Iron Crown
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Spoken to my by Skylarks Song Idrin when last I visited him, it seems quite appropriate today. Working with the slaves and freemen charioteers at the Lonely Runner has not quite worked out the way I had hoped it would. Whenever I am able to coach a slave to enough victories to win their freedom, they are simply replaced by another downtrodden face, forced to win or die trying. I thought I could make a difference there, that I could help restore some of Urian’s freedom on this rock.
Strangely enough, it’s been the occasional work I’ve done for loremaster Sovant that has allowed me to follow Urian’s teachings; allowing his light to reach the ignored nooks and crannies, freeing knowledge and expunging evil artifacts. It’s also allowed me to meet a whole range of people I would otherwise never have been exposed to. Take Dob for instance, if he had not invited me to drink with his friends at the 60th birthday celebration for King Gharvag the Red, I would still be treading water.
Dob does seem to know quite a few unusual characters, but I guess in his line of work, you get around. When I arrived in Defenders Square, I was able to find Dob at a table in front of Blythes Spirits. It seems he had gotten started earlier, but was quick to introduce his drinking mates, Quanus (an honest to goodness Whitelaw wizard) and Tyrus (a war wizard from the Bastion). I had seen Quanus around the freeman’s ward before, usually stumbling from a tavern or gaming house, smelling of cheap wine or mead. He was consuming more than his fair share of it today, but then again, I’m not one to talk, especially as it was all on the King’s tab!
We were soon joined by Aer (a golden skinned beauty, made even lovelier by her pure innocence) and Darryan (a Justiciar of Maal). I had also seen them before in the freeman’s ward. Seems Aer is a priestess of Morwyn, who has sworn a vow to help the downtrodden and diseased find health and beauty in Iron Crown. And while I did not know Justiciar Darryan, I had known his father and the tragedy that befell his family.
Aer and Darryan had hardly had time to decline a glass of fine yan-ki ale, when a scream echoed through the square. Turning at the sound, I spied a woman floating slowly up into the air! Thinking that this was perhaps part of the festivities or simply a practical joke gone wrong, I was content to watch and let the MTA or enforcers (of which there were an unusually high number in the square) take care of the problem.
However, Aer and Darryan changed my mind, as they ran down the street to see if they could assist. Figuring I might be needed, I followed close after. As we rounded the corner, I realized that more was afoot than was first apparent. Down the street a man was on fire with unusual orange flames that gave off no smoke. Closer by another man was lying on the ground, writhing in pain. And of course, there was the hysterical woman floating 30 feet up in the air.
As I took in the scene, Aer moved off to the right, to investigate strange sounds coming from around the street corner. Tyrus arrived and cast a spell to calm the floating woman, while Darryan moved towards the burning man. I followed Aer around the corner just in time to witness even more insanity. Half embedded in the wall of a building was some sort of creature, tentacles flailing wildly. Further down the street, a man was shooting rays of bright light out of his eyes; apparently they were deadly, as a figure lay crumpled on the ground close by. As Aer and I watched, a huge bug like creature appeared out of thin air.
While everyone else on the street was fleeing in panic, a single, lone figure in a black cloak strolled calmly along. Aer took off down the street after the cloaked figure and I followed behind. When she reached his side, she placed a hand upon his shoulder and spoke something to him. I was to far away to hear, but could see him turn his head and smile at her. It was then that I noticed something else strange about him: while he resembled an elf in all other ways, his skin was an inky black color. Just as I caught up to him, I felt a wave of strangeness pass over me and suddenly I began to emit a shower of silvery dust. About the same time, Aer tried to restrain the dark skinned elf and he took a swing at her.
I felt my blood begin to hum with power as I took rattle out of its case, letting a righteous wrath wash over me. Striking the cloaked figure was easy, as he was unarmored and seemed almost oblivious to my attack. However, the shower of silvery dust billowing from my body blinded Aer. For a moment, I hesitated, worried that I might strike Aer by accident. Suddenly, I was half deafened by a loud retort from behind me as something slammed into the back of the dark skinned elf. I turned in time to see Dob lowering one of those new devices they call a pistol. He had felled the man with one shot.
While we had been busy with the cloaked dark elf, Tyrus had cast a spell on the man who was shooting rays from his eyes, paralyzing him to prevent more damage. As I turned to survey the scene, Aer healed the fallen dark elf. I imagine she was worried for his safety, that perhaps he would die from his wounds. I knew he would be fine, as I had seen plenty of men survive in much worse shape than he was. However, as soon as he regained consciousness, the strange manifestations began again. A large pit suddenly appeared not 30 feet from where we stood. A caravan guard suddenly began to scream and shout as his clothes melted from his body. Aer quickly made the connection and knocked the dark elf unconscious once more.
