Andaris shifts his attention to Gonan, "Now it is your turn for a tale, friend and master of fire, how did you acquire a taste for such a dangerous element?"
Iluna flits around the inn, dropping inconspicuous hints and asking casual questions of rumours, happenings, or oddities. She turns up nothing useful though and instead returns to the common room drawn by the sounds of Andaris' voice. She thinks his tale overblown, having actually met more than one demon in her time with the brothers, but is happy the older monk can pride himself on a well orated story.
She passes Mihail on his way out, meeting his blank expression eith a cheerful "good night," before making her way over to the table of adventurers to listen in.
Gonan shifts away from Andaris, avoiding making eye contact with any of the others around the table. "I was always cooped up in those towers, and I would be doing as my masters told me. I wanted to have control. Why not try to control the wildest element? Fire has a life of it's own, more of a life than I had back there. I have no stories yet, as I have only left the academy recently. There are no stories worth telling from there."
It is easy to work out (or simply ask and learn) that there will be a low tide from roughly 4:30 to 6:30 the next morning. The one following will be from 5-7 in the evening.
The evening has been stretching on as you listen to tales, and it approaches 10 pm. Should you go to sleep immediately, you will be able to catch the tail end of the early tide - a return, unless your business is conducted quickly, will either involve swimming or waiting for the next low tide.
Andaris drifts quickly into slumber after the night of tales and laughter.
He makes ready to depart early in the morning, to catch the low tide.
Andaris roughly wakes his companions, urging then to make haste, lest they miss the tide. He hands each some tough bread, cheese and cured meat as they walk out towards the lighthouse.
The party attempts to cross the low tide bay and make their way back to the basement.
Mihail, having already awoken by the time Andaris enters his room, grunts unhappily over his morning cup of tea.
He grumbles quietly the whole way to the tower, muttering about strange dreams and over-enthusiastic peasants.
Mihail glowers darkly at those who seem perkier than himself.
Kaid'an wakes up well rested. He was going to talk to Mihail over breakfast but he doesn't seem to be in the mood or awake. At least Andaris seems to be awake if a little pushy.
The morning dawns grey and cool. Dark patches of cloud threaten rain, and a salty breeze blows in from the Inner Sea. The smell of fresh bread wafts through the nearly empty streets as you make your way to the lighthouse, following the same route as earlier.
When you arrive, you find that the tide has already begun to rise, covering the path with half a foot of water. The guards of Harbour Watch do not seem to notice you as you wade across.
Downstairs, the slab is as you found it the day before. Andaris empowers both himself and Mihail to carry heavy burdens. Using Mihail's traveller's any-tool, Gonan rigs up a simple pulley system to assist Andaris and Mihail with shifting the massive stone. You make quick work of it, and five minutes later the entrance to a small tunnel is uncovered. It measures about four feet in diameter, slopes steeply downwards (at nearly 45 degrees), appears wholly unlit, and heads east-by-northeast (the patchwork wall is on the north-east corner). Close examination reveals no pickaxe marks on the tunnel - it is entirely smooth.
"Well, this should prove illuminating. Speaking of, would someone mind shedding some light on this matter?" Mihail peeks down the tunnel, scratching his goatee.
"Light I can easily manage Mihail, but perhaps I should scout ahead without it? We know not what lurks below and may be disturbed by our trespass."
Andaris attempts to make his way slowly and silently down the tunnel, keeping his eyes open for any signs of life or recent activity.
"Scouting ahead sounds like a good idea Andaris but you shouldn't go it alone. Never hunt with out friends. Bagheera stay here."
Kaid'an cast light on a rock that he picks up. Something that can be easily covered if they find someone else down there. He will slow follow behind Andaris
Andaris whispers to Kaid'an, "Thanks, but cover the light so that there is just enough for you to not stumble. And keep back a bit, I will signal if there is anything ahead in the darkness."
"Agreed. I don't wish to rob you of your advantage in darkness." Kaid'an whispers back.
The smooth tunnel continues downwards for about thirty feet before levelling off and turning north. It soon meets another tunnel, this one hewn roughly from the bedrock. Still completely unlit, the adjoining tunnel winds downwards out of sight to the right, while the left path heads slowly upwards.
The upwards path seems to head back to the lighthouse.
Coming to a fork in the road, Andaris attempts to chart their potential paths in his mind.
Andaris beckons Kaid'an over and whispers softly to him, "The slope and direction of this passage seems to head back to the lighthouse - but how could that be? We took the only passage down. I suspect it will lead back to the cellar - the magically sealed wall, but we cannot be certain." Stooping to examine the floor, Andaris ponders, "Has anyone passed by here recently?"
