“I think we noticed magic on this door when we were here before,” Lotti answers, her gaze still firmly fixed on Wobblekins in case the cat tries to scamper back to the abandoned temple. “A ward of some kind seems likely.”
The nobles seem perturbed by the encounter with the gremlin, and the priest of Abadar seems particularly displeased, muttering about blasphemy. Senator Dou continues to regard everything with his usual calm detachment, while Malphene Trant is scowling at everything with mistrust.
Marius examines the markings on the door, confirming what Lotti is saying - more by the fact that he feels the patterns pulling as his mind, his eyes starting to unfocus as his gaze is drawn in, until he gives a brief shake of his head dispelling the effect.
The marks are in chalk, so they would easy to smudge or erase - thus disabling the hypnotic effect.
“I think we noticed magic on this door when we were here before,” Lotti answers, her gaze still firmly fixed on Wobblekins in case the cat tries to scamper back to the abandoned temple. “A ward of some kind seems likely.”
"I- I'm all right. Maybe? Give me a moment," Rose mutters, mostly to Marius, getting her bearings as it felt like the room spun. "I... think it reactivated - on its own? And quite quickly at that. I wasn't sure anymore if I could trust any of you, or myself even, and if I should strike first while I could."
She closes her eyes and shakes off the last of the mental assault. "If this rat king can make this, he's dangerous. And we should be very wary around any more of these drawings. Maybe it's best if someone skilled at finding and disarming these traps takes point from now."
"If only I had some talent for magic, I could do it myself..."
Consequently, the noble hangs back when the group eventually pressed into the next room, but reaches out to Malpene when she crosses her by. "Wait a moment."
"Listen... about you and Senator Dou, it probably isn't my business, but I feel I should speak, if only because the situation is dangerous, and neither of you seems particularly happy about the way thing turned out. To me, he seems like a good man, calm and intelligent, and he was rather crestfallen about what happened at ball. Nostalgic for earlier, happier times you shared, I believe. He had concerns you were pushed in a certain direction by your father."
She shrugs and offers a slight grin. "I don't know the truth of this, nor the whole story. But... if there's some part of you that still feels that way too, perhaps it isn't too late? I'd like to think we have more of a choice in things than we're raised to believe."
Malphene bristles at first, the mention of her father hitting a sore spot. She glances at Amadorian, her sullen expression softening a little.
"He can be a pretentious ass sometimes, you know that? But... that doesn't excuse what I did to him. We used to be friends, and I wish we could go back to those times, things are just so... complicated now."
She sighs, clapping Rose on the shoulder. "You stick your nose in other people's business a lot, but I know you mean well. If we get out of here alive, I'll try to patch things up with him."
Konstiantina leads the way, unsure as to her ability to deal with such traps, but trusting in her goddess' protection as she presses down the hallway to the other open door.
She moves slowly, warily, as if expecting ratfolk to come bursting out of the walls at any moment, and pauses just before the opened door to peer through it.
Falling in a half-step behind the paladin, Marius lets his military training take over, checking left when Konstiantina looks right to keep blind spots covered.
The door opens to an angled hallway that bends northwards and out of sight. Following the hallway reveals a rough V-shape to it as it bends again to the north-east, while a short passage leads directly west to a closed door. A graying wooden reception counter extends from the eastern wall, overshadowed by a faded, curling group portrait of several Taldan nobles. Comical alterations adorn the portrait, with red and green markings adding in stink lines, ridiculous moustaches, and other odd embellishments.
Behind the wooden counter is what looks like a camping area, with a tattered bedroll laid out in one corner and an overstuffed backpack in the other. A kobold looks up cautiously as the group comes in view, then jumps to their feet waving enthusiastically and speaking in a hoarse, wheezing voice.
The kobold begins pulling out various items from the pack, handling them with exaggerated care as they are exhibited out of reach - a padded case with glass vials, some alchemical equipment, and a wand.
“One moment.” Lotti hands Wobblekins to Rose and walks slowly forward, her empty hands (save for the brown and gray cat hairs) in plain sight.
“Salve Mimips. Nos autem non vis nocere te vel interficere. Quid putas futurum esset si vis occidere te? Fecit aliquis nec facere tibi fuerit iustus et crocus procul minatur ut occidat te aut tu?” The old woman’s voice is soft and slow, the ancient words sliding gracefully off her tongue as if this were her native language.
