Search Posts
"But... but..." under the firm stare of the Lady-Mayor, Bodert Quink sighs and slumps into a chair. Then he looks at the group suddenly. "Oh, I almost forgot. Laurana sent me to give you these. She said she finally identified them all." He hands the group a small leather bag. Within are the remaining ioun stones that the group had yet to identify, along with a note.
The door bursts open with a clatter, and in runs Brodert Quink, all dusty and out of breath. "You..." he pants for a moment, trying to catch his breath. He leans on a table to balance himself. "Hhh... you found... more ruins! Why wasn't... I... notified?? That was hours ago!" He shakes himself and wipes his brow with his sleeve. "You know how important this could be to my research! This only proves that the island was once connected to the mainland, and the complex runs under the entire town! So much of it has collapsed... we need more labor! Laurana has been doing great work but she is only one person!" He turns to the mayor. "Lady Mayor! We must call up the militia at once! We'll use them to excavate the collapsed tunnels. With the whole militia working shifts, we should clear those passages in a matter of mere months!" He nods emphatically. He turns back to the group. "In the meantime you must escort me to the new site! We must make a full survey! Laurana can continue on the existing catacombs while I chart these new ones. Imagine that all along the Chopper had such an interesting find right beneath his feet!"
"Lady Mayor, as you can see I am suitably armed. I'm sure my presence will be enough as I study the catacombs to deter any interlopers. Though I can't wait to take this armor off, actually. Why do they make it so heavy?" "In any case, I must begin my survey at once! Now that the chambers below have been exposed to outside air, decay and corrosion could set in at any moment!"
"These idiots wouldn't let me past!" shouts Brodert, full of indignation. "When I heard about the tunnels beneath the town, I came at once! I explained to these... men... that I was fully prepared and equipped for such an expedition! For some reason though, they think they have the authority to bar my way! Well, I wasn't about to start spearing people over bad manners, but it was tempting, I tell you! What did you find down there?"
"Oh, a boar, right. Well, that's all right then. You know, enlarged boars may have been used in the Thassilonian realm of Thassilon as mounts..." Brodert wanders off towards the bar.
"Oh! Laurana! There you are," says Brodert, as he adjusts his spectacles. "They told me there was a dinner here..." his words trail off as he looks around the crowded taproom. "I, ah, understand you caught a pig, out in the Tickwood. Was this the creature that was defending the stone disk you found?"
"Ah yes! Abysium! Good eye. When the Thassilonians made prisons they sometimes used this material in the bars and manacles, to weaken their prisoners and make escape harder. Strange that they would put it in a statue though." Master Quink rubs his chin. "Handling it with your bare hands and standing next to it should have about the same effect. You won't notice anything for a few hours, and you will recover after a while if you are no longer near it. Wash your hands after though. You don't want Abysium dust getting into your system." "I've heard that powdered Abysium can be used to make poison, though I don't know how that's done." "It may be that Abysium interacts with ioun stones somehow. Hmmm... they don't usually glow like that do they? It is also fairly expensive, so this could just be another needless ostentation. But making this disc out of gold would serve that purpose better. Or perhaps there is some connection between Abysium and the Peacock Spirit? Some religious significance? I've never heard of such a thing but it's worth looking into... yes, let's make a note of that, shall we?" Quink starts scribbling on the note paper he has brought.
