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Mange gets another solid bite in on the standing cultist, who stands no more as he screams his way into unconsciousness from the pain. Altorin tries to blast the woman up top and just barely catches her in the arm. Qiroyo is not as fortunate with his aim.
Eka and Belmiir maneuver into positions allowing Sir Durant to finish off the other thug with ease. The priestess gasps audibly at her minions demise then fills the room with a potent sensation of pain before moving to the west along the catwalk, her footsteps clanging with urgency.
Cyclic - 5 damage
Mange - 5 damage
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Altorin - 5 damage
Eka - 5 damage
Sir Durant - 19 damage
Qiroyo - 5 damage
Belmiir - 5 damage
Red Woman -4 damage
Yellow Thug -18 damage <unconscious>
Orange Thug -17 damage <unconscious>
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Upon seeing the frightened gnomes, Eka reassures them, in her very best reptilian manner: "Do not fear! We are dealing with the bad guyss! Where are the sstairss to go up? We musst deal with the priesstesss!" As she asks where the stairs are, she also glances at the gnome female beside her. She doesn't care who tells her, as long as she can get upstairs as soon as possible!
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The group finally finds the passage upwards, hidden deep in the shroud of fog. Before she can reach it, Belmiir snags her with a carefully placed shot. Brushing off the pain, she disappears into the fog.
From his vantage point, Qiroyo can clearly see her clicking down the ladder to stand next to him in the mist, where she draws her skull headed flail and smiles in anticipation, pressing a finger to her lips as if to tell him face me alone.
Cyclic - 2 damage
Mange - 5 damage
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Altorin - 5 damage
Eka - 2 damage
Sir Durant - 16 damage
Qiroyo - 2 damage
Belmiir - 2 damage
Red Woman -6 damage
Yellow Thug -18 damage <unconscious>
Orange Thug -17 damage <unconscious>
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"Aha! Good work, Qiroyo," Sir Durant shouts triumphantly as he turns the corner to rush through the mist and finds himself face to face with the priestess. "Your evil works are at an end, devilish woman! Now face Iomedae's justice for your wicked deeds!" He raises his sword and slices at her with the blade.
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Upon hearing Qiroyo's and Sir Durant's shouts, Eka snarls in anticipation and eagerness as she swiftly dashes into the mist and toward the sounds. "Where?! Where is she?! If there'ss anything left, she'ss mine!" Vengeance for my blindness! Oh, and if she distracts the priestess, Sir Durant might be able to eliminate her more easily.
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Qiroyo makes the slightest contact with her with his roundhouse before disappearing. Cyclic starts to seal her escape route with planar help as Altorin and Eka progress into the mist. Sir Durant strikes confidently from the fog, cutting deep into her armor. She snarls a final time before collapsing at his feet, her flail spiraling listlessly under the table.
Cyclic - 2 damage
Mange - 5 damage
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Altorin - 5 damage
Eka - 2 damage
Sir Durant - 16 damage
Qiroyo - 2 damage
Belmiir - 2 damage
Red Woman -12 damage <unconscious>
Yellow Thug -18 damage <unconscious>
Orange Thug -17 damage <unconscious>
The gnome woman exhales sharply, not knowing which way the battle would swing. She pulls herself to the doorway where her companions still cower and exclaims with a wild flourish of her arms. "Our heroes! The town guard strikes again! I told you the town taxes were well spent."
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Seeing Sir Durant emerge from the dissolving mist, the gnome looks aghast.
"Yes, I will tell all. Something is afoot! But before we talk, you should get to feeling better!" She steps into the center room and messes about through several boxes and desk drawers. The other gnomes tentatively step out of hiding as well and are particularly enthralled with Cyclic's mount.
Finally she pulls out a satchel and presents it to the paladin. "Here, these are for you all and your brave deeds this day. I'm sure the city stipend is not enough for everything you do."
Turning back to Cyclic and the others, the gnome extends her hands and bows deeply. "Where are my mother's manners? I have not introduced myself. My name is Queck Majet, head engineer of the Hall of Wonders and builder of things both practical and whimsical. These are my colleagues: Whispet, Thingle, Dwamat, Gurg, Filiminia, and Kwackle. There are others, of course, but that is what I must tell you about." Drawing closer to speak in lower volumes (to not upset the others) she continues. "No more than an hour ago, these ruffians forced their way in as we were preparing fun exhibits for the festival next week. They ransacked our guild and stole ancient city plans. Then they herded us like cats into the office and began to question us. Said they wanted to know who knew what about something called the Crypt of Fools... They demanded we hand over any blueprints that detailed the Crypt of Fools. They said something about keeping the location of hidden tunnels a secret."
