Nodding at Aladir's suggestion, Alikia lays down on the ground, to offer herself cover in case something attempts to volley back against them. "On the count of three. One..."
Loading her crossbow, she ensures that she has a clean shot. "Two..." Placing her finger on the trigger she takes aim at the ropy fungus.
"Three!" The sound of Alikia's crossbow snapping, echoes throughout the chamber. As the dust clears, Alikia sighs as it looks like her shot went a hair too wide.
Choosing to remain in a standing position, Aladir nods curtly, drawing the bowstring back, an arrow between his fingers. He waits for her count, and on three, he releases, the shaft of the missile spinning rapidly in the air as it heads for the target.
Aladir and Alikia shoot arrow and bolt at the mass of fungus on the ground next to the two bodies, however it does not move or react at all, so they assume that it is dead.
Lann responds to Quinn "no, they are not friends. We have seen others like them in the tunnels before. Lately, their presence in the tunnels has increased. These men have some sort of alliance with another tribe, a bad tribe, that lives in a small complex southeast of Neathholm."
As you approach, the two bodies, you notice that both men are dressed as crusaders of Iomedae, and each still wears a very well made chain shirt. One of the dead bodies has a potion in his pouch, and the other has a scroll in a pouch. Between the two of them, they also carry 129 gp. They both carry glaives and a spiked gauntlet. One of them clutches a small symbol of a brass bull's head with tiny red gemstone eyes.
"Well that was anti-climatic." Standing up from her prone position, Alikia brushes herself off before approaching the two bodies. As she approaches, she picks up the small brass bull head. "Oh, this is pretty. I wonder what is the significance?" Showing the small figurine to her companions, she drops the treasure into her belt pouch before casting detect magic to help her identify the potion.
Hyram is taken aback when Lann says that the two crusaders of Iomedae were allied with a 'bad' tribe. If they consider these two as bad men, who did we just align ourselves with? Hyram, always suspicious by nature, grips his sword just a little more tightly. He looks at Quinn and Ezro to see what their reaction is.
Aladir snorts when his beautifully-aimed shot thumps into the fungal beast without so much as a twitch, clearly disappointed that such a great shot went into nothing but a carcass. Still, he approaches the still form, intending to retrieve his arrow and see if it is still usable to return to his quiver.
"A bad tribe? Bad in what way?" he asks Lann, voicing the concern he imagines they all feel about hearing that some of the followers of a goodly god like Iomedae could be allied with anyone that could be viewed as "bad."
"Southeast of Neothholm?" Quinn looks confused. "Surely these fell in the attack, as we did."
Approaching the corpses, Ezro recognizes the men as dead crusaders.
"Iomedea loses more of her devoted it appears then. These poor men." he says as he begins rites to consecrate these dead men int he name of Iomedea.
"Odd they do not have long swords though, never met a crusader with a glaive. Perhaps they also revered Shelyn?"
We should make sure they receive a proper burial per the tenets of our faith. Hyram stresses the word 'our' and looks at Lann as he says it.
"They attack us without reason. Chief Sull says they work with cultists. I don't know what cult, that is something the chief can tell you."
"What have you found, can some one describe this for me?"
"Certainly Arvashnial, two dead bodies dressed as crusaders but carrying glaives, a dead fungus thing, and several exits in this fungus laden tunnel."
"Hmmm. Interesting, and you say Cultists, Lann?"
Lann tells Aravashnial, "yes, but talk to Chief Sull. He knows about these things."
"May I see that trinket you took from his fist? I do not think that these men are Crusaders of Iomedae. They would not be using glaives." When you show it to him, "That is an evil thing, a holy symbol of Baphomet a demon Lord."
What kind of place have we found ourselves in? Dwarves attack us on sight and possible imposters of Iomedae crusaders carrying demonic holy symbols?
Iomedae help us! Hyram mutters under his breath. Hopefully Chief Sull can shed some light on things. Lead on!
Feeling slightly dejected as she had just finished mentally committing the bull head trinket as a good luck charm, Alikia sighed. "I presume I shouldn't be making this into a necklace then? I wonder why they were attempting to hide their religious affiliation down here? It's not like that many of Hulrun's inquisitors were swarming down here."