I was trying to decide what to do about the strange insect creature when a dwarf who had been standing nearby mumbling to himself began to make strange gestures. Suddenly a shadowy mastiff appeared from thin air and gave a howl like a hoard of demons! It must have had some evil force behind it as anyone within hearing range began to run in terror. Aer, Dob, Darryan and I were able to resist the fear. Deciding that this new threat must be dealt with quickly, I advanced and smote it a mighty blow with rattle and hum. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
Dob and Darryan must have thought the same as I, because they both attacked the dwarf, who quickly fell under their onslaught. I walked over as he slumped to the ground and was surprised that I recognized his face. He was a smith who worked in the Armorium, just a few buildings down the street. Before I had a chance to do more, Darryan began to drag his body down the street towards were the dark elf lay. I yelled at him not to drag the bleeding dwarf around, as it would leave blood everywhere and someone could slip and get hurt. He stopped, placed his hands on the dwarf and murmured a quick prayer, which stopped the bleeding.
About this time things seemed to settle down. The strange bug creature and the tentacles embedded in the wall disappeared, the rays of light stopped shooting from the paralyzed mans eyes and the open pit closed up.
Of course, that is when the enforcers choose to show up. They strode around as usual, acting as if they had been in the thick of the fray. An MTA showed up a few moments later and began to take charge of the situation, directing his men to assist the wounded and whatnot. Of course, once the immediate dangers had been seen to, he began to question us. I asked his name and he informed me he was agent Charon. He asked the usual inane questions, demanding to see our papers, to explain all that had happened, etc. As if we knew what the hell was going on!
Fortunately Darryan dealt with most of that, informing him of the events, directing him about how to handle the prisoner, etc. Meanwhile, it seems our exploits had not gone unnoticed. As we returned to our table, the proprietor of the Blue Shield announced to us (and the crowd) that we were heroes and heroes should stay at the Blue Shield. He said the rooms would free for the night and, at my prompting, threw in a free breakfast!
Well, this was simply one more reason to celebrate. And not having to walk back to the freeman’s ward with my wits about me, I decided to drown them in ale.
The next morning, I awoke to the sound of knocking. It took me a moment to remember my surroundings, as I had a lot to drink the night before. Turns out we were quite the toast of the square and I ended up drinking a pint with half the well wishers there!
Dob yelled something incoherent and a voice replied from the other side of the closed door. It must have sounded good because Dob jumped from his pallet and opened the door. After a quick exchange, he asked them to enter. In strode a woman. I don’t quite remember what she looked like because I couldn’t stop staring at her arm. It was made entirely of red glass. But even more astonishing was that is moved just like a real arm! The fingers wiggled, the wrist bent and the arm swung as she walked. In fact, I was so fascinated that I missed Dob introducing her and had to ask again.
She replied that her name was Jevica Knorr, a sometimes employer of Dobs. She went on to tell us that the man we had subdued last night was none other than Tavin Zith, an avatar of chaos. It turns out that Tavin Zith had been imprisoned in the vault over 212 years ago. That explained the strange manifestations which had occurred as he passed by. She also informed us that when Tavin Zith had regained consciousness he had caused quite a disturbance at the courthouse.
When asked how she knew all this, she said that she was a member of the Black Pyramid and that her organization was intent on finding how Tavin Zith escaped from the vault and where. While I find it interesting that she would ask Dob to perform this task, even more interesting was the fact that she offered us each 850 gold crowns if we could find the information for her.
She already had a lead and gave Dobs a scrap of paper with directions to a house near Cheapside and Corpsedance. I was familiar with the area as I had often passed by that intersection while traveling through the city. When asked how she knew this was where Tavin Zith escaped she replied that she didn’t, but that was as good a starting place as any. With that she took her leave.
Now that I was awake, I wanted to go downstairs and partake of the free breakfast we had been promised. However, we had one more visitor before we could rouse ourselves to leave. Justiciar Fabitor Thisk was an acquaintance of Darryan and had come by to inform him that his mentor, shield Kelarecent was missing. Kelarecent was investigating some unexplained occurrences in the freeman’s ward and had last been seen two days ago. The order of Maal had been unable to locate him with scrying or divination magic and so feared the worst. He said the standard reward would be paid for information leading to his return; 2000 crowns alive or 1000 crowns dead.
Fearing another interruption, we rushed downstairs for breakfast. Aer and Darryan declined, stating that they needed to inform the courthouse of the situation and the identity of the prisoner. Just meant more food for me, so I assured them we would follow soon after.
After stuffing my face with hot sausages, warm bread with butter and a helping of warm ale, we set off to collect Aer and Darryan and follow the map Jevica had provided. Once we arrived at the location, we could see nothing more unusual than a boarded up house. It appeared to be abandoned, just like most of the houses on this section of the street. I had my suspicions, as the shutters were blocked shut and the door was still on its hinges. Apparently Dob was of the same mind, as he began to closely scrutinize the door and its lock. Quickly realizing it wasn’t locked; he slowly opened it and peered inside. I followed close behind, ready to defend my small friend from harm.
I did not notice any footprints in the dust of the door way, but was prevented from spotting anything else as Quanus pushed his way into the building. Dob tried to stay ahead of him, moving up the first visible doorway. However, it seems the house wasn’t as abandoned as we had thought. As Dobs approached the door, it burst open and an armored figure attacked!
