Back in the cavern Kardas has little trouble using the crowbar to leaver the bricks apart and soon breaks down the wall. It leads into a natural cave about 25' accross which is filled with deep fresh water, possibly from an aquifer although you can't see the bottom so there might be a connecting stream. There is a section of dry stone which lies around the edge of the cavern and you notice iron runs in the stone wall opposite which lead up. Above in the roof is a thin sliver of daylight, you have a feeling this is a well.
Miss it by that much...
Hey, I see something in the water.
She points it out to Kardas, since he is probably the best swimmer, but if he doesn't want to go, she will strip off her armor and extra stuff and go... she makes sure to tie one end of her rope to whoever goes, and that Ser and Zane have the other end in case someone needs to be pulled out of danger.
She will also prestidigitate the person dry afterward.
(Hold breath and take 10 on swim check if it is me.)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Zane peered into the water after Azarra pointed out the object lying in it, noting both the shiny object and the bones. He held up a hand to forestall anyone from going in just yet, saying, "Can anyone conjure a magical light on a rock and drop it in? Just in case..."
Since all of her companions seem to go downstairs, Ishta stays up to make sure the watch is coming AND Morven doesn't do anything he shouldn't do. She'll probably get arrested, but there's too much in this to leave such a loose end.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Relishing the prospect of Auril's embrace, Kardas nods at Azarra and dumps whatever non-waterproof items he has on his person before dipping his toes into the water. He weaves a spell of light on a dagger and then infuses it with a spark of his own arcane power. "I will call upon illusionary powers to hide me from sight. Hopefully, nothing lurks in these waters, but if so, I'm sure you will take notice whether I'm visible or not." His teeth then claim the dagger so that his hands are free to steer him to the bottom of the well and he hisses a spell.
The rest of your see a disembodied light splah into the pool of water sending wave lapping at your feet. The light slowly makes its way down towards the glinting object below.
Kardas feels the cold hit him like a wave, as if it had been blessed or cursed by Auril herself. It took all his experience as a swimmer not to gasp and loose his breath. Ignoring the numbing sensation he kicked down powerfully and went deep, down ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty feet before finding a partial humanoid skeleton. Strewn around the skeleton are various coins, mostly low denomination there's a couple of bug electrum and gold coins. Given the total lack of flesh on the skeleton you assume it must have been down here for a long time.
True he did spot the ring, question is will he try to take it?
Ser Armithia puts his head into the water to scan with Detect Evil and DeathWatch Eyes (60').
After picking up the coins, Kardas's lungs were burning, he'd been down for several minutes and the need for air was getting strong. One last thing was left, he reached for the plain golden ring which was still attached to the skeletal hand. As he did so it seemed as if the hand moved suddenly to grip him and with a flare of actinic light he found himself displaced, viewing a strange scene.
He found himself in Podol Plaza and the air was thick with smoke and the sounds of battle. The buildings looked different, the paint brighter, much of the neglect and decay gone. At the far side of the plaza troops were holding the line against a dark tide of orcs and hobgoblins. Far above an enemy dragon glinting dull yellow soars over the battlefield, occasionally swooping down breathing fire!
Set back from this was a well where the leader of the defenders was directing the troops. A strongly built man with dark hair and a regal look, reminiscent of Councillor Cardona, he frowned at the mounting losses and issued orders to his staff.
From a side street a wounded lieutenant totters towards the general calling out with a salute, "Sir! I have news. The eye cultists sir!"
The general issued orders to his two Sargents, they saluted and hurried off leaving the general alone with the Lieutenant. Turning to him the General commanded, "Lieutenant Henderson, report! Where is your Captain?"
"We were ambushed sir! More of those eye cultists, Captain Mord was killed. Sir this is a feint, the cultists are trying to open the Eastern gate! The patrol are defending but there's too many, we need reinforcement."
"Well done Lieutenant! You may have saved the city. I shall send the reserves, but first draw yourself a sip of water you look patched."
"Sir!" he replied as he turned to the well and started winding up the bucket.
The general watched him for a moment before pulling out a slender dagger with a crawling aura of darkness. He suddenly stabbed the Lieutenant in the back and as the man spasmed he pushed him into the well. There was a distant splash and the General turned to watch the battle impassively.
A little later one of the staff sergeants returned and asked, "Did Henderson have anything important sir?"
"No. Captain Mord fought off an attack but the gate is holding."
"Very good sir."
The vision faded and with a gasp Kardas found himself bursting out of the cold dark water, ring in hand! He couldn't be sure later but at the time he thought he heard a distant voice whisper, "Avenge me!"
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Anger overwhelms the swordmage as the vision of betrayal seeps into him. He'd scream if only he could. But here, at the bottom of the well, all he can do is kick himself back up to the surface so he can find Cardona and throw him into Kelemvor's embrace.
Kardas resurfaces with a splash and a gasp. He looks even more like a savage thanks to the water ruining his long and beard. Or maybe it's the glint of cold rage in his eyes. Had that always been there?