Konstiantina hangs back, nonplussed at this effusive individual, more than content to let Lotti handle the exchange.
The kobold shrugs.
"Nemo, ut ne vivere hic. Non sumus hospites ad superficiem nobis viam reversus est. Non esset volens populo negotiationis si esset beatus. Quid vis tollere? Est quod maxime vobis esset in reditu vis? tu, de quibus superficies a quæ prius - quid enim in talis homo callidus et non tarda recuperare est ipsum, non quæ superficies ad superficiem de tua?"
Lotti pauses for a moment and glances back at her companions, then clears her throat. "Paenitemus mihi - operor non intellego comites antiqua lingua vestra. An id gratum est mihi in vobis tuum transferendum est ad verba simplex lingua eorum animis non intellegitis adhuc caecatum habetis Ut sit nomen suum repetere ad tergum verba in lingua esset, si tibi placere."
Mimips' eyes light up as Lotti speaks, and the kobold switches languages.
The kobold begins arranging items on the faded wooden counter - the wand, a pair of leather bracers, a purple cloak with silver embroidery at the hem, and quite a lot of vials, potions, and alchemical items. He begins to chatter in a mix of Gnomish and Draconic, explaining to Lotti what they all do.
"Lotti, ask him how he got down here. He seems nicer than the Rat King. Marius gives the kobold a friendly little wave as he steps closer to examine the little merchant's wares.
Konstiantina frowns. "What is a merchant doing in an abandoned ruin? Does this place connect to deeper tunnels? I thought..." she pauses as she looks around. "I thought for some reason this place was self-contained. Lotti, can you ask him how far the tunnels go?"
Quite literally having the great responsibility of looking after Wobblekins thrust upon her, Rose divides her attention between being amazed at finding a kobold merchant here and trying to stop the cat from trying to eat him too.
After all, with the way he was about to jump the earlier fey-like charlatan, one couldn't take any chances! And her allies were asking the right questions, anyway.
...At least, probably? She had no clue what exactly Lotti and the kobold were saying, but it sounded coordial. And she definitely recognized a fellow tradesman when she saw one, even one scaly and half her height!
So... how exactly did Wobblekins like to be petted?
Hm... maybe slowly, methodically, across the neck, taking the ears along for the motion? Or... one finger tickling below the chin? A tummy rub?
All three in quick succession?
Only one way to find out...
"Mae'n fath ohonoch chi i feddwl hynny, ond mae gen i ofn nad ydyn nhw'n gwybod hynny chwaith. Bendithia eu pennau pigfain bach."
"He says his name is Mimip, and he would like to trade for things from the surface." Lotti gestures grandly at the kobold's wares. "Let's not be rude to the nice fellow - go on and look."
While the tall folk slowly make their way forward, the gnome turns back to the merchant. "Hi sunt valde infigo - Dixit, et firmavit eum super inimicos te? Ubi ut in materiae? Nonne vos have ut vado ut superficies clara, vel in profundis tenebris?"
Only one way to find out...
Wobblekins immediately dissolves into a vibrating puddle of fur in the noblewoman's arms. He looks up at Rose with big eyes, blinking slowly and smiling as only a cat experiencing a state of bliss can.
Mimips has a difficult time trying to divide his attention between those showing interest in his wares and Lotti's questions.
The kobold points at the acid and alchemist fire vials.
Mimips shudders exaggeratedly, his reptilian eyes wide in fright.
Rose continues petting Wobblekins when it's apparent the cat enjoys it quite a bit, grinning. Small pleasures to relieve some stress in this very messed up situation were too rare to not indulge momentarily. "So he's a trader? she asks Lotti. "If so, is there anything we'd like to trade with him? We have quite a lot of stuff with us he might be intered in."
Kneeling down near to Mimips, Marius shows the kobold several of the items the group has been lugging around with them. "Lotti, could you ask him if these would be acceptable? A few curatives would be good to have around, and I admit I like that look of that cloak. Tanglefoot bags too--that's just good tactics."
Mimips makes a doubtful face as the items are presented.
The kobold makes a show of thinking very hard.
He watches keenly for everyone's reaction, and should they look doubtful, quickly adds.
