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Grim pulls out his composite shortbow, knocks an arrow, and looks to his partners. "Do any of you want to scout ahead? I've got you covered," he says, raising the bow. "Of course, I will need some light once we get down there. Ka, perhaps you can take care of that? Or Maedhros?" you can almost feel the eagerness to engage the enemy sparking off Grimaldus, like an electric charge...
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Tanselle flips open her wayfinder, activating its light spell, and sticks close behind Grim. Loading a cartridge into her pistol, she holds it ready to fire at the first sign of threat.
"I relished the thought of going back underground," she says.
One did not need magically enhanced hearing to catch the sound of her eyes rolling as she spoke.
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Tresca takes a brief couple of minutes while the others are preparing to mix a couple of extracts, sliding the finished concoctions back into her alchemist's kit. A quick strike of a sunrod against the ground provides the party with yet another source of light, which the half-elf holds in one hand, with her crossbow held in the other.
Turning to the others, the half-elf shrugs off her pack and tucks the sunrod in it so it sticks out the top. "Tanselle, perhaps you and I should scout ahead? Your eyes are a bit better, but if we run into trouble, it's good to have a healer on hand." Leaving the pack behind, she waits to see if Tanselle will come with her, then sneaks ahead of the others for a quick look.
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Odo takes a wand out of his pack and holds it in his shield hand for ready access, then he draws his iron scimitar.
"Careful, everybody. Remember, there may still be enslaved mites involved that their masters may throw into battle with us. They are small fry and will probably surrender if given the chance or their masters are slain. They have been useful sources of information in the past and their lives should not be wasted needlessly."
With the way now lit, your party descends the stairway into the underground as Garver stays behind to report back to VC Themis on your find. The steps carry on for a short distance and then sharply turn and turn again as you climb step after step. The temperature falls rapidly with your decent, until your breath fogs the dank air before you.
Finally you arrive at a chamber where an ancient fountain decorates this open tunnel intersection. Many chipped sculptures provide spouts through which drizzles of water splash into the basin below. The fountain’s cold concrete edges have carved symbols that adorn its sides in three distinct bands. A set of stairs leading down from above empties into the room from the south, while two 5-foot-wide tunnels exit the room to the east and west.
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You note (with the exception of Maedhros) something odd about the symbols on the bands, but have little time to consider the implications of this observation as you hear noises echoing from one of the passages. A mournful wail and sharp crack, followed by a cry of pain. The sounds draw nearer swiftly and you realize you only have seconds to prepare before their sources are upon you!
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Grimaldus flashes back to another well in his past, and its disturbing pull on him...nearly resulting in his death at the bottom of it. That combined with the strange symbols make him very wary of the fountain. Hearing the approaching noise, he drops the bow, grabs his greatsword, and takes a position on the far side of the door so that he is in a flanking position for whatever emerges.
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Tresca nods grimly and takes up a position by the fountain, setting her loaded crossbow by her feet for quick access. A quick wave of a wand brings a small floating disk into existence, hovering beside the alchemist for protection. "Be cautious. The last slavers I fought used some nasty poisons." the alchemist mentions.
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You hear the sounds of a halted march as those approaching now react to the light and noise as you take up your positions. A harsh voice barks commands in a strange language and you see two of the small blue creatures like those you have met before step forward, squinting in the light and drawing weapons.
Initiative Order - Round 1
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Tresca
Ka
Grimaldus
Tanselle
Enemy
Maedhros
Odo
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Tresca frowns as she realizes she has a terrible shot at the actual enemy here, and she was reluctant to hit the mites, knowing their status as slaves. Picking up her crossbow, she aims it at the doorway, ready to shoot if the slave driving creature emerges. To the mites, she shouts "Go! We'll cover you!"
Ka takes his shot, wounding the Derro.
The mites chirp at each other in confusion, you are unclear if they understand you, but seem to respond to the shooing gesture made by the big man silhouetted by the light behind him. They duck their heads and scurry past Grimaldus into the room and dive into the fountain.
The Derro snarls something after them as he hurls a strange hooked club at Grimaldus.
Once the mites are clear, Grimaldus charges down the narrow hall and lands a merciless strike against the Derro. It falls, bleeding out onto the stones and drops a length of chain. Grimaldus follows the chain and looks up into frightened human faces. Five Cassomirites are bound in chains having been pulled along by the Derro.
Combat Over!
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Tanselle aids her companions in freeing the prisoners from their chains and seeing to their wounds. Once they are composed enough to do so, the gunslinger inquires as to the location of their captors.
"Please, think about this," she says. "We're looking for cultists - the people who are most likely responsible for kidnapping you. Any information no matter how insignificant it might seem will aid us in bringing them to justice."
Though her intent was pure, her forceful tone betrays her frustration with this mission and makes it seem as though she believes the prisoners are complicit in aiding the cultists. Seeing the fear and anger in their eyes, Tanselle places a hand on her forehead and mutters a curse in Kelish.
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Odo peers up the corridor to make sure there is no other sign of attack then turns to the mite issue.
"Allow me, friend Tanselle. I have had good fortune conveying my meaning to mites before. Perhaps that will continue."
