"Well, we're taking on the law at least. We're still gonna need Kroft's help."
Yeah, first we need to get to the Citadel...alive.
Lyla goes through Davaulus' journal looking for relevant entries. While reading, she replies to Nalun automatically, her attention mostly on the journal. "Are there more maidens downstairs? I wasn't counting. In any case, you guys can put on a doctor's mask and sneak out using that disguise. It will be a little trickier for me and Ortik, though."
"We should stick together on this one."
"Nalun's key. It is too convenient that the Pallid Princess has shown her hand twice already, and now this key. Since we are here, let's see if this key unlocks something bigger." Karri shrugs, "Besides, would we run back to Kroft at every obstacle?" It seems as if we will be killing these Grey Maidens and their Doctors still...
"No, but we need all the allies we can get."
"I think he's right, Karri," Ortik says as he pulls the willow wand from his pack, its touch closing the wound in his side. "The Citadel might be the safest place for us after today. We can discuss our next move from there, but first we need to get out of this hellhole."
Well well, what do we have here Nalun says as he opens the door
Moonday, 27th of Calistril, 4711 AR
Construction of the temple has begun. Our benefactor has graciously subsidized the cost of construction, but I have concerns about the discretion of the builders. Surely even they won't keep to their word without a generous donation of gold...
The Lady has heard my concerns, but has clearly chosen to ignore them. Were it not for my contract, I would've left this place long ago--but as Achaekek commands, so do I obey.
Toilday, 28th of Calistril, 4711 AR
The necromancer, Rolth, has almost finished construction of our guardian golem. I have to give him credit--though his ego knows no bounds, his skill with reshaping dead flesh & bone is prodigious. He claims that his laboratory is highly secure, and that only a fool would dare disturb his work now.
We'll be the judges of that. If something goes wrong, we'll step in to make sure the situation is salvageable. In other news, progress on the specimens is advancing swiftly--even without the Vampire's constant grumbling.
Wealday, 1st of Pharast, 4711 AR
Rolth has targeted a Shoanti boy for the final bits of our golem, though I'm not sure why. Perhaps he wants his golem to look eye-catching? If his theatrics cost us our work, I'll put a knife in his neck--our concern is that the golem be completed as soon as possible, not that it looks pretty. I'm certain the Lady and her faithful would be appreciative, the revolting bastards.
The Vampire's minders have gone off to hunt, leaving him to his own devices. His work on the specimen we received from the Brotherhood has been extensive, but I have to question his continued loyalty. His griping about wanting to return to his homeland is starting to become more than an annoyance.
Oathday, 2nd of Pharast, 4711 AR
Rolth lost the corpse. As expected. We attempted to retrieve it, but were forced to abort the mission. Turns out the corpse was being escorted back to the Citadel by a band of heavily-armed locals. Daerred cracked under the pressure and forced us to retreat.
Indoctrination process was clearly unsuccessful. On a related note, the builders have finished constructing the temple, and demanded an exorbitant fee to guarantee their silence.
The bacchanal needed some redecorating, anyway.
Starday, 4th of Pharast, 4711 AR
The operation is going smoothly. Death toll is rising. Acolyte Fairwoods is adjusting to his new position. Nothing much to report, save for that the Vampire's minders have been slain.
The specimen seems to be unable to infect certain Varisians, even when subject to extreme levels of exposure. Currently working on solving this new mystery. Newest test subject is of said Varisian stock--a Korvosan Guardsman who stuck his nose where he shouldn't have. His slang is... difficult to decipher, but I'm reasonably certain that he's cursing our names as I write this. Perhaps now Rolth & the Vampire can discover why these Varisians can't be infected with Blood Veil... as loathe as I am to admit it, even my expertise is insufficient to solve this mystery.
As Nalun sticks the fly-key into the keyhole in the panel and turns it, it abruptly stops when it's halfway-turned. The floor he's standing on lurches downward with the squealing of mechanical devices.
It stops at the ground floor, but it looks like the key can be turned further...
Hey! he calls out from below I think this does something!
Nalun will send the lift back up if he can, to collect the others.
Nalun sends the lift back up by turning the key to the left.
"Where does it go?"
Down to ground floor...and maybe lower? You think the good doctor was running some really bad stuff up here, I bet its even worse down there.
"Lower. The key has a symbol. Why? Let's not run to Kroft before we know everything there is to know." All the while a whisper in her mind, Just ask, we can tell you all you will ever need. Ignoring the offer for assistance Karri adds, "Besides, Anyone below probably has no idea we are here."
Once everyone is on the lift, Nalun puts the key into the panel's keyhole and turns it all the way to the right.
The lift goes down to the ground floor and stops...
...before lurching downward once more. Down. Down. Down, some forty feet beneath the surface of the earth. The smell of death becomes much stronger as the lift descends, and the more devout members of the party can feel the hairs on their necks start to stand on end from how... wrong... it feels.
The lift comes to a groaning, grinding stop as it reaches the bottom, revealing a dark, stone chamber. The scuffed stone walls of this chamber have been plastered over and then decorated with lurid murals of skeletons cavorting among the dead of a Korvosa completely succumbed to blood veil. Simple wooden doors lead to the north, south, and west, each bearing a painting of a scythe-wielding skeleton. A sizeable double door stands on the east wall, appearing in the mural as a massive set of double doors opening into the pyramid foundation of Castle Korvosa. Two more scythe-wielding skeletons decorate these large doors.
