"No, lass, no questions from me." Emercy nods, thinking it strange the pirates left just as quickly as they arrived, but doesn't question it for now.
The poison on the elves' weapons is medium spider venom, a poison that reduces ones' physical stength. No long lasting effects, thankfully. It won't remain potent much longer than a few hours.
After moving on from the pirate ambush site, the rest of the journey is relatively uneventful. That night, the cook honors Zekeriss' words and cooks up another, larger, crocodile for dinner. Barring any other questions, the ship quickly makes its way towards your destination of Solku.
The morning of the second day after the elvish attack, Solku finally comes into view. The docks are a modest affair, only a handful of wooden structures spread out along the parts of the river that encircled half of the city. The city's sandstone walls are bathed in the glorious sunlight appearing over the far side of the city, and you see a path from the edge of the dock you have pulled up to leading directly to the western gate of the massive trade city. The light from the sun almost seems to make a sort of glowing yellow halo around the tallest building in town, a large marble structure capped by an ornate stained glass dome that you can see from your ship on the river. As the time passes, the light strikes the glass just right, making the entire dome appear to burst into bright pure flame.
Zekeriss' voice can be heard yelling for almost an hour after the Sea Scorpion makes its journey to the docks, dealing with preparing the ship to moor and accepting the neccessary naval inspection team. After this hour has passed, Alidelia's aid informs each of you that the captain has obtained permission for all aboard to disembark and begin the journey to the city's walls.
Anovat thanks the captain for a safe journey and offers her a bow.
After they de-plank, the oread places the small chunk of marble he's carried in his pack on the stone (or earth?) pier at the end of the dock.
"Thank you for taking this journey with me, spirit. I hope you see many great things now that you are here. Good bye."
He walks off with the others towards wherever Alidelia leads them.
"I hadn't realized that the spirits of the earth speak to you!" says Yasmin. If it were anyone else, Yasmin would have thought them crazy, but given that she was talking to a creature of stone, she found it entirely credible.
"It's nice to be on dry land again," she adds. Crag screeches in agreement! "We'll scout the way ahead!" The pair happily take flight and begin a survey.
"It's nice to be on dry land again," she adds. Crag screeches in agreement!
"That it is, lass, that it is." Emercy falls in step behind the others as they move out.
John mentally adds speaking with stones and flying on the immature roc to his list of his companions’ capabilities. Then he quietly follows along with them towards the city.
"I hadn't realized that the spirits of the earth speak to you!" says Yasmin. If it were anyone else, Yasmin would have thought them crazy, but given that she was talking to a creature of stone, she found it entirely credible.
"When they choose to, yes. Often what's important to an earth spirit is not what most others consider important, but I always find it fascinating.
"I am looking forward to seeing what the spirits deep in Zolurket have to say."
The large building with the fiery illusion is Sarenrae's Lambent Citadel, and only the top of a larger temple complex. Established in 3722 after the town's successful defense against human slavers from Okeno, the Citadel serves not only as a center of worship in Solku but also as a shelter in times of great danger.
Alidelia meets you on the dock and waves up towards the city. A path from the edge of the docks leads up the long road towards the heavy stone gates of Solku. An even longer line of travelers stands in front of the gates, several guards holding them up and performing what must be routine inspections.
"Ah, your new home for a few weeks at least. What do you think?"
Yasmin takes in the sights from the sky, including the impressive citadel, city, and sandstone walls. Though one sight is definitely unpleasant. She and Crag reconvene with the group for just a moment.
"I think that line is awfully long!" says Yasmin. "Can we just bribe our way through? I'm going to save our spot in line!" She dashes ahead with Crag to make good on her word.
Shrugging as he watches Yasmin take off with her bird, "It beats the blasted heat of where I was. And it beats bein' on a boat. Works for me." Emercy heads after the halfling and her bird, albeit at a much slower pace.
"I'm certain it will suffice," John answers their employer as they walk towards the line. "I wonder, does it have any manner of arcane, or alchemical, academy where a donation might secure one access to a library, if I were to find myself with adequate time for such endeavors?"
"We probably could bribe our way past it, if the city guard wasn't as righteous and stuck-up as they are. Most of them are at least clerics, if not paladins, of Sarenrae."
She laughs, almost bitterly, before beginning the long trek up the hill towards the city gates.
"Hopefully we won't be spending much time in Solku, I am not a fan of all the religious fervor and showoffs. Ideally, we meet up with the two brothers and their cohort then quickly make our way to the mine."
A handful of what looks to be guards joins your group alongside Alidelia and her aide. It takes your group around five minutes at a regular pace to reach the end of the line and you are forced to stand and wait. The sun hasn't quite reached the top of its arch across the sky, but the heat is intense nonetheless.
