"And that would be Shevarimarr. I think one of you should take this one." Aiyana says nervously.
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Reluctantly, Aiyana takes you to the location of yet another tavern. Getting across town is quite easy, but along your way you think you spot a few shady individuals who watch and follow you for a few streets. Different looks, to the ones you normally get, these are suspicious and threatening. As soon as you decide to make a move on them, they disappear into the shadows. Even Ayiana comments, "We are being watched. Wouldn't surprise me if the Reborn are tracking us." The denizens of the shadowlands know how to use the darkness to their advantage. The tavern you make your way to is even dingier than your last, Diggers Delve being a popular destination for the working class of Lyrudrada. As soon as you enter, you are given strange looks. Even Aiyana is not enough to diffuse the situation. A group of burly looking deugars size themselves up with Peitro, "'E dot 'ke yar 'ind 'roond 'ere. Git 't!" Although Pietro is human size, these delvers are nearly his size in both height and width. "Wot es 't t'ya 'niway? I' 'eard 'ay all 'it slaughered."
So we going back to the tavern? I will move us along tomrrow.
Aiayanna nods, "Thank you, old friend. Your charity will go a long way." Turning to the rest of you, the bard tries her best to encourages you, "I know you've followed me this far into the unknown world of the darklands. I understand this is not your home, and I have no right to ask you to fight for it." The darkness around the pool is almost eeiry, and with every breath you take down here, you feel it weigh on your body and pollute your mind. She continues, "But we have to stop them - the Reborn. We have no choice. The Cradle has the power of unleashing evil into this world, and ushering a new Age of Darkness." Thinking for a moment, she puts her hands together decisively. She passes a look of worry towards Darven, "I understand that death might be on your mind right now friend. But a far worse fate will befall us if we let them get away with using the Cradle. Telos is right, if we strike quickly before we give our enemies a chance to militerise themselves properly, we might still stand a chance." "We would need to secure passage across the city's central lake, if not to exhaust our magic. I'd hate to suggest it, but perhaps we could use the Ferryman's services once more this eve."
Aiyana frowns, "I don't know, they might have an army in there, and now that they know we might be coming, they will be on alert." She thinks for a moment, "If we could somehow free the Council, perhaps we could use their resources to build an attack on the Fane. But that might take time..." Nomianna quickly interjects, "...time which you do not have."
Aiyana quickly turns to the halfling, "The Ancestor Ilse, but why would they..." her face quickly turns grim as she realises something, "They have been hiding under our nose this whole time! How dare they desecrate such a holy site!" Slowly, she calms down, and explains further. "You all saw the massive stone column that rising from the center isle in the cavern’s ceiling hundreds of feet above. The Forsaken Fane dates back to the early days of the Age of Darkness when the enigmatic Forsaken first reached out to the survivors of Calignos. It even withstood Haramil's invasion of Lyrudrada...the Cradle!" The woman gasps, almost feeling a little faint. Quickly, the seer woman in the water picks up her train of thought, "Yes, my dearest. Image, all of those angry souls festering for centuries. Now they have an artifact which can cast this great city into perpetual darkness. A beacon for those souls to be cast into this plane from the eather."
Aiyana looks at you plainly, trying to come up with an answer. "..." She ponders for a moment, also giving the rest of you time to think.
Aiyana looks at the party for help, unsure of how to suddenly proceed after such accusations.
Another few good hits, and the invisible stalkers are no more. Aiyana moves ahead of the group, and points deeper into the cave, "Wouldn't surprise me if those were assassins sent by the Reborn. But i doubt they could find Nomianna even if they tried." She leads the way, "This way, follow me." Further into the cave and you pass over a bridge. This graceful, natural stone bridge arches over the small stream connecting a hidden pool beneath, the running water giving away that there is more space underneath to hide. Aiyana moves further up, this stony chamber contains several elegant ridges of stone that appear too delicate to have formed naturally, yet they remain unmarked by tools or other evidence of workmanship. To the west, the chamber drops off sharply into a pool below. Several glowworms, like those in the cavern outside, provide dim illumination throughout this chamber. Turning to Pietro briefly, "Please, hide your light. Her body has adjusted to the darkness here, the light will spook her." She calls out, "Nomianna, it's me, Aiyana. I have brought allies. We have dealt with the assassins sent after you, please reveal yourselves to us so we can talk."
Aiyana stumbles, "This is not Nomianna. She does not implore such twisted tactics." The bard moves forward, and touches Pietro on the shoulder, casting eagle's splendor on him.
