on the landing struts and you hear the crack of wood. It continues to slide toward a tower wall stopping abruptly in a spectacular crash. There's no immediate movement as the skycoach still crackles with flame.
Syn took stock of the other youths. He knew that this group had a lot in common with rats, that when they smelled food (or weakness) they would swarm to get their fill.
Looking at Peter with cold eyes, he glanced back to the new boy, Ethan. He could tell something was worrying him, and he was determined to find out what. It was clear that he would have to investigate on his own, it would take time to win Ethan fully over, and it seemed as though events were moving on their own schedule.
"Who was asking about him, Peter? Did you speak to them yourself, or is this just street babble? Is there actually someone lurking about our kip, or what?[/b]
The young man blows the departing elven lass a kiss.
He shakes the waiter off, and sits quietly, pondering his next move. His contact in House Deneith usually met him in the early evening, which was several hours from now.
He decides to hit a nearby tavern, and ask a few subtle questions about the escapee
Gryn look towards the flame a moment, thinking on her question. A deliberate pause for what would seem a difficult question. Finally he turns back to her, "I want to tell yea, I am. Hoping it'd make all this easier. But I think you'd see right through me if I did. So no, I'm just the hired gun to go find him."
He continues on before she has a chance to interrupt, "Now that doesn't mean I'm out to hurt him. I'm still a good man, just doing what his mother has asked. And if you need a further reason, I don't get paid if he don't come back in one piece. Please help me help him."
Karlo seemed relieved to have the attention off of him. He shot his brother a dirty look as he slipped out from the circle of kids. Peter's smile faded as he spoke.
"Like I said, some guy from upstairs. He had one of those fancy fencing swords. I seen him walking around Fallen talking about some kid he's looking for. If he's smart he's headed over to see Faela. She's always giving out scraps to losers who can't take care of themselves." You feel like he's leaving out a part of the story and notice he has a bulge hidden under his shirt.
The local taverns of Dancing Shadows are abuzz with speculation about the escaped prisoner, but there's nothing concrete.
- "How long do you think he was in the Citadel? I heard he murdered somebody powerful, but they kept him alive to torture him."
- "They were sending him to Dreadhold prison? And he's loose on the streets? Maybe we should head home early. I hear Sharn is nice in the winter."
- "Those poor people in Myshan Gardens who lost their homes. Is the city going to pay for that?"
- "No way he survived that fall. Why are they even bothering to look?"
Again she listens intently, studying your face. After a moment, she nods as if she's come to a decision. "You say you're working for the boy's mother? Then I fear I need to warn you there are men already looking for the boy. Mercenaries. Who hired them I do not know. But their intentions did not seem as pure as your own."
She stands and rests on the table closer to you, speaking a little softer. "As for the boy. I found him near the ruins and brought him some food in an effort to win him over. But when I returned today, he was nowhere to be found. He seems a troubled boy. I can take you to the place where I found him in the morning if you like. The ruins are not a safe place at night with the ravers about."
You rush through the forming bucket brigade to the ruined skycoach. The side door still hangs opens and inside you can make out the limp form of the attendant, charred skin visible through his tattered sleeves. He appears to be breathing, but unconscious. Your family cloak still smolders on the floor, a wide circle of cloth missing from the center.
As your power connects with the body of the attendant you feel the heat and a burning in your lungs. You feel the lick of flame on your own body as you pull him free.
Behind you the first splashes of water hiss as they hit the flames. The buckets make their steady way through the line of soldiers. From the front of the skycoach you hear movement from the driver.
"My leg! It's stuck."
"The morning will be fine. And I really appreciate it." Gryn looks about for a moment. "Don't suppose there's an inn nearby for the evening?"
Syn was pondering his next move, and finally decided he needed more information.
"Peter, when did you hear this last? Could you point this person out if you saw him again?"
If the man was looking for Ethan, and Syn suspected it was him (far to great a coincidence), he needed to know what he wanted with the boy before proceeding further. He wanted to help the boy out, but if it put himself or the other Copperheads in danger, he would have to think carefully indeed.
"If you don't know, perhaps I should go pay a visit to Faela. If he's been asking around, I'm sure he'd go look there."
Looking back to the new boy, he took in the youngster's anxiety.
"Perhaps you should stay here a while Ethan. You've had enough excitement for a while." Glancing at Karlo, "Why don't you find a good safe place for Ethan to kip down a while, and I'll see if I can't bring back a shiny for you."
With that, Syn gathered a few of his things and began to set out towards the Fallen to see how far the magic rat-hole that had appeared before him went.
And drag the driver free from the wreckage after freeing his leg.