Well well. Ain't this ominous... Nalun says with a grimace.
We have enough evidence for Kroft...we should probably just to the smart thing and just bring it to her now...right? he says, trying to talk himself and the group into not going into the evil looking place
The color runs out of Lyla's face as she reads through the journal. With a knot in her stomach, she shuts the book close and stares blankly at the floor, putting her thoughts in order. The girl then moves up to the group, who are currently debating how to proceed with the newfound elevator. She enters the elevator and, as they step reach the bottom, interrupts Nalun's musing to speak her mind. She takes a deep breath, clears her throat, and tries her best to look as normal as possible.
"A-hem. Sorry to cut you off, slim. Er, guys. I think they have my brother", she says, without taking turns. She opens the journal and chooses one passage to read aloud. "Listen to this: 'Acolyte Fairwoods is adjusting to his new position'. Fairwoods. That's my family name. My brother Hyrgan was in the Direption's manifesto, and the ship was in Davalus' name... in the crew list, Hyrgan's was the only name that had not been crossed out. Look", she insists, unfolding the crew list she had kept hidden from the group up to now. "At some point, Davalus must have got to him. We're talking about religious fanatics. They surely coaxed him into it."
She pauses, remembering the day she found her family, not too long ago. "When I met my sister and my father, just a while back, I... well, let's say that household wasn't a healthy environment. For your body or for your head. After Lamm, they were a mess. I don't know Hyrgan, but if he has any issues with my dad, or childhood traumas, or whatever, it would be easy lure him in with a false sense of belonging. I mean, even at Lamm's they tried that stuff on us, and boy, does it work, sometimes."
Lyla shakes her head. "Anyway, I just want to ask you one thing. If we stumble into a halfling while we're looking for these guys, don't kill him. Alright?", she asks, staring anxiously at Demitri, Ortik, and Nalun, before holding her gaze at Karri. "Karri, do you think you can control—what do you call it—Legion, if it comes to that?" It is the first time Lyla addressess the sorceress by her actual name.
"I'm so sorry. Of course we'll spare your brother. We'll do our best to help him." Demitri replies looking at Lyla before turning to Nalun. "Problem is, we'd have to go through those Gray Maidens and Physicians. Let's see what this is about."
"Hush." Karri silences the chatter in her head then addresses Nalun, "If we leave, we have at best given away the surprise of this accidental course. At worst we lose the option of this...attack. Yes. Of course." She pauses, her head cocked to one side. "And besides, who if not us could save Kitten's long lost kin. If I were trapped in a place where my skin was not my own, I would pray for salvation. It happened for me, it's the least I can do to help someone else. If you want to run to your master's then do so. I am staying, and killing everything in here." She looks to Lyla and offers a wan smile, "And for you, you have Legion at your command." Her voice changes and becomes suave and masculine, Turning away, the scarred girl mutters, in her own voice, "And now you have met Kasdaye. Let us save your brother and kill those that would murder Korvosa."
Nalun looks sidelong at Karri and takes an involuntary step away from her as she begins, to his unlearned mind, talking to herself.
Okay then. Nalun searches the doors for traps
"Of course, Lyla," Ortik says without reservation. "I'll do everything I can to save your brother from this abominable cult. May I see the book? There might be more in there we could glean from a second pair of eyes." He glances at it, and his throat catches as he reads the next paragraph after the one Lyla cited.
"No..." he breathes. "It gets worse. They've abducted a member of the guard, a Varisian who speaks the cant of the streets. It's Corporal Griggs, it has to be. He's immune to this 'Blood Veil' as well, and they're experimenting on him to find out why. How did we miss this?" He snaps the book shut in frustration, the anger of the last few days reddening his face and furrowing his brow.
Hmmm. Nalun says, checking the strange doors more carefully
"Do we really have this much time, Nalun? We can assume the other guards upstairs are going to come for us, too."
Well, now we have three problems, because these doors are trapped. Magically trapped. So, unless we have a good way to bypass them...we might just be heading outta here.
"Any idea what the trap does?"
Nothing good. Nalun quips.
"Kitten's a clever girl. Let her look at it."
The group's understanding is enough to reassure Lyla. Temporarily staving off the thoughts concerning her brother, Lyla take a step forawrd and gives Nalun a nudge. "Let the pros through, slim!", she remarks, throwing him a wink.
She carefully studies the traps, trying to figure out their effects and mechanisms.
Karri fidgets as she feels the advantage of surprise slipping away...But, she says nothing, keeping her own chorus of counsel.
Trapfinding: A rogue adds 1/2 her level to Perception skill checks made to locate traps and to Disable Device skill checks (minimum +1). A rogue can use Disable Device to disarm magic traps.
Nalun gets to work on the traps
The doorway to the north doesn't appear to have been disarmed of its trap, but the double doors are no match for Nalun's expertise, along with Lyla's & Ortik's guidance. The skeletons on the doors appear to have been enchanted to lash out with their scythes before releasing a cloud of toxic gas into the room.
"Which way should we go?"
"Let's go through the doors we know are safe. These murderers were guarding something."
This way then... Nalun reluctantly leads the group through the evil looking doors.
"Wait!", Ortik hisses as he hears movement from the southern door. "We're about to meet the local color!" He pulls his hammer and shield, ready to meet them on his terms.