It took me a moment to realize it was in fact a female, as she was so ugly! The protruding lower jaw, sloping forehead and beady eyes bespoke her orcish heritage, while her huge sword bespoke her martial training. Taking poor Dobs by surprise, she smote him a wicked blow, reddening her blade with his blood. Scared off by her smell or her ugliness, Dobs retreated down the corridor, leaving the way open for me to move in and introduce her to rattle and hum. Apparently Quanus had the same idea, as he also strode forward, intent on laying into her with his staff. However, he had the same reaction as Dobs (I think it was the smell) and cleanly missed her with his first stroke.
She took this opportunity to duck back behind the doorway and drink down a potion of some sort. She was lucky, because my next attack chewed up the wall instead of her face. Seizing the moment, Darryan moved in and commanded her with a spell from his rapier. She fell to the ground!
I also moved into the room, yelling that if she stayed down we would not harm her further. She tried to rise, telling me she would make love to me when she was finished with the rest. We traded a pair of blows and she fell to a grievous wound which ripped the flesh from her leg.
We bound her wounds to prevent her from bleeding to death and then searched the rest of the house. There was only one thing of note: in the cellar was a dark tunnel leading down into the rock…
Quanus has decided to stay behind and guard the orc warrior. Not sure of his motivations, as I haven’t known him long enough to understand his ways. But I am sure that Urian has some purpose for forming this group of adventurers. It does appear my immediate purpose is to protect them from harm, which seems to have a suspiciously high occurrence so far. It’s also apparent that I will need to gain additional equipment or blessings from Urian if I am to be successful. We have already encountered two creatures that gave us some worry, one of which I was not able to damage in any way…
As we descended into the tunnel we had found in the cellar, Tyrus was able to discern that it had been recently dug by a creature called an ‘Umber Hulk’. As these Umber Hulks were not native to the astral plane, we immediately suspected it had been brought here specifically to dig this tunnel. We proceeded along for 200-300 feet when we encountered a side tunnel. We decided to press forward. Another 300 feet and we encountered yet another side tunnel. Dobs noticed a large leather bag half buried in the rubble near the intersection. After investigating carefully, he found a lamp, several flasks of oil, a few flasks of acid, picks, shovels, some raw meat and a note. The note said:
Kekanuile,
Once you get inside the unsealed portion of the Vault of Tehvin, you will have
to find a massive iron door. This is a warded door. It may be trapped, we do
not know. It is, however, sealed beyond your capacity to breach. Therefore, you
will use a wish from the ring to open it—and even that will keep it open only
for a moment. On what lies beyond that door, our spells are silent, except that
you will find the Grail within Trimoc Korin. The last wish will be your key to
get out.
— Yuenthu
After reading the note, we proceeding forward, but came to a dead end and turned back to the last side tunnel. The side tunnel went but a short way before it ended in an opening. Bits of masonry and stone mixed with bent and twisted iron bars surrounded the gaping hole. On the other side was a large octagonal room, far different than any dwelling on the crown. We decided to turn back and explore the 1st side tunnel before coming back to this room.
Only a short way into the 1st side tunnel, we found a larger cavern that had been carved from the rock. Dobs and Aer slowly entered the cavern, searching carefully. However, Aer failed to notice the floor had been undermined and it collapsed, dropping her into a pit filled with jagged rocks. After climbing out, Aer and Dobs scouted ahead as the rest of the party skirted the open pit. The tunnel continued to another intersection. Dobs scouted down one way and found some sort of slime filling the end of the tunnel. He set it afire with a flask of oil and we explored the other tunnel. After crossing over another open pit at another intersection, we could smell the reek of rotting flesh. At the end of this tunnel, half buried in rubble was the corpse of a Verrik. Most of the flesh was stripped from the body and it looked like something had eaten it. We found some citizenship papers in the clothing and a small purse of coins.
Returning back to the intersection, we crossed the pit again and found another large cavern carved from the rock. Mindful of traps, Aer and Dobs carefully started to enter. Once again, Aer caused a collapse, but this time it was the ceiling which fell. She was able to dodge out of the way, avoiding serious harm. However, the noise had alerted the occupant of the cavern, which charged from around the corner and attacked. It could only have been the Umber Hulk, its large claws, hard chitin casing and huge jaws matching what Tyrus had described.
Dobs fired his dragon pistol at the creature, piercing its hard shell. Enraged, the creature tore into Dobs, gouging huge wounds with its vicious claws. Tyrus, Darryan and I rushed into the room, but not before Dobs was able to break free and flee to the far corner. Seeking to assist our sorely wounded companion, Aer crossed the room and tried to call upon her faith to heal him. The Umber Hulk would have none of that and dug his claws deep into her arm.
At that, I flew into a righteous wrath, feeling the power of Urian flow through my veins. As I moved forward, I tried to activate the eagle tattoo on by back, asking Urian to grant me the strength to destroy this creature before it could do any more damage. However, the footing was treacherous and I fell to the ground, tripped up by the loose rocks and dirt. Darryan moved in to attack, his sharp rapier piercing the creatures side. Tyrus was able to cast a spell, weakening it while Dobs retreated further, loading and firing his dragon pistol. However it had deceptively long arms and was able to take a swipe at Dobs, wounding him with its claws. Strangely enough, no wounds appeared on Dobs, but instead caused damage to Aer. Blood dripping down her arm, Aer slumped to the ground, unconscious. Seeing her plight, Darryan crossed the cavern to heal her.
