Adventurers' Guild 2: Cap'n Marko and the crew of the Sampo

[DavidByron]

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Oooh! Didn't realise that Marko was getting so sneaky-up-on-people. I wasn't expecting this but it actually fits very well what with Marko being a gnome and a bard.

Marko sneaks ahead of the group along the edge of the sewer wall. There's an intersection ahead much like the last one, the junction of two of the large sewer lines, Marko travelling West with the cross channel running North-South. As before there's a fence-like structure at the corners of the junction, presumably to stop people accidentally falling over, but this time there's no little bridge across the sewer.

At the junction of the sewer lines the waters disappear further into the ground down a shaft/well. Three small waterfalls join at the edges (the sewer to the South is dry). The shaft looks big enough to take a much larger capacity of water flow. Even with the flow as it is there's a loud noise of water rushing down. It looks like there's a horizontal grille across the shaft to catch large objects from being swept down. The water from the West seems clear. Marko notes these details from about thirty feet away where he stops short.

There's a giant beaver sitting on the far side of the cross-sewer and it looks like it is grabbing at something in the water every now and then. Like it was fishing but the sewer seems an unlikely place to find fish and the group has seen none in the dark waters of the sewer they've been following.

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I'm not sure what creature type giant beavers are supposed to be in 3.5 ed since they are basically animals that have a decent int which isn't allowed in 3.5 Would they be magical beasts? Monstrous humanoids? At any rate I'll rule that they can be communicated with by the gnomish ability to communicate with water based mammals since they are - even if they are not creature type: animal.

Marko has heard of these creatures from his gnomish bard lore. Giant beavers feature in some gnomish seaman's tales. They have human level intelligence or close to it and are reclusive and rare. They're usually pictured as creatures of nature punishing the greedy or rescuing the virtuous. A human sewer doesn't seem at all a likely place to find them. They have their own language and can also speak the language of aquatic mammals as gnomes do and perhaps some, a smattering of common or gnomish. At least according to the stories.

The light seems to be coming from the Northern sewer, still a little ahead.

The sewer is dark and the noise of the falls is loud. Still, it seems surprising that Marko has caught such a sensitive creature by surprise. While Marko is considering whether to creep closer or return to the others the beaver seems to realise something is wrong, standing up and sniffing, ears twitching.

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OK the next bit is to allow everyone else to do things before Marko posts again. I can edit it to whatever Daryk prefers in terms of the words.

Standing forth with his hands outstretched at a low angle in the universal gesture of "not trying to attack you" Marko speaks up speaking in the aquatic language, a formal greeting he recalls from one of the stories,

"Peace! Greetings to the People of the Lodge"

The giant beaver is one big hairy critter. It looks at Marko intelligently, sort of turns its head a bit and replies in common,

"Peace. Greetings to the People of the Isles."

[MK Kilmarnock]

Not wanting to stray far from the group but also worried about Marko heading alone, Zan's hands fidgeted in a tell-tale fashion. Opening his mouth several times to speak but never uttering anything each time, he finally managed a barely-audible whisper.

"Do... you think I should f-follow him?"

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Dravick watches Marko sneak off towards the light, and waits for him to return with a report. When Zan asks if he should go after Marko, Dravick places a friendly hand on Zan's shoulder and says, in a warm and friendly tone, "Zan, my friend, I must say that stealth doesn't seem to be your strongest point. No offense, of course. But if you're really worried about him, I'll scout ahead and see what I can." Dravick waits for a reply, not wanting to take any chances, and knowing that even skilled stalkers can make enough noise to cause detection, especially when there are more than one of them.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan smirked to try and show amusement while his eyebrows betrayed him, arched in a sign of prevailing nervousness. He did his best to continue at a whisper, cupping his hand as well to shield the sound from reaching the sewer walls, where they would undoubtedly bounce off and create problems.

"N-None taken... I'm supposed t-to be staying back and healing people, though I end up... um..." He dropped that sentence where it was. "R-right, you go on ahead t-too."