"Found a ring, I did." To underscore that statement, the swordmage shows a golden ring to his companions. It rests in the palm of his hand, but he shows little to no desire to give it to Ishta for further studying. "I ... I don't know if it was the cold water, my foolish notion of paying lipservice to Auril before dipping in, or perhaps, sure why not, let's just say it out loud, it was the ring. When picking it up, the hand it once was attached to took hold of my wrist and instilled me with a vision." He falls silent for a moment as the memory comes back to him. "It was a memory of betrayal. A lieutenant Henderson reported back to a general, who I think was family of Cadorna. The city was under attack, things were going bad, and after Henderson reported to the general that Captain Mord was killed by the Eye cultists during their attempt to take the eastern gate. Then ..." Kardas sighs before sharing the heavy truth with the others. "Who I think is Cadorna stabbed the lieutenant and dumped him into this very well. Later, when someone else came to Cadorna to bring him a report, Cadorna stated the gate was holding. So ... yeah, we got something to figure out and if it is as the vision says, Cadorna's head won't be gracing his shoulders for much longer."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"I think we're talking about Jandark Cadorna himself here." Ishta's eyes gleam for a moment and she closes her fists strongly, leaving nail marks on her flesh. "With everything we're discovering about him, I'm starting to wonder whether he's really dead or not. His treachery and lust for power seem to have been endless."
She then has a look at the ring.
Azarra waits to see if Ishta can tell them more about the ring, and wonders what further involvement the Cadorna family might have in all that is going on even in the present city.
Azarra takes a look at the iron rungs that lead to the surface. Do they look climbable, or are they all rusted through and too dangerous?
The watch turns up after fifteen minutes to find Morven hands on hips still standing on his carpet staring into the darkness. He demands they go in and arrest you but quite sensibly they decline to enter an unknown passageway without 'adequate' backup whatever that means.
Azarra finds the iron rugs to be partially rusted but still firm enough to safely take her weight. The climb up isn't difficult and it leads you onto the edge of Podol Plaza near civilized Phlan. Podol Plaza is haunted by monstrous humanoids and isn't a safe place for you to be although you think you can return to civilized Phlan without incident.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Ishta insists that someone should stay here. "We don't want to all leave and let Morven enter the catacombs at his own will, possibly destroying any incriminating evidence. Go fetch Von Urslingen, tell them what's here and ask for anyone to come check it, I will try to keep Morven away."
If Ishta is staying, at least one other person needs to stay to watch her back. I'm going to go find Von Urslingen.
She looks to Zane, Ser, and Kardas to see who will decide to stay and who will go.
I shall guard our caster.
Zane absorbed the information Kardas shared about the vision he had seen in the pool, dismissing his initial idea that the Rashemi had been having hallucinations as his air was depleted. The description was too vivid and accurate. The priest's brow furrowed in anger as Ishta described the man as one of Cadorna's forebears. If the vision was true, then Phlan had been betrayed by one of its own.
Letting the issue rest for the moment, Zane returned to the conversation as the party agreed to split up, patting Ser Armithia on the shoulder. "We'll be back soon." With that, the cleric joined Azarra as they rushed to go find Councillor Von Urslingen to tell him of their success against the undead and the secret passage that had nearly been the downfall of New Phlan.
Von Urslingen was in his council study pacing when Zane found him looking pensive. He brightened up when Zane knocked on the door and called out, "Oh The Watchers of Dawn! I do hope you have good news, things have been a bit tense here. The Zhents have been rattling their sabres and we've had a family try to cross the Stojanow in a row boat for a picnic..." He seemed utterly aghast at the idea, "They had little ones with them, and well they mistimed the tide and the taint came... Awful absolutely awful, their screams could be heard across town. Something is going to have to be done."
Azarra doesn't go into the details of the entire ordeal yet, but she tells them that they did away with a vampire who was turning children, and that the vampire was being controlled by someone else who was doing experiments on children. She wants him to see the area with an entrance leading to the temple of Waukeen before they send someone down to clean it out and wipe out the evidence. And maybe bring Braccio as well, since it was they who suggested this quest?
They can tell him more on the way, and I think Ishta and Kardas have many additional details when they get there.
The priest listened in to Von Urslingen's discussion about the Zhents with a cautious air. The denizens of Zhentil Keep were always trying to stretch their influence, so just how far they were willing to go remained to be seen. New Phlan had much more serious problems, like families that could be horribly killed by a river.
For now, though, the cleric listened intently as Azarra explained the situation to the Councilman, not too sure why she was hedging but hesitant to question her in front of the older man. Zane was a little confused, but he trusted the half-elf completely. He added details that seemed relevant to what she offered, but left out the parts that she seemed to be omitting.
Von Urslingen nods as Azarra explains about the waves of undead you battled through and he pays very close attention when you describe () about the Orc Necromancer and his fate. But when explains about the vampire children the color drains from Von Urslingen's face and he mutters, "Gods there have been so many orphans made by the war... To think that many of them had such a grizzly fate. One that we might have all shared! Wow. We must fetch Braccio and sanctify the area."