Pulling forth rattle and hum, I found solid footing and smote it a mighty blow. It turned its attention away from Dobs and Aer and tried to attack me, but missed. Again I attacked, my enlarged size increasing my strength and damage. I tore a gaping wound in its side and it tried to retreat across the cavern. I stepped into a blow, giving it my full force and it ripped through the chitin armor, slicing the creatures arm clean off! It tumbled to the ground, green ichors spewing from its wounds.
With the Umber Hulk defeated and Aer healed, we searched the rest of the cavern but only found a few baubles the creature had collected in its digging. We decided to return to the other tunnel and investigate the Octagonal room.
So this was the vault of Tehvin. For some reason I had thought it was at the top of the spire, not buried hundreds of feet below the surface. I knew that King Tehvin had originally built the vault underground, but had thought it was expelled upward during the stirring, forming the spire. Perhaps not all of it, or perhaps we are just in the lower levels of the spire.
As we entered the octagonal room, we saw one of the warding spheres, a tall metal tower with a large metal sphere on top, which appeared not to have ever been finished. Tyrus speculated that perhaps the lack of an active warding sphere was what allowed the break-in to occur here. We explored further into the room and found a rune covered door that had been breached. Inside was a series of rooms, the last of which contained a glowing violet crystal and a translucent violet manifestation of some sort. As we entered the room, the manifestation attacked Dobs, draining the strength from his body. Neither Dobs nor my weapon seemed to have any affect on the wraiths nebulous body, but both Aer and Darryan were able to disrupt it somehow. Thinking quickly, Dobs took a shot at the crystal, hoping that might destroy the wraith. I assisted him, smashing the crystal into small shards, but that did not seem to have any effect on the wraith. Luckily Aer and Darryan were able to dispatch the wraith on their own. As soon as the wraith was destroyed, we noticed that the shards of crystal were slowly starting to reform, moving across the floor and flowing up the column. We quickly left the room, closing the door firmly behind us.
The next chamber we entered contained a huge iron vat, with several buckets lying at the base. From a dark corner of the room, we could hear strange skittering noises, as a pair of humanoid figures emerged from the darkness. Evoking another tattoo, I changed form into a lizard like creature I had studied previously, knowing that its thick skin would help protect me in combat. As the creatures came closer, we could tell they were made up of thousands of insects, crawling and wiggling around, but somehow maintaining a human like form. With the assistance of a fireball from Tyrus, Darryan and I made quick work of these bug creatures, smashing them down.
However, as we moved up the stairway leading from this room, a blue skinned creature with black hair, clawed hands and yellow eyes appeared from nowhere and attacked Dobs. Before we could even react, it disappeared! Not sure where it had gone, we waited for a moment. Again it appeared and attacked Dobs. Tyrus fired off a spell which seamed to prevent it from disappearing, but it was only for a moment. We bunched together, waiting for it to appear again. After a minute, we decided to move up the stairs and I went first this time. It was to no avail, as the creature appeared at the rear and attacked Dobs again!
Making Dobs stand between us, we moved carefully up the stairs without further incident. There we found a long hallway with eight metal doors. Two of them were covered in runes, but had been breached. The other six had no runes and were still closed. We moved to the first open door and looked inside. It was bitterly cold, with a few puddles on the floor. Other than that it was empty.
Moving to the next open door, we found a strange looking box, not unlike an open coffin. On each of the four corners was set an amethyst and inside were six leather straps, arranged as if to contain a human figure. We speculated that perhaps this was were Tavin Zith had been contained before it escaped…
<having heard the noise we were making, Quanus descends into the vault to join us>
After investigating the rest of the hallway, but not wishing to open any of the doors, we decide to at least search the rest of the area for any sign of Shield Kelarecent. We advance down the hallway and out onto the iron walkway, 20 feet above the floor, which encircles the warding generator room. Dobs drinks the potion of Invisibility we found earlier and sets out to explore. He soon returns and reports that a half-elf with long golden hair, wearing a suite of plate and caring a longsword and bearing grievous wounds was in one of the rooms across the way. At this Darryan runs across the walkway, towards the room. We follow and as Darryan approaches, the man in question emerges, weapon at the ready.
They quickly recognize one another and lower their weapons. Darryan introduces shield Kelarecent, the very man we had been looking for. Kelarecent explains that he and his cohort found their way down here following a group of miscreants they were investigating. Once they realized that the vault was breached and the group was trying to open the vault door, he attacked them. In a fierce battle, his cohort was killed and a green skinned female creature managed to activate a ring which opened the vault door. She slipped in before he was able to stop her. Soon afterwards, the rest of the group retreated and he has been here ever since, standing guard.
The fight had involved Kelarecent and his varrik cohort against two Harrid, a dozen rat like creatures, a minotaur and the green skinned creature. Six of the rat like creatures lay dead in front of the vault door, while the rest, the two harrid and minotaur had retreated.