John nods at Alidelia's comment about the city's level of zealotry. Then he places a hand on his amulet and it changes to appear as the angelic ankh symbol worn by Sarenrae's followers. When they reach the back of the line, he removes a book from his bag and begins reading.
Waiting in line is a real chore, and Yasmin clearly fidgets as she does so. She's eager for adventure, excitement, and definitely not waiting in line! Crag provides her some shade from the heat of the sun.
It takes another half hour of standing in the warming desert sun before you finally reach the gate. Two guards dressed in what looks to be a more desert-friendly leather armor stand with shields and spear in front of the gate while two more appear to be processing visitors and pilgrims alike.
"What's your business in Solku?" one of them calls out to the group, and Alidelia answers quickly.
"I've not been gone very long, and I'm back with my colleagues to return to our business here. You know Truther and Travis, they're expecting me." with that, she gestures towards you, and the guard nods and they open the gate.
Swinging loudly, the heavy stone doors reveal a wide busy market scene, full basically to the brim with people doing their early midday shopping.
"Welcome to Solku!" Alidelia announces, waving a hand towards the wonderful city.
"Thank goodness," says Yasmin, relieved that they had passed inside without any trouble. It seemed clear that Alidelia held some sway here. "So, I'd love to get to know the town, but first I think we ought to get right to business, no? Truther & Trathis awaits!"
John puts his book away and follows Alidelia and Yasmin into the city proper. As they walk he looks around inquisitively, constructing a mental map of their route through the streets and noting any businesses or public services they pass that might be useful in the future.
Anovat follows silently, doing his best not to slow the group down. He's been in cities before, but he's still not used to them, and Solku is unlike any of the other places he's visited.
"I'm with the lass," he motions toward Yasmin. "Let's make our way to T&T. No time like the present."
Making your way through the crowded trade plaza isn't easy, but with the help of some of Alidelia's guards you manage to push aside enough traders and merchants to make it to the mining company's headquarters in good time. The number of peddlers who recognize you as newcomers to the city and offer you all sorts of relics or "purified holy water" is quite alarming, however. It's easy to see how less experienced visitors could get swept up in all the excitement.
A sandstone building like all of the rest of them, the Truther & Trathis Mining and Excavation Company's headquarters in Solku is surprisingly less opulent than you expected, given their base in Katapesh. It is mostly focused on the storage of various equipment and tools, although you do find yourself in a somewhat well decorated parlor with enough comfortable seating for a small party such as yourselves. The guards remain at the entrance to the building, but Alidelia enters with you.
Inside the parlor sit two well dressed dwarves, presumably your employers. One stands upon seeing you enter, and nods politely towards Alidelia.
"I assume you are the help we are bringing in for this delicate matter? I'm Gravlet Truther, and my companion here is Kip Trathis. We're the original founders of the T&T mining company, along with our prematurely passed member, Tibbler Rocksledge. Before I go too in depth, however, can I get you a drink?" he says, waving to a rather large ornate drink cabinet.
At last! They had made their way to their new employers! Ysamin freshens up her appearance--as best as she could given their travels through sea and sand.
"It's a real honor to meet both of you. We've heard so much! Your team has treated us very well in our journey to Solku. Some sea elves gave Alidelia a real scare with their poison blades, but she was dauntless in the face of danger."
Yasmin realized she rather liked working with dwarves, who were much closer to her height than humans! She accepts any offered drink, but isn't particularly demanding of one.
Nodding, "Aye, I'll be takin' that drink. Especially with it bein' as blasted hot as it is."
Not sure of the social niceties expected of him, Anovat bows, which is what he saw a couple of the citizens of Solku do to each other as he walked through the city, just now.
At the offer of a drink, his face splits into a wide smile and his eyes light up.
"Yes, please, thank you! Whatever you have for the others is fine."
three dwarves and an oread for below the earth, and a halfling riding a baby roc through the clouds... I suppose that makes me the sole member of this expedition with my feet planted firmly on the ground... well, the surface of it at any rate...
"Thuvian brandy, if you have it," John answers helping himself to one of the seats. "If not, any kind of port would be fine."
Truther fishes a few drink glasses out from the cabinet and does actually manage to find a rather large bottle of Thuvian brandy, bringing it out and setting it on an ornate table in the middle of the room.
"I'm glad to hear that you were treated nice, but we will have to discuss those sea elves with the captain later. They have been quite troublesome in the past. But, enough of that, and sit, sit, I am sure we have much to discuss." Trathis says, moving over to take a seat at one end of the table.
"Yes! So many questions I'm sure you have." Truther agrees, sitting down next to his business partner.
