While working in the lab, you noticed a scrap of paper wedged into a book you knew to be Neskir's journal. Unable to have the opportunity to read the journal itself, you did nick the scrap of paper and look over it. It was in Neskir's handwriting, and appeared to have a sketch of something that looked familiar. The scrawling text certainly wasn't illuminating at first. It was a code of some kind. The more you looked at the sketch, the more it seemed that you recognized it. Finally, something clicked in your mind. The sketch looked like one of the designs on the corrupted elf gate. With that in mind, you attacked the coded message again, realizing that the code was Neskir's private cypher based on his arcane studies. No one who hadn't worked with him closely would likely understand how the drow thought, but you had been, and suddenly the writing was clear enough. There were some gaps in your translation, but it seemed that the drow wizards were attempting to corrupt other elf gates, or rather, to get these other elf gates to accept a connection from the one the drow had already corrupted by "bending" - Neskir's word - the ley lines that connected one to another.
As a second-level servitor, you re given the freedom to do more travelling outside the house, both as escort and as porter. In this capacity you learned much about the city and its power layers, though keeping the Houses apart in your mind was a bit of a struggle. During one such trip, you attended Second Son Tiryin Vonnarc on a trip to conclude a deal with House Azrinae. Though he specifically told you to wait outside the compound with the carriage, you knew that this would be an excellent chance to overhear some choice information. So, pulling your hood low, and reversing your cloak so that the house colors were hidden, you quickly scaled the wall and crept into the inner compound. Your dagger was enough of a tool to lever open the window slightly, and you could clearly hear the voices from inside arguing about the support agreement between Houses Vonnarc and Azrinae. To your astonishment, you learned that House Azrinae had no interest in pursuing the attack on Celwynvian, having "gotten what we wanted from that sun-accursed place" and that "we likely will not meet again, as House Azrinae's plans are progressing to the next staging point".
Your early questions seem to have alienated you from your fellow guardsmen, none of whom seem to trust you. The only information your sharp ears can pick up are rumors. Of course, rumors often held little truth, and your keen mind was taxed sorting through them. You are fairly confident, though, that the rumors that the attack on Celwynvian was being called off were true. Talking with the guards and with your compatriots made you certain that there were no significant reinforcements being gathered to renew the assault. The only ones moving towards the elf-gate were just barely enough to relieve and reinforce the gate guards against another small-scale attack like the one that gained you entrance to the Darklands. Another rumor had promise, not for your mission but for blackmail purposes, that one of the high nobles of the House, Second Son Tiryin Vonnarc, was having an illicit affair with a low-rank from another house. All your attempts to confirm this, however, have come to nothing. Perhaps one of the House Servitors like Bruendor or Kelendra could find out more?
It wasn't often that you out-sneaky Bruendor, but in this case, you believe you managed it. Despite not having been raised to the second servitor rank, you managed to finagle a spot serving tea at a private meeting between Third Daughter Gizeka and a minor noble of the Rasivrein. Having gained this position through a rather bold lie, you were afraid that any mistake here would see you flogged or worse. The meeting was all you had hoped it would be. Gizeka railed at her visitor - most esteemed Fourth Daughter Chaida of the house that controlled most of the commerce in the city - that the Azrinae's leaving off of the attack on Celwynvian was going to cost them a fortune. Apparently, Gizeka and Chaida has been shorting the supply deliveries, and double cahrging for the replacements. It was a scam as old as time, and yet the money amounts they were talking of were staggering. Even more staggering was when Chaida made the comment that "...and the cheeky bastards aren't just abandoning the attack, they're moving their operations elsewhere." When pressed, she admitted to Gizeka that she didn't know where, but that there were far fewer Azrinae in the city these days.
Relying on your elven eyes and ears to pick up information in a city where everyone had the same advantages wasn't exactly a plan, but sometimes you just couldn't hit things. Well, sure, there was always torture but that wasn't in your nature - nor the best way to get information from people. Still, you did pick up a few rumors, ones that weren't too outlandish to discount immediately, and that came from enough different sources to be believable. The clearest one was that the assault on the surface was doomed to failure. With the hated elves of the light pushing back so much harder than anyone had thought possible, the Azrinae - sponsors of the invasion - had withdrawn their support, and most of their people.
Arca reports his findings to the others as soon as he can get them together and be sure they're not being spied on.
"It's like an infection!" he says. "They want to extend their control over the portals by spreading their taint along the energy-lines that cross Golarion, like sickness travelling through the bloodstream! There must be a way we can turn that against them ... But I'm not sure how."
Despite Arca's insistence that it was for his benefit, Neskir was not enthralled by the list of spells.