[DavidByron]

The rest of you distinctly hear Marko speak out loud to someone.

Dragutin, whispers:
He's speaking in the language of swimming mammals. He might be questioning a wild rat or--

Then you hear the words spoken by the giant beaver. Faint, and with a strange accent, so you're not quite sure what is said but you realise it's in common.

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DC 15 Listen check to comprehend what the giant beaver said exactly. ie the "Peace. Greetings to the People of the Isles." message.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Dravick gives Zan a wink and starts off stealthily towards Marko. He doesn't get very far before he hears something that sounds like speaking, followed by Dragutin's explanation of what Marko said.

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Listen - (1d20+7)[18]

[Daryk]

Marko

A suprised smile on his face, Marko replied in Common, "And a good evening to you as well. What brings you to such a strange place at this hour?"

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What you had was good, David, thank you. If Marko is to converse with the creature, though, I fear it's going to be slow going for a while.

[DavidByron]

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Yes after the whole once a week thing I realised conversations are real killers on the back and forth but lets give it a try. I suggest a combination of direct speech as you have there and indirect "try to draw him out about such and such" or "win his confidence without mentioning X" or "we'll pretend to be merchants" etc.

Giant Beaver:
"My name is Running About. This is a good place to catch the eels that flow through the sewers. It doesn't matter what time of day it is for the eels as they never see the sun, but I try to avoid being seen by the hum---"

At this point Marko becomes aware that Dragutin and Dravick are coming up behind him. The giant beaver jumps back a little and beats the surface of the water with his large tail creating a loud whack-whack noise, and looks like it intends to run away. Dragutin hurries forward level with Marko and says, "Wait! Don't be afraid -- we're the good guys!"

Surprisingly the giant beaver seems to be taken with this simple statement. It stops what it is doing and peers carefully at Dragutin aand then at Dravick. The three adventurers are about forty feet away and on the other side of the North-South sewer section which would require a jump of seven feet to clear.

Giant Beaver:
"Yes. I can see that now. You are a holy knight. Peace, to all three of you!"

From where you are you see no sign of any eels in the water although you've been trying to keep your light sources dimmed on the journey through the sewer so far. The giant beaver is just calming down again when Durx and Zan bring up the rear.

Dragutin:
"They're with us. That's all of us; five."

The giant beaver peers carefully towards Durx and the Zan. It seems to jump a little in shock, catches itself, peers again at Zan and settles back down again.

[MK Kilmarnock]

The entire time he stood there, Zan kept nervously looking around and rubbing the back of his head. Irony lent itself in the fact that the beavers were apprehensive of humans, but Zan seemed to be even more creeped out by them.

I wonder... ... ever since that incident at the forming of the tree, my body and spirit changed. I can't put my finger on the exact change, at least in words, but I have an idea of what it was, and that I should be getting along with certain creatures more than the average human.

"H-Hi... sorry, I've never... um... you know, uh... ... you know what, never mind..." He said, as uncertain as ever. Talking beavers seemed to have completely thrown him off. He looked at his flask for a second, but thought that, just this once, he should lay off it.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Just when Dravick was about to speak, he was caught off-guard by Zan's salutation to the Beaver. He stands for a full moment or two with his mouth open, the word's unable to find any purchase on his tongue. Zan... forthright... odd... He was rendered as close to speechless as he probably can be, and after a few seconds he found his voice again, but used it to urge Zan onward. "Go ahead Zan, say what you want to say to the nice beaver" he urged friendly.

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko, not knowing Zan that well yet, furrowed a brow at Dravick's reaction. Not seeing Zan respond, though, the gnome plunged back into conversation: "That's quite a nice name, Running About. I'm Marko Ratkotruljevic, Captain of the Sampo. My friends and I are trying to find out exactly what's going on here in town. We've got a good grasp on the invasion and all, but what the goblins have done since just doesn't make any sense..."