"There are a couple of places in Fallen that will put you up for the night: Oleg's Tavern on East street and Pelo's Hideaway on Old Vermillion Lane. Oleg's usually has a racous late night crowd, but has a few single rooms outside the tavern hall. Pelo's is a little more remote and caters to those who want a little more privacy. They may not be exactly up to the standards you're used to, but most likely a bit safer than traveling these streets at night."
With that she takes your hand and smiles. "If there's nothing else, there are things I should probably take care of before I go to sleep myself."
"I saw him leaving Oleg's just a bit ago. He's like I said. Looks out of place, wearing a fencin' sword, kind of older looking with blond hair." As you head out to leave you notice Peter grabs Karlo and pulls hims close to whisper angrily in his ear. Peter looks a little nervous as he sees you notice, but then brushes it off and follows.
Karlo's face quivers a bit then he runs off to show Ethan a place to sleep. It takes you a few minutes to get into the Fallen slums. This time of night you know to dodge around rival gang territories and Boromar clandestine dealings in the warehouses.
The streets of Fallen are as always strewn with rubble from crumbling statues and once great temples. Off in the distance you see the glint of glass protruding from buildings in the ruins of raver territory.
The streets are mostly empty except for those who make their living at night: prostitutes, pan handlers, absentia and dreamlily pushers. Oleg's Tavern is bustling with it's usual racous crowd and Blackstone Church down the street stands in mute reflection, a great white light glistening from it's windows.
Seeing the driver's pinned leg you hack into the splintered wood and it quickly gives way. He looks bloody and bruised, but relatively untouched by the fire. You manage to pull him free with a little effort and support him as he limps away from the wreckage.
You see a green robed halfling speed down the steps from the main tower and head around the back of the wreck to the body of the attendant. You catch the flash of the griffon coat of arms of House Jorasco's Healers Guild across his chest.
The skycoach settles into a steady smoking pile and collapses with a sudden snapping crack. The line of bucketmen thins out, two heading over to take the wounded driver from you. He smiles his thanks as they lead him away.
Captain Nadem heads over shouting out a last few commands. He grimly looks over your wounds. "Not quite the reception we were expecting to give you. We'll get that healer to patch you up. In the meantime I think Lord Sadran is still waiting to meet you."
The young man hails a skycoach and tells him to take him to Myshan Gardens. "I might be awhile, but I'll pay you to wait."
Skycoaches:
- Skycoaches charge 1sp/mile (the farthest ride in Sharn lower east to upper west would be 6sp, unless you're traveling up to Skyway which may be more)
- They can be asked to wait at the rate of 1gp/hour (though a Diplomacy check may be needed in sketchier parts of town)
- Knowledge (local) check to find a skycoach in lower wards, slums, etc. where they are rarer or if you need to find one quickly
Skycoach description
I haven't seen a description of a skycoach anywhere. There is a picture of people in bascially a flying skiff, but that doesn't seem practical.So I'm picturing them more like stage coaches of the Old West (like this one), but without wheels. Fully enclosed with swinging doors and luggage, etc. strapped to the top or back. Inside are two facing couches that sit two medium sized people on each side comfortably.
The driver sits out front in an open bench (like in this image) with magical reins he uses to steer. Like a carriage (found it in the SRD here) you need to have Profession (Driver) to steer one, though you may be able to default to Dex if necessary. Handle Animal doesn't apply.
You're directed away from the main meeting hall by attendants and led downstairs.
"Necessary precautions, marshall. Lord Sadran will recieve you in his private study."
The doors of the study swing open to reveal a sizable room. The attendant leads you and the captain in and stands silently at the door. Lord Sadran dressed in a fine mail shirt and greaves inlaid with gold patterns of the Mark of Sentinel, sits cross legged in a plush leather seat. An illusory fire crackles in the fire place behind him.
"Please have a seat, gentlemen." He motions to a couple similar chairs across from him. "Let's talk about this Ashbound problem, shall we? Marshal, how can we help you track this murderer down?"
You notice a humanoid figure step out of the church ahead. The light from inside outlines his blond hair and the outline of a scabbard under his cloak. Behind him a female shifter leans one foot against a street lamp post, the flickering blue flame above shines down on her split red dress. Across the way a scrawy elf shuffles along the street holding his shaking arms.
"Dragon's blood?" A dirty goblin looks up at you expectantly, thick black eyebrows and drooping green ears studded with metal rings. You spot the red wyvern tattoo on his shoulder of the Daask gang.
You flag down a waiting skycoach. The gnomish driver ushers you in with a smile then dons his goggles and scurries up a rope ladder to the seat in front. You feel the lurch as you take off and descend into the chasm circling the large plateaus of central Sharn.
The heat of the Cogs below wafts through the open windows and clings to your skin. Sputters of flame flash through the thick clouds of smoke and steam of industry below.
