The gnome introduces herself as Queck Majet. "About an hour ago they ransacked our guild and stole ancient city plans—not to mention kidnapping six of my best engineers!”
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"Plans and gnomes. An odd collection they seem to be amassing. Of course, Baron Talden once kept an entire menagerie of halflings dressed as animals for his amusement, so perhaps it isn't that odd. Only six, though? They are going to have a hard time keeping the breeding program going with so few..."
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"We need to know the location of the Crypt of Fools," Jeffrey tells Queck. "It's the whole reason we came here. Let me guess, the stolen blueprints are required to determine its location?"
Jeffrey scratches the back of his neck and sighs. "Alright, alright... Do you know where they took your colleagues and the blueprints?"
The gnome looks at Alrathien curiously, unsure how to respond. Turning to Velen and Jeffrey she answers, "There were four of them. I'm afraid what they took were our only copy, we can't afford duplicates of every document. I overheard their leader telling the cultist who led the kidnapped engineers away that she was staying behind to find out if we knew anything else about the Crypt of Fools and the tunnels. She then said, ‘Tell Dalirio he can have these.’ What did she mean by that?”
"The Crypt of Fools is a secret graveyard, long fallen from use, where traitorous families were buried, or in some cases re-buried, to scrub their stain from Taldan history. The entrance lies under an ancient fountain hidden somewhere below Old Cassomir, though the knowledge of its exact location was lost some time ago and finding it presents a bit of a problem. A legend among engineers tells of a series of hidden clues within three Cassomir monuments. These clues yield three locations which, when triangulated, give the location of the surface entrance to the Crypt of Fools; they also show the combination required to unlock the entrance. Look for old buildings built by the Ismacco family, whom we’ve long suspected used the Crypt of Fools as the base of their heinous operations after it fell from use.”
Queck moves across the room and retrieves several objects and hands them to the Pathfinders. "Here are four potions of cure light wounds and a wand of detect secret doors (5 charges), I hope these aid you in your quest to retrieve my engineers."
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Alrathien plucked the wand from the gnome's hand with a courteous nod, then examined it closely. Twirling the wand between his fingers, he ascertained its activation glyph, and the number of charges left. "Alrathien thanks you, friend gnome, for the use of this exquisite device. It will come in most handy, Alrathien is sure. Now, it seems that Alrathien has seen hints of these monuments already. Would the Quickfall Abbey, perchance, be one of these Ismacco constructions?"
The gnome nods to Alrathien. "They built the Imperial Hall of Records, the Admiralty Citadel, and the Harbor Watch; laid the stone that makes up the square around Pharasma’s Pulpit and as you mention, built retaining walls to shore up some of the ruins at Quickfall Abbey."
The gnome shrugs, "Do you have any additional information to go off of? What brought you to this place to begin with? I would have expected you to had a visual aid with you, like a map or drawing or something like that. Anything?"
The gnome's face sours at the mention of the statue. "Why yes; in fact, the construction of the entire Swift Prison was headed by Ismacco engineers and I’ve been asking the city to destroy that Groetus-festooned
statue for years."
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Watkins calls down "I also am not skilled in healing."
When Watkins hears about the healing potions he thanks the Gnome. "Grethe needs a couple of these."
Returning to Grethe with the potions he pours one down Grethe's throat.
When Grethe regains consciousness he offers the rest of the potions to him. "You took a mighty blow, but we are out of danger for now."
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Grethe sits up on the catwalk, coughing up some blood all over Watkins.
"whoooooooaaaaaa. wha happened? uggghhhhh"
Grethe stands to his feet but winces clearly still in pain. He examines the surroundings, seeing the bloody corpses scattered around the room.
"Whoa! How much did i drink? I dun remember any of dis"
Grethe sees Watkins, covered in a bit of spit up blood holding out 3 potions towards him.
"Tanks man! I really feel like I could use some of dis. "
Grethe pops one more open and chugs it down.
"Ohhh that feels a bit better. Hey guys, you mind if i drink da rest of dees?"