As the group follows Lann towards Neothholm, Alikia falls into step with Hyram. "You know, Lann and Crel are helping us down here. They could be descendants from the first crusades for all we know. Would it besmirch your good name to offer a little kindness at this time?"
While she speaks gently to Hyram, Alikia begins to braid her own hair, attempting to try to ease the tension between the holy man and their guides.
"A holy symbol of Baphomet?" Quinn spits. "Cultists disguised as Crusaders, hiding under the city..."
"Let's redouble our pace. I begin to see the threads of the conspiracy that led to the demon attack. We need to speak to Chieftain Sull."
Hyram considers Alikia's words. Knowing that his conversation skills leave a lot to be desired, he tries to craft an answer that will not sound offputting. It is us who helped them get their friend from under the rock and as far as I know, they have not provided any assistance to us. There seems to be a lot of things down here that aren't what they seem and until they prove themselves true, I am going to keep being suspicious. The corners of his mouth upturn in an attempt at a smile, but to most looks more like a sneer. There, That sounded good, I think? He looks at the half-elf woman to gauge her reaction.
"Agreed, Quinn. These were clearly no Crusaders, but it's certainly possible they were masquerading as them and trying harm the cause of the Crusade. We need to get back to the surface as quickly as we can and Chief Sull is likely the best way to find out how."
After taking the usable equipment from the dead cultists, you form back up and head thru the northern tunnel for about 15 minutes, and come to a small cavern, about 20 feet in diameter, where four mongrelmen stand guard in front of a stone door on the opposite wall.
As Lann and his companions enter, the mongrelmen greet them warmly and ask Lann who these strangers are. Lann replies "they are friends. They helped save Crel when the guard tower collapsed, and they have very important news for Chief Sull." The four guards nod, and stand aside while they let you thru.
Passing thru the door you see a small, dark lake that ripples in the center of this two-hundred-foot-wide cavern, the walls and ceiling aglow with thick sheets of luminescent fungi. In the center of the lake, over two dozen low stone buildings cluster on a rocky one-hundred-foot-wide island. Lights glow in the windows of the buildings, giving the settlement an almost welcoming look. Rafts made of mismatched planks of timber bob along the length of a crooked pier at the lake’s closest shore.
Ten mongrelmen approach, and seeing Lann they lower their weapons, and ask him what happened. Lann gives the explanation that he gave the four guards outside the door. The ten men split into two groups with four of them leading Crel and the other mongrelman companion away so they can be checked out, while Lann, the six remaining guards and you all head for the pier. Getting on a raft, you are taken to the island and then to the largest building on that where you are ushered inside and meet Chief Sull. Lann gives a report about how you helped rescue Crel.
The chief then turns to you, and asks "why are you in these tunnels?
"We were trapped down here following a cave in after the surface was attacked by the hordes of the Worldwound. The Storm King attacked the city of Kenabres and the wardstone protecting the city has been badly damaged or destroyed. We are trying to get to the surface to see if we can assist the survivors. "
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Quinn pauses and takes in the scene. Despite his attempts not to prejudge these people, he is more than a little shocked at the small city underneath Kenabres. After a moment he exhales a sulfrous breath, "This is impressive..."
Despite Quinn's own personal appearance, he reflexively flinches at the sight of the mongrelman chieftain. He tries to cover his reaction as best he can. "Good afternoon, Chieftain Sull," Quinn says, only guessing at the time of day. "Forgive us for trespassing on your land and time. But, what my companion says is true. Somehow, the demons have broken through the barrier of the wardstones and attacked Kenabres directly. We were cast down in the assault. We are lost and wounded, and we must humbly beg your aid."
"We have nothing to offer you. But, I hope our actions speak to our character and intentions."
As they are ushered through parts of Neathholm towards the center of a lake, Alikia takes the time to try and see everything and anything. The idea to cultivate natural luminescent fungi as a light source was genius. Plus, the way that these mongrelmen used the natural resources to build their city was truly a testament to their resourcefulness.
