AL DM's page

"James" gulps at the mention of all the other cultists being killed. "Nothing special! The storeroom has cages for keeping prisoners. I've never been in Malgus' room."

Hey! How do you know my name is Henry!? I'm "James"!

"James" hurries to answer "Oh that's just the bunk room, the storage room, and Malgus' room! Please, please, please cut me down! I've been really helpful!"

Song of rest specifies that it functions at the end of the rest so it doesn't apply to Horat and Katra, unfortunately.

"James" nods eagerly. "Yes! Please cut me down! So glad to see everything turned out well." He smiles ingratiatingly but it looks very odd since he has been upside-down for a while and the blood has rushed to his face.

I'll take that as consensus.

Gram and Halgrin head to the surface with Lidia. They emerge into the sewers and find the cultist still hanging upside-down. "James" breathes a sigh of relief when you emerge.

Everyone can consider this a short rest.

Yes, Gram, you find 40 crossbow bolts, if you want them.

Sounds like we're heading down?

You can switch armor if you want but you're not proficient in medium armor, which carries massive penalties in 5e, like no spellcasting. It's funny that it's actually the most effective way to confine a caster.

The cultist shakes his head. "No Rafir and Alain work right with Malgus. Rafir is a big tough guy while Alain is pretty sneaky. The guys in the maze..." he shrugs "I don't really know what they are but minotaurs sounds right I guess. The lady is supposed to be a sacrifice." He squirms a little when you demand that he speaks of Malgus but, seeing that it's in his best interests, he continues "Malgus is a real believer. He thinks Baphomet will grant him a lot of power over the city. And it seems to be working for him so far. He's got quite a bit more magic than us."

He cocks a quizzical eyebrow at Katra and shudders slightly then decides to look elsewhere.

The cultist thinks for a second. "Oh yeah. I guess we've got a lady in a cage down there. Didn't really seem relevant for making sure you got back to save me. But definitely save her! Oh yeah! Good and light and all."

"They're Malgus' lieutenants! You'll get me, right?"

Excellent. You’ve definitely broken him now. Take inspiration.
“James” begins babbling "Ok ok ok! The brick to open the secret door is right next to the signal stone there. The first thing you'll find down there is a maze we built! I don't really understand how to make it through because the leader would always bring us through it!" He jerks his head toward the other robed body. "But there are three keys you have to get. Once you get them, you can unlock the door down to the next layer. It's somewhere in the middle. But be careful! There are some big tough guys with horns that sneak around in the maze! They'll attack you if you don't convince them you're part of the cult. We call oursleves Dnazdxw Nuqqz."
He tries to catch his breath so he can keep talking. ”Then you can unlock the trap door and go down out of the maze. There’s a ladder that leads down into where we hang out, make sacrifices, and stuff like that. Mostly guys like us in there. That’s as far as I go! After that, there’s a big, iron door to Malgus’ room. He’s in charge. Only Rafir and Alain are allowed in there. I don’t know what’s in there but it’s a big deal. A new guy once tried to go in there but the door sucked the life out of him when he touched it! He shriveled up and died right there, all black and crispy.” He shudders at the thought.
”That’s all I know. You’ll come back and get me, right? Please!”

Halgrin intimidate: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

"There's enough of us to deal with the four of you, that's for sure." He spits rudely.

You guys haven't really broken his resistance to telling his cult's secrets yet. You just got some info so far.

You guys are charismatic enough to get a bit from him but not turn him or get him to tell you everything.

He seems to be considering Gram's point about turning his life around. Then his eyes widen a bit at Katra's threat. "There's a stone in the wall over there. If we press it, the guards down below know something's wrong. We press once for reinforcements. Twice for them to get ready. And three times for them to clear out if the whole watch is coming." He tries to scoot backwards with his bound hands to get a few more inches between him and the blade. "D... d... don't cut me... Where's my way out?"

Overhearing the conversation, Horat believes the man is finally telling the truth.

"James" looks somewhat taken aback. Then he spits "There's nothing you can do! You'll all die horribly anyway!!"

The man awakes with a start. You see dark marks that seem tattooed around his eyes in chaotic swirls. He seems frightened

"Oh my! I'm so sorry officers... My friends and I were simply down here to inspect the sewers and we mistook you for thieves... Very irresponible but we've paid for our hasty judgment! My name is James Inspecta and I'm very sorry and um... contrite!"

Gram inspects all six attackers and finds two silver holy symbols inscribed with a strange geometric pattern (shown on side of map). He also finds a total of 12 gp, two clubs, 4 scimitars, 4 light crossbows, and 4 sets of hide armor too beat up by your blows to sell.

Gram, you may attempt a religion check on the holy symbols but it's DC 22. Getting close would give you some partial information. What would you like to do now?