Grethe works his way down the catwalk and joins the rest of the party.
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Grethe thanks Watkins. "Wooo man, dats quite some fine magic you got dere. I feel like a new grethe! Whoa, cept for this giant bloody mess all over my armor. Ha ha ha!"
Grethe lets out a little laugh, then stops suddenly, clears his throat, and speaks to watkins, in as serious a voice as anyone has heard yet, "No seriously my main man. wut happen? I think we won right? Whose dat short little one over there? Where is Jeffrey going? Did i mess sumtin up?"
The party travels back to the prison where they negotiate the purchase of the paintings at the previously agreed upon price. Taking the paintings into possession, they return to Queck for review. Queck confirms that these paintings are certainly the statue in front of the prison, the Imperial Hall of Records and Quickfall Abbey. She suggests you visit these locations as depicted on the paintings to perhaps ascertain additional information.
The first painting is most certainly the once-beautiful statue in front of Swift prison, but it stares back transformed, her visage twisted into a demonic snarl. Short humanoids with large, black eyes torment cowering prisoners in the painting’s background. Brandishing a radiant holy symbol, a lone figure fails to fight them off. Alrathien confirms that the creatures to be derros, and an additional reveals the lone figure to be that of Aroden as he is depicted in Taldan lore. Additionally the moon iconography as belongs to Groetus.
The second painting depicts a stately, white stone building, identifiable as Cassomir’s Imperial Hall of Records. Three-foot-tall bas-reliefs circle the building’s outside walls at ground level, though they are warped and twisted in the crazed painter’s art. Derros stand atop the hall’s steps and seem to punish criminals—all of whom are wearing the robes of Taldan government officials. At the southwest corner of the building, the bas-relief glows a bright white. The same lone figure from the other paintings attempts to sooth a group of frightened children by playing a flute—the notes are actually painted above him on the canvas.
The third painting depicts the northeast retaining wall that shores up parts of the ruined Quickfall Abbey. It shows dozens of angry derros smashing brightly-painted urns against the retaining wall, while the same lone figure from the other paintings frantically attempts to push down an obviously barred door in the middle of the wall, presumably to escape another group of menacing derros that seems to pursue him.
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Kimiya nods as Watkins pickets the wand, "my faction leader recommended I keep one in case of emergencies, I'm glad it can be put to use."
Once back at the Queck's, he's drawn to the second painting, "the Hall of Records seems the most intriguing course to me ..." Kimiya trails off as his eyes take in the frightened children, reminding him of why he initially joined the Order of the Blue Rose.
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"Wasn't the place we have to go to exactly in the middle of these three places?" Jeffrey asks while looking at the paintings.
"What about getting ourselves a map and connecting the places, to see what's in the middle of the triangle? That makes more sense to me than chasing each of these places separately, 'cause they're not really where we need to go."
Queck nods, "Map! I have a map!"
She hurries off and throws up a drawer and begins to toss one map out after another until two dozen are piled on the floor. She exclaims, "Ah HA! Here we go!"
She unrolls a map on the table and points out all of the locations you've identified.
Jeffrey leads the group to the Hall of Records. Once the party reaches the building they analyze the painting for a clue. Eventually, you're able to link together the image of the second painting - the white bas-relief - with the location in the real world... and you discover an a 'I' symbol in the bas relief that is glowing white in the painting. You poke and prod on it, but it doesn't appear that either method is working. The clue to this must be in the painting...
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Jeffrey remembers the music notes on the painting. "We need to make some music, play the tune that was on the painting."
He scrapes his throat and attempt to 'sing' the song.
"LALALAAAA!! LALA-LALALAAAA!!!"
Jeffrey gives the others an offended look, which mixes very strange with his permanent big smile. "What?! It's the lack of lyrics that makes it hard!"
Shockingly, nothing happens.
A beautiful songbird perched on a pear tree nearby suddenly dies and falls from its tree on the ground between Grethe and Jeffrey.
No sooner do the notes of Watkin's music finish then a small click sounds and a brick slides away revealing a piece of parchment that was hidden inside.