While exploring, Dobs had also found what looked like a work room, with metal plates and tools scattered near collapsed work benches. We guessed that this was the remains of the uncompleted warding generator.
We explored further, opening a plain metal door nearby. Inside was an animated metal construct, which moved towards us as we opened the door. Closing the door seemed to stop it, so we moved on to the next door. It opened onto the same room, and the metal construct once again moved towards the door. We closed it once again, but not before noticing a large pit with four thick metal chains leading down into the darkness.
Since we had found shield Kelarecent, we decided to leave the vault. However, on the way out, we encountered the opponents that had fled from the battle with Kelarecent. However, there was only one harrid, not two. We were lucky enough to get the drop on them and Quanus tossed a fireball down the tunnel, killing all the rat creatures and wounding the minotaur. I request that the power of Urain grant me the strength to destroy these foes and activated my eagle tattoo. As I felt my size increase, I could see the minotaur smile with evil glee, probably glad to face a foe now of his own size. He charged straight down the corridor, attempting to crush me. Aer stepped from the shadows and pounded it as it passed by. As soon as it came within reach of Rattle and Hum, I struck it, drawing the first blood. I must have thrown its attack off, at it struck me but a glancing blow, doing little damage. The battle raged quick and fierce, but the minotaur went down far to quickly for the harrid’s taste and it turned and fled down the tunnel.
Aer and Quanus were able to overtake it as it reached the intersection of the tunnels. Dobs stepped up and fired his dragon pistol, striking it solidly. The rest of us charge down the tunnel, hoping to stop it before it escapes. Fearing I may kill the creature with a blow, I use the weighted end of Rattle and Hum to knock it unconscious.
After a brief conversation about what to do next, Kelarecent, Darryan, Tyrrus and Dobs leave to inform the guards while Aer, Quanus and I stay behind to guard the entrance. Talking with Quanus, he reveals that a blue skinned creature with viscous claws appeared from thin air and attacked him while he guarded the orc. His description matches the creature which attacked Dobs and I fear that it has escaped into the city above. We must be sure to warn the guards and if possible, we must hunt it down before it can do more damage.
That afternoon, they return to tell us that they have been to the high court of Maal, where they consulted with a justiciar Tobias Thad. After they explained what had happened, justiciar Thad asked them to learn more about the vault and the shielded door. He somehow convinced Darryan that it was the will of the high court not to simply inform the Warlocks, but to find out how the vault worked so it could be resealed. I was amazed to hear this, as I had thought Darryan a strict, by the books kind of justiciar. It turns out this justiciar Thad had a scroll already prepared and ready. He even offered 10,000 gp to the party if we would carry out his wishes.
Shield Kelarecent and I agreed to stay and guard the entrance to the vault while the rest of the party went to consult with Jevica Knorr. Kelarecent was quite willing to talk of his faith, explaining the ways of Maal. While we kept the discussion philosophical we have a deep difference of opinion in how justice should be meted out, he siding with strict interpretation of the letter of the law, with no room for spirit or intent. I on the other hand, feel that personal freedom and choice should be preserved above the simple enforcement of laws. How else are people able to grow and explore their boundaries and inner self?
Later that evening, the group returned, having met with Jevica. She paid the agreed upon 850 gp each for finding out how and where Tavin Zith had escaped from the vault. She went on to offer us another reward of minor magical items if we could find out how they breached shielded door, who they were and if there was another way in. When questioned as to why they had not informed the Warlocks of the breach, several excuses were raised, none of which I found very palatable. I suspected there was more going on than I knew about…
Wishing to know more, I left to consult with loremaster Sovant, hoping he would be able to uncover some answers. It was well past closing time, but I knew Sovant lived above his shop and that Tella was often around late. In fact, it was she who answered the door after repeated knocking. She seemed glad to see me and invited me in. I asked if Sovant was available and she said she would fetch him for me. But first, she brought me a glass of wine, some bread and cheese, as I was thirsty and hungry from the long day. I proceeded to tell Sovant and Tella about the breach in the vault and our involvement. I showed him one of the bone rings we had found on each of our opponents. I figured since each of them was wearing one, it must provide some benefit, perhaps allowing communication or some such. He was not able to tell anything from the ring, but with further study might be able to divine its magics. I told him that finding out how to seal the vault was more important. I told him of our plan to use the scroll to find out more about the vault door and that I would return tomorrow with the information. Before I left he muttered the phrase from the note we had found, "Trimoc Korin. Trimoc Korin. Hmmm. Trimoc Korin. Yes, yes, an ancient elvish dialect. It means The Heart of Evil.”
I returned to the tunnel breach in the vault to rejoin my friends on guard duty. We setup a watch for the night and tried to get some rest. The next morning, after breaking fast with a prayer and a bite of stale bread, Dobs tells us that one of the harrid creatures left. Amazed and shocked we question him further. It seems that it cast some sort of spell on Dobs, which made him think the harrid a friend and now threat, so he simply let it pass. At least it did not attack us while we slept. Next time we will have to setup watches with at least two watchers.