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Marko will make introductions as necessary, and try to determine if the beaver knows anything about the digging, or what the goblins might be after.

[MK Kilmarnock]

"Right!" Zan looked down at his feet shamefully, knowing that he should be more sociable to a group of beings that his own party might rely on for success. "Er... um... R-Running About?" The cleric looked from the beaver being addressed to Marko in order to confirm he said it right before looking back.

"Sorry... b-before I continue, c-c.... can I ask.... a-ask you something?" He decided now would be a really good time to take a looong drink of ale to calm his nerves and ease his stuttering. "So... two things, really... what interactions have you had with humans before, and do I... seem different? Yeah... sorry if that last one sounds weird, but I was told a few things and... well, maybe you'll see."

[DavidByron]

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I probably should have asked for Diplomacy rolls from everyone but your group seems so good at Diplomacy I'll just go ahead and assume you can make a DC 15. You need a 15 for "friendly" and Dravick has a +10, Zan has a +9 on the die plus I'll allow the other three to aid other both those attempts if you want. I guess you have a shot at a DC 30 "will take risks to help you" result. That would certainly help expedite the plot

Zan gets +4 diplo vs Fey. The giant beaver isn't Fey but it's probably good for a +1 circumstantial bonus.

So I suggest Zan and Dravick both make regular Diplomacy rolls while Dragutin, Marko and Durx make aid other attempts - ie a Diplomacy roll with DC 10 and no "take ten" possible. For each success by those three, both Zan and Dravick increase their score by 2. Normally I wouldn't allow so many to aid other a Diplomacy roll but there's special reasons for the creature to like you all.

Dragutin diplomatic aid other - (1d20+4)[21]
OK so that's +2 from Dragutin.

As you try to draw him out the giant beaver seems a little fidgety. Always half way between running off and glad to talk to you. Or perhaps "Running About" is his name because he can't stay still. He doesn't seem very bright but he does seem to be sensitive in other ways somehow. You quickly gain the creature's trust.

Why in Khorinis:
Marko presses Running About again on his first question -- why he is in Khorinis at all if he's unhappy with humans? Running About conspiratorially glances about and says it's a big secret and that he's not meant to tell anyone what they are all helping to guard. He doesn't seem like a tough nut to crack exactly, but for the time being you let that question slide, to return to it from another angle.

Goblins:
It's clear that Running About knows about the goblins and doesn't like them at all. "They're searching and digging. I hope the traps stop them." Again it seems clear that Running About is guarding something and you try to get him to say what without success.

It's not so much that he's any good at keeping a secret. He seems pretty lose lipped in fact. You get the impression he doesn't know exactly what it is he's guarding. Or the function of it is something with little meaning to him. At any rate he's conscious enough of the need for secrecy that you feel you can't just directly ask him to try and describe what it is.

Good guys:
Running About seems to assume that you must be here to help defeat the goblins and save whatever he's guarding -- rather than saving the city of Khorinis or just winning a battle in the war for example. He also comments on Durx' holy symbol as evidence of this "fact". "Oooh you have the cross". Yes he knows about the Saint although he doesn't seem to get the idea of religion too well.

Humans:
He says he's always avoided the humans and hasn't talked to one before Dravick, "Not even the one". He says humans hardly ever come down to the sewers and when they do they make a lot of noise and are easy to avoid. They do some human stuff and leave. Except the one that talks to the chief sometimes. "But nobody else talks to him". He doesn't know much about the man and the man might be a secret too....

Zan:
And Zan isn't like a human is he? He doesn't seem scary that way, "Except at first when I thought I saw a shadow and that was even worse" but whatever it was is gone now he says. In fact Running About seems to be quite happy talking to Zan.

[MK Kilmarnock]

The first signs of a smile crept across Zan's face as he began to relax. When there was a sense of mutual fear, things couldn't carry on very well. This beaver, though, this 'Running About', seemed to be one of the most reasonable things he had ever run into at late.