You feel your belly turn as the skycoach rounds the towers of the Central Plateau. The striking fortress of Citadel prison sits atop the miles high tower overlooking the destruction in the community of Myshan Gardens below. The wreck of a huge airship juts from the tower walls and spills into the street.
As you get closer you see the massive scorch marks undoubtedly caused by the loosed fire elemental. Crews of warforged wielding large hammers slowly demolish what's left of the massive wreck. The entire crash site is outlined with fine blue lines of energy arcing from one copper construction pole to the next.
You slide into a soft landing in a small courtyard. The gnome nods as you ask him to wait, though seems expectant to see a little coin first.
You're eyes slowly adjust to the dark as you leave the large shimmering flame behind. A nearby street lamp flickers with a fading blue flame, below a female shifter leans with one leg bent revealing a split red dress. She offers a sly smile as she catches you looking. Across the way a scrawy elf shuffles along the street holding his shaking arms. The only other warmth and life here is the laughter coming from Oleg's down the way.
You turn to head up the street toward Pelo's Hideaway.
Syn looks over to the blonde man with the blade for a moment, then eyes the shifter behind him, wondering if she's some kind of bodyguard in disguise or just a lady of the evening. He then looks down at the goblin.
"You selling, eh?=? I'm afraid I haven't any coin to spare. But you may want to try that fellow over by the church. You see that blade he's got? Bet that's worth a pretty piece of coin. With a blade like that, you can bet he's got the money. And look at the company he keeps. Expensive tastes."
Pausing for a moment as he replayed the exchange in his head, Kaern continued... "One strange thing though, just before dying, the attacker mentioned someone or something called the Shadowlord, and said it was coming."
Lord Sadran sits back looking pensive. "Interesting. When we're finished here we'll give you access to the body, of course. Attacks from druid cults are not so commonplace here in the towers. It appears our friend has brought some transplants from that dreary, cold country of yours." The last part he says this matter of factly, quickly moving on as if it was beneath him to purposely insult you.
"Can't say I've heard of a 'Shadowlord' per se. Though it does sound quite ominous. I'm sure it was meant to. Most likely just more religious rhetoric." He stares at you as if lost in thought. His eyes fixedly locked on yours is a little uncomfortably long, then he continues.
"Suffice it to say. The resources of this House are at your disposal. Within reason of course." There is a hushed conversation behind you then the attendant by the door hands Sadran a sealed Sivis scroll. He scans the page then stands abruptly as the attendant drapes a regal green cloak over his shoulders and fastens it over his chest with a gold clasp.
"Captain Nadeem here can show you to your quarters. I'd like periodic reports on your progress by secure Sivis message station." With that the cloak swishes behind him as he strides headlong down the hall.
Fenrir:As the tendrils dig into your subconsious, the room goes black. You flash back to the Cannith lab, strapped to the metal table struggling against the restraints. The large warforged looms over you, it's eyes glowing green. You focus on the scalpel in his hand floating toward your eye.A maniacal laughter fills your head. "I know your fear, ratcatcher. It will come for you soon. The wait will make it so much sweeter."
Then you're running through the gray mists of the Mournland, your chest tight with exhaustion. Behind you the sound of scraping metal grows louder. You turn your head to see the large warforged emerge from the mist, a huge translucent green blade grasped in it's hands. It quickly overtakes you raising the blade over it's head. You feel it cut deep and the world flashes red.
You're back in Vundry's back office. You feel an ache where the blade struck, running through your eye and back over the top of your head. You see the boy in black leather running for the open curtain.
As Fenrir's head clears he sees the boy dashing out the curtained doorway."Grrrr, blast it, Vundry please be okay for a few more moments." Fenrir tore after the boy out the door, quickly making up his mind he would only chase the boy a few hundred feet out of the store. He didn't want to abandoned Vundry if he could help it. He'd find away to catch whoever did this.
Arriving in the City of Towers:
Travelers to Sharn can arrive three main ways as well as some possible unconventional ways.
- Terminus Station: In Lower Tavick's Landing this district houses the incoming Orien lightning rail and caravans as well as the main gate into the city by foot.
- Cliffside docks: Ships from all over Khorvaire and beyond flow through these docks along the western cliffs of Dura. House Lyrander has several offices here to manage their elemental galleon shipping interests.
- Airship: The main airship dock is Lyrander Tower in the Highest Towers district of Upper Central Plateau. The least crowded and safest way to arrive, but also the most expensive.
With that the goblin heads down the street toward the church. The blond man outside seems like he was headed the other way, but turns and takes notice of you and the goblin heading toward him.
You tear through the curtains and the empty store front. Outside, the dense market crowd fills the square. You quickly scan hundreds of faces looking for the boy.
Movement catches the corner of your eye and you see a goblin, his face bristling with metal piercings, heading your way. You notice a large red tattoo on his shoulder as he approaches staring at you pointedly. Behind him an older boy with disheveled clothes and hair watches from the sidewalk. Looks like they may have been discussing something.