He makes a show of sheathing his scimitar and extending an open hand to the frightened mites. "Do not be afraid. We are here to help you, to free you from your masters. Put your blades away," he says in gentle tones. "Can you help us find your masters so we can fight and defeat them?"
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Tresca takes note of the fear in the prisoners' eyes Tanselle starts to question them. She shared her fellow half-elf's sense of urgency, but recognized that perhaps a gentler touch was needed. Or at least some explaination. "I'm sorry for our abruptness" she tells them...
"What Tanselle is trying to say is that we need your cooperation. It would be a shame if anybody else were to get hurt." Tresca, of course, was referring to any future victims that they could help prevent. She was blissfully ignorant that her choice of words made her sound like a thug running a particularly unsavoury 'protection' racket.
The mites drop their weapons as soon as the Derro has fallen, but they do not seem as able to understand as well as those you have met previously. They simply cower and eye the eastern passage, presumably the way they were going originally.
Fortunately the people are so relieved to hear their native tongue, they give little worry to the abruptness of their saviors. An emaciated woman says through sobs of relief. "Oh thank you for finding us, I'm so sorry but we've been drug about in the darkness for weeks. I really have no idea what to tell you about which way to go!"
Once you take the time to re-examine the room and symbols on circular bands at the base of the fountain, you realize that the whole thing is some sort of massive tumbler with symbols that can be aligned in three positions. You try moving the first band and find that the mechanism is stiff from sitting long unused. It will likely take substantial strength or finesse to move them, though the task would be easier perhaps if you had some manner of lubricant.
You'll find the symbols from the three parchments among many others.
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Leaving Ka to care for the rescued captives, Tresca turns her attention to the mites, approaching slowly and with no weapons drawn. Reching into her pocket, she pulls out the sealed letter from her faction, and offers it to the mites. "Here," she tells them, speaking slowly to try and make herself better understood, "Will you take this to your leader for me?"
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Odo nods to Tresca as she hands the mite the letter and tries to reinforce her overture by gesturing to the mites that they are free to escape their masters.
Then he turns his attention to the tumbler mechanism and Maedhros. "I have no oil since I have come to rely on my wayfinder for light rather than a lantern. If the spell you refer to is the one that was helpful in our fight at the Hall of Wonders, it was a significant boon, but we can compensate for its lack with blood and steel if necessary. If you exhaust it here, it will not have gone to waste."
Grimaldus gets the first tumbler to turn and remembering what Queck the gnome said about the legend, he centers the symbol from the statue of Swift Prison in the first position.
The mite looks perplexed over being handed a note, but he nods and tucks it into his jacket before they head on from the room.
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Odo takes note of Grim's success in moving the first tumbler. "Hmm... perhaps teamwork of a more physical variety may suffice."
He sets down his shield and hunkers down across the fountain from Grimaldus, ready to try to help move the second tumbler. Unfortunately, he fails to get a good grip and his efforts go to naught.
The symbols are all different, but similar to those odd the circles and lines that you used to triangulate the location. The symbols on the clues you found are found among those on the tumblers. The paintings that led you to those locations give you the order needed.
"A legend among engineers tells of a series of hidden clues within three Cassomir monuments. These clues yield three locations which, when triangulated, give the location of the surface entrance to the Crypt of Fools; Look for old buildings built by the Ismacco family, whom we’ve long suspected used the Crypt of Fools as the base of their heinous operations after it fell from use.”
With a final audible click the tumblers lock into place. Suddenly, the fountain begins to rotate and its stale waters drain rapidly. The grinding of the gears echoes off the stone walls, causing the ground to shake. As the fountain rotates, a spiral staircase appears where the fountain’s solid basin once sat. A slick staircase slopes down into Cassomir’s bowels, twisting its way down and around a deep cistern.
At the bottom of the winding stairs is a door that opens onto an enormous room, filled with dozens of family crypts decorated with family names, heraldic crests, and a variety of death-themed statuary. The walls, floor, and ceiling are made of smooth, polished stone, and the crypts are made of thick, square blocks of granite. A handful of statues stand throughout the room, though they don’t seem to be placed with any plan—some face the wall, some lie on their sides, and others are damaged beyond repair.
The northwest quarter of the room is dominated almost entirely by a single large crypt. The name “Ismacco” is displayed across the front of the crypt.
A grand crypt stretches toward the room’s ceiling and two large, copper braziers flank its impressive floor-to-ceiling doors. At the building’s base, a faceless statue holds a gibbous moon aloft.
Three stairs ascend to the crypt’s entrance, which is not locked. The inside of the crypt is well lit. Ornate carvings decorate the walls inside the Ismacco crypt, creating several stylized burial niches. Tall, marbled pillars stretch to the 20-foot-high ceiling, creating three alcoves that hold massive oak sarcophagi. At the rear of the chamber, stairs ascend into a basilica-like dome. A musty smell permeates the chamber, and several dozen torches burn brightly in wall sconces throughout the crypt.
In the northwest-most alcove, two Cassomirite slaves are bound inside a small cage. A grand altar rests in the open basilica in the northernmost portion of the room; stairs nearby lead up to a second level of burial niches. An impressive two-story wall mural in the basilica depicts a stern figure glaring down on the sepulcher.