'Imagine what these people could do if given the proper resources and funding! Why I'd bet that they would al- OMG WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIS EYE?!' Alikia had been so caught up in her thoughts and attempting to take in the city, she hadn't noticed when the group had arrived. It was only when Aladir and Quinn spoke their case that caused Alikia to give a passing glance at the Chief Sull that she was abruptly ripped from her train of thought.
"Uhhh.. If you let us stay, we could maybe help defeat the bad tribe that lives to the southeast of you?" Attempting to not stare at Chief Sull's blind eye, Alikia ends up settling on a spot over his left shoulder.
"Impressive what they have done indeed."" Ezro says.
"As my compatriots have said. We apologize for trespassing and hope to have some respite within your great settlement. I am a cleric of Iomedea and would be happy to provide, healing or counseling services to your populace as a means of providing back to your community."
Hearing about the demons attacking Kenabres, you see the obvious concern on the chieftain's face. He thinks for a short moment, and says to you "I and my kind may be outcasts and freaks in the eyes of uplanders like yourselves, but our ancestors helped drive back the demons in the First Crusade. We want the demons defeated as much as anyone who lives above. Are you willing to bring this message to the surface, that we will stand with the inhabitants of Kenabres to defend the city."
Quinn nods appreciatively at the Chieftain's words. "You have my word, for one." Quinn rubs one of his horns. "Though my voice may not be enough. My face, like yours, is not one to be trusted on the surface."
"But, here we have one of the nobility," Quinn gestures to Horgus, "and one of the Riftwardens, and a consort of the Eagle Watch," he gestures to Aravashniel and Anevia. "What say you, friends? Can you stand with me and these, despite our disfigurement?"
"This may be the worst incursion since the days of the First Crusade," Quinn responds. "I suppose we all believed the Wardstones would last eternally. I do not know how they breached it. But, the presence of these cultists, here, under the city speaks volumes. Can you help us locate them?"
"You should know," Quinn addresses Chief Sull, "we found the remains of one of your people over a day's walk from here. His camp was destroyed and infested with vermin. But, we found this." Quinn removes the bat-shaped idol from his belt pouch. "Does this trinket have any meaning to you?"
Aladir voices his own solidarity with Quinn's oath, then falls silent, having truthfully let the bat-shaped trinket slip from his memory. Now that it is shown again, though, he anxiously waits to hear of what knowledge the chief may have of the remains they found.
Ezro nods with Quinn, "Of course. Ones soul should not be judged upon that which contains it. Your disfigurements mean little to me, so long as your soul is pure and strong."
Nodding along with Quinn and Aladir, Alikia watches with interest as Quinn pulls out the bat. "I will make sure that your message is heard up on the surface."
The Chief's one eye gets misty at the sight of the bat shaped brooch. "May I have that back. I gave it to my son. He left sometime ago after we had a big argument."
"Thank you. This is all I have left of him now."
The Chief pauses a few moments, then puts the brooch away and turns back to you.
"The nearest route to the surface lies to the south, but this exit is guarded by a tribe of mongrels who do not have the same opinions as those of Neathholm. In fact, this smaller tribe “the traitors,” have consorted for some time with cultists."
"I have ignored them, but that time has passed. If you agree to destroy the traitors as you make their way back to the surface to bring word of our pledge to aid the crusade, I can provide you some aid. We have a small stash of potions that will cure wounds and restore strength."
"I cannot spare my own soldiers. I need them to fan out deeper into the tunnels to gather the other mongrel tribes to Neathholm. Once we receive word that the crusaders above will welcome us crusaders below, we will be ready to rise up and help take back Kenabres. I will send Lann with you, as our ambassador, and he can report back to me."
He removes a morningstar from his belt, and hands it to Quinn. "This has been in my family for generations, but now that my son is dead, I have no one to pass it on to. Take it, it is yours. I only ask that you split at least one traitor's head with it."
"We must get word of these folks to Irabeth. I know she will accept the help."
Aladir friends at hearing that the brooch belonged to the chief's son; almost certainly, his were the remains they found at the beginning of their journey.
"I am very sorry for your loss, Chief Sull. You have my deepest sympathies...I am happy that we could return the brooch to you, at the very least. I cannot speak for the others, but I would be glad to assist in the removal of the cultists that have become such a torn for you and yours."