The streets of the city seem to be much busier than you remember. Or perhaps, you are a little more on edge than you were before, knowing that your enemies know your of your presence. Regardless, your tracking through Lyrudrada, takes you nearly across the entire town. You keep to the darker passageways, keeping away from the dull crystals which bring an ambient light to the street.
It takes you about an hour of time, to get from one end of town to the Mudshore. As you stand on the beach, the dark waters are cold as they play with your feat. Aiyana points out to the middle of the subterranean lake, and you can see a small isle, made of tall sharp stone in the distance. "Residents of Lyrudrada don’t venture there except for rare visits seeking Nomianna’s advice or blessing." She explains. "They consider Nomianna to be a powerful force of nature and her cavern to be a peaceful, sacred place." The water is still but icy, and the island is several hundred feet from the shore. "We should consider purchasing the services of the Ferryman."
Aiyana shakes her head, "I don't suppose anywhere would be safe now that we have made ourselves known to the Reborn. I suspect we would have to take precaution while traveling across Lyrudrada as well. But if you rather visit Nomianna first, then prepare your things, and we shall set out when you are ready." The bard takes another moment to look around, making sure she does not miss anything in the estate, "It would be nice, to have someone stay behind and see that the Reborn do not return." She ponders. Seward, who has been silent for some time, quickly steps up to the challenge. He offers his services, he is small and can keep to himself. Your companion will watch over the estate while you are away. The halfling also agrees on a rendezvous point in case he is discovered.
The woman quickly snaps at Will, "Well Will, statues don't normally move by themselves." As the vase shatters across the stone ground, something triggers in the Aiyana. She looks up, and takes the piece of fabric from Pietro and nods, "Thank you. And I apologies Will, I didn't mean to snap like that. All of this is just to much. It must be the Cradle of Night. We seen what it can do to a place as sacred as Haramil's tomb. There are no magical barriers on my family estate, it's darkness wouldn't have taken long to corrupt this place. It's lost! It's all lost!" She slams her fist on a one of the tables she is passing over, the impact knocking over a small plate with intricate drawings, shattering on the floor. Having rid the estate of any threats, you find yourselves alone in a cold, and ramshackled home. You go back for the body of the Reborn commander, only to find that it is missing. You find the postern door slightly ajar, a cool breeze wheezing inside. The Reborn, they learn, and adapt quickly.
Between the spell from Telos, and the brutal swing from Darven, the final statue shatters, a beautiful array of shrapnel fills the air. As the dust and debris settles, you watch as Aiyana steps forward into the mess of the main hall, and drop on her knees. Gentle tears roll down her face, "They have destroyed, everything, precious to me. So many memories in this house, now lost forever."
Aiyana can only look upon the events transpiring with sad eyes, "What have they done to this place?"
Aiayna looks shocked, "G...grandfather? Grandmother?"
Aiyana shakes her head, "No, probably one of the Reborn's pets. I've seen creatures like this before. They make for good pets for those that are that way inclined." She pauses, "But if you are happy to leave it here, we can proceed. As long as you're sure it will not impede the rest of our efforts to secure my estate."
Telos feels the light affects of the insanity mist enter his system, but luckily your companion manages to avoid any damage. She has obviously seen traps like this before, having dealt with The Reborn for longer than you have. Aiyana notions for the group to keep moving, "Shall we proceed around towards the armory? If the way is clear, we should check the main hall for any other intruders. I have a feeling the Reborn would not have left this place so quickly."
The group listens to Telos and quickly follows him through the trophy hall. Pietro, who is still invisible, maintains his job as door stopper by holding the door into the main hall shut incase something decides to come through. This was the trophy hall of Aiyana’s family. Relics here include a broken rhoka sword from the warlike urdefhan race and a centuries-old Chelish legionnaire’s helm from the Shadow Caverns massacre. The statue of the chaincovered caligni depicts one of Aiyana’s distant ancestors, who was rumored to bear kyton blood. "It is a shame, looks like the Reborn really went through here like a storm. No respect for history, only an apetite for destruction." The bard looks visibly hurt by seeing all of this destruction. The tracks on the floor appear to be a combination of dried mud and some sort of greasy substance.
Telos takes a peek outside the door and into bedroom parlor section of this wing of the estate, onto to see that the remaining Reborn have fled. The door into the dining and study areas are closed. Aiyana nods, "If we clear out the study and the armory, there won't be much else they could hide. But i agree, with their leader taken out, speed is a useful tactic."
"Seward, get inside and shut the door, quickly! Before the rest of Lyrudrada sees these fireworks!" Your ally exxclaims, as she covers her eyes with her palm to protect herself from the light.