"When I ask you for something, I expect you to deliver exactly what I asked for. Now, scurry on off to bring me your spellbook. You have exactly five minutes. If you are not back in that time, I will have Undamesta flog you. You will learn that wizardry is all about following instructions to the letter. You may think that you know more than I do, and perhaps that is the case with regards to certain magic. However, your idea regarding the hat is probably a good one. One that we could explore at a later date. In the meantime, I need assistance with some enchanted breastplates. You can do that, can you not? They should be enchanted to look like normal clothing at the wearer's command. Well, not normal clothing, obviously. Something elegant, of course. Now, scurry along and bring me that spellbook, then start preparing the enchantment. The two breastplates are over there, on that table."
Quevven frowns at Arca's description of the plans he had seen. "Well, we need to figure their plan out, fast. I managed to get myself assigned to an excursion to House Azrinae with Second Son Tiryan Vonnarc today. There's some sort of support agreement between their house and ours, and it sounds like Azrinae is ready to cut support to the Celwynvian initiative. Whatever they're planning with Skyfall, Celwynvian, and now an aiudara infection, is beyond me."
"Maybe it's time to cut and run. And I mean run to Azrinae, try to get an 'in' there, get closer to our real target. I'm not sure... Have we exhausted the potentials of Vonnarc?"
"No need for me to 'scurry' anywhere," Arca says as he draws his spellbook out of his pack. "I am never far from my treasure."
Arca's - Anklebiter's - book is a weighty volume bound in brown bull-hide. The leather has been lightly but repeatedly scored by sharp claws, and marked with a branding iron.
The arcane writing inside is a mixture of Varisian and Draconic glyphs, with smatterings of Azlanti. The writing starts haphazard and faltering, but soon turn increasingly complex and confident.
Anklebiter went back to fill in gaps in his earlier work as soon as he could, and each word has been written with excruciating care.
Arca quietly retreats to the workbench where the breastplates lie, but his fell gaze is on Neskir while the Drow reads -- and spells march through his mind. Few -- no, none of them are pleasant.
"Not sure if that's a workable solution," Quevven replies. "I mean, you see how long it's taken us to accrue standing here in House Vonnarc, and that was as drow of no House allegiance. I can't imagine five drow who joined a noble house and then switched sides in a matter of weeks would be afforded less suspicion or higher standing. I think we keep on it here in Vonnarc for the time being, and see what we can do about ingratiating ourselves with the movers and shakers."
Kel returns from her tea party with dirt on the scams of war and the scheming of house Azrinae. "...and they don't even know where they are moving their operations, but house Azrinae is thin these days."
"Stupid drow won't stupid talk," Calla growls, apparently more angry than ever, though it's not clear exactly which of the reasons for her ire is actually causing it.
She shares what little she has learned, biting off each work as her face is suffused in anger.
"And I agree with Quevven. I don't think running is an option at this point. If we can confirm some of the rumors about Tiryin, perhaps we can use that to our advantage."
"Well, I for one learned probably less than the rest of you, just rumors. It would appear the attack on the surface was doomed to failure. The sunlight elves responded with more energy and effort than the dark elves thought possible and the Azrinae, as sponsors of the assault, withdrew their support and most of their people. I don't know details, but I know that even in more honorable lands, sometimes he who conserves his resources in a campaign has big plans at home to use that edge he now has over his neighbors."
"Well, if Azinrae is abandoning its house, that will make it easier to sneak in when it's time. Perhaps we should plant some rumor, try to further the wedge between the two houses? I'm not sure if that would help us at all, though."
"If I can sneak Magpie out of this hole and we can get some indication of where Azrinae's house is... But no; they would have defences in place, even if most of them are going to leave the place," Arca muses.
"I think we definitely need to ingratiate ourselves with the Second Son," Quevven says after remaining in thought for a time. "House Vonnarc has counted House Azrinae as a close ally for some time, and now they move to the next stage of their plan without us. That slight will probably have to be addressed, and with most of Azrinae elsewhere, there may be some sort of conflict soon. If we can seem eager to prove ourselves to Tiryin, we may be able to be his weapon against them. We get to kill those bastards, improve our station here...and discover more about House Azrinae's plots while we're doing it."
"Does this second son have any vices that we know of and might exploit? Drink, gambling, females? Don't look at me like that, dear sisters; I am not suggesting you should throw yourselves at him."
"He's apparently having an illicit affair with a low-rank from another house, according to my fellow guards' gossip."
"Alright. So how do we use that? Arrange for them to have gettogethers in return for favours?"
