Tyari looks down at her half-finished chore. "Marikel, go see what our visitor needs, please. If you can take care of it, I'll finish up in here. I believe Brantos is in the Upper Quarter with the Patrol Captain and Chief Defender."
Marikel nods obediently and moves off towards the voice.
"Howdy," he calls ahead of him.
Mahath follows along behind Marikel.
Dorn, rolling his eyes, follows the others. "For blasted sakes, I said we were right in here. What's the bleedin' hold up? Does no one understand basic common these days?" the dwarf complains quietly.
A young man stands nervously in the open doorway to the Lower Quarter, twisting a doffed cap in his hands as he gawks around at the mission. "Um ... begging your pardon, Padre ... but are you the priest that was fighting the orcs yesterday?"
"I am." Marikel suppresses a smile. "How can I help you?"
"Begging your pardon, but I'm supposed to give you a message." He reaches inside his vest and extracts a neat square of folded parchment. The document is sealed, but no signet has been impressed in the hardened wax.
"From who?" Marikel asks absently as he breaks the seal and peers at the contents.
"Errr...mmm," the man hems miserably as Marikel unfolds the parchment.
The message within is written by a neat hand with a fine pen. It reads, I find myself compelled by circumstances to place my trust and hopes in your goodwill and discretion. An innocent life hangs in the balance. If you will swear on your goddess's sword to keep this matter confidential, you need only tell the messenger that your answer is Yes, at which point he will tell you where you may meet me. Bring with you only those companions whom you deem trustworthy. Time is of the essence.
Having snuck up behind the messenger, Ali announces from over his shoulder, "Yeah, who's the mysterious benefactor who has to make some mook do his dirty work?"
"Leave him be," Marikel gently warns Alicia. "This fellow is doing his job, and well."
His gaze returns to the messenger as he crisply folds the note. "My answer is 'Yes'. You can speak freely among my companions here."
Alicia sticks her tongue out at Marikel in oh-so-ladylike fashion.
The messenger's hat-wringing changes moods from nervous to relieved at Marikel's answer. "If you say yes," he reminds himself, "then I'm supposed to invite you to Councilor Sawyer's home in the Upper Quarter. As quickly and quietly as possible."
Alicia sticks her tongue out at Marikel in oh-so-ladylike fashion.
Dorn covers his mouth and fakes a cough in an attempt to cover up a chuckle.
The messenger's hat-wringing changes moods from nervous to relieved at Marikel's answer. "If you say yes," he reminds himself, "then I'm supposed to invite you to Councilor Sawyer's home in the Upper Quarter. As quickly and quietly as possible."
Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, the dwarf turns to the healer, "Well, lad, is it to Sawyer's house we go?"
Ali looks over the courier's shoulder at Marikel in, aghast. "You can't seriously be considering helping that snake!"
"I don't see how we can really refuse."
Raising an eyebrow, "Is the lad really that bad? I mean, he's fairly stupid with the whole sendin' his daughter out like he did for sure. And he seemed a bit uptight with... I don't know, havin' ta talk to... well, anybody. And he also came across as a bit on the crotchety side. He really wasn't the most pleasant... okay, lass, I'm startin' ta see the whole 'snake' business now. Thanks for clearin' that up," he says, nodding.
Marikel passes the note to Alicia for her to read.
"Let's follow our instructions and find out. Not all snakes are poisonous. Some have even been tamed."
Marikel nods to the messenger to go. "We're coming in just a moment."
He turns to the others. "But first I'll let Miss Varvatos know that we have... business elsewhere."
The man nods. "Please hurry."
Marikel finds Tyari back at her task in the crumbling storeroom. "Am I needed?" she asks.
Marikel pauses a second.
"No ma'am. We've received a request for help. I have. From... the locals. I figured we'd get out of your way and... build connections. I'll report back in a day or two, but I hope it won't be that long."
He gives her a reassuring smile, then heads back to the others with a heavy sigh.
"Let's go."
"Excellent," she replies cheerfully. "I know you'll represent the church admirably. The more helpful we can be to these people, the better."
The messenger seems relieved to be underway. Once outside, he jams his bedraggled cap back on his head and leads the group back to the Upper Quarter, to the prestigious cul-de-sac around the hackberry tree where Jess Meeson's hound once tracked whoever planted the Hopeknife before faking Kurst Grath's suicidal leap.
Marikel follows quietly, deep in thought.
The messenger glances around the courtyard, which, since no combat reached the Upper Quarter, is quiet and unscarred, before mounting the few steps to the Sawyers' front door and knocking. The door opens almost instantly, and the man murmurs, "I brought them, sir."