When you describe the staircase leading up to the Rectory of Waukeen, von Urslingen remarks, "Oh really? There has always been talk of tunnels since long before my grandfather's time, to actually find one! I suppose it makes a twisted sense that of old the high priest of Waukeen had a secret passage leading to the temple vaults. I think I mentioned before but the graveyard used to be the a temple, long ago. The council have long suspected a tunnel might have been used in the invasion, the walls have spells in them that anchor teleportation to a secure location yet agents seemed able to slip in and out as they saw fit... The only other explanation of course is treachery, but there was never any evidence."
He ponders for a few minutes, "Well we'd better talk to Morven, I imagine the little toad is hopping mad. Whether he knew anything about remains to be seen, but it will be difficult to question him due to Cardona's patronage..."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Zane muttered, "Hopefully he's a bit more dressed, at least." The priest made ready to follow the older man, ready to finalize this assignment and get some well-deserved rest.
Kardas groans in reaction to Zane's comments. The man can do whatever he wants as long as it is consensual, but Kardas knows their 'meeting' will be the cause for bad blood. "We should show a willingness to forget and move on so that, Gods willing, the mad dog won't be tempted to bark and bite."
Zane thought over Kardas's words, and then nodded respectfully. The Rashemi man's words were wise to heed, and the priest would do well to remember them. Lathander didn't encourage his followers to hold a grudge, but rather that everyone had the opportunity to turn things around. His clergy had a mandate to nurture the second chances that everyone could have, if they chose to pursue them.
Ishta wwaits patiently, trying not to engage in much conversation with Morven but not allowing him to pass.
Ishta and Ser Armithia have a strange stand off with Morven, with the watch uncertain of what to do. Everyone seemed to be waiting for somebody in authority to arrive. Of course Morven's nakedness make things a bit awkward as was his steadfast instance on not venturing into the underground tunnels.
After what felt to Ishta like hours, although it was probably twenty five minutes or so, a delegation arrived. The first of which was Bishop Braccio who took in the private bordello with a roll of his eyes which then settled on Morven's derrière before narrowing in scorn, "For goodness sake Morven! Get some clothes on..." Turning to one of the watch members, Braccio snapped, "Sergeant! Hand Underpreist Morven his underclothes if you would be so kind."
Turning to Ishta and Ser Armithia he nods before saying grimly, "So I hear you dealt with an infestation down below... I'll need to take a look but it'll have to wait because this place is about to become a circus, everyone is coming here."
For his part Morven sulkily complied but he threw sideways glances at the gaping hole in the wall as well as Ishta and Ser Armithia.
Shortly after von Urslingen arrived with Kardas, Azzara and Zane. They where followed in by a serious looking Councillor Eaberhard, a frowning Councillor Earhart and a furious looking Councillor Cardona.
Cardona seems unfazed by the bawdy and gaudy surrounding but his eyes linger on the hole in the wall and the tunnel beyond. Coldly he demands of the Watchers of Dawn, "You'd better have a damn good explanation. You where supposed to be fighting the undead not breaking and entering..."
Ishta frowns at Cadorna's comment. "Well, of course we were fighting. And, since we found a door coming here, we were forced to investigate where the said door led, since only a thin brick wall and some cement separated the undead infestation from here." Ishta is not really sure what to tell and what not, with all the counselors here listening. She waits some seconds in case some of her companions want to say something, then she decides they'll know anyway. "So, we managed to deal with Draegor'thak" she hurls, in case anyone reacts to the name, "if you want to have a look down there, I think the place is safe... for now." Then she calmly starts going back to the catacombs, waiting for the rest to follow.
Azarra follows immediately, not having wanted to be back in Morven's presence... ever, really.
Still thinking about Kardas's words, Zane kept his cool as he offered additional explanation on top of Ishta's to Cadorna. "We WERE fighting the undead, councilman. It seemed there was a plot to use the tunnels to loose the walking dead amongst New Phlan. The orc, as Ishta mentioned, was using a vampiress to create many more fiendish creatures that would have overwhelmed the city's defenses and doomed us all."
The priest smirked and offered, "You're welcome. And don't worry about the wall...I'll pay for it out of my cut, if that's an obstacle to observing a job well done."
Ser Armithia--silently--stares at each individual for a full minute each!
The Paladin simply nods in agreement to his fellows story.
If this foolishness is run its course; there are still many real horrors that need to be neutralized.
Councillor Cardona gave Ishta an appraising look, before replying "I see. Mmm perhaps you have done us all a service, it appears the old rumours of a tunnel are true. I can only assume the High Priests of Waukeen of old liked easy access to the vaults at knight to help them sleep." The last was said with an irreverent smirk which caused Morven to color at the cheeks.
Turning to Morven he drawled, "Oh cheer up! The city will pay for the damage. We sent these adventures on a mission and this is a direct albeit unexpected consequence."
Turning to von Urslignen and Eberhard he suggested, "We should get the tunnel filled with rubble and the entrance bricked up don't you think?"