"Yes--we all got your note," agrees Yasmin, taking a sip of the offered brandy. "Something about a lost expedition member. And problems with gnolls? Needing some help to get your mine operational again?"
Yasmin looks around at the assembled team. "Lucky for you, there's a good group of us here to help! Can you tell us what's wrong? And where we can begin?"
John accepts the brandy with an acknowledging nod. He gives the glass a quick swirl while Yasmin speaks and then lifts it to his nose and takes a deep whiff. Turning his attention back to the dwarves, he sips the brandy while waiting for their response.
"Yeah, if ya got problems with gnolls, we'll kill 'em for ya. No problems there." He nods emphatically as he takes a good swig of his drink.
Anovat takes an experimental sip of the brandy. His eyebrows shoot up as he enjoys the sensation, but that leaves him unprepared for the burning sensation, and he has a mild coughing fit before the dwarves can answer Yasmin's questions.
"Sorry," he says clearly embarrassed. But when the conversation continues, he takes another sip of the brandy.
"Ah, yes, the principal matter at hand." Trathis says, his voice betraying some past pain. "Tibbler was one of the three founding members of this very mining company with us. About ten years ago, there was an unfortunate incident inside one of the deeper levels of the mines. The area seemed to serve as some sort of meeting hall, or a living quarters. We hadn't explored that much before a cave-in of one of the sections above us regrettably killed both Tibbler and several more of our company."
Truther steps in, his face emotional alongside his business partner.
"I won't lie to you, there are several reasons we want to recover his body and possessions. The most important is to put his body to rest peacefully, as he deserves. The second is that he had the map that held most of our knowledge of both the levels we have explored and the ones beneath, gathered from previous expeditions throughout the many years since the mine closed. Was abandoned."
"We have made many attempts to claw our way back down to the level where his body lays, but all sorts of obstacles have hindered our path. Most recently the gnolls of the Cracked Hammer tribes and their witch leader, Khuhr. They've occupied the top fortress level of the mine for the past four years and have been causing all manner of issues for both Solku and the numerous trading routes that use this area as a path to their own fortune."
"Hmmmmmmm . . . " says the halfling, letting the sound drag out as she considers the mystery of what they faced. "I'm sorry to hear about Tibbler. It would be a real honor to be part of the team that finds him and give him a proper rest."
”So, do you have plans for retaking the fort, or will our first task be devising one,” John asks, hoping to get down to actionable objectives.
"No concrete plan, no. It's been nearly a year since our last attempt at entering the mine again, and have next to no intelligence about the area or its' inhabitants." Truther answers, sadly.
"The only thing we do know is that Khuhr and her warband of gnolls hasn't been pushed out of the somewhat fortified upper fortress layer. It shouldn't be too hard to assault them directly, but part of our opening mission should be to scope the fortress out and devise a plan."
John ponders the dwarf's answer for a moment and then follows up by asking, "Are there any former employees still alive and in the area? If we could construct a rough estimation of even part of the upper floor's layout that would be a useful tool in planning an assault. Also, will it just be the four of us making the attempt or do you have other forces or agents that could be employed as reinforcements, or distractions?"
"Oh, and what about secret tunnels into the fort?!" asks Yasmin excitedly. "Isn't that the sort of thing dwarves build into their fortresses? We can sneak in and catch the whole lot of 'em by surprise!" Yasmin seems to enjoy enthusiastically speculating.
"Well, the first step of the plan is getting to the fortress." Trathis says, thoughtfully. "It may sound obvious, and even easy, but gnoll raids and roaming warbands have made the area quite dangerous. Not even getting into what other dangers one might find in the desert outside the city walls." he continues, his voice serious. "Once we arrive at the mine, we'll find out what we need to do to establish a base camp in the ruins of the fortress level. From there, it's just about clearing out the gnoll tribe that holds it at this very moment. The next steps we'll take are useless to discuss until we hold the upper level."
Truther picks up after the last sentence.
"We know this journey and the task that lays at the end of it will be dangerous. I don't want to put you under any false pretenses, we are hiring you on for an extremely hazardous job. But the rewards will be great. The mine is full of old dwarven treasure from ages past, and upon delivery of Tibbler's remains and belongings, we are offering a 4,000 gold reward for each of you."
"And what of the dwarven treasures?"
John takes another sip of brandy then elaborates, "Four-thousand gold, each, for the return of Mister Tibbler's belongings and remains, but what about whatever treasures, or resources, we recover along the way: are they ours to keep, will you pay us fair market value for them, or do you plan to lay claim to them as all belonging to Tibbler--or you--by merit of being in the mine?"
Yaz definitely wouldn't have jumped straight to business the way John did, so it was probably better that he spoke first. To her, 4,000 gold sounded like an awful lot, but then again, it would be a long, long road to recovering Tibbler's remains.