"...your theory that it may be a statue may well be correct. The Thassilonians erected thousands of enormous monuments, and it's amazing how many of them are still standing. My colleagues in Magnimar think I'm off my head, but I am certain that the Thassilonian Empire predates Earthfall, which would make them over 10,000 years old. Think of it! Nothing we have built in Sandpoint would last even a fraction of that time. Oh! Is this it? It's rather steep, isn't it?" Master Quink huffs and puffs but manages to ascent the slope up to the small cave. "Ah, yes. Wonderful! Wonderful indeed! Yes, it does look like an eye. And those certainly are ioun stones all right! They were an Azlanti invention, you know! Still not fully understood by modern artificers. That explains the circular motion..." He steps back for a moment. "The angle is strange... the eye here is looking straight down. I suspect this piece of the original statue must have broken off and toppled over, landing sideways like this. It looks like these stones were damaged by the fall. Shame, that." "Does this eye look... bird-like to you? Yes, I think it is... Which would mean that this could be a statue of the Peacock Spirit. That was a deity worshiped back in the Thassilonian era. We don't know much about the religion, sadly... The Peacock Spirit seems to be a dead god. May have died in Earthfall." "The statue may be a border marker for Shalast. There are a few of those. The Shalasti liked ostentatious displays of wealth, and embedding ioun stones into a statue just to make it glow and spin would not be cheap." "This could be an important site! We need to excavate the whole area. I hate to take time away from my study of the old light... perhaps I can delegate. I'm sure the town council would be happy to send people. Yes, that might work! They wouldn't let me start digging holes around Sandpoint because people live there, but out here should be no problem. Perhaps they can call up the militia. Not that the goblin threat is gone they can do something useful like digging up this statue. Yes, I must bring that to the council at once!"
Brodert Quink looks up from his work. "What's this you say? A Thassilonian artifact of some kind?" "Wonderful news! Just wonderful! Yes, you must take me there at once! It was in the hills east of the town, you say? Wonderful! Let's get going!" He looks down at his feet; he has slippers on. "Oh, wait one moment. Let me get my shoes. They're here somewhere." After some rummaging... "Ah here they are. Let's go then! What are we waiting for? Oh! Hang on a moment. I must bring my bag. Yes, where is it..." And then... "Okay, then, let's be off. Wait! My coat! It is a bit chilly out isn't it? I think it's in the closet..." And then... "All right, ready to... parchment! I may want to make some notes. I need some parchment. No, not those, blank parchment. Well, I suppose I could write on the back... nope, did that already. Maybe in this drawer..." After about fifteen minutes of rummaging, Kargas and Floredana manage to get Brodert Quink out of the house and on the road to the site.
"Of course, of course. Come back any time... especially if you find something worth looking at. Heh." "Oh!" he exclaims, suddenly realizing something. "I should have put some tea on! That's what you do when you have guests. Do we have tea?" he asks Laurana. "Remind me to get some tea for next time," he says. "I have a teapot somewhere..." he begins rummaging through his things again.
"His daughter? Um... I forget her name. She died the same time as him, in the fire. She was just a teenager. It was quite sad. I can't say I ever had reason to talk to her though." "Many of the priests and their families lived in the cathedral complex back then, and most of it burned down, particularly the Desnan wing. Father Zantus was on an errand at Windsong Abbey at the time which is why he survived. But a bunch of priests died. I don't recall how many... perhaps a dozen?" "Old father Julius survived because he got trapped in the basement and hid in the vault. Priests of Abadar always have a vault, apparently. He was the senior priest after the fire, but they didn't make him head priest because some people said he hid down there instead of helping deal with the fire." "I'm sure he could give you details about Tobyn's daughter. Or Father Zantus could too; he studied under Tobyn."
"The attack is over? Well... why didn't you say so?" He leans the ranseur against a stack of books. "Probably for the best. Never used one of these before. Mind you, the principle seems simple enough - the sharp bit goes into the enemy. Don't know why everyone venerates warriors - anybody could figure that one out." "Yes, the engraving is very fine, which probably means this was an officer's weapon. The enlisted men probably wouldn't be issued something like this. But there aren't a whole lot of examples of Thassilonian metalwork that have survived, so its hard to say." He sits back down behind his desk. "As to why goblins would attack... well, why wouldn't they? They don't like us very much. And where they came from... well, there's goblins in every direction from here as far as I know. Especially in rougher terrain. They cleared them out of the arable areas a long time ago." "You know who you should talk to if you want to know about goblins? Daviren Hosk. He's a ranger and patrols the area around town looking to keep the goblins under control. No, wait..." he pauses. "I take that back. Daviren's retired. Well, I'm sure he still knows lots about goblins - ask him about the ten facts about goblins, he loves telling people those. But his replacement would know more, probably. Her name's Shalelu... something. She's an elf. I don't know if she's in town but if she is she would have the most up to date information." He looks around the room, and waves at the various bits of stone and artifacts around the room. "My field is ancient Thassilon. I am a Thassilonologist. I have a variety of projects going on right now. But if you have any questions about that, I certainly would be happy to help. They really are a fascinating people. The Thassilonians lived thousands of years ago, so the fact that their structures still stand at all is a testament to their architecture. They left enormous monuments all over Varisia, like the Old Light here. The Old Light is only a fraction of it's height now; it once was a huge tall tower. But the Irespan in Magnimar is even more impressive." "I'd probably be in Magnimar studying the Irespan right now, but there are far too many people doing the same thing. Meanwhile, they harvest the stone there to make golems out of, and there are people living in the damned thing. Ridiculous! Impossible to get any real research done there. That's why I came here. Nobody bothers with the Old Light, so I have it all to myself." "Is there anything you would like to know about the Thassilonians?"