Andaris checks to see if there are any footprints or other signs of passage leading to or and from both passages.
Mihail follows the pair of intrepid explorers at a distance, so as to give them time to scout properly. He arrives to catch the tail end of Andaris' comment, and hums quietly in thought.
"What use are two tunnels that open up at the same location?" He muses softly.
The rough tunnel smells of damp and decay. The floor is somewhat smoother than the walls, showing signs of flowing water. Lichen and algae confirm the periodic wetting of the tunnel floor. There are no signs of recent tracks.
Andaris follows the tunnel sloping downwards, continuing his stealthy approach and careful observation in darkness.
The passage begins to slope more intensely, continuing downwards. It makes a few short jogs, limiting your vision. Andaris slowly creeps along, listening intently and only proceeding when he is satisfied that the way is safe.
You've travelled a good 300 feet so far, and the tunnel shows no sign of stopping. It gently twists and turns, but is generally heading downwards and eastwards.
From Andaris's silence and absence, it seems the tunnel is of sizeable length. Lanfarnesse knickers softly from outside the lighthouse .
Andaris tries to get a sense for whether the passage is leading under the city or beneath the bay.
He sits to take a short rest, waiting for his companions to catch up before continuing. He meditates on his combat skills, seeking the peace of the void for guidance.
Mihail traverses back up the tunnel to give his instructions to Lanfarnesse.
"Hey there, Lanny-boy. I need you to guard this area, okay? Guard, got it?"
Lanfarnesse knickers affirmatively, tossing his head.
"There's my boy. I'm sure I can find a good bag of feed for you tonight." Mihail pats Lanfarnesse' neck once again, and moves back to the basement of the lighthouse.
Turning to Gonan , he beckons him closer.
"Do you have some way to ward the area? Or perhaps to aid Lanfarnesse in his efforts to guard the entrance?"
Andaris doesn't have training in underground navigation, and the winding tunnels make it hard to figure out where exactly he is. The path is certainly still primarily heading east, likely putting you somewhere near Harbour Watch - whether under the bay or the town, you can't really tell.
Continuing to scout ahead, Andaris notices a patch of glowing blue fungus growing on the walls, bright enough to light up the surrounding area. The fungus seems to be a haven for spiders - webs coat the area around the patch, but only the occasional strand crosses the tunnel.
Andaris does not recognize the fungus nor the spiders, having never studied much of nature or subterranean exploration.
Interested in the glowing fungus, Andaris withdraws an empty bottle from his pack. He tries to recall anything he knows about the subject, but for some reason can only think of the time a high alchemist visited the monastery's scriptorium to have his treatise on radiation copied. Perhaps that was a type of fungus?
He attempts to scrape a portion of fungus into the bottle - hopefully Gonan will be able to identify whether it truly was the dangerous radiation variety.
Andaris intends to return to his companions with a description of the tunnels thus far and his sample of fungus.
The spiders scurry out of the way as Andaris takes a small sample.
The fungus seems to be what is known as brain rot, or more properly cytillesh. It grows deep underground and while contact has no immediate effect, it is known to cause harmful effects to the mind and memory with long-term exposure.
Cytillesh is closely associated with the Derro, a race of short, grey-skinned humanoids who live in the higher levels of the Darklands. Cytillesh is a key component of their diet, despite the fact that it causes drastic increases in stillbirths as well as frequent insanity. The main reason for its inclusion is the occasional manifestation of powerful mental and magical abilities, as well as retarding the effects of aging.
Cytillesh spores can be used as an alchemical power component in the casting of enchantment spells of the charm or compulsion subschools, increasing Caster Level by 1 for the purpose of duration. It is worth 5 gp per dose. The small patch of fungus on the wall could provide a single dose.
Iluna was never one to be afraid of the dark. The night was always her favourite time of day, when the air was cooler, the sounds softer and subtler, and the lights of the heavens more magical. But that is the darkness of the open night. The dank, damp tunnel beneath them, with its walls and ceiling, and musky smell of deep earth, felt too cloying for her to feel comfortable here. In light of this, as the party entered the cave, she unconsciously began walking closer to Gonan, as if by his proximity alone he could provide the reassurance she did not know she needed. She also conjured up an orb of light to float on her palm, but she kept it dim, so that it did not blind her, and in doing so it seemed to flicker, as if the light itself were timid and unsure of its own strength.