"Now would be a good time for your daylight spell Pietro!" Aiyana shouts from the postern, also unable to see anything.
Aiyana shakes her head, "I dont think that will work Will..."
As the team quickly reacts to the now very suspicious and aggravated enemy, Aiyana also jumps into action and casts blindness on your new foe, "For your crimes against the Bleackshore Council, you will now be taken into custody!" Such a show of emotion almost immediately drops your companion out of invisibility.
Aiyana whispers, "Well done Darven. I believe my great-grandfather installed this chamber as a bolt-hole, insurance against the threat of an insurrection in the city. Look's like it is finally seeing some use..." There is a small break in her thought, as she looks around. You then hear her voice from inside the room. "There should be a latch somewhere here, it will open up this stone wall into the master bedroom...let's see..."
Aiyana sighs, "Keep it down please Pietro, it's not the end of the world. Darven, are you able to bust it open?"
A quiet voice, Aiyana says, "No key on me. I guess I never really found it. This entrance probably hasn't been used in years."
As you bring up the dimension door strategy, Aiyana nods, "If you wish, a bold strategy. But I would advise your best point of landing to be the study, or the main hall, otherwise you have a higher chance of landing inside a wall." The caligni takes her bow in both her left hand, and slides her cowl back.
As you aproach, you see The estate consists of a cluster of stalagmites that have grown together over eons. You can imagine the space inside, hollowed out into comfortable and spacious chambers, more grand than the smaller structures of the lower part of town. Aiyana puts her hand up behind her, leading you to halt for a moment. She watches the building from a distance, for a while, observing any movement. Eventually she relaxes, "Strange. No patrols."
"Your idea is tactically sound. Just do not expect us to be stealthy through out." Darven says grabbing his shield from his magical satchel. "Thank you Darven, what do the rest of you think?" She looks about at the rest of the group as they get prepared to leave. "OH! I SEE. WE ARE BREAKING INTO YOU HOUSE TO PUT OUT THE SQUATTERS, AS IT WERE." She explains things again, but slowly, before adding "Indeed, i am glad you are able to keep up, Pietro. How are you sugar levels? We don't want you falling over again when we get inside, your snoring would cause an alarm with our enemies."
Aiyana shakes her head, as a wave of melancholy washes over the bard. "No servants. It is just me, taking care of the whole estate by myself. I would admit, some parts of it are in more disarray than others, but I have no use for such a large home. And with the amount of travelling that I to the surface, my family heritage lies untouched for the majority of the time. The Bleackshore Council helps keep it secure while i am away, but with them gone, i fear my home is no longer my own." You can clearly tell she is a little embarrassed. She watches Peitro from a distance, not quite sure what to take of the cleric. "Perhaps taking the front door wouldn't be the best idea. There is a postern behind the master bedroom which The Reborn wouldn't have found. Or at least, they shouldn't of. If we want to surprise them, i would advise we use that entrance instead. But i would leave that decision to you."
Before you leave for the estate, Aiyana offers some information. "A few generations ago, an ancestor of mine had won a bet with a drow noble, and in turn had the the estate written in his name. It is small, and we have long been removed from any line of nobility, but i have been looking after it ever since it was my turn to harbor such responsibility." She rummages through one of the wrecked tables, and finds a quill, dipping it in some ink. She draws you a rough sketch of the outline of the estate, and marks a few rooms. "It is small, but i prefer to keep things humble. This is the entrance and the main hall. The kitchen and the butler rooms. Old servants quarters on the other side. The dining hall. The far side of the estate is where the master bedroom, study and armory are located. Well, what is left of them."
"NO NEED TO WORRY. WHY 'DISCRETION' IS MY MIDDLE NAME!" booms the cleric, with his engraved holy tankard, and burning morningstar. "Ah, Pietro, perhaps you could put that weapon away, or at least dismiss that daylight spell. There is no need for it here, and i am sure your eyes will adjust to the darkness after some time. All of your friends here are used to the physical changes that your bodies are undergoing."
Aiyana smiles, "Glad to see you're back to your normal self, Pietro. Now that you're strong again, we can get back to business. First order of things, is to secure a defendable base of operations. My estate should be secure enough, but i fear it is overrun by The Reborn at this point. If we find them there, maybe they could give us clues as to what their plans are." She pauses, and turns to her cleric friend, thanking him for his troubles. The dark figure nods silently, puts his large sack of coin into his sash, and disappears back into the shadows. The caligni turns to you, "Take some time to prepare. We will need to travel across town, so perhaps if you could disguise yourselves, or do something to be a little more...discrete. I don't want to bring unwated attention to ourselves while we travel."
