The Varisian Duskwarden smiles at Orwinnia's suggestion, then turns to the tiefling. "Order me two more of those bottles to take home and we have a deal."
The Varisian woman leans in so that her voice does not carry. "Your man Pitkenstump is an interesting sort. He came to us the last time he passed through Kaer Maga and asked about an ancient tomb located deep beneath the city. Since we know the Warrens beneath Kaer Maga better than anyone, he came to the right place. He paid a steep price for the information, but we gave him the tomb's probable location. He then paid extra to be "left behind" near the entrance to that section of the Warren on his next trip up the Halflight Path, along with a few companions. That was four days ago, and no patrol has seen him since."
Gnarl swallows hard taking in the implications of this tale. Can you tell us about the make-up of his group? Maybe even describe them?
Orwinnia smiles back at the Duskwarden, patting Quintas on the arm. "Don't worry, darling, I'll pay you back." She lounges in her chair, enjoying a glass of wine of her own as she hears the tale of Pitkenstump's disappearance.
"That explains why your CO was so tight-lipped, neh? Did he or his companions let slip anything about this tomb beneath the city? Or what they might be looking for?"
Gnarl swallows hard taking in the implications of this tale. Can you tell us about the make-up of his group? Maybe even describe them?
The Duskwarden shrugs. "They were not locals. Probably brought along from Korvosa or somewhere else in the lowlands, no doubt. Two dwarves and a human, I believe. I wasn't on that particular transit, so the info is second-hand."
That explains why your CO was so tight-lipped, eh? Did he or his companions let slip anything about this tomb beneath the city? Or what they might be looking for?"
She shakes her head at Orwinnia. "No, he did not divulge much information. Said he was looking for a Sihedron rune where one of the points was much bigger than the others. We did some digging in our patrol logs and found a mention of it."
Orwinnia gives a low whistle at the mention of the Sihedron. "Thassilonian ruins are involved?", she asks rhetorically. "The Circle isn't paying us enough for this. Sounds like we need to head down the Halflight Path, then. One last question - where along the Path did you 'lose' Pitkenstump?"
The woman smiles at the dhampir's question. "The Halflight Path can be quite treacherous, and the exact location can easily be overlooked. I DO know a very competent guide, however, who would lead you there for only a nominal fee."
"Well, I think those two bottles are more than sufficient for a finder's fee. Who's your guide?"
The Varisian woman smiles broadly at Orwinnia. "Why, me, of course! Meet me at the entrance to the Halflight Path tomorrow morning. I'll take you there myself, but will have to doctor the logs a bit, so as not to arouse suspicion. That will cost you extra, of course. You understand, yes?"
"Well, we've already paid you several weeks' pay of honest work - or as honest as work comes by in the Asylum Stone. Three bottles for the information, plus a fourth for doctoring the logs." Orwinnia smiles as she watches the woman mull over the offer.
The Varisian Duskwarden nods. "Very well, you drive a hard bargain. I will meet you tomorrow morning at the entrance to the Halflight Path at second bells. Don't be late! In the meantime, if you want any further cooperation, be sure to keep our little arrangement between us, yes?"
As the woman leaves, Anastasia pushes herself away from the wall to rejoin the group, dragging the professor along with her. "So that went well, eh? No bloodshed, no shouting, I can only suppose it's a lead then."
The occultist grumbles, "The real question is are we actually going to make any profit out of this, or did we have to barter that all away dealing with that stuffy Duskwarden?"
She did drive a hard bargan. I was about to ask her if she though her superior might give us a better deal than her? But its settled at least. Is there anything we need to do before morning?
"We have light? A little extra food? Weapons? Ready to travel!" says Anastasia cheerfully.
"Oh, you know I'm good for the money, Quintas," she says, patting the tiefling on the arm. "I'm sure we can come up with a way to settle that debt." She gives him a wink and leaves the inn with the rest of the group.
While moving through the Tarheel Promenade, you noticed a Varisian fortune teller had set up shop in what had once been a clothing store. Normally you don't go in for that kind of superstitious "hokum" and "flim-flam", as Theodric calls it, but you had a bit of extra cash and felt it would be entertaining to have your palm read. The Varisan woman was quite convincing, however, especially when she referred to an older, male figure not related to you that figured prominently in your life. She then went into a deeper trance and told you that this man had a troubled past, and that he had been responsible for the death of your mother. This freaked you out quite a bit, as you never knew your parents and were raised in the local Asmodean orphanage. You have yet to speak to Theodric (or anyone else) about this information, but it has been weighing heavily on your mind.
A few weeks after first coming to Kaer Maga, you were approached by what appeared to be a human. He seemed very chatty, and commented about your beautiful armor and weapon. You were about to tell him to get lost, when you noticed that his form shifted momentarily, revealing horns and blood-red skin: an oni! When confronted about his appearance, the creature admitted that yes, he was indeed an oni named Gyokusho, and that he was not the only oni in Kaer Maga. He told you that there is a small group of oni in the city, and that they had spotted you, and were interested in perhaps getting to know you better. Gyokusho revealed that because of prejudice against them, oni keep a low profile, but could use someone like to you, someone who doesn't have to hide his appearance. They also mentioned that the leader of their group was a powerful monk who had trained other tieflings descended from oni, and taught them to unlock powers hidden in their blood. You haven't completely decided whether to join this group, and have not spoken to their leader, but it does sound intriguing. You also have not told anyone else about this.
