Lubella translated the terms of the contract to everyone else, "It seems that the devil was indeed constrained. Does anyone reckognize the name "Master Menotheguro of the Drowning Eye?"
Sidius shakes his head, "Doesn't ring any bells -- nothing in terms of the history lessons my aunt forced me to endure... or the much more interesting research on the Ravens I did either."
He takes a moment to watch Talvek and Octavio, "We have a bit of time where we can try to help you fight off the venom before it takes hold again," and steps in to help Lubella treat Talvek.
Octavio waits for the poison and heavy aura to run their course
”I would not want to fight another of those any time soon. But if the fish men are gone then I could understand its willingness to try and bargain for its freedom. Likely held here since my order sealed the doors many years ago. “
Talvek shakes his head. "Can't say I've heard of it either." The tiefling turns to Sidius, visibly perking up. "What's in this stuff? It packs a punch, but in a good way."
Octavio pokes around in the cavern
”It would seem this western passage leads to open water somewhere. Our elven guests will be interested to hear, I am certain. But whether it is clear or not, they should not venture without being rearmed. “
Lubella swam further into the cavern and looked around.
She replied to Octavio, "Yes, we definitely need to obtain weapons and armor for them soon. I've called in a favor from Captain Sargaeta for some gold to help equip them. I should check in with him tomorrow and see how that's going. I don't want to pressure him too hard, but we could certainly use the funds."
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Sidius chuckles, "It's an herbal concoction that's meant to be pretty broad-based -- and done a little more by feel than precise measurements, as I have to shift the recipe based on what's available. Today's was a mix of garlic, aloe, ginger, peppermint, elderberry, and valerian root."
He turns to Octavio's statement, "I don't think it's bad that we've found a way for our new friends to get in and out without being observed... Or, for that matter, anyone who might need to escape His Thrunieness' grasp.... or, giving us a way to get something in without risking the dottari would see it."
Octavio nods
”We cannot go out to sea now. But maybe when better prepared. I can send a reconnaissance team. Or the Sea Elves could report back if they use it to return home. “
He looks around some and waits for Lubella to finish her search before move back to the tunnel to the east.
”So there are sewers to the east and river or sea to the west. This could make an excellent base of operations. On the conditions that it stays dry. And also that the howling halfling ghost, no offense Lubella , can be suitably neutralized. My team is braver than most and cannot tolerate it long. The other teams will not even enter the area.“
Lubella replied to Octavio's last point reluctantly, "I admit I've been putting off dealing with Guildmistress Lorelu. She wants us to play Odds and Evens with her, with us wagering part of our lifeforce. I just wish I knew more about how that will work; I'm worried about how permanent that will be.
"But I suppose I need to engage with her and figure out what's keeping her here; my guess is that she had unresolved business that's causing her to linger here. I suppose that we need to figure out what it is, so we can help her move on. I guess I'll have to play her game and take it from there. At least I have some worthwhile questions to ask her, now that we've explored a bit further."
Octavio nods.
I am more accustomed to combating demons, not ghosts. So I am not able to provide much assistance in this area.
He looks around.
Is there anything remaining here or are we heading back to the others?
Octavio seems eager to return to his team and the sea elves to report of the devil's defeat.
Lubella replied, "Let's return to our base. I need to rest and prepare for our meeting with Lorelu."
When the team got back, she spent some time poring over the documents left behind by the Grey Spiders, trying to learn anything that she might have missed previously.
Octavio nods and follows.
”Makes tactical sense. “
Talvek does not find anything out of the ordinary.
After reviewing the Grey Spiders' documents, Lubella discussed the contents with her comrades. "I want to make sure we know as much as possible about Lorelu's likely motivation. I'm hoping that we can help her spirit move on peacefully.
"Has everyone got what they need for tomorrow? Or does anyone want to do some last-minute shopping?"
The next morning she awakened just before dawn. While performing her regular dawn religious observations, she prayed for insight into ghost's thinking, Saremrae, help me understand Lorelu's motivation, so I can help her move on from whatever is keeping her here, and journey to the Great Beyond.
On the way back to the ladder up, in the main hall, Lubella sees one of the columns 'leaking' water that should have been drained already. Further examination finds the outline of a very well hidden door in the column.
Prying it open, she finds within, that the hollow pillar drops 20 feet down leads south, then turns east and winds along that
room’s edge.
Stairs in the hall lead upward along the way
until the floor rises just above the (prior) floodwater level.
Octavio, stops to watch the halfling examine the pillar.
What is it?
Sidius whistles, "Well, that's an interesting find."
"There's a secret door here!", Lubella reported. "How's everyone feeling? Are we good to see where it goes? Jackdaw could scout ahead, since he can see in the dark."
Dropping down the 20' and up the stairs and the turn to the north.
Talvek and Lubella spot the glint of metal.
Water drips from glistening walls in this relatively dry
hallway. A stout iron door with a complex, gearlike lock bars
progress to the north.
The skeletal remains of a man with
goatlike horns lies slumped against the door. The skeleton
wears a gleaming silver chain shirt, and one skeletal hand is
clutched in a fist held against its chest.
Octavio stands to attention.
I am ready as ever. Just say the word.