Waiting for Andaris to return seemed to her to be taking forever, and eventually her initial unease settled to boredom. She played with the little light, and then took to tracing little pictures on the cave wall with her index finger, which glowed for a moment before disappearing. One particular sketch depicted a turtle dancing on two legs, holding a cane and a top hat. This elicited a small giggle from her, and she tugged on Gonan's sleeve to show him, but then that picture, like the rest disappeared from view and she pouted a bit.
* * *
Andaris finally returns holding a phial of blue, glowing fungal spores. Iluna examines them with the rest of the group, and thinks they look pretty "like little stars," but does not immediately recognize the fungal spores or their properties.
Kaid'an is at a loss to what the strange fungus is, but Gonan identifies it as cytillesh: a fungus that grows only deep underground and has no short-term effects.
"What import is it that this is cytillesh?" Mihail asks,reseating his hat on his head.
Gonan, who still had the appearance of sleep in his eyes, mumbles quietly in response to Mihail.
"I don't have any wards that would be of use here, but it would probably help to get Lanfarnhorsie over there into the lighthouse so that we are less likely to attract attention if anyone looks this way."
***
Seeing that Iluna was squinting in the light of her own spell, Gonan quietly casts a shadowing spell to weaken the lights' effects on her. She seemed to be much more comfortable, although the waiting was getting to her. Gonan turns as she tugged on his loose sleeve, only to see a disappointed Iluna. Hearing her description of what she had been doing, Gonan checks for magic in the area, and sees her drawings glow faintly. Gonan now tugs at Iluna's sleeve, pointing her back towards the wall.
***
His body now having acknowledged that he is conscious, Gonan inspects the substance the Andaris had brought back to the group. "I know of some wizards that could find great use for this. It is important in the use for some charming spells. Normally, cytillesh comes with Derro, but that's unlikely around here. If the Dark Brothers are growing this, then they're likely using it to gain more followers in the city. Oh, and it's not dangerous, as long as you don't eat it every day for most of your life. How much of it was there? We could gain favours and gold if we bring it to the right people. I'll keep this vial, just in case I run into a enchanter."
You can easily collect a single dose of cytellish spores.
As you step through the wisps of spider web stretching across the small tunnel, you feel a small increase in resistance at chest height. Suddenly, a click sounds from overhead.
Andaris leads the way back to the fungus. As Gonan takes some time securing a dose of spores, Andaris pushed forward.
Hearing a click from overhead, Andaris dives forward and to the left, attempting to roll before coming back onto his feet.
A crossbow bolt whizzes down from above, but Andaris is already rolling out of the line of fire. The bolt deflects off of the wards protecting Andaris and clinks off the tunnel floor a few feet ahead of him.
Careful examination after the fact reveals a small crossbow hidden in a nook in the ceiling, its trigger connected to a nearly invisible thread made of woven spider silk. The bolt is easily recovered, and a drop of dried bluish liquid coats the tip.
The bolt is poisoned with a poison that causes debilitating pain and memory loss. It seems to have been partially derived from cytellish.
Mihail sucks in a breath at the near miss, concern spiking for a moment. Looking closer at the dart, he frowns. "Could this be poisoned?"
"Poisoned? Let me see that."
"It's probably just damp in here, I doubt the cultists could afford expensive poisons. Needless to say, we are not the first to travel these tunnels. Let us continue with further caution."
You travel through another hundred feet of winding tunnel, still heading deeper into the earth. Up ahead, you notice that the tunnel seems to open up into a larger chamber - your lights cease to reflect off the walls.
A large pit dominates the room. About 100 feet wide, it stretches both upwards and downwards into darkness. A small divot runs from the tunnel to the lighthouse to the edge of the pit.
Stalactites and stalagmites intermittently border the pit, forming a sort of border to the passage that runs along the near side. This tunnel is between 10 and 15 feet in diameter, and unlike the previous tunnels seems naturally occurring. The air feels damp and cool, but not stagnant. The only light is from patches of cytellish that glow gently near each exit of the room.
Tunnels such as this riddle the upper layer of the Darklands, known as Nar-Voth. Nar-Voth stretches to roughly 2000 feet below the surface, and consists largely of interconnected cave networks. Many sorts of dark-adapted humanoids live in Nar-Voth, as well as fearsome monsters that have never seen the daylight.
"Gonan or Iluna, do you have the ability to leave an invisible mark upon this doorway? I hope we do not become lost, but a waypoint may be wise."
Andaris steps in the room, continue to search for signs of cultists.
In particular, he looks around the chamber's exits for humanoid footprints.
The stone floors do not show any footprints, or any other sign of recent activity. However, Andaris does note that both paths are grown over with spider webs, the strands glistening in the blue light of the cytellish fungus.