Aiyana frowns, "I had no choice. I used my last scroll to get back quickly. If i had returned alone, i am afraid i could have done nothing to stop The Reborn. These are my friends, Pathfinders. I believe they are our last chance to stop this..." She waits for your reactions.
Aiyana sighs, and waves over at Telos to diminish his spell, "Please, friends, many who live in Lyrudrada cannot see in the light like you can. This is Gylfumi, a practitioner dreamer, he has agreed to help put Pietro back on his feet."
The caligni shakes her head, "Indeed, may people in the Darklands do not make such cities their permeant residence. However, our government is truly unruly and many here worship darker deities that dwell in darkness. The Great Dreamer is not as popular down here as you might initially think." She collects her things, and slides her hood back over her face. "Wait here for me, i will only be gone a few hours. Do not leave this hideout, or we will have more trouble on our hands." And before you know it, your new colleague is up the stairs and out through the secret passage from which you arrived. Being along in the darkness feels a little strange, you're not quite used to being able to see so clearly without light. Intimidated by the shadows which lurk around you, Telos snaps his fingers and illuminates your surroundings with a small ball of light. As the warmth washes over you, you miss the sunlight and think about if you would now ever return back above ground.
She nods, "If you wish, you could stay here for the moment while i go procure these scrolls for you. There is a small shrine to Desna not far from here, maybe I can convince one of the priests to read them for us, seeing as our own cleric is not feeling so well."
Aiyana shakes her head, "You dont understand Will, this is not my estate, this is the Bleakshore Council's hideout. If they found it, it means they must have already gotten to my estate first...but what could they be looking for?" As you spend the next few minutes searching around for anything that could shed light into this incursion, Will finds a tome atop head of other books and papers stacked together in a pile at the library corner of the hideout. You smell gasoline, but the Reborn had not the time to set it on fire, something had caught their attention and they did not finish the task of destroying all of the paperwork. The book is written in undercommon, but when you bring it to Aiyana she sighs, "This is a ledger...where we kept records of all our movements. If they found then..." she flicks through the pages, until she comes across a section with a few papers ripped from the seams. "The current whereabouts of our informants is missing. Shevarimarr, is a notorious information broker who normally operates from Trader's Rift. The council pays him excellent coin to keep tabs on the Reborn for us. And Nomianna, a fey seer who's hide out is inside the flooded caves north of the city. They are not safe..." she pauses, "And it appears neither are we..." She tosses the book aside, as if there is nothing more she could learn from it. She looks at Pietro. "I know you're not in good shape friend, but we need you to be strong. I can keep casting delay poison on you but we cannot stay here. Take what you must, scavenge this place if you have to, but there is nothing left for us here." She takes a deep breath, taking in her surroundings, "We cannot find any bodies, that is a good sign. It means the Bleakshore Council are still alive. Taken prisoner, most likely." Among the wreck of the hideout, you are able to find a variety of magical items which could be useful to you. "No where is safe. But if we could secure my estate, on the other side of town, maybe we could have a workable base of operations. And maybe somewhere for Pietro to get some shut eye. What do you think?"
As the light from Will's spell touches her skin, Aiyana shakes and wakes, her wounds slowly closing. She is panting louder than Pietro snores, and you clearly see the panic in her eyes. "This...this...how could this happen? How...how did they find this place, it was kept secret for generations. If they've been there then..." The distress in her turns to agony, "...my estate..."
Aiyana, with bite marks all over her body now is almost completely engulfed by the darkness. You just hear a soft, "Help." as your friend loses consciousness.
Aiyana stands, takes out her bow and shoots. "Shadow Hounds. The Reborn must of left them here to clean up anyone who came to check on this place. Watch out!"
Your companion and the dark dwarf exchange some words, before Aiyana whispers to you, "Follow me." She leads you through the back part of the building, until you get to a smooth wall behind what appears to be storage room. She marks her hand over the dark stone, until you notice she find a crease in the structure, pushing into it with little force. A flight of stairs reveals a dark passage below. After a short walk down, you reach a small room, similar to the cellar you made you way when you first met Aiyana. Before you can make out anything in the room, the young cloaked woman drops to her knees, the only word to come out of her mouth is, "No...". The word is soft, and filled with terror and sadness, as it carries through the darkness. What was left of this once meeting area, is now in complete ruin. Broken furniture of dark wood lies splintered on the carpeted floor. Papers and books thrown around, some lying burned, as if a dark and cold fire had consumed them. At the far end of the chamber, you notice the space branches off in three other directions, all of the rooms ahead are also in the same state. You hear the echoes of the stone door grinding to a close above you. Only the quiet sobs from Aiyana, and the louder snoring from Pietro, bringing life to a defiled interior.