That morning, Quanus cast the Legend Lore spell from the scroll and was able to find out more about the shielded vault door. It turns out that there are only two ways to open the door, a wish will temporarily unseal the door, while the key will unlock it. A strange rhyme was our only clue:
For a moment's entry, and no
more
A simple Wish may pass the ward
Set upon this enchanted door
But ancient magic and holy decree
Can be undone by long lost key
In Iron Crown it is said to be
They who have it, know it not
Just an oddity they bought
A Relic of a time forgot
A house ignoble but in name
Crafty players of the game
Barely hide their ancient shame
As I figured that this might aid loremaster Sovant in his research, I returned to the surface. It was already late afternoon, as the spell had taken the better part of the day to cast. As I knocked upon Sovants door, a fearful looking Tella opened and quickly pulled me inside. She is wearing studded leather armor and wears a rapier at her hip. I asked what was going on and she informed me that loremaster Sovant he spent the day researching at the Anthenaeum in the Silver Sky collection. It's mostly works about the founding of Iron Crown and plans for the vault. He then spent some time about town making inquiries about certain trade houses. On his way back here, he was set upon by wolves!
I was relieved to find him unhurt and he did not seem overly upset at the disturbance. He went on to tell me about some drawings he had found that described Lord Teh’vin when they built the vault, showing him with a dragon headed rod in his hand. He had thought nothing of it ‘till he came to a passage referring to sealing a vault door with the "head of the dragon”. After I told him of the rhyme, he surmised that this dragon headed rod might be used to seal the vault. He was not sure if it was the key referred to in the rhyme or not. I asked him to find out where and what the ‘key’ is. He agreed to undertake the task, but said that it would require payment. It is strange for me to be paying him for a change! I also asked him to be discreet as I feared for his safety. Aside, I also asked Tella to keep an eye on him, as I knew she was more able than her small size and good looks portrayed.
As I arranged myself in one of the small gardens within the temple of Morwyn, I made sure my physical body was comfortable, as I would be in the same position for the next eight hours or so. I began the deep breathing methods my mentor had taught me, clearing my mind and allowing my subconscious free reign. As I slipped into the trance, each of the important tidbits of information we had learned over the last three days floated upwards, like down feathers on a light breeze.
The vault of Tehvin had been breached by a group I’ve been calling the Bone Ring, as they each wear some strange magical ring made of bone which grafts itself to their finger. It seems they seek something called the Grail, which is held within the Trimoc Korin, which is ancient elvish for “Heart of Evil”. They used a wish spell to bypass one of the inner doors of the vault.
Justiciar Tobias Thad provided us a means to learn more about the door, but it only revealed another riddle, one which I took to loremaster Sovent. He discovered several drawings with Tehvin holding a dragon headed rod, which was used to seal the vault. However, he assured me that this rod was not the key used to open the vault doors. During his research, he was passed an anonymous note which said that the key we were looking for was held by house Redstone. Soon afterwards, Tella ferreted out the name of a fellow who had some knowledge of house Redstone and an axe to grind as well. His name is Sir Nicalon Regalis and is a knight of Aymara, the goddess of love and art. He was ‘out on a quest’ but somehow managed to get our message, asking for a meeting the next day. One of his fellows also said he has sworn “vows of celibacy and chastity”, which I find exceedingly strange for someone who worships the goddess of love.
It almost seems to perfect: We are looking for a key, someone tells us who has the key, then provides us with inside information on how to get the key. It’s as if we are rats in a maze, being led by our noses. Or perhaps we are the guinea pigs, testing to see if the key will open the vault doors or simply destroy us…
To add to the confusion, Darryan pays a visit to a madman whose mind has been scrambled by the avatar of chaos, Tavin Zith, who spouts out:
“A key. A key. You know the door. The key is deep under Redstone. You have to get it. You have to get in to keep people out. Many dangers. So many evils. The key is a hand. You must use it so that they cannot. Use it to find the staff that will destroy it. A key that is a hand and a staff that is a knife.”
This makes a sort of twisted sense if you think about it. If I were to build a vault to contain all the evil artifacts too strong or vile to destroy, I would not lock it with a simple key. Keys can be stolen or copied, thus allowing anyone into this vault. No, I would build the vault such that only I and those I trusted would be able to enter. It seems only natural that the key to open the sealed vault doors would be the hand of the maker. The question then becomes which one? Is it the hand of Tehvin Rotansin himself or one of his companions, such as the dragon Saggarintys or the celestial called Bastion, Guardian of the Morning?
Whatever the key may be, it seems we must find it and use it to get into the vault. If we can find the sealing rod, we can then destroy the key and reseal the vaults for good. We will have to find someone to repair the warding generator first, but I think we can leave that up to the warlocks or the church of Maal, someone who knows more about such arcane machinery.
I now know that we are being played like a well tuned instrument, by a master manipulator. After meditating at the temple of Morwyn for most of the day, I returned to find that Dobs, Tyrus and Quanus had already met with Sir Nicalon Regalis. Apparently I had spent more time at the temple than I had realized. It’s so hard to keep track of time with no point of reference. It must be easier with a ‘sun’ or ‘moon’ in the sky, all you have to do is look up and you know what time it is.