Master Quink is taken aback. "How can you tell me to put away my weapon when there are goblins running loose in the streets! Haven't you heard? They're attacking the Cathedral!" "And it's a ranseur, not a sword! Genuine Thassilonian, excellently preserved. Outstanding weaponsmiths back then. Look at this engraving work..." When asked about Thistletop, he rubs his head. "Thistletop? I think I've heard the name before. Is it an island? I think it's an island. Yes... you could ask a local sailor I suppose." At the mention of Father Tobyn, he shakes his head. "Tobyn, I don't know... he was the head priest when I arrived in Sandpoint, which was, oh, twelve years ago, or so. He seemed to be very old-fashioned - he never married, you know, said he was 'married to Desna' or some such thing. If so Desna must have a lot of husbands! Ha hah..." his laughter drifts off as he sees Floredana's holy symbol around her neck. "*ahem*, anyway, yes, never married, though Desnan priests are allowed to have wives. Much to the disappointment of a few ladies in town you can imagine. So I heard, anyway. He did have a daughter though. But now that I mention it, I think she was adopted. Must 'ave been, as he wasn't married, of course." Master Quink suddenly snaps to attention. "What are we doing standing here talking? We have to defend the town! We're under attack!"
"Goblin graverobbers? Oh my! That sounds dreadful! I better get my Ranseur! I have one around here somewhere..." Master Quink begins to upend his belongings as the group continues to ask questions. "Tribe? Yes, I think they are considered tribes... though I imagine the truly correct term would be what the term is in the goblin language... I don't speak that, sadly..." Master Quink begins pulling clothing out of a wardrobe in his search. "Tobyn? Well, I didn't really know the man myself... we didn't get along really... he seemed to think I needed his 'permission' to study the old stone circle... nothing I did was invasive at all, the shovel was just in case, you know... nope, not in there." He shuts the wardrobe and goes into what is either a bedroom or a storeroom (hard to tell from where you are), and you can hear more sounds of rummaging. "...I don't really know much about goblins though... not my field... though I have often wondered if the ancient Thassilonians might have bred their nastiness into them... I never seem to have enough time to study these things... Aha!" He comes out of the back with a ranseur, badly corroded and caked with lime and other detritus. "All right, let's go deal with these goblins, shall we?"
Master Quink looks both irritated and alarmed. "What Cathedral attack? What are you talking about?" "The beach... you know, below the cliff here. Junker's beach. When Gorvi goes around with his cart and gathers up the garbage, he pitches it over the edge. Once in a while you see goblins going through the garbage. They must be coming along the coast, because you never see any boats." "I doubt they are there now; they prefer to go after nightfall. And don't worry: they aren't good climbers so they can't get up here from there. There's no way they could attack the cathedral."
"What? I, uh..." Master Quink is confused for a moment. "Goblin? Why were you interrogating a goblin? Was it one of the ones from the beach?"
Master Quink bustles around the room in a fugue. "Laurana! Good! I think I've found a piece of corbel in the rubble. If we can find a nice piece of eave that matches then we might be able to determine the circumference... oh! Who are your friends?" he says as he looks up at the group for the first time. He eyes Floredana and Rig over the rims of his glasses. |