Is this some kind of inn or tavern? Would this make a good base of operations? More importantly, is this a good place to ask around about the reborn? Aiyana nods, "Indeed. I don't know much about the way you surface dwellers do things up there, but down here, it is common for taverns to serve a secondary purpose." The streets of Lyrudrada are busy with various species of dark folk moving about their daily life. You quickly make your way inside the strange building.
Time passes rather slowly as you come to terms with the encounter with the dragon. You are not experienced with spending so much time in the darkness, and being able to see everything. But you slowly come to terms with your new vision, taking in the surrounding plains and enjoying the beautiful hue the moonlight cast's on the valley. Was the night always this beautiful? Pietro snores, almost harmoniously with the dull wind that hangs in the air. Eventually, you find Aiyana standing by a tree, watching the sun start to rise from the east. As the first rays hit the valley, you look away, the light uncomforatble to look at. "Ready?" She says plainly, before taking Will's hand, "Come, hold hands and get ready. For those of you who have never done this before, this might be a little nauseating." With her other hand, she takes out the scroll of shadow walk and looks it over. She nods, "This will take us to Lyrudrada. Our destination will be the Council's hideout, whom I serve. That should be our first stop if we are to find help for Pietro, and discuss our next steps." After a short incantation, you take a step forward into the darkness which now surrounds you. The thick energies of the Shadow Plane envelop you like a warm blaket, but the sensation is almost welcoming and not foreign like you would expect it to be. This new corruption inside you festers and you feel more empowered by being inside this space, even for a few moments. After another few seconds, you step out of the plane. ...
As the party makes back to where they last left their horses, they find that the animals are there no more. It appears the dragon was hungry after all, and has taken his time while you were inside the tomb to indulge himself on the grazing and unsuspected animals tied up. Aiyana holds in her vomit, but looks away at the gruesome scene, "I think there is nothing left for us here. Have some time to yourselves. We travel in an hour."
"I can only feel that I'm to blame for the predicaments all of you now find yourselves in..." Aiyana shares. The caligni seems genuinely worried for all of you. "I mean, I truly didn't know what dangers would await us in Haramil's tomb. I knew the Cradle was powerful, but I had no idea the kind of curse it might bring to surfacers. Haramil once wielded it, of course, and it must have twisted him. Now, whatever dangers it created upon his death...or through the meddling of the Reborn...I feel it must be the cause of whatever's happening here. And now, they take it to Lyrudrada..." "What makes things worse, is knowing that The Reborn are allied themselves with such a powerful entity." She pauses for a moment, and looks up at the night sky before continuing, "It is still night time, which is probably for the best. With your new afflictions, i fear you will be weakened during daytime. You can rest for a few hours, but then you must accompany me to Lyrudrada. I still have a scroll of shadow walk left, which we will use to traverse the darklands quickly." At this point, Pietro will fall unconscious, probably out of fatigue or maybe out of fear. Hard to tell. "I don't know what to do about Pietro, his muscles all look atrophied. He looks like a sad sack of potatoes us traders use to smuggle people out of Nidal. Perhaps, one of my allies can look at helping him regain some strength when we are down in Lyrudrada. But who knows what the situation down there will be like, now that we are a full two days behind The Reborn...
You can hear the fear in Aiyana's voice, as she shakingly produces a few words. "...That sounds like a dragon's voice..."
"It's up to you if you want to take these thing," Aiyana notes, "It would seem Haramil's people left these things to fool others into believing this was his final resting place, tempting them to take this stuff and leave the lower tomb...and the Cradle...undisturbed. If there was a curse on anything, it would seem limited to the lance Haramil wielded against us. I doubt the rest carries such an enchantment...and it would seem like worthwhile compensation for your troubles. Even if we didn't find the Cradle, some of this stuff might help us against the Reborn...assuming we can find them before they reach Lyrudrada..." Once everything is squared away, Aiyana helps lead you all back through tomb. As you emerge into, you can see the sun starting to rise to the east over the valley. Telos, who is most magically attuned, can sense the tear between planes seems much diminished now, as if putting Haramil's spirit to rest may have started the process to healing the gap. Or, perhaps, it was only a matter of time before it closed? The darkness which was keeping Pietro's light at bay, these planar energies roiling within the mountainside are starting to diminish, much to everyone's relief. But then, something catches your eyes upon the mountain itself. |