"B-By your knowledge, how... what's the population down here? I bet there's q-quite the city... sorry, that was the best way I could put it..." Zan did one of his trademark question/apologies once again, but at least the flask was by his side.

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko observed the conversation and interjected where he could, trying to help Dravick elicit the information they sought. He periodically scanned the other entrances to the space they were in, just in case another group was approaching.

[DavidByron]

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So not many Q left for Running About? If you think of some more I can edit them in.

As you continue to talk Running About seem to come to some sort of decision about you.

Running About:
I know I'm not too sharp but I have always had a sense for the good. That sense is telling me now that I should trust you all and whatever your mission here is.

The Lodge:
Running About says its a big secret but their lodge is beneath the sewers and consists of only a couple of dozen adult beavers. As guardians of their sacred trust they don't move on and build a new lodge every few years as other beavers do. Each of the beavers has their job to do and Running About's job is to act as lookout, eel fisher and very rarely, messenger. All things that need someone who is not afraid of outsiders like most of the beavers. Beyond the lodge there are more human tunnels with traps and other beavers "look after them".

Running About crosses over from his side of the sewer to yours and accompanies you towards the exit on to street level that you have been heading for. This is not far down the North running sewer from the cross-roads you are at (the turning on the right). You pass what appears to be a continuous flame spell cast upon an iron bar cemented into the wall of the sewer. The chimney up to the street level looks a little different from the one you came down; it has iron rungs instead of brick and it goes straight up instead of having a "platform" in the middle of it. Basically similar though.

Running About says he can often be found in the same place should you need him for something below ground or if he can be more help. With that you ascend the iron rungs and Durx at the front of the line, pops the metal cover enough to check the exit is clear. Following Old Mr Mason's directions you dash across the road into a side street which leads to an alley at the back of a run of nice looking houses, somewhat similar to the back alley behind the Adventurers' Guild HQ, but the houses are less ritzy and more built up.

As you approach the correct back gate you see a short dark figure step out and say, "It's about time you lot got here. What kept you?"

It is Eodrick. He and (as it turns out, although he's still hiding and hasn't spoken yet) Kyte have got ahead of you walking at street level. Lacking the introductory note that Old Mr Mason wrote, they have been waiting for you to show. You quickly filter from the alley into the backyard of the house.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Voice from the Shadows
"Phew! When was the last time this team cleaned their armor?"
Kyte steps out of a shadow, a small smirk on his face visible to those nearest him.
"Don't answer that - let's press on. I didn't come here to admire the architecture."

He joins the team in the backyard, looking around with quick glances before taking up a hidden position behind whichever rock or shrubbery is closest to the back door of the house, then gestures for the rest of the team to proceed to the door as he hunkers down with weapon drawn.

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Spot - (1d20+5)[15]
Hide - (1d20+8)[15]
Did I get those rolls right, based of the data sheet in DB's signature? Anybody have a working link to a character sheet for Kyte, even an out-of-date one? Or should I go ahead and create one from scratch?

[MK Kilmarnock]

"Just the other n..." Unamused by the question at first, Zan was somewhat relieved to at least see Kyte. Even if those two never, ever got along. Maybe what he was really more interested in was some sort of constant, that being his human or at least humanoid companions. Then again, he felt he should have had some sort of kinship with Running About and the other beavers...

Not like other humans... Zan ran through his mind. It was one of those things he kept back there, along with the task Ana had assigned to him and his lifelong goal. Having mostly forgotten his actual instructions by this point, Zan just went along with what everybody else was doing.. making it a point to imitate Eodrick's actions, mostly.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"Nice to see you again too Kyte." Dravick answers to Kyte's joke. "I'll speak to the librarian." he announces as he nears the house. Once the group is all in the yard Dravick knocks at the door.

