"I must admit, I'm not familiar with Gybrael," Edunel says. "However, I was using second chance to mean being truly repentant, so I think we're basically saying the same thing."
"And what did he do with the bad parts of her teaching?" Tippi asks innocently.
Lavinia giggles slightly and slaps a hand over her mouth in embarrassment. "I'll go tell Kora that you'll be here for dinner, but to give you enough time to go to market first before serving it," she adds hastily.
"You mean her obsession with the sun and pyromania? He left it out, of course. Sure, the sun and cleansing fire can make great symbols for the purging of evil, but many Saranraeites take it to the extreme of worshipping the sun or fire itself."
Felos from Tippi to Lavinia, and his ears droop slightly. "Oh. You were teasing me."
"Oh, not teasing," she murmurs to the catfolk placatingly. "Poking a hornet's nest for fun. There's a difference." She waits to see how Jacinth might react to Felos's theological ruminations.
"Some do indeed. Sarenrae's flame burns away the sin or the sinner."
"Excellent, then we should not delay dinner - let's hurry to the market." Festa paces toward the exit, looking back at the others expectantly.
Tippi looks vaguely disappointed that she didn't manage to start a heated theological discussion between the Sarenite and the Gybraelian. "Yes, let's," she agrees with Festa. "The sooner we get back, the sooner we can eat."
You head out to the market and make purchases, then return to the manor for a relaxing dinner. Lavinia allows you to spend the night here again, saying that she'd like to head to the vault in the morning immediately after breakfast.
"So Phelos, that right? You're the first catfolk I've ever met. Didn't think they were really real, like an urban myth. Aren't you lonely here? You probably haven't seen one of your kind in years?"
Felos shrugs and nods. "The last catfolk I've seen were my parents, when I watched from the water while pirates cut off their heads for fun. What would you like to know about us?"
"I'm sorry to hear that. I was just curious, whether there was a cat-land, or place, something. In your sho- paws I imagine I'd have tried finding that and living there."
"What happened to your parents is, indeed, tragic. Your hatred of pirates is understandable. Have you considered joining the navy in the hopes of being assigned to hunt pirates?"
After breakfast the next morning, Lavinia hires a coach to take you all from the manor to Dhoffram Keep. The coach drops you off at Zelkie Park which is just outside the main keep, and the only part of the keep open to the public. The park is beautifully maintained, with majestic gardens and trees, flowers of all colours arranged in decorative patterns. Yet despite the beauty, the park has a lifeless quality to it, perhaps due to the fact that there's virtually no one there apart from an occasional black-and-red robed priest of Asmodeus. There aren't even any birds in the trees.
The coach departs quickly once you've all gotten off. "The vaults are this way, I think," Lavinia says, pointing. "They're buried under the park. All the noble families have one. At least, that's what Edunel has always said."
Finding the entrance to the vaults is not difficult as it turns out to be in the centre of the park, and all the paths through the park gradually wind their way there. The entrance is just a single reinforced stone building about 10 ft by 10 ft in size. A short distance in front of the iron door is a single podium behind which a robed priest of Asmodeus stands. A thick book sits on the podium, along with a quill pen and a jar of ink. Two armed guards stand directly in front of the door.
Lavinia takes a deep breath and steps up to the podium. "Ms Vanderboren, yes?" the priest says.
Lavinia seems a little startled that he recognized her so easily. "Uh, yes," she stammers.
"Your signet?" You can only make out a small amount of the priest's face under his hood. Only his mouth and chin are really visible, showing that he's clean-shaven, but revealing little else.
Lavinia holds up the ring. The priest takes it, looks at it closely, then hands it back to her. He opens the book on the podium to a marked page, takes the quill, dips it in the ink, and writes in the book. He then closes the book and moves towards the door. "Follow me."
"My friends are accompanying me," Lavinia says.
The priest pauses to look back at your group, then nods. One of the two guards opens the door, and the priest leads you inside.
Within, there is only a single staircase spiralling down. The priest immediately begins heading down. The rest of you follow cautiously. The stairs descend quite a distance before coming out in the centre of a wide, vaulted chamber. Dozens of hallways radiate out from the chamber.
When the priest steps onto the floor, he stops and turns slowly, looking at each of the various corridors. After a moment, he stops and points to one of the corridors. "The Vanderboren vault is at the end of that corridor. You will need your signet for entry. Do not attempt to enter any of the other vaults. The consequences could be...unfortunate. If you have any further questions, I will be up top. Good day to you, Ms Vanderboren." He bows slightly to Lavinia, then turns and gives a slight bow to the rest of you. "Good day to you, lady and gentlemen." He then begins back up the stairs.
When the priest opens his ledger, Tippi tries to catch a glimpse of the page he is writing on.
When the priest opens his ledger, Tippi tries to catch a glimpse of the page he is writing on.
It's hard to get a good look, but she can see that the script is definitely the same as Taldane even if the language isn't. What's written appears to be mostly names, dates, and times, so there's not really anything to translate if it isn't Taldane. It's harder to make out the exact names, but she's pretty certain she sees Carthagnion listed a few times. Kettermaul Carthagnion is the current Archheathen, the Lord of Cornetyn. She can't be sure it's actually him visiting, however. It could be someone else from his family. She can only make out a couple of other names (from minor local noble families) before the priest closes the book.