After the meeting, we argued back and forth as to the correct way to retrieve the key. Regalis had agreed to help us break into the Redstone estate. He said he knew the layout, where the vault was and how to get in. He agreed to meet us the next night around 1 pm at the Blue Flame. However, Aer and Darryan would have none of it. They argued that even though the Redstone’s were know to deal in illegal activities like drug running, arson, murder and slavery, that when faced with a crises such as opening the vault of Tehvin, they would work for the good of Iron Crown. I expressed my doubt and my suspicions that they would instead use the key to get into the inner vaults instead. The group argued for several hours and still came to no conclusion.
I returned to loremaster Sovent to see if his research had turned up anything else. He had managed to uncover the history of Lord Tehvin Rotansin, his gathering of the evil artifacts, his corruption by the book of Inverted Darkness, his fall and how he was destroyed, but not before sealing the vault. He also learned of two powerful companions of Tehvin, Saggarintys the Silver King and a celestial named Bastion, Guardian of the Morning. They had both helped Tehvin build the vault and gather the evil artifacts.
Deciding that I needed guidance on how best to proceed in obtaining the key, I went to visit Skylark’s Wing Idrin. He and I discussed in detail the different possibilities and he then advised I commune with Urain on the matter. So I once again spent the day in prayer and meditation. I came to the conclusion that we should give house Redstone a chance to offer up the key. If not for the good of Iron Crown, then to protect their own fortunes from the flood of powerful creatures, individuals and organizations that would be sure to arrive once they knew that the vault was breached.
I returned to my companions to learn that they had tracked down the blue skinned scrag creature which had attacked us in the vault. I felt much relieved as I knew we were partially responsible for allowing it to escape the vault.
When I told my companions of my support for Aer asking house Redstone for the key, they were surprised. As there was now a majority in support of that method, Aer, Dobs and Darryan set off to the estate. They returned several hours later, with the hand!
Apparently, Aer had spoken with Ms. Navanna Redstone, who is the daughter of Iristul Redstone and in charge of the family business while he is away. She seemed shocked and surprised that the vault had been breached and agreed to give the hand over to Aer. She required a mere 1000 gold crowns, as part of the family business was trading in ancient artifacts, etc.
Once we had the hand in our possession, we immediately returned to the house with the tunnel entrance. After checking with Shield Kelarecent, who was standing guard at the sealed vault door, we made ourselves comfortable in the house, resting before trying to open the sealed door. During the early evening, Quanus and Darryan heard the front door open and rushed to investigate. They roused the others and made quite a racket upstairs. I had been sleeping down in the basement, guarding to tunnel entrance itself and awoke to the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Not seeing anyone coming down the stairs, I activated my tattoo of ‘See Invisible’ and sure enough there were three creatures on the stairwell.
Two huge half-wolf like creatures armed with large pole arms and a woman with dark skin, yellow eyes and four small horns jutting from her forehead. I quickly drew out rattle and hum, as the werewolves stepped in to attack. I had not been sleeping in my armor, so their blades gouged into my flesh, drawing blood. Drawn by the sound of combat, Quanus and Tyrus appeared at the top of the stairs and flooded the room with blazing fireballs. Just before the first one went off, the tiefling woman disappeared with a pop. The two werewolves were not so lucky and bore the brunt of the attack. I tried the same and although I could damage them, I could tell that my adamantine spiked chain wasn’t as effective as it should have been. We were eventually able to take them down, but not before they inflicted a few grievous wounds on me. Dobs finished each one off with a silver bullet to the head. Their bodies slowly transformed from the half-wolf like creatures back into human form. A form that Aer, Dobs and Darryan recognized; Navanna Redstone’s two bodyguards!
As Darryan healed me with his gods favor, Aer and Quanus hurried down the tunnel to see if Shield Kelarecent was in danger. He had not seen or heard anything, but we decided to camp in front of the sealed door just to be safe.
The next morning, Dobs takes his time figuring out the wickedly complicated lock on the vault door. After a while, he hears it click open, but the door is still sealed. He has Darryan, open the box containing the hand and picking it up with his long handled tongs, touches it to the door. The blue nimbus of light slowly fades and the silvery metal which sealed it cracks and melts away. With an audible hiss and a slight waft of air, the doors open just a hairs breath. Dobs carefully returns the hand to the velvet lined box and Darryan locks it and puts it into his backpack. We debate for a moment, then approach the door, swinging it open.
At that same moment, Tyrus sees the box containing the hand lift up from Darryan’s backpack and then disappear with a pop. Someone stole the key! We all immediately suspected it was the tiefling woman from the attack last night, whom I think is Navanna Redstone, but the others don’t believe me, even with her two bodyguards dead in the house above!
We decide to enter the vault anyway, closing and locking the door behind us in the hopes it will prevent others from entering. We leave Shield Kelarecent and another Sword of Maal named Zand to guard the door from the outside.
The first room inside the sealed doors was quite a bit different than the rest of the vault we had seen so far. The stone walls were plastered over, although the plaster was cracked and in places chunks mere missing. The floors were tiled with cut stone and on the walls were bronze torch brackets, green with age.