[DavidByron]

For a little while nothing happens after Dravick knocks. Of course it is past midnight but Old Mr Mason had seemed to think that would not be a problem. What sort of person stays up after midnight on the off-chance that total strangers might just happen to turn up, armed to the teeth? Dravik grasps the note of introduction that Old Mr Mason had hastily written. The note is short and a little cryptic perhaps. It reads:

These young men are looking for some work and I thought you might be able to help them. They're trustworthy and do good work.
Charles.

A sound of some movement behind the back door and then it is opened by an elderly man with grey hair. He wears a conspicuous symbol of the church of Saint Cuthbert. Without saying a word he motions for Dravick and the others to enter the house. His body language seems tense, especially when he sees Durx and the gnomes.

The back door leads into a kitchen area. Once everyone is inside the elderly man closes the door, draws a bolt and a places a bar across it, and finally seems to let out held breath. He speaks in a crisp urgent tone but keeping the volume low.

Niry:
"Are you being chased? Who are you? I don't recognise any of you."

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Sorry for the short post; I'm away for a long weekend so a "proper" long post when I get back I hope on Tuesday.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Kyte speaks up before Dravick gets a chance. Instead of respectfully approaching the old man and looking him in the eyes, however, he stays in the back of the group and scans the room, looking for entrances, exits, etc. His weapon is in its sheath but his hand is not far from it.

Kyte
"We're not being chased, but we don't care to advertise our presence. Who we are is not important, but rather what - we are a band of blades here to help against the invaders - and as you can see by our letter, we have references!"

[Daryk]

Marko

Raising an eyebrow at Kyte's abruptness, Marko nodded and added, "As our young friend here suggests, we were referred to you by Mr. Mason. Bridgeport's finest at your service, sir." With that, the gnome gave a short bow. Straigtening, he continued, "I'm Marko Ratkotruljevic, captain of the Sampo. I'd like to introduce our spokesman, Dravick. And please be not afraid of our chaplain, Durx. He looks fearsome, but only foes of the Saint need fear."

[MK Kilmarnock]

Having listened to the extravagant (at least, to him) introductions and cordial greetings given by both Marko and Kyte (the latter of which coming as a major surprise), Zan sighed lowly as a quiet alternative to clearing his throat before trying his hand at an introduction of his own. There was no real need for it, but the cleric felt like it was at least proper.

"Th-There isn't... um..." Zan flicked his own temple once to help him concentrate. "I'm Zan Morseworth, C-Cleric of Boccob. What you see is what you get with me... I use a scythe, drink from a flask, and try to make sure n-nobody dies."

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Caught a bit off guard by Kyte's outspokenness, Dravick loses the initiative in the introduction round. But he is able to salvage his composure in time to put a good face on the group.
"And I am Dravick, a performer, storyteller, and now adventurer, currently acting as the spokesman of this noble group." Dravick ends his introduction with a bow and a flourish. When he straightens he holds the letter from Master Mason out to the old man at the door. "I can tell you much of our valiant exploits, but if you don't mind, I think we'd all feel safer doing do inside."

[DavidByron]

Niry takes the note from Dravick and reads it.

Niry:
"Hmph. He signed his name to it too."

He looks over the group again.

"That tells me two things. Firstly this matter must be extremely important to him, for he needn't have done that. Secondly he must have been confident of your ability to defeat a squad of goblins should you have met them.

"I am at your service. Please follow me to the study; we can talk more easily there."

Niry leads the group out of the kitchen, through a corridor, past a staircase and through a door into a room lined with books from floor to roof. There's a long table with chairs and a couple more comfy looking chairs near a fire place.

"I have not heard of the Sampo I'm afraid, nor have I heard of your names. It's very strange to find priests of so different deities associating. From your weapons and from your races, from your mix of accents... I deduce that you are from the recently formed Bridgeport guild of Adventurers and that these tokens many of you wear must be the guild badge."

He saunters over to the fire place and throws the note into it. It burns up quickly and Niry stirs the ashes up. He straightens up and frowns.