Konstiantina watches on from the back of the group, allowing the others to handle the negotiations, and trusting them to strike the best deal. Sheathing her blade, she frowns for a moment as she focuses on the kobold to see what manner of moral being he is and then sighs and turns to some of the nobles that have been following their group.
"Dame Trant, you're accomplished with the blade. If I didn't know better I'd imagine you were hoping to give up the life of a noblewoman and join the Phalanx." Said in a level tone, as if not intending to curry favor but simply stating a fact. "Where and under whom did you train?"
Apparently figuring out that the area is safe for now, the senators and other non-combatants begin to trickle into the room, watching the kobold warily. Amadorian Dou makes a beeline to the items on the counter, examining the alchemical creations with a practised eye, and nodding at Rose once to indicate that they seemed genuine.
Dame Trant shrugs at Konstiantina's question. "Ugh, no thank you. March around in the mud wearing ugly clothes and eating disgusting food, why would I want to join the Phalanx? My first trainer was our house's captain of guards, and after that my father hired tutors." She snorts. "Many of them tried to force me to train with the rapier, but I wanted something more solid than a steel twig." Her gaze drifts to the rapier at Rose's hip. "No offense to your friend," she mutters.
Meanwhile, Imistos Gulbend, the halfling servant, approaches Lotti timidly. "Mistress, excuse me, are we any closer to getting out of here? My master, I am terribly worried about him." Overhearing that, Lord Lymere and Lady Zariyah drift closer, listening to the answer intently.
Lotti makes a show of fanning her face and glancing worriedly at the tall folks around her. "Oh dear, it's not quite what those things are worth..." she explains. "I'll see if he can be reasoned with, don't worry!"
"Et non dixerunt beatum esse possit nisi per commercia et dices ad eos per viam quae ducit ad superficiem. Sed quod aliquis est fortis et terribilis te novit tam simplex est!"
Mimips nibbles on a claw.
The kobold shudders, but seems to brighten up again.
With the claw that he was gnawing in, Mimips slowly pushes two of the potions of jump towards the pile formed by the cloak, the tanglefoot bags and the curative potions.
Meanwhile, Rose simply continues petting Wobblekins and leaves the negotiations to those who could actually speak its language - Draconic or such? Or did Kobolds have their own language? Oddly, how to converse with kobolds had never come up at the academy. It was almost like the Taldan government didn't expect chatting up kobolds to be something the noble Elite would have to do at a regular basis.
"Imagine that", she thinks, bemused, slightly upping the force of the petting.
"Many of them tried to force me to train with the rapier, but I wanted something more solid than a steel twig." Her gaze drifts to the rapier at Rose's hip. "No offense to your friend," she mutters.
The noblewoman's gaze drifts to Malphene's and she grins at the challenge. "None at all taken. In fact, I thank you for the compliment! After all, it is a well-known part of swordsmanship that rapiers take much more skill and stamina to use over the average blade. Knowing where to strike over scratching away and hoping it works itself out and all."
Konstiantina looks down at her own longsword them up to Rose with a raised eyebrow. "Is that so? Well, that's good to know'" she says blandly.
"Why choose? The art of the rondelero gives one the best of both worlds." Marius turns to give Rose, Malphene, and Konstiantina alike a smile that is only a little bit smug. "Seems like you've got this, yeah?" he whispers to Lotti. "Those look like the jumpy potions--not sure how much good they'll do us down here, but who knows! I leave the details in your capable hands."
The trade agreed to and concluded, Mimips leads the group through the western door, where a hallway suddenly gives way to a stony cavern. A series of sharp slopes lead south, eventually ending in an almost vertical shaft. Roughly half the width of an adult human, the hole descends into darkness.
Pointing at the hole, Mimips explains that it was his means of ingress, coming up from the network of caves and tunnels below. Those with some knowledge of the geography of the world can infer that this subterranean route eventually connects to a tertiary tunnel in the Darklands, the vast network of caverns, vaults and passages that lies deep under the surface world.
His pack now lighter, Mimips sets off to explore the rest of the archives, relieved that most of the threats have already been dealt with. With a final reminder and warning about the ghost to the north, the kobold takes his leave.
"Why choose? The art of the rondelero gives one the best of both worlds." Marius turns to give Rose, Malphene, and Konstiantina alike a smile that is only a little bit smug.