You acquired a silver locket that you can't open not too long ago that is obviously cursed. How do you know it's cursed? Well, you can't get rid of it for starters. If you take it off, you find yourself wearing it when you wake up the next morning. You've even tried destroying it, and although it smashes to pieces when hit with a hammer, and melts to slag when placed in a smith's kiln, it still appears fully formed around your neck the following morning. As if that's not bad enough, you would swear that it's begun to influence your dreams. You've dreamt of opening the locket and learning some great and powerful secret, but when you wake up, you don't know what the secret is, or how you opened it. You've researched the locket in the library of the Arcanist's Circle, but can't find any reference to anything similar. Recently, the dreams have been getting more intense and disturbing, and involve you being chased by unknown forces who are trying to take the locket for themselves. You have not been able to discern any powers that the locket might have, and have not told anyone about it.
Something even more disturbing happened on your last mission. The Arcanist's Circle sent you into the Ankar-Te district, where you spoke to the necromancer Gerik Mubb who runs the shop "Reanimations". He noticed your undead features and before he could check himself, remarked that you resemble a very well-known vampire who still lives in Kaer Maga. When you confronted him about this, he clammed up and refused to give you any more information. You have heard rumors that there is a powerful vampire living in the City somewhere in the Highland Stacks, but have not been able to get any further information about him. You have not told anyone else about this, and no one else heard Mubb make the comment.
After spending the night ... wherever all of you spend the night, your group meets at the entrance of the Halflight Path at Second Bells. The deep bass tolling of the giant bell from the Godsmouth Ossuary signals its priests to begin prayers to the Lady of Graves, and provides a convenient way of telling time in a city otherwise disinclined to care much about such things.
The entrance itself is located outside the cyclopean walls of the city, a wide path leading to a tunnel leading down into the Storval Rise. Next to it you can look out across the fog-shrouded lowlands laid out like a sea of pillows. It is almost tempting to jump out to be caught in those clouds, before you realize that it would lead to a fall of hundreds of feet and your certain death.
Other travelers have already begun to gather here, waiting for an escort from the Duskwardens, but you spot your Varisian Duskwarden on the far side of the crowd. She is dressed in her brown and gray uniform, the right breast of which bears a golden arch, and carries a crossbow slung over her back with a longsword strapped to her side. She waves you over to join her.
"Glad to see you all made it here," she states, an obsequious smile plastered across her face. "Everyone ready? It should take less than an hour to reach your destination."
"Aye, let's get on with it." Theodric responds.
"Always ready," says Ana with a quirky smile.
"Let's be off," Orwinnia says, making sure the straps on her armor are buckled securely. "The pay day has a hell of a lead on us."
Gathering your belongings, the Duskwarden leads you down into the caves below Kaer Maga that eventually lead down to the base of the Storval Rise. At first the path is wide-enough to drive three wagons through side by side, but quickly narrows to to around 12 feet in width. You quickly leave daylight behind and have to rely on your own forms of illumination.
Orwinnia trusts in her preternatural ability to see in the dark over any light sources the party may be carrying.
"I'm gonna need some light down there, anyone object to me using a lantern?"
The Duskwarden leading the group turns at Anastasia's comment, showing that she is carrying a brightly-glowing owl attached to her cloak. "I have light in the front, but yes, all of you might want to have a light source as well."
Theodric ignites one of his sunrods. "This should do."
Before traveling further, he invests a bit of mental focus into his blade and armor.
Gnarl explains I too see well in the dark, so I shall not carry a light. He then activates a protective power accepting a point of Burn to get DR 2/Adamantine.
Now well illuminated, the group moves down the main passage of the Halflight Path, your guide taking the lead.
After about 15 minutes of walking both through the underground, and occasionally passing back into the sunlight as the path moves out to the cliffside for a short while, the Duskwarden stops.
She moves off the path and touches a piece of the wall, which moves aside, revealing a long passage.
"Follow this for about a hundred yards. Then you'll come to an intersection, where you'll take the right path. There should be a gate at the end of that corridor. It once was locked according to our records, but may not be anymore if Pitekenstump and his crew went that way."
She looks around to see if there are any further questions, then waves goodbye and closes the secret door behind you.
"Thanks, friend. By the way, what's your name? A girl could use a contact like you in the Duskwardens."
After the guide is gone Gnarl offers Shall I stealth forward and take a look? If not prevented he will move in advance of the group, slipping from shadow to shadow until he gets to the gate.
"Thanks, friend. By the way, what's your name? A girl could use a contact like you in the Duskwardens."
The woman seems a little taken aback by Orwinnia's friendly attitude. She lowers her eyes and quietly states: "Sorsha. My name is Sorsha."
Orwinnia nods, committing the woman's name to memory, but has little more to say at the moment. When the door closes, she looks to Gnarl. "Sounds wise. Pitkenstump and his crew are looking for something here, so they might have left someone watching the entrance."