Kaern searches the body for any sign of a dragonmark, in case it is Ash (did the orders he was given state whether or not Ash was a bearer of the Mark of Handling?).
He will then also inquire to find out the status of the attendant and skycoach driver, to see how they were.
Capt. Nadeem leads you to your room and offers to meet you in the infirmary. Your room is similarly decorated to the rest of the rooms in the Deneith tower, pretty bare with green drapes and accents of gold. A large painting dominates the wall across from your bed depicting Karrn the Conquerer leading a charge against a marauding Dhakaani army. A small balcony attached to your room overlooks the mile long drop to the Cogs below. To your right workers are clearing the skycoach debris from the courtyard, bits of ash float from the smoldering pile.
You follow Nadeem's directions to the infirmary, an attached tower clearly marked with the House Jorasco insignia over the wide doors. Inside, green robed halflings mill about the room tending to patients in short legged beds. Captain Nadeem stands in the far corner between two beds, easily towering over everything in the room. The driver and attendant lay to either side of him, the driver sitting up nursing a bandaged leg and the attendant laying motionless in the other. His skin appears to be mostly healed over.
Capt. Nadeem waves you over and points a thumb at the attendant. "Marcus, he was our man who met you at the lightning rail station...looks like he's going to pull through thanks to you. Just needs a good night's rest they say. But you'll be wanting to see the other body."
The driver smiles and gives you a nod of thanks as Nadeem leads you into the back room morgue. He slides open the door and you feel an unnatural chill as you pass through the doorway. Several low metal tables fill the center of the room. The mangled body of the druid is sprawled out on one, his black robes neatly folded and stacked on a nearby table.
The halfling healer you noticed outside paces around the body and quickly glances your way as you enter with a mild look of annoyance. "Due to his sudden and violent landing, not much of a face left to id. And no identification papers among his possessions, of course."
Nulmanen pays the driver some silver, and walks over to the wreckage, being careful not to get in the way of the work crews. He casts a minor spell that allows him to quickly survey the area.
The goblin serves enough of a distraction to let you slip into the shadows. After a brief exchange the goblin walks off in a huff. The blonde man heads west along the main road leading through the towers. You follow him down the side street to Pelo's Hideaway. The only other inn in the district, Pelo's caters to those who are looking for a little more privacy and discretion. After a brief look down the street he steps inside.
The driver takes the silver happily and plops himself down with a copy of the Sharn Inquisitive. The image of the shadowy figure diving from the airship dominates the front page under the title: ESCAPE FROM THE CITADEL PRISON - Mysterious flaming figure disappeared into the mists of Khyber’s Gate.
You head down the stairs from the skycoach port. The wreckage of the downed ship looms over you as you approach the glowing barrier lines. Reaching out with the cantrip you search through the piles of splintered wood, but after a brief check you don't come across anything unexpected. Any cargo or other valuables you think has long since been pilfered or recovered.
You watch as the warforged crews work tirelessly dismantling the larger pieces of debris while others move large piles to floating garbage scows. Small warforged scouts crawl in and out of the larger mostly intact section of the airship sticking out of the tower. A black cloaked half-orc pushes past the scouts, his tusked face wrapped in a snarl, followed by a tight-faced half-elven woman in a uniform of dark Brelish blue. They appear to be having a heated discussion.
"Well, there's a dragonmark here. But not any I've ever seen." The halfling heads around to the side of the body. "If you lift the body you can see it here on his chest."
You climb up the short stairway to Pelo's Hideaway. The stairs are split down the middle between normal steps and a set of doubled stairs sized for smaller feet.
Inside a dim blue light fills the mostly empty common room. Benches line the sides with a few small sized tables and chairs scattered in between. On a squat stage on the far side a halfling perches on a stool hunched over an odd stringed instrument easily twice his size. His eyes flicker toward you from under a wooden mask crudely carved to resemble a dragon. Soft tones fill the room as his fingers dance, tapping along the neck. (Here's an image of the instrument.)
"Got one large size room left." You look around to locate the voice then notice a red haired halfling at your feet. Small even for a halfling, her skin has a grayish tinge and her milky white eyes stare back at you dully. "Five silvers for the night. Seven if you want stew. Pot's on the fire now."
You can smell the mixture of odd spices floating in from the back room. It seems to all but mask a faint scent of some kind of meat.
The halfling's face relaxes a bit from his initial frustration. "Yes, now that you mention it. There's some odd healed over burns on his feet. Several repeated over time, as if he's been regularly walking on hot coals. As well as..." He sneers in disgust. "...some kind of rodent feces."
He walks over to the two people arguing and waits for a few moments till there's a break to ask "Excuse me, do the two of you happen to know what exactly happened here?"