"Really now?" Rose replies, amused. "Do I detect a subtle offer to display these coveted skills of yours to someone here in private, Sir Erallan? Very bold - and oh so scandalous!" She lets go of Wobblekins with one gloved hand and assumed a pose of mock shock. "Or am I assuming too much about men and their inherant nature to brag about their 'swords', hm?" she continues, grinning.
Rolling his eyes at Raesilia's teasing, Marius gestures to the cavern Mimips pointed out. "I can't be the only one just horrified that there's an unguarded link to the gods-damned Darklands in a sub-basement of the very Senate! If there weren't a bloody coup underway this would be the biggest security breach in a century..."
Rolling his eyes at Raesilia's teasing, Marius gestures to the cavern Mimips pointed out. "I can't be the only one just horrified that there's an unguarded link to the gods-damned Darklands in a sub-basement of the very Senate! If there weren't a bloody coup underway this would be the biggest security breach in a century..."
"Perhaps so," Rose replies, serious again. She gently lowers Lotti's cat to the floor and redraws her rapier, then shoos Wobblekins away from the Darklands entrance with her high-heeled shoe.
"Loathe as I am to point this out, it only matters if there's still a way back up. We don't know exactly how far down we are, and what else would seperate the monsters from the upside world. At least part of this complex is only connected to the rest by teleportation, as we saw earlier. What if this section is actually hundreds of feet below the surface and only accessable by one portal, which may no longer function? If so, would any threat from below stumble upon this and bother burrowing all the way up? At the very least, there hasn't been a recent subterrranean invasion as of yet."
She regards the entrance to the caves and seems sad as she ponders a possibility. "Unless they already secretly infiltrated, I suppose. If we're very lucky, some literal monster has already replaced Pythareus. I'd much prefer a third party pulling the strings over a straight civil war and Taldor being lost to its own citizens killing eachother over the succession. The first would be easier to come back from as that'd place the blame outside ourselves. But we're probably not that lucky."
As the kobold merchant sets off and nothing seems to go wrong, she turns to leave. "Let's go. Unless we find some different route, we have an appointment with this 'ghost'."
Moving through the north-eastern door, the group finds themselves in a hallway that seems to be the continuation of the one to the south, a wall of broken stone and earth indicating the site of the collapse that blocks off the middle of it. A statue stands atop a plinth in the north-western corner of the L-shaped hallway, holding a scepter which it points towards an ornate door to the east.
The "ghost" that Mimips was talking about soon becomes apparent as circles of various sizes begin to appear on the walls and the eastern door, drawn in what seems to be blood. The sight is eerie and macabre, with blood beginning to drip from the walls.
Konstiantina listens with half an ear to Rose's thoughts as they proceed, her expression resting in a slight frown, her focus, however, cast ahead of them.
"If we escape this... underground retreat, and if we are able to deal with the situation on the surface, and bring justice to Taldor, then I think we shall be able to turn our attention to an entrance to the Darklands and the threat it poses. Though."
She pauses to peer around the corner toward the east, where the statue stands with its scepter.
"Though thus far we've only seen kobold traders and... what was that thing - a gremlin? Not the direst threat... yet."
That last is drawn out hesitantly as circles of blood begin to inscribe themselves upon the walls, and Konstiantina draws up short, blade in hand, heart thudding at the grisly sight.
Instinctively she attempts to detect evil in the area, focusing on the hallway directly before them.
Konstiantina senses the familiar aura of menace and wrongness that indicates the presence of something evil.
With a low hiss she draws back a step. "We're dealing with evil here, this is no misunderstood spirit."
That said, she examines the manifesting circles, seeking to divine either their meaning or some correlation to the circles they'd seen before - were these circles connected to the king the kobold had mentioned, or was this some coincidental and entirely new entity?
"I'm... not sure how to fight a ghost if it comes down to it, however. Won't all of our weapons simply pass through it?" Rose wonders, and now realises her potential earlier mistake of selling a magical weapon. Perhaps that could have helped killing it...?
Well... at least there was Dignity's barb and the other magical weapon that either Marius or Malphene had on them.
You look down.
The arcane circle is exquisitely inscribed, every line in its place. The components are arrayed before you, every one of them worth a small fortune in coin... or in blood.
This is it.
Once the ritual is complete, the arcane energy of the universe will replace your living essence. You will no longer be a pawn of the circle. Instead, you will rule it.
Forever.
