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Mayor Heggry furrows his brow as he ponders. ”Hmm…many of the skilled laborers fled to the outlying villages, including our blacksmith. While they’ll eventually come back, probably not in time for your investigation. You might try the Slipper Market…there’s a roguish chap there that works on the outskirts of the law, so to speak, but mostly petty crimes…he has has agile hands and has picked more than one lock in his day. Ask one of the Crows there to point out the Dodger (no one knows his real name). Not sure what exorbitant rate he might charge, but he could open it, I think, if anyone can…I can reimburse you the cost if it aids your investigation…
“As for a sage, there’s a scholar, Arlend Hyle, whose resides at the Elm Way Church…but I’d advise trying to learn all you can about thus book before taking it to him. The church is a temple of Aroden and he might confiscate or burn the tome if he thinks it some form of heresy…
“See the Dodger and find out what you can of these Pnakotic Manuscripts; then report back to me, if you please…”
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Finding yourselves back at the Slipper Market, the White Rose has the Crows eating out of her hand, as they each stumble amongst themselves in pointing out the Dodger to her…
Upon approach to the weasily-looking fellow, a man of about 40 years or so, he eyes you warily, asking, ”What ye be a wishin’ of the Dodger?”
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The Dodger nods to Piotr, saying with a smirk, ”Aye, step into me office,” as he leads you into a nearby alley way.
Elena seems to think that, while he’s wary of you, he appears to be the Dodger and willing to do this, provided you meet his price. She notices a slim dagger on his belt but no other weapon of note…
Once you show him the book, he looks over it scrupulously. ”Hmmm…very difficult lock…doesn’t appear to be trapped…never can tell…”
He finally looks up to you, an obviously greedy grin upon his face. ”Aye, the Dodger can open it…but it’ll cost you…35 gp, not a copper less…do we an accord? If so, show me the coin before I be doin’ the work…”
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Dodger looks peeved at himself; you can easily since he’s upset that he didn’t ask for more when you so readily agreed to his fee…
Pouting a bit, he pulls out his tools and goes to work on the book…
…and by the expression on his face, you can tell he’s astounded the lock did not open…
He swears, ”Bloody hell, should’ve charged ye more…hold your horses, this be takin’ a bit…”
About six minutes later, he exclaims, ”Gotcha, you bloody bugger!”
You see the latches detach and the book can now be opened. He tips his cap to you as he takes your gold and hands over the tome…
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"Well, thank you, White Rose."
Piotr puts the coins back into his pouches and pockets.
Piotr's eyes go wide in amazement as the Dodger opens the complex lock on the tome.
"Woah. Amazing. Thank you for your services, Dodger. We probably would've paid you a couple hundred, had you asked."
He says with a wink.
"Yeah. Let's give these scrolls a try. But first..."
He opens the book and eagerly starts flipping through the pages.
"Let's see if we can figure out anything without the use of spells."
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As you flip through the pages, you discover the Pnakotic Manuscripts are written in a language you can neither read nor recognize…with the exception of an inscription on the inside cover of the book:
“May we, the Keepers of the Oldest, prevail over the scourge of simplistic thought and lesser men.”
Beneath the inscription are five signatures of those deeming themselves ‘the Keepers’, some of whose names you might have heard of about town:
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Aatish casts both scrolls as she looks over the tome…she learns many things…
The book is but a translation of a translation of the original Pnakotic Manuscripts. Written in Aklo, this copy of the Pnakotic Manuscripts focuses on magical portals, teleportation, and conjuration magic in general. One section of the book is marked by a red silk bookmark—indicating the beginning of a relatively lengthy discussion of how to use special rituals to open portals in key locations. This section has been heavily annotated in the same spidery script on the inside cover.
Aatish is also able to ascertain enough to deduce that these “Keepers of the Oldest” were hoping to use the ritual described in the book to try to open a portal in the Sunless Grove to contact “spawn of the Dark Tapestry” and further enhance their knowledge of forbidden magic and arcane secrets.
A section near the end cautions those who would attempt this ritual, warning that forcing open such portals draws forth the spiritual essence of the casters, and that any entity contacted by the portal can make “hideous use of this essence by consuming it, growing more powerful in the bargain, such that only the end of such essence can challenge the intruder’s rights upon your world.”
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"Well, that sounds like a plan. We should check in with the Mayor and let him know. White Rose might convince him to share more details about them. Hyle and some of these other people seem to have kind of standing in the city... better let the guards know we will be dealing with them and we are not in some 'murderous spree'..."
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With your knowledge now of the the ancient tome and the secrets it revealed to Aatish with the assistance of the scrolls, you head back to the mayor’s office…
He eagerly invites you in and, after the White Rose asks so charmingly, Mayor Heggry fills you in on the Keepers you’ve learned of from the book…
”Now, tell me, what do those citizens have to do with all this? What else did you find out?”