4,000 gold seems like a lot of money to Anovat. He's not even sure what he could find to purchase that that's expensive. But John Billings Bryant thinks that they could get even more from the depths of Zolurket?
Anovat leans forward, listening intently.
"Once there is a safe foothold inside the fortress layer, we will need to take the time and use our resources to clean and fortify the fortress. The gnoll tribe won't go unnoticed even if we wipe it out completely, and even human raiders will want to take the chance to make their mark on the mine." Trathis says, with an almost reluctant look towards Truther. "When we do secure the fortress, the expectation is for your party to continue down into the mine to clear out the upper layers while the Company holds the fortress and pushes away any further gnoll attacks."
"Very good question, I'll give you that. The Company's main interest in the mine itself lays in the rich strains of platinum we have found inside the mountain. Even what little remained in the upper levels was enough to fund our deeper incursions into the lower layers. With that in mind, any 'loot' or other artifacts you find that wasn't in Mr. Tibblers' immediate possessions is yours to keep. As long as our operation secures the platinum veins, the Company will be more than satisified." Truther continues, smiling at John.
Yasmin's eyes twinkle at the thought of even more treasures to recover. She looks around at Emercy and Anovat to take their temperature on the offer, and then turns to John, nodding her agreement with what has been offered.
"Those terms sound agreeable to me" John replies with a nod. "Assuming the rest of the team is in agreement, we can discuss our timeline. Do you have the equipment and provisions necessary for the journey to the mine and the establishment of a base camp prepared already? If not, how long will those preparations require?"
"Oh!" Anovat nods in pleasant surprise at this uptick in potential riches and nods his assent. He may have been raised in the wilds where there was little need to buy wants and needs with gold, but he was also raised by a dwarf.
He is ready to do what needs to be done to support this excursion, but he would not have thought of the questions that John Billings Bryant is asking.
"As far as I'm concerned, done and done!" He nods firmly.
"We do have all the tools and food necessary for the two-day trip there, and about a month's worth once we're there. Any more time than that and we'll have to arrange resupply from the city."
"We leave tomorrow morning, at first light. Feel free to rest or explore the town. We have extra rooms here for the night, but you have about half a day until the sun goes down. Plenty of exotic goods in the markets, but try not to get into any trouble, or talk about what you're doing here too much. There are other groups interested in the mines, and we need to be careful with revealing too much info." Truther concludes.
"Sounds like a plan." agrees Yasmin. "Do you have riding camels for tomorrow's trip? Let me know if you have a recommendation for some delicious food!"
"Of course we do, we are prepared for the journey. Do not worry about that part, let us handle the preparations." Truther says.
Travis answers the second half, enthusiastically.
"There's this one market stall down in the New Market, they have the best fried scorpions in town. You have just got to have one before we head out." he says, pausing to take a calming breath before continuing. "It's right out front of Thrice Blessed, the best coffee shop in the city. You should get one of their coffee ceremonies done, if you can afford it! They're truly magnificent to behold."
Truther cuts in, less enthusiastic, and more business-like.
"Whatever you choose to do, just be back here ready to leave at dawn. I want to be on the way as soon as possible."
"Excellent," John replies. "And, have you arranged accommodations for us for the night or will that be our responsibilities?"
John finishes the last of drink, sets the glass down and rises. "Well, thank you for your hospitality, but with only an afternoon to experience the city and make our own final preparations we had better make haste."
When the others have said whatever farewells wish to give, he leads the way out into the street and offers, "I've brought some liquid assets so that I could tailor my preparations to your capabilities. I plan to purchase some scrolls--and possibly a potion or two--to attempt to strengthen areas that might otherwise be weaknesses for us. Could you each please tell me what spells and supernatural abilities you have? I assume you have all already deduced that I am a sage and a summoner--trained in the arcane arts, after the manner commonly referred to as wizards--but I'm also a skilled alchemist, capable of crafting simple explosives and potions--called infusions--which can provide some healing or increase our abilities to find secret doors or climb things."
"So business-like!" mentions Yasmin, as the wizard eagerly prepares himself for the next day's travels. "Well, I mean I stab things with my scimitar, and Crag tears things up with his claws. Pretty simple!" she says cheerfully.
"But! I do actually know a bit of nature magic that I learned from the tribe. You know, creating water, a bit of healing magic, that sort of thing."
When pressed, Yasmin will explain all of the particulars.
Expecting that everyone would be making their way to try fried scorpions, Anovat is somewhat taken aback by John Billings Bryant's request for an accounting of abilities.
"Oh! Um, I have a little druidic training that mostly helps me against violent actions, but most of my training has been listening to the spirits of the stones. They sometimes help me use magic to use rock and earth to defend myself better."