"I wonder are we the only ones down here?" Tippi whispers to prevent her voice from carrying too far. "And how big is it? How many vaults? C'mon, let's find yours, Miss Vanderboren. If it's at the end of the corridor and if we assume that all the corridors are the same length, we can get an idea."
"Surely they'd need guards and accountants," Festa murmurs, "though I suppose there is also the option of magical supervision."
Jacinth comes up to Lavinia and offers her his arm. "Whenever you are ready, my lady."
"Surely they'd need guards and accountants," Festa murmurs, "though I suppose there is also the option of magical supervision."
"Perhaps they've one of the harbormaster's 'magical' account books," she suggests wryly.
"The harbourmaster has a magical account book?" Lavinia asks as she starts down the passage.
The corridor is about forty feet long and ends at a solid-looking iron door. The door is emblazoned with a golden snake on a shield. Above the door, inscribed in flowing script on a polished silver plaque, is the name "Vanderboren". A single handle protrudes from the door, just below a circular depression bearing the mark of the Vanderboren signet.
Lavinia approaches the door and looks at the symbol emblazoned on it. "That's weird," she says. "It looks kind of familiar, but it's not our family emblem."
"The harbourmaster has a magical account book?" Lavinia asks as she starts down the passage.
"Yes," Tippi smiles. "Sadly it appeared to be malfunctioning when it failed to record your payment to Soller Vark. He must indeed be a highly-advanced villain to have suppressed its magic."
"Is it related at least? The family emblem I mean. Sometimes clan heraldry differs between individual families, but maintains a common root."
"What does it matter?" Tippi shrugs. "What's important is what's inside the vault."
Jacinth maintains a reassuring presence for his employer. "Xanthippe is correct, the contents are the important thing right now. The mystery of the differences in the insignia will remain for a later date once your finances are in better condition."
Lavinia nods. "You're right," she says. She takes the signet ring and presses it against the small depression on the door. There's a brief flash of blue light. Then the door slowly swings open on creaking hinges. Lavinia stands aside to let the rest of you past.
Light from the wall torches spills partway into the room, but large portions of the room to the left and right of the door remain in darkness. Jacinth can see more of the room with his darkvision, however. The floor of the dome chamber is polished green marble. Two fifteen-foot-wide alcoves have lower ceilings and feature marble pillars carved to resemble coiling snakes. In the centre of the room, five similar pillars are embedded into the walls, rising up thirty feet to the dome overhead. Looking up, the dome bears a huge representation of the same shield-and-snake symbol as on the door.
Tippi casts dancing lights and sends them to scout out the room so people other than Jacinth can eventually see the dome thirty feet up.
Festa nods appreciatively. "Impressive. I had expected a little room with valuables. Instead a big room without valuables?"
Jacinth goes in and inspects a pillar at L9
The lights from Tippi's spell float in and gently illuminate the room. As Jacinth begins inspecting one of the nearby pillars, there's a sudden glint from the northeast as light is reflected off a form slithering out from behind the pillar in the eastern alcove. A human-sized metallic snake is now moving quickly across the floor towards the party.
Order: Snake, Felos, Tippi, Festa, Lavinia, Jacinth.
The snake darts across the floor, its iron head whipping out at Festa.
-- miss
Despite its sudden and quick movement, Festa is easily able to avoid the attack.
Next Up: Tippi, Festa, Lavinia, Jacinth, Snake.
Felos moves up to J8, unlimbering his heavy flail as he moves, and tries to bring it down on the metal snake.
Attack:
Damage:
Felos's flail smashes into the head of the snake, denting the metal and even causing a slight crack.
Next Up: Festa, Lavinia, Jacinth, Snake, Felos.
Tippi draws her rapier, comparing the slim, flexible blade to the heavy spiked ball of the catfolk's flair with a doubtful shrug. "Lady Lavinia, quickly, back into the hall where it's safe...r," she instructs. Darting behind Festa and Felos, she steps in behind the snake and waits for an opening.
"A steel snake? " Festa's surprise is short-lived, as he instinctively responds with a punch at the snake - cornering it between himself and Xanthippe.
"Walk in Sarenrae's light." Being more cautious this time around, Jacinth stays in the back ranks and casts Bless.
Tippi circles around the snake and Festa shifts to the right so that the two of them have the snake flanked. Festa's fist slams into the length of the body, providing more dents in its metal frame.
Lavinia nods nervously in response to Tippi's instructions. She steps back through the door and moves a short distance down the hall .
Jacinth casts his spell, filling you all with greater resolve.
The snake slithers out of the flank and lunges at Tippi.
-- miss
Its teeth scrape the floor between her feet.
Next Up: Tippi, Festa, Lavinia, Jacinth, Snake
Felos follows and swings his flail.
Attack:
Damage:
Tippi stabs at the snake, hoping to penetrate a seam in its metal body, and steps back. "Shouldn't we be drawing it out where we can surround it?" she suggests.