Baseil Sawyer's piercing eyes dart over the messenger's shoulder, alighting on each of the new arrivals in turn, before he nods, places a small bag in the man's hand, and opens the door a little wider, impatiently waving his invited guests inside.
Dorn rubs his hands together, "Hopefully Sparky here's got somethin' ta eat. It's been a couple of hours since me last meal," he says as if he's been starved.
"Howdy Councillor. I'm assuming things are pretty desperate if you've come to us for help."
Marikel gestures to his rag-tag companions.
"I want you to know that I will help but you have to play straight with us. Are we clear?"
Marikel crosses his arms and waits patiently.
Sawyer ushers the group in impatiently and then quickly closes the door behind him. He looks noticeably worse than when the party saw him in Ivory Hall last night: his face drawn and sallow and dark circles heavy under his eyes.
"Howdy Councillor. I'm assuming things are pretty desperate if you've come to us for help."
Marikel gestures to his rag-tag companions.
"I want you to know that I will help but you have to play straight with us. Are we clear?"
At Marikel's question, a muscle twitches near the corner of his mouth, in what could be a suppressed grimace. "Crystal, your reverence. I have never concealed my distrust of your coreligionists' motives in Trunau; however, for all that Lastwall may be a bunch of overreaching busybodies, your fellows also have the reputation of putting your lives on the line to defend the innocent, and it is in that vein that I approach you now."
"That's why we're here: to defend the innocent where we can... and to mete justice where we can't." His eyes flick to Alicia then back to the councillor.
"Go on."
"When I returned to my home late last night.... No, I must begin further back. Several months ago, I was approached with a business proposition. A man was interested in the old tin mine, wondering if it was really played out. He offered to do all the work, provide the men and the equipment, in exchange for a share of any ore that was recovered. It's not common knowledge, but, well...," his lips twitch again, "my family is not as well off as it once was. With the costs of keeping up the house, food and clothing, and nothing coming in ... well, that tin money we've been living off of for decades is just about gone. It was an opportunity to be grasped at: to take the chance of realizing more ore, without putting myself or my family at risk ... and without my fellow councilors being apprised of my straitened means." He gives the party a baleful glance, at least one reason for his insistence on secrecy now revealed.
Dorn - at a complete loss on where the man is going with this - simply shrugs. "Okay. So ya sold it. I'm guessin' there's more to it than what you've told us, otherwise, I'm not seein' what yer point is, lad."
"I'm trying to tell you!" he snaps. "When I returned to my home late last night, that man was here! Thanks to your ... intervention, he was unable to access the mine from the tunnels, but I had provided him with the old maps; he knew there was a entrance from the basement of this house and demanded I let him go in that way. You know I sent my daughter, Zola, away before the orcs attacked; she was meant to go to Lastwall, but he told me his associates had intercepted her and were holding her. He showed me this." He drops an earring on the table. "He said her ear would be next, if I didn't cooperate -- or if I informed the Council."
Marikel's face darkens.
"If what you're saying is true, I can ensure he never leaves those tunnels alive."
Scratching his head in thought, he looks to the healer and then to the others. Sighing, he turns back to Sawyer. "Alright, so this piece of garbage is down in the tunnels, correct? Any idea where these tunnels lead? And do ya know how many he's got that's part of his lot? Oh! and another thing: what's his name? Who in the blast are we dealin' with? He doesn't live here in town, does he?"
"Do you still have the maps?"
Scratching his head in thought, he looks to the healer and then to the others. Sighing, he turns back to Sawyer. "Alright, so this piece of garbage is down in the tunnels, correct? Any idea where these tunnels lead? And do ya know how many he's got that's part of his lot? Oh! and another thing: what's his name? Who in the blast are we dealin' with? He doesn't live here in town, does he?"
"Of course not!" Sawyer seems disgusted that anyone would even suspect a Trunauan capable of such perfidy. "It's a half-orc from Freedom Town. His name is Skreed Gorewillow, or at least that's what he told me."
"Do you still have the maps?"
"No," he admits.
"Listen, what's he's down there for...," Sawyer insists, "it's not the tin. I thought it was until today, but.... The official story about the closing of the mine was that the ore was played out, but it wasn't. That's why I took the chance at reopening the works. There was still ore down there, but as they were following the streak, they dug into ... something else. Something that ... raised the dead. A man died down there and then ... reanimated and attacked the other workers. The Chief Defender at the time advised the works be shut down and the word spread that there was no more tin, to dissuade others from disturbing whatever's under the Hill."