"First we need to confirm it," Quevven replies. "If all we have is scuttlebutt, then we'll be ignored, best case scenario. We need to get proof that he's bumping uglies with an Azrinae. After that...maybe we can use that to get in on one of his plans?"
"Hm. Do we know his or her name? Are we sure it's an Azrinae? I might be able to arrange a confirmation."
"Hmmm, actually, it'd work out better for us if it wasn't. If he were found sleeping with the enemy, then that'd be a sharper knife for us to twist. Now, the question comes to this - how do we prove it? I think the only way we'd be able to get confirmation is to get it from him, which would mean breaking into his room and tossing the place. That's incredibly risky. There must be a simpler way..."
"There is. Lure out the woman. Get me her name, and I can send a messenger supposedly from the second son to join him for a romantic - or whatever Drow substitute for romance - tryst in a place of our choosing. Once she's there, we have confirmation. If we really need to, we can lean on her a bit. Er, if it's a woman?"
"I could pretend to be her competition for affection, she may talk easier to a woman?"
"Wouldn't she try to murder a rival?"
"I was barely able to get this flea-bitten sons of b&++#es to tell me that. I have no idea who he's seeing, or if it's even a woman at all," Calla growls. "Perhaps we can watch him and see if that brings us more information that's of some damned use."
In the middle of your heated discussions, the door was flung open. One of the second tier guards stood there.
"You lot, grab your weapons and gear. The Mistress wants to see how well you perform as a team. Get moving, now!"
The drow stood there, his eyes flicking back and forth as you responded to his orders.
Arca grabs his staff from where it was propped up against the table, black fire bursting from the skull's head, and then slings his pack up onto his shoulders. "Very well. Whereto?"
Magpie raises her hand and gives the drow a questioning look as if to say 'Me, too?'
Calla grabs her bow and other weapons and looks at the drow, one eyebrow arched inquisitively.
Quevven pivots from the plotting with his family to the newcomer, both physically and mentally, snapping to attention. "Excellent, I look forward to proving ourselves to the Mistress of the House. Lead the way."
Staryth grabs his gear and weapons and readies himself.
Kel grabs her gear and joins her companions.
"Come quickly and quietly, then. Take the construct, but keep her hidden under your cloak until we leave the grounds."
The drow soldier led you out of the House and beyond the gates. As he moved, he explained what was going on.
"As you likely know, the House keeps a legion of driders sequestered in a shallow cavern below the main House. Their numbers are not as large now as they were before the attack on the surface, but still enough to provide us with a core of shock troops. Yesterday, three Vonnarc driders went missing. Paingiver doesn't want to waste his time tracking them down, and Undamesta suggested using you, since you appear to work well as a team...at least, from what you say. Your mission is to bring the driders back, or kill them and bring back proof of their deaths. One of our scouts found the driders' location, and we will meet him there."
Quevven grimaces at the thought of facing the unnatural elf-spider hybrids in open battle. "So, drider deserters," he says flatly. "Splendid. They will be taught the price of insubordination. Lead us on to your cavescout, then."
"Yes, do," Arca says as he scoops up Magpie and tucks her under his cloak.
The Drow Wizard's normally pale eyes take on a scarlet gleam as the group proceeds towards their mission, and the corners of his mouth tug up in a small, but eager smile.
"Let's review magical options," he mutters to the others, pitching his voice for the ears of his family, only.
Calla follows along, a faint smile on her lips.
Created from the body of a drow, warped and mutated through special poisons and elixirs to take on the characteristics of a giant spider, the drider is a dangerous creature. Driders have a weak bite attack that can poison creatures, but they also wield manufactured weapons in combat. Driders are resistant to magic and possess several innate magical abilities, such as darkness and suggestion. In addition, they can cast spells as clerics, wizards, or sorcerers.
Immune sleep; SR 18
Calla shares her information with the others.
"As for magic options, I plan to shoot them full of arrows," she concludes.
As soon as the group has left the grounds, Magpie pokes her head up out of Arca's collar and then crawls all the way out. Settling on her Wizard's shoulder, she looks all around, her expression one of polite interest in all the new sights that had been denied to her, locked up in the little family's quarters....
When they get to the area where the drider went missing, Staryth will attempt to track them....
The drow led you to a narrow tunnel entrance, where a scout stood, peering into a narrow shaft. The scout said, "It's about time. This shaft goes a ways down, and then widens out into a larger cavern. The driders are in there. I haven't been able to tell if there is a back entrance, but I don't think so."
The guard looked at you and said, "There you have it. Your prey is likely trapped in there with a good narrow bottleneck. Time to show the Slavemother and the House how good of a team you really are."