But be wary. This place was not meant to be found.
Talvek squints at the horned skeleton ahead, an unpleasant feeling of familiarity creeping up his spine. "Oh, I am wary. The wariest."
Lubella renewed her communication spell on the party and whispered, "Jackdaw, I'll give you some space so my light doesn't ruin you're stealth."
She followed behind the tiefling, close enough to keep him in sight.
She approached the skeleton warily and scanned it for magic auras.
Talvek and Lubella sneak forward to get a better look.
Lubella picks up a few magic auras on the skeleton.
Armor, Backpack, hilt in boot, ring...all radiate magic
Talvek can tell the door has a complex trap, one he barely detected...and this unlucky person had not....
Octavio looks down upon the skeleton as he approaches within a few strides away.
His eyes widen as he states with astonishment.
Aye, so ended the Gray Spider's guildmasters—Baccus the devil
binder. My order never found him, and assumed he had escaped.
Lubella reported, "Several magic auras on this guy's gear: armor, backpack, a hilt in the boot, and a ring! But I'm leery of handling them, without understanding how he died."
"And a deadly trap on the gate. Not sure I'll be able to do anything about it, but we'll see. You should all stand back, just in case."
Lubella replied to Talvek, "I'll sing you an inspiring song, which should improve your trap disarming ability. I'll back up a bit, but you need to be able to hear me clearly to get the benefit; tell me when you're ready."
A bard of 3rd level or higher can use his performance to help an ally succeed at a task. That ally must be within 30 feet and be able to hear the bard. The ally gets a +2 competence bonus on skill checks with a particular skill as long as she continues to hear the bard's performance. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels the bard has attained beyond 3rd (+3 at 7th, +4 at 11th, +5 at 15th, and +6 at 19th). Certain uses of this ability are infeasible, such as Stealth, and may be disallowed at the GM's discretion. A bard can't inspire competence in himself. Inspire competence relies on audible components.
Talvek nods, wondering a little at what kind of song that could be. Perhaps something similar to "right tighty, lefty loosey" that he had heard some apprentice craftsmen mutter...
His confidence bolstered a little, he goes to work attempting to disarm the trap.
Talvek sets to work and heards a click as he jambs the mechanism that would have triggered the trap, causing several razor-sharp disks to lance out of the door to saw and slice away at the target that triggered the
trap. Undoubtedly what happened to the former guildmaster.
The door appears to have a large, complex triple lock, which ironically does NOT appear to match the three small keys clutched in the boney hand of the skeleton.
Talvek gets to work on picking the locks, hoping this won't take too long.
Talvek hears a final click as the three stubborn locks take his utmost attention and skill.
The door opens to a room unseen and unused for many decades.
Octavio sighs in relief, as he strides forward to offer his assistance.
I was concerned we would be in need of a healer. But your team is truly skilled in this area. It is an honor to serve with you.
Within Talvek sees...
Three heavy iron chests sit against the north wall of
this otherwise empty room—empty, that is, save for the
desiccated corpse of a human woman with eight long spidery
legs protruding from her back.
assassins by certain Norgorber cults.
Lubella moved into the room and examined the corpse. "I've never seen one of these up close, but I think it's the body of a jorogumo: a spidery shapechanger from Tian Xia. They're used as assassins by certain cults of Norgorber."
She looked carefully around the room and scanned for magic auras.
Finally, she turned her attention to the magic items on the body of Baccus the devil binder, and inspected them one by one.
Wary of more traps, Talvek advances very cautiously into the room, senses on high alert. "I've read about them. Can you tell how the creature died?"
The creature appears to have starved to death while locked in this room. No other injuries noted.
.
No additional traps found in the room.
Lubella had a closer look at the body and answered Talvek, "I'm not sure; I don't know much about such things."
Sidius studies the items Lubella can't immediately identify .
Octavio whistles and shakes his head.
Being a guild master of thieves appears to pay well, if you can survive the treachery of your allies.
Sidius moves to the corpse in the hall and checks the 4 items.
An investigation of his body reveals his +2 mithral
shirt, a handy haversack, and a +1 lawful outsider bane mithral
dagger in a boot. He wears a ring of protection +2 on the
hand slumped at his side, while clutched in his fist are
three small keys.
The handy haversack is far from empty—it contains
a small fortune of coins and miscellaneous jewelry
(180 pp, 800 gp, and 3,000 gp of rings, necklaces, and
bracelets) t
"This guy was loaded!", Lubella commented, looking through the backpack. "This is going to really help the Silver Ravens Treasury."
"This is odd," Talvek opines. "What was he doing with all this stuff? Fleeing somewhere? And how does a thieves' guildmaster trip their own trap?" The tiefling examines the three small keys. "I wonder what these are for... they didn't fit the lock here, but why was he holding them?"
Sidius nods, "I would imagine it's exactly that -- an attempt to flee with wealth, likely trying to get ahead of something."
”My assessment is Guildmaster Baccus was fleeing my Orders predecessors. Departing with all the guild funds and leaving the rest to their own demise. It would appear his grand plan backfired. “
Talvek's examination of the keys and his professional expertise suggests the three keys fit the locks on the three chests...