"I warned Gorewillow to avoid that part of the mine ... but he already knew. That's what he was after all the time. He said there's some kind of tomb down there, a giant's tomb, with a curse that turns would-be tomb robbers into its protectors. There's something he wants out of it ... Uskroth's Eye, he says. I don't know what it is, but that's what he's after."
Marikel's eyes widen. "Iomedae's Blade!"
He looks around to the others and back to Sawyer.
"Who else knows of this tomb?"
"No one. At least no one I'm aware of in town. We didn't even know about it. As I said, the mine was sealed off after the ... incident: caved in from the cliff side and walled off from the basement side. There's no indication in the family history that anyone investigated any further."
"This Gorewillow claims to be a scholar. Tomb robber, more like," he scoffs. "But he said he found writings from before Trunau was founded that indicated that Bloodmarch Hill was the site of this giant Uskroth's tomb."
Alicia continues to eye Sawyer suspiciously. "I remember seeing a copy of those charts in the basement of the flophouse all those half-orcs lived in. I wonder how many others were made...?"
"Uskroth's Eye? In a giant's tomb?"
Mahath furrows his brow in concentration.
Knowledge (history) . Does Mahath know about this item, or the tomb that is supposed to be down there?
There are several giant tribes in the Mindspins and have been for centuries. It's certainly conceivable that a giant could have been buried in Bloodmarch Hill before the town was settled.
Growing up in and around Trunau you have always been aware of rumors about "ghost rats," some sort of undead vermin, living in the caves and tunnels in the side of Bloodmarch Hill. The children have always been skeptical, not knowing whether there was any truth to the legend or if it was just a tale spread by the grown-ups to keep the youngsters from exploring and getting lost or injured. The presence of an unquiet tomb might explain the phenomenon.
Alicia continues to eye Sawyer suspiciously. "I remember seeing a copy of those charts in the basement of the flophouse all those half-orcs lived in. I wonder how many others were made...?"
Sawyer bestows on Alicia a gaze both cold and quizzical. "I'm sure I wouldn't know. But I've told you what he's after. There's no need for maps; you just head straight south, as far as the mine goes, and ignore the side tunnels. The tomb would be at the newest workings, where the excavation stopped."
Marikel nods slowly.
"If the Chief Defender at the time knew, there's a good chance our current Chief Defender at least knows this place exists. If we're not back by tonight, I'd tell her the Tomb has been opened. I doubt your daughter would get a third chance," he instructs Sawyer.
Marikel turns to the others. "The Councillor here has done little to earn your trust or your sympathy. None of you are compelled to join me in this task and I certainly won't think less of you should you stay. You've already risked your lives for this entire town, including this man here, and that is more than enough to earn my respect. My only request is that you remember that this man's daughter should not be made to pay for his... poor choices."
The dwarf nods. "Easy enough decision for me, lad," he tells the healer, giving him a pat on the arm. He then looks over at Sawyer and can only shake his head at him before turning back to the others. "I'm not so sure Reaver will be able ta make it down there. It's gonna depend on how big these tunnels are. Hopefully the Chief Defender can give us some clarity on that. He's mighty handy in a pinch but I sure don't want 'im compromised. And with that bein' said, I say we take our leave. Not sure how much longer the lass has, so, the sooner we get goin' the better."
Ali meets the councilor's gaze with murder in her eyes. "[B]Much as Zola takes after her father, I wouldn't feel right leaving her in orcs' hands when Trunau rescued me from the monsters at just the same age,[b]" Alicia says to Marikel, gaze never leaving Sawyer.
"I ... thank you," Sawyer manages with a forced smile. "If you come with me, I'll show you the basement."
Downstairs, the basement is in disarray, boxes, crates, and old furniture cleared away in haste and without care from one wall, where the plaster and lath has been messily smashed through, revealing a dark, rough-hewn tunnel.
Marikel looks about the mess and nods. It reminds him of the damaged mission.
"You said this Gorewillow came last night. How long has he been down there? Was he alone?"
"As soon as I was sure he was gone and wasn't going to double back," Sawyer says, "I sent for you. He didn't go right away. First came the arguing and the threats; then we had to find the right place to ... 'renovate.'" He gestures sardonically at the hole smashed in his wall.
"He ... he was alone...," Sawyer hesitates. "He said something about meeting up with an associate in the mine."
"An associate?"
Marikel pulls his sword and enunciates a strange word. The tip of his sword births a soft light and he pushes it through the portal, peering down the tunnel.
"How many years since this place was sealed? That could be quite a resilient associate."
"This wall has been sealed since before I was born," Sawyer answers with certainty. "If there's another way in from the cliffside, I'd think Gorewillow could have used it rather than harassing my family."