"But then why would Mason trust a group of adventurers of all things?"

Niry:
"At any rate, please sit down. You're all most welcome here, and not the least, a fellow priest of the Saint, though I am sure my own abilities in that direction do not compare. I am very interested in your stories and how you all came to be here. A half-orc raised by dwarves? A youth who has already crossed this continent from the Western desert to the Elvish homelands? An altruistic cleric of Boccob? But time is not on our side. I assume you've come to ask me about the tomb of Sir Avahn and Hesperida's hair?"

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"A half-orc raised by dwarves? A youth who has already crossed this continent from the Western desert to the Elvish homelands? An altruistic cleric of Boccob?"

Referring to Durx, Kyte, Zan respectively.

Kyte's backstory actually has him starting on the very Western edge of the Elvish empire and traveling all over the place but going over the Mountains that ring the Timber valley to the West and going through the desert there for a while before returning into the Timber valley.

Priests of Boccob are normally, like their deity, not really too bothered about helping people out and generally stick with magic and abstract knowledge.

Hesperida, as you're about to get told, is a demigod in service to Saint Cuthbert. Durx would of course recognise the name and some others of you might too with a DC 12 knowledge: religion check. For Sir Avahn you'd need a DC 14 history or nobles check and for what's special about Hesperida's hair you'd need either a DC 20 arcane knowledge check or religion I guess. Possibly others too and a bardic knowledge might help. Having said all that don't worry about it because the guy's just about to tell you all if you don't already know.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Kyte now appears relaxed, his weapon sheathed. He even finds a chair where he can prop up his feet.

Kyte
"Yes, that's us - the one thing we have in common is that we're all different! Now, do tell us about the tomb."

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Despite acting so casual, Kyte actually has no idea what this tomb business is about. And how the heck does this guy know so much about us - the note didn't say any of those things!

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan shrugged, gulping. For whatever reason, Niry's words made him feel like a cleric worshiping his deity shouldn't really care about anything. This was a stance which, of course, Zan didn't hold strongly.

"Y-Yeah, imagine that... h-heh heh.." He quit talking while he was behind, allowing Kyte to come up with all the questions while he relegated to drinking once more. Actually, that reminded him...

"Is... th-there any ale here?"

[Daryk]

Marko

"Haven't heard of the Sampo? The finest ship to sail the Timber River? Let us say you haven't heard of her yet. When this city is once again free, I daresay you'll hear rather more of her than may be true. But as our young friend requested, please do tell us of this tomb. We have a bit of a score to settle with these goblins, and foiling their well laid plans would go a long way toward balancing the scales," the gnome replied.

[DavidByron]

Niry begins his tale, watching each of you carefully at times.

Niry:
For many years I was the librarian here in Khorinis and I had the opportunity to study many things based on the texts accumulated from many cultures and many ages of history. Naturally the history of Khorinis itself was of special interest. Due to the circumstances surrounding the departure of my predecessor the library records were in confusion when I started and so it was that for many years I missed what seems obvious in hindsight, namely a break in the record of the local history section of the library. Certainly some periods of history are without much in the way of noteworthy events and had the saboteur been more parsimonious I might have taken longer still to see the gap in the records.

Instead all the local records, even such things as marriages and birth lists, for a period at the end of the late Vanorian age had been removed. How long this had been the case I do not know although I suspect centuries past. The gap was clear but the motivation was not. At any rate I tried to remedy the situation. During that age Khorinis still came under the jurisdiction of Lauden and so I tried to contact what archivists there but found I would have to go in person to have access to the records. I was unable to do this until after my retirement, and so the puzzle went unanswered for many years.