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Touching Anevia's shoulder, Alikia nods silently. "We understand. I am sorry for your loss, but we will make sure that you message makes its way up to the surface. Any aid that you can provide will be welcomed."
Touching her light crossbow to reassure herself, Alikia readjusts her pack before waiting to see what the others will say about this proposal.
Quinn hands the Chief the bat-shaped idol, and accepts the proffered morningstar in return. He swings the weapon once or twice to learn the weight and balance, and then hangs it from his pack beside the warhammer.
"You have my condolences. These 'traitors' have offered aid and comfort to our enemies. If they truly are conspiring with cultists of Baphomet, then you may rest assured that I shall give them no quarter." Quinn turns and looks to Ezro and Hyram for their consent.
"Perhaps it was the will of the Inheritor that you should have waited here, these long generations. I can see divine providence at play, now that we have found you here. Nevertheless, it is high time that you reclaim the surface. And that the surface reclaim you..." Quinn claps a hand upon Lann's shoulder. "Gather your forces, Chief Sull. This onslaught ends now."
"We will pass word to the surface. Yes."
With Lann leading the way, you travel in a southeasterly direction for about 20 minutes, till the mongrelman stops and whispers to the group. "About five minutes ahead, the tunnel will narrow down to single file, and there is an entrance to the bad tribes area. There will be guards, so be careful" and he draws a hasty sketch on the tunnel floor. "We need to be careful with the wounded and non fighting ones" and he gestures towards, Anevia, Aravashnial and Horgus, "or they could get in trouble. Do you want me to protect them, and bring up the rear, or will one of you protect them?"
Alikia sighs as Quinn offers to immediately start the offensive attack against the enclave of cultist. She had hoped for a chance to rest and examine the objects that they had collected during their trek. As they march quietly towards the hideout, Alikia casts her spell to identify magical auras, taking time to attempt to identify any that detect as magic.
Frowning as Lamm draws a rough estimation of the path ahead, Alikia scans her brain for arcane influence. Feeling most of her power spent, she gives a glance at Anevia, Aravashnial and Horgus. There were merits with leaving the mongrelman with them, but she was about as powerful as they were, currently. "Lamm, you can fight, right?"
Shooting a glance at Quinn, Hyram, Ezro, and Aladir, Alikia frowns. "I have spent almost all of my arcane abilities in the earlier fight with the Millron. I only have a close combat spell left, plus a couple of darts that I can conjure out of acid. I believe that I can provide protection for the rear guard. Does anyone object?"
"Yes, I can fight. And clearing the way to the surface and ridding us of these traitors and the evil men will be a pleasure." as he waves his club.
"I can assist from closer to the back if need be; I still have plenty of arrows. Anevia, you still have some of the arrows I gave you earlier as well, don't you?"
Quinn was not a suspicious person by nature. But, it peaked his concern that they were going to attack this group of people in cold blood, on the word of a group of people they just met.
He looks closely at Lann, trying to judge the young man's intent. Then he relaxed his focus and tried to get a sense of the whole area...
"I would spare you all from danger. But, I fear that option no longer exists. Nevertheless, I will take the vanguard." Quinn draws the Chief's morningstar, intent on keeping the promise he had made.
"Iomedea grant us strength. I am ready." Ezro says, readying his sword and shield.
Hyram is confused and prays silently to Iomedae to help guide his path. It seems down here, nothing is what it seems. Are these evil traitors or just rivals Chief Sull wants to get rid of? Hyram casts Lann a stern look trying to gage the full mettle of the man.
Unable to discern any dishonesty from Lann, Hyram will gather up his sword and shield, and giving a nod at Quinn, says,
Whenever you are ready. Hopefully we can subdue the guards before they sound an alarm!
Detecting no evil from the mongrelman, Quinn grasps the morningstar and prepares himself for battle. Neither Quinn nor Hyram sense any duplicity in the mongrelman.
"Yes, I still have the arrows that you gave me, and I will be able to fight from the rear. Alikia, if you will help Aravashnial, I will move up behind Aladir."
Quinn, Hyram and Ezro set out leading the group in single file and head towards the entrance to the cultists lair.