Queck's eyes water up and she struggles to get out the next words. "That's when they separated us, kidnapping six of my best engineers, the brutes! I overheard that leader woman telling the one who led the kidnapped engineers away that she was staying behind to find out if we knew anything else about the Crypt of Fools and the tunnels. She then said, ‘Tell Dalirio he can have these.’ What did she mean by that?"
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Clearly impressed, one of the other gnomes (Whispet per the introduction) steps over to Qiroyo, bats her long eyelashes at him, and speaks in a tentative voice.
"It’s a secret graveyard, long fallen from use, where the traitorous families were buried, or in some cases re-buried, to scrub their stain
from Taldan history. The entrance lies under an ancient fountain hidden somewhere below Old Cassomir, though the knowledge of its exact location was lost some time ago and finding it presents a bit of a problem."
Realizing she has caught everyone else's attention, her words become more confident. "A legend among us 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; they also show the combination required to unlock the entrance. 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.”
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Sir Durant wheels around to listen intently to Whispet's story, "Dalirio?! We've heard that name before! I thought we had defeated a man with that name already. Could it be that he has been brought back from the grave to carry on his god's plans?" He runs a hand through his iron-gray hair and signs. "Well, if Dalirio has returned, then we will just have to return him to his grave for good! Please, do any of you know where these buildings by the Ismacco family are located?"
Durant also reflects on the name of this family, trying to recall if he has heard their name mentioned among the ranks of Taldan nobility.
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Whispet nods to Durant and explains. "The Ismacco family were incessant builders... just off the top of my head... they built the Imperial Hall of Records, the Admiralty Citadel, and the Harbor Watch; laid the stone that makes up the square around Pharasma’s Pulpit; built retaining walls to shore up some of the ruins at Quickfall Abbey. I'm sure there were many more. You'd be hard pressed to find a major building that wasn't touched by their hand. So you can see our difficulty in determining which three triangulate to the Crypt entrance."
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"Yes, he is the same guy. From a family that Quiroyo told us about before."
"Do you think that statue outside the prison could be one of them? Come to think of it that wacko did mention it being one of three statues he was sketching. Thank you friends. You have been a great help to our mission. I hope we get there in time to save your friends from whatever undeadly plot these fellows got going."
Before going, Cyclic will tap Mange with a CLW charge.
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"Hmmm. If you are going out to search for the Crypt of Fools, you could use some help." Queck fumbles through a few more boxes before popping up surprised. "Here take this as a reward for saving us and hopefully our friends as well."
Returning to Swift Prison, you follow up on the leads discovered.
You find a secret compartment inside the statue’s left foot, just beneath the Ismacco family symbol (the small letter “I” mentioned earlier). However it proves impossible to open with normal means. Perhaps the painting you purchased from him will provide more clues as to how to open it. If I recall, Belmiir and others viewed it and determined who and what were in it.
"Ah, my new friends have returned. Has the Master touched you as well? What? You wish to see my other beautiful works that bless the Master? Purchase those as well, will you?"
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"Ah! I have reached immortality! My paintings can all be got for another copper each. They are worth that or more. All praise the master for my humble talents! Yes, yes, yes. These two should be to your liking." With that he rips the other two finished artworks from their position on the farthest wall and shoves them carelessly through the bars at you.
The second painting depicts a stately, white stone building. Three-foot-tall bas-reliefs circle the building’s outside walls at ground level, though they are warped and twisted in the crazed painter’s art. Derros stand atop the hall’s steps and seem to punish criminals—all of whom are wearing the robes of Taldan government officials. At the southwest corner of the building, the bas-relief glows a bright white. The same lone figure from the first painting attempts to sooth a group of frightened children by playing a flute—the notes are actually painted above him on the canvas.
The third painting depicts dozens of angry derros smashing brightly-painted urns against a retaining wall, while the same lone figure from the other paintings frantically attempts to push down an obviously barred door in the middle of the wall, presumably to escape another group of menacing derros that seems to pursue him.