A doorway, flanked by a painting of a tall man with a halo and a winged horse, led to a set of stairs leading upwards. Quanus recognized the winged horse as Tehvins mount and man as Bastion, the celestial.
We ascended the stairs with Dobs at the lead, carefully searching for traps along the way. It lead to another room, with three different archways with stairs leading upwards and a hallway off to one side. We decided to explore the hallway, but Dobs quickly jumped back, half frozen by a blast of icy particles. We had found the first trap and it was a nasty one. Taking his time, Dobs was able to puzzle it out and disable it for safe passage. It leads to a room with a large blue mosaic pattern on the floor. There are more bronze torch sconces on the walls and another stair leading upwards. We follow the stairs to a intersection, where the stairs continue upwards and a closed door. We open the door to find another small hallway with two more closed doors. Behind the eastern door is a room filled with barrels. Trapped under one heavy barrel is a metal construct. As we enter the room, he greets us and explains that the barrel fell and has crushed his leg during the stirring. His name is Geristranomos and he was created by Lord Tehvin to keep the vault in order, resetting the traps, greasing the mechanisms, etc. I remove the heavy barrel from his leg and help him to stand. When asked if he needs any assistance, he says that one of his eyes is missing. After talking with him for a moment, it seems that more than that is missing, as he can’t seem to recall events and loses track of conversations midstream. We decided to bring him with us, as he might be able to help us avoid some of the traps he keeps talking about.
Opening the western door reveals a room full of stone blocks, metal girders and a ghostly figure, but before it can attack, we quickly shut the door and move back into the hallway. It does not pursue us…
We continue up the stairs and come to a room with three squat metal constructs. Geristranomos explains that they are additional workers, not as skilled or intelligent as him. They can only be activated by the key, which Lord Tehvin has. On the other side of the room is another door, flanked by a fresco of two tall, winged humanlike beings.
Opening the door reveals a room with dark blue tiles on the floor and up the wall to a height of three feet. Spaced along the walls just above the tiles are grated openings, like you would see in a bath house. Two tall columns of glass, each containing what looks like a giant squid or octopus, stand from floor to ceiling. A round metal tube hangs from the ceiling, caped on the bottom with a metal hinged lid with a round wheel in the center. We avoid the open areas and skirt around the wall, exploring further. Around one corner, Dobs finds a secret door, which opens above the tiled wall section. It leads to a short passage, where we find another secret door. This one opens to a large triangular shaped room.
As we start to explore the room, we notice that there is an invisible wall of force right down the center. Past the invisible wall the room ends in a doorway, with a closed door. Exploring this side, we notice that the center of the wall here is not plastered stone, but a huge stone block. We try to move it, but have no luck. Asking Geristranomos about it, he explains that this is the plug room. When asked how it works, he tells us the levers in the plug control room operate the plug.
We go back the way we came up and then take the southern stairway up. It leads to a room with an uneven floor, cracked and buckled. On the south side of the room is a door and there are double doors on the east side. Dobs examines the room and tell us that there is a pit trap here, but that the trap door is jammed shut, so should be safe to walk ok. We cross to the double doors and open them.
Inside we see the plug control room. It is a large circular room, perhaps 60 feet in diameter. A large metal column sits in the center, with a metal pie wedge attached at the bottom. There is a short metal stair set on the wedge that leads to a hole in the ceiling. There are also metal tracks that run around the outer edge of the floor and ceiling. Across the room, on the eastern wall, there are two doors.
We enter and take a look at the metal column and find four switches. Dobs ascends the short metal stairs, looks in the room above and reports that it contains nothing but a lever. Before we can object, he enters the small room and disappears!
We shout for him and Aer ascends, poking just her head into the opening. He is gone, vanished into thin air! We as Geristranomos what this room is and he says that it is the plug control room and that to open the plug we must turn the levers to the right position, but only after turning the wedge SW, NE, SE, NW. He says it so fast and without any warning that it catches us off guard and we confuse the directions. After a moment of arguing, we press the buttons, moving the metal wedge in the correct order. At each one, Aer ascends the ladder and pushes the lever to the right. After the last one, we hear a large rumble, like the sound of a huge block of stone grinding across the floor.
We quickly try and quiz Geristranomos as to where the trap would send someone and he says “Oh my. The fall probably broke him. You'll need to acquire another one. Was he oiling the mechanism when it happened? Perhaps a vault builder could replace him. They are fair at oiling and cleaning, although not as good as me. It's a fact, you know. Southwest, northeast, southeast, northwest I said.”
We surmise that if he fell, it was probably into a pit somewhere. It might be the pit trap right outside the plug control room. I rush outside the room, and, spending a moment, muscles straining I try to lift open the trap door. I finally succeed, but as I stand there, looking down into darkness, trying to decide how best to illuminate the bottom, I hear something behind me. Before I can turn, a huge weight smashes into me, almost pushing me over the edge. I am just able to resist, pushing back with all my might. The invisible force coalesces into an ugly green skinned creature. She is covered in strange tattoos, piercing and jewelry.
She roars out in a booming voice “Give me the key!”