You know, they seem to have cultist dressed as crusaders of Iomedae. Hyram muses. Since some of us have holy symbols of Iomedae, perhaps we can convince them that 'reinforcements' have arrived and give us the element of surprise. Hyram is not usually one for sneaking into things, but this seems to give everyone the best shot for infiltrating the 'traitors'.
"It is not a bad plan. They seem so fond of deceit and trickery; perhaps they would enjoy a taste of their own medicine."
Quinn rummages around in his pack, drawing forth a potion vial and tossing it to Aladir. "Less need for subterfuge if they cannot even see you."
He continues on rifling through the accumulated gear, pulling forth one of the spiked gauntlets and handing it to Hyram, along with one of the cultist's glaives. "If you are going to pretend to be one of them, best you look the part."
Quinn finally pulls forth the mad dwarf's cloak and drapes it over Alikia's shoulders. "Even the gods cannot guess what these 'traitors' will throw at us down the tunnel. But, this may serve to deflect some of the shrapnel, and nastier things."
The pitborn soldier waits until Hyram is fully outfitted, and Aladir has vanished from sight. "I'll be on your heels. As soon as you get in close..." Quinn tightens his grip on the morningstar.
Awkwardly readjusting the cloak on her shoulders, Alikia nods. "Thanks. Uh does anyone want to carry..." gesturing to the unholy symbol in her belt pouch, Alikia takes Aravashnial's hand and places it on her shoulder.
"I'll help you traverse this new location, Aravashnial. It looks like there are two guards located sixty feet down a narrow tunnel. Do you have any spells that could help us take them out?" Vaguely recalling the offer of spellcasting that the Riftwarden offered yesterday.
Sheathing his longsword, Ezro will take a glaive.
"This sounds like a good plan. Deception will hopefully lead to a faster end to the fight."
Looking around, he also adds, "Who wants to take point on this?"
Hyram will take glaive and the spiked gauntlet. The glaive feels so alien in his hands and he wonders why anyone would want such an unwieldy weapon. Who is approaching the guards with me and who is staying out of sight? Hyram says to the group. I don't have the friendliest personality, but that might actual work to my advantage. Somehow I do not think evil cultists value a smiling face!
Aladir deftly catches the bottle and removes the cap with a soft popping sound. "Just let me know when we're about to go. Don't want to start using up the magic before we're ready to go."
"I can't imagine that I'll pass as a cultist. But, I'll not be the last to the party, either." Quinn shifts anxiously from one foot to the other. "Get in close. Stop them from raising the alarm. I'll engage them as soon as the battle begins."
Quinn paces and practically wrings the leather hand grips off of the morningstar. "It's a good plan." It is clear Quinn does not enjoy the thought of watching others take risks while he stays behind. "It's a good plan," he repeats. What is not clear is whether he is reassuring you, or himself.
"I can cast sleep on the guards. However, remember with my eyes I can not memorize spells again, so until we get above ground and to a healer, this is the only casting I have."
"I should not be in front. Depending on who the guard is, I might be recognized, so I will stand behind Quinn and Hyram."
"I will stand with Ezro, since Aladir will be going invisible."
Downing the potion, Aladir moves ahead of the group as silently as possible, and takes a position just in front of the barrier, since he is not sure he could traverse the small opening between the barricades without making noise.
Hyram puts his sword in the scabbard and hangs his shield over his back as he puts on the glove and holds the unfamiliar glaive and starts down the tunnel.
As the rest of you approach, you see barricades made of heaped loose rocks and wooden boards bisect this cavern. Beyond the barricades, a wooden screen covers the lower half of a tunnel mouth.
Two guards stand behind the barricade and look like they are about to yell, when they see Hyram with glaive and glove, so they pause a moment. "Ungubani?
From deep within the shadows of the cave, Quinn hears the challenge of the sentries. Maybe the cultists could speak the strange language, but it was just as possible that they could not. All they needed was to maintain the ruse long enough for Hyram and Aladir to get near the guards.
From the back, he calls out, "Don't trifle with us. We just faced off with that crazed dwarf, Millorn. We haven't got time for any more delays. Let us pass."