You reach out, hand trembling in excitement, to draw the final sigil. There, it is done. Arcane flashes discharge around you, and you feel the tiny claws of your familiar dig into your shoulder as it trembles in terror.
Pain sears through you. Then again. And again. This... this wasn't supposed to happen! The flashes come faster now, the agony unbearable, as if living fire is coursing through your veins. Beneath your skin, you see your arteries and veins light up with searing incandescence.
You scream.
Konstiantina goes still for a moment, eyes unfocusing, jaw clenching, and then she blinks, her face drains of color, and without any apparent reason she lets out a short, panicked scream as she staggers back and nearly falls.
Only to catch herself, eyes wide, hand outstretched to the corridor wall.
"That... I saw - had a vision, a mage, in a spell circle, trying..." She trails off, blinking rapidly, then straightens. "His spell went wrong. He began to scream, his veins lighting up from within... Perhaps - no. I'm sure it must be the same ghost we now face."
Lotti's eyes widen for a moment before she regains her composure. "A mage, a circle, and a spell gone wrong? Certainly sounds like ghost material to me." Hesitantly she asks, "Can... did you see more in this vision of yours? Maybe there's a clue in that about how to put the spirit to rest." Absentmindedly she pets the cat rubbing himself against her velvet skirt, not noticing (or not caring about) the brown hair left behind.
"Konstiantina!" Rose cries, rushing forward to catch her when she seems to recover, leaving the Noble with her free arm uncertainly hovering just shy of the paladin just in case. When a relapse doesn't occur, she sighs in relief. "Don't scare us like that. We really cannot afford to lose you."
She steps back and proceeds to listen to the described vision and then to Lotti. "If... that is true, and laying ghosts to rest can be done, this mage would have been trapped here by his own doing. Maybe if we'd convince him or her this wasn't their fault? But... it's hard to say what to do without meeting it or knowing more."
She ponders other options for a moment, then turns around to the entourage behind them. "Jowuan Zubari, step forward. You said you are a cleric. Do you have some experience... 'exorcising' ghosts if it appears necessary?"
The cleric of Abadar takes a few steps forward, staying away from the blood-dripping walls and looking around with trepidation.
"Ah, um, only theoretical knowledge, I'm afraid. And holy water would be... beneficial to have. Or positive energy."
"I've a bit of magic at my disposal that can hurt undead, if it comes to that. I'll need to get quite close, though." Marius takes stock of the group and their few magical weapons. "I'm sure it won't come down to violence, however. The only way out is through, so we best get to it."
The door at the other end of the hallway is found locked, but after some trial and error the key received from Factor 12 successfully unlocks it. Beyond, a short corridor leads to a circular chamber, so vast that neither the light of the lantern nor Konstiantina's enhanced vision reach the other side.
Wide stairs descend between the concentric tiers towards the wide floor. Chairs stand in odd positions throughout the room, collected into rings of various sizes, even outside of the greater circular patterns of the hall itself. Gouges mar the surface of the wooden walls and floor here, some left to stand alone, while others are multiple circular scratches overlaying one another, joined by lines and scrawlings. The greatest concentration of circles gathers on the ceiling, some forty feet above, where multicoloured circles inscribed with artistic fanaticism surround a five-foot-wide hole in the ceiling.
Konstiantina moves slowly down the wide stairs, gazing wide-eyed about her, taking in the sheer scope of the great room and its concentric tiers of seating.
"This place," whispers Konstiantina as she goes, "This is the place I just saw in my vision. Where the... mage... or whatever he was... failed at his summoning. Down there -" and she points to the center of the room, at the very base, "is where his ritual took place. Which means he could be anywhere around us now..."
Still moving slowly, hand on the pommel of her sheathed blade, eyes glowing a lambent gold as she stares into the darkness, the paladin continues her descent.
"Not a very comforting thought," Rose begins, walking after Konstiantina with her Crossbow out, hoping that might stand a chance of harming it if need be. "Lotti... is there a chance this ghost is bound to this place by the circles, and that disturbing the figures would release the unfortunate wizard it once was?"
Voice sinking to a murmur, Konstiantina speaks on, half in this world, half in that of her vision.
"He said... or thought... that he would no longer be a pawn of 'the circle.' Instead, he would will rule it. That was his goal, what he was willing to sacrifice everything for..."