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"What a strange and complicated tome."
He remarks about the large book.
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Piotr's eyes go wide in slight surprise.
"We have to kill all of those Keepers?"
He then chuckles at the notion.
"Okay. Count me in. I'd like to get rid of that necromancer, Rupman Myre, first."
When asked about what else they discovered and what the citizens have to do with all of this, he shrugs and looks at his companions.
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"These people seem to have been responsible for bringing this invisible monster to this plane. I don't think the ritual they performed went the way they hoped because now it wants to kill them to grow stronger...If we kill them first it would deny it that power... Or would you rather we send them away?"
Elena gauges the Mayor's reaction, to see if maybe he was in touch with their little project...
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Mayor Heggry nods, a serious expression on his face. ”Thank you for your diligence…as I promised, I will pay the 1,500 gold for the information you provided. But I must impose on you once again, and ask you to please track down these three “Keepers” and confront them. They may know of another way to combat the monster, but if the thing is indeed hungering for their souls, getting them out of the city (or executing them, if it comes to that—they are, after all, cultists summoning horrible uncontrolled monsters) may be the best way to defeat the unseen monster, or at least to lure it out of the city. As I said before, I will pay you an additional 3,000 gold to neutralize this threat. Will you continue on?”
Elena believes the mayor to be earnest both in his words and expression…
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Elena feels pretty good about her read on the Mayor and accepts the offering. "I'll do my best to keep the city safe. Hopefully they will listen to reason, but I'm not fond of cultists either so I won't have a problem to deal with them if they don't cooperate..."
Elena is up to check Rupman Myre first as Piotr suggested.
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The mayor sighs in relief in response for your willingness to continue on. ”Thank you, it is much appreciated…”
He turns around, retrieving a box and placing it atop his desk. ”In anticipation of your answer, I’ve gathered some magical resources to aid you. It’s not much, I wish it were more, but it should help,” he says as he opens the box…
The resources consist of 10 potions of cure moderate wounds, five potions of lesser restoration, a scroll of see invisibility, a scroll of invisibility purge, and a dose of dust of appearance…
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Piotr's eyes go wide as he's given 375 gold pieces worth of gems, coins, and trade bars for his cut from the group's work so far. He graciously bows to the mayor.
"I don't know what to say, except, thank you!"
Then the mayor hands over a bunch of magic items.
"You are very generous! We will do our best to make sure this town is safe."
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The mayor gives a grateful smile as he shakes his head. ”No my friends, it is I who thank you. With the Crows focused on maintaining order, no one remains who can follow up on the clues you found…other than yourselves…
“Oh, with the the excitement of your discoveries, I almost forgot. We have confirmed that the monster, whatever it is, is indeed invisible, hence the two scrolls we were able to scavenge for you. Fare thee well, and keep me informed when, or if, possible…”
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Bidding the mayor farewell, you head directly to Rupman’s Vat, to the east of the city. The rain is still pouring down in deluge, water almost to your ankles as you trudge along…
You arrive at the long rectangular building, noticing two double doors which appear to be the main entrances…
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Piotr sees one other door on the south side if the building, but it is very secure, with an intricate lock, and he assesses it would require beating down the door with an adamantine tool/weapon…
Both double doors at the front of the building seem readily accessible…
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"Shall we go in? Quietly?"
Piotr says in a hushed tone to the group.
"I've always wanted my own winery. Maybe after this is all over, I can purchase this place at auction when it gets foreclosed on. Then retire here."
He says with a small grin.
"Be on the lookout for a decent vintage while we're here. I'm sure Rupman won't be around for much longer so he won't be missing anything."
Piotr attempts to open the door.
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Piotr goes back to the front of the 40-foot high building that looms over the river’s edge. The walls are constructed of middenstone around a wooden frame. Doors are of middenstone as well…
The double doors are locked as well…while the doors are securely locked, he thinks that a few whacks with a blunt weapon where the doors join would probably do the trick…
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Piotr makes quick work of the door and you enter…
The air in this room is hot, humid, and foul smelling. A mix of acrid chemicals, burning refuse, and bitter smoke taints the air. The room itself is cavernous, with a forty-foot-high ceiling supported by a tangle of wooden beams and walkways. A large square table covered with bricks and tools sits in the center of the room, and a network of chains, ropes, and pulleys runs through the timbers above. Two flights of stairs lead up to the north to a long room filled with fumes and wisps of smoke.
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Piotr notes some things obvious and some not so much…
The smell of the bubbling middenstone vats is bad enough to make eyes water here...he feels it likely could be stifling in the next chamber. He perceives this room is likely used to stage deliveries to customers…and the sound of the bubbling vats from upstairs is likely to mask all but the noisiest of entrances from outside…
He also notices a number of carrion roaches scuttle along the walls and rafters in this room.