It looks like at least a couple weeks' worth of spider webs, similar to the previous you encountered.
Seeing that Iluna was squinting in the light of her own spell, Gonan quietly casts a shadowing spell to weaken the lights' effects on her. She seemed to be much more comfortable, although the waiting was getting to her. Gonan turns as she tugged on his loose sleeve, only to see a disappointed Iluna. Hearing her description of what she had been doing, Gonan checks for magic in the area, and sees her drawings glow faintly. Gonan now tugs at Iluna's sleeve, pointing her back towards the wall.
Iluna claps her hands in excitement and asks Gonan how he made the drawing visible again. Presumably he tells her about the use of the 'Detect Magic' spell and the properties of the 'Arcane Mark' she just inscribed. She then tries detecting the magic of the mark herself, just as Daerion taught her, and is able to see the mark clearly.
***
As the party enters the open cavern, Iluna can see the immense chimney yawning open before them. The enormous black space intimidates her at first, but then curiosity gets the better of her. Timidly she enters the open space, and slowly directs her floating lights over the seemingly bottomless pit. She does not move them down however. Some nascent fear of things lurking in the deep tells her this may be inadvisable.
Iluna does not have the breadth of study necessary to know much about caves or their inhabitants, but some niggling sensation seems to be telling her the Dark brothers may not be here. It just doesn't fit. Something about how the stone was used to seal the cave entrance, and the depths to which we have plumbed without seeing any true sign of the Brothers, makes me think we might be chasing the wrong trail. If they are in town recruiting, they would need a place more readily accessible for them to operate from. Normally the camp would be set outside the city, while two or three brothers might stay at an inn. She remembers these things because she herself was brought on several of these ventures, though only later did she figure out why...
She is just about to suggest this when Andaris hails her from ahead.
"Gonan or Iluna, do you have the ability to leave an invisible mark upon this doorway? I hope we do not become lost, but a waypoint may be wise."
Her thoughts overruled by the stirring notion that she might actually be able to prove herself useful, she cheerfully pipes up. "Actually, I think I can leave a magic marking on the stone. It should remain invisible, so only someone looking for the mark using magic can find it." She winks at Gonan, acknowledging how he had just showed her this trick earlier. She strides over to the tunnel mouth and, tracing her finger just above the surface of the stone, draws a cartoon butterfly, flying into the tunnel they just emerged from. The image glows for a few seconds as she draws it, but then fades from sight. She then uses 'Detect Magic' to make it momentarily visible again, at least as far as she knows. It fades once more when she breaks her concentration to smile at Andaris, proud of her work.
Iluna's lights fail to reveal the bottom of the pit - it's more than 40 feet away, at any rate. If Andaris takes a look, he is also unable to see the bottom.
Testing the depth with light and sound, Andaris infuses light into a stone and throws it into the pit.
Mihail shifts away from the edge of the pit. "Foul things lurk in the depths of the world. Let us not disturb anything beyond what is necessary." He eyes the pit mistrustfully, hand on the hilt of his flail.
"Most of this world's foulness," Andaris replies, "lies within the souls of men and women. If good people seized power to scour the physical and spiritual depths of this world, we would need fear no darkness. We must pursue these shadowy cultists no matter where they hide!"
The falling rock reveals a pool of water about 100 feet down. The rock continues to sink, but it is difficult to gauge how deep the pool is. It seems quite deep, and the feeble light fails to illuminate its depths.
"Nobody's been through these passages in quite some time." Gonan shifts to look for handholds that might allow someone to descend into the pit.
Iluna's light does not reveal any handholds - the pit walls look like a dangerous climb.
"Perhaps we should move on," Mihail suggests as he gestures towards the two branching passages.
Andaris replies to Gonan, "With all we have seen from these dark brothers, I would expect them to cover their tracks." Taking a look towards either tunnel, Andaris chooses a path, "Yes, Mihail, I will lead us onwards!"
Andaris heads down the southern path.
As Andaris steps through the spider webs around the patch of cytellish, he feels his leg catch on another spidersilk tripwire.
Andaris jumps back and to the right, expecting a similar trap to the one encountered earlier.
Andaris is surprised to find himself kneeling on the ground, clutching a mild wound on his left arm. He has no recollection of being attacked.
A nasty stinging sensation has spread through his arm, but the immediate pain seems to be wearing off.
Everyone else saw a crossbow bolt strike Andaris from above, catching his arm as he tried to avoid it. He sat befuddled for a moment before coming back to his senses.