(Nirry at this points notices some fidgeting from the audience and at tries to speed things up a bit; he also gets Zan a glass of something alcoholic with a rather fruity aroma and hands it to him with a sort of apologetic "that's all I've got" shrug)

Well eventually I was able to recover many of the records and in addition I believe I discovered the grounds for the removal of the entire section. During those years a considerable construction took place within the city; a tomb for the recently deceased local lord and legendary hero Sir Avahn of Khorinis. Legendary at least for the time (I'm not referring to THE Sir Avahn of course, who gave his name to the clan Avahn of the three Vanorian clans, but a descendant through many years). Specifically this hero was known as a guardian of one of the strands of Hesperida's hair. His sense of duty, and perhaps jealousy, was such that he made instructions that upon his death a tomb would be created to house the artifact -- instead of passing it on to another to protect. As you can imagine this was no ordinary tomb but one built to withstand such robbers as might seek to capture the artifact. Or part of an artifact I suppose; there were seven strands I think.

Obviously at the time the construction.....

Oh what artifact? "The Lute of Creation". Well according to the Church of the Saint the valley know as the Timber was fashioned by the Lady Hesperida using the Lute of Creation. This is the same lute that had been used to create the material plane by the Gods but by the time Saint Cuthbert entrusted it to Hesperida its power was broken. She was able to re-string it using her own hair it is said, and empower it with some of her own essence so that it could shape mountains. A long fall from its original use of course, but potent still. The lute was given to the Vanorians who venerated the Saint above other deities. They claimed the valley had been shaped with their destiny in mind. As the empire collapsed the lute was considered for a second time to be too powerful and was broken up. The strands of hair were separated and scattered, often placed in the hands of powerful guardians. Some were simply lost. But that's all (he waves his hand) stuff anyone can tell you.

Yes, so the tomb.... the construction could hardly be kept a secret at the time. A secret society was dedicated to guarding the tomb in perpetuity. Although I believe it has died out since (you can never be 100% sure with these secret societies, but they were basically wiped out fighting tomb raiders long ago) I suspect that the historical records were removed by this society perhaps centuries after the tomb was constructed, by which time memories of the tomb would have passed away.

All of this is of interest to a local historian but few others I had thought, until recent events. Soon after the fall of the city to the goblins Mason came to me and told me about the resistance. I'm talking about the father now, not the son, who appears to lead it. I was surprised they approached me as old as I am and useless in a fight. In fact although I agreed to let them use this house in their need, it seems that Mason had in mind something more in line with my talents. He asked me to steal for him the same documents referencing the tomb that I had been able to retrieve from Lauden shortly after my retirement two years ago. I was able to do this (and with considerably more subtlety than the original thieves!) but Of course in asking me Mason gave away what must surely be a connection with that once secret society.

I believe Mason considers himself some sort of guardian of this ancient tomb, although I am still pretty sure there is no larger society, certainly not this resistance group. Perhaps his son. He has admitted nothing of this to me but he does seem well informed. For example he was able to anticipate that the occupying army would seek out the tomb of Avahn , and even that the enemy would search the library for clues. Nevertheless to risk revealing his identity to an outsider, even though we'd long known each other as friends... that speaks to a considerable lack of power. Mason was forced to trust me.

And perhaps forced to trust you too...?

The last people you'd want to tell about a secret tomb with a hidden artifact would be a bunch of adventurers. He must fear this Elven commander, Finde, more than you. It's just like him to have me tell you all this when he could have told you himself.

Niry stops for questions (!)

[MK Kilmarnock]

Luckily enough, since Zan wasn't best known for his attention span (something which served to annoy Thaghor, nearly to no end), one of the most interesting parts of Niry's speech was actually near the very beginning. The verbal reminder that Niry was a librarian (a fact that had not sunk into the preoccupied cleric's brain) instigated the drawing of paralells between Niry and Thaghor.

This point of interest was still lingering in Zan's mind when the drink glass was handed to him. "E-Eh? Oh... u-uh, thank you!" He eyed the drink with what may have been a slight air of suspicion while struggling to pay attention to the rest of Niry's story. He caught something about Lauden, and stealing... something he'd have to go over later, probably while staring at that picture of Lauden Ana gave him.