[Ptolus/AD&D] IC Thread #3 - Back to the Surface

[Benoist]

Cadfan the dwarf follows Gareth to the pit. "I know this must be frustrating for you, lad. I remember staying in bed for weeks after defending the bridge of Kazûm Athreleb, while my brothers in arms still were fighting the shadows in the depths of the mines."

A haunting look comes over the venerable dwarf's face. "Not many did survive."

Gareth could swear there were some sounds of commotion coming out of the pit a little while earlier as he woke. Now the depths are silent as a tomb as just the occasional rattle of the chains stretching below reaches the half elf's ears...

[Imperator]

Cadfan the dwarf follows Gareth to the pit. "I know this must be frustrating for you, lad. I remember staying in bed for weeks after defending the bridge of Kazûm Athreleb, while my brothers in arms still were fighting the shadows in the depths of the mines."

A haunting look comes over the venerable dwarf's face. "Not many did survive."

Gareth could swear there were some sounds of commotion coming out of the pit a little while earlier as he woke. Now the depths are silent as tomb as just the occasional rattle of the chains stretching below reach the half elf's ears...

"Damn it. Can't hear a thing. Cadfan, you seem to be a knowledgeable mate. What can you tell me about the underground area? As it seems I will have to pend a few hours here to recover my strength, I could use the time learning more. (pointing to Davin) It would be great if you could join us, information like this would be also useful to you.

Also, this will give time to Sneads to recover, with any luck"

[Werekoala]

Davin nods. "Yes, of course - anything you could tell me would be of great help."

[Benoist]

The dwarf sighs as he closes his eyes and tries to remember. "This place. It was all Bertold's idea. He wanted a good living for Angharad and saw an opportunity here. Other people were spooked by the ruins, but not us. The Church was wary about our intentions to purchase the property rights to the area, but nothing a few bribes couldn't fix in due time."

"It's only later, when we started working on the Ladder, that we realized the scope of what was lying under our feet. It seemed like some type of old temple or sacred place. Giving refuge to some of the brothers of Saint Fharlang who had associated themselves with the wrong crowd, according to the Church's prelates, seemed like an occasion to do some good in this world while at the same time getting some hearts and minds to help us uncover what the hell that was that we had found at the bottom of this pit right here."

He sighs again. "If I had known then... if I had realized the danger we were all putting ourselves in, and how my own arms and legs would betray me when they were needed most!"

Anger flashes across his weary face. "I just hope we can still find some of them, Bertold, yes... Bertold most of all, still alive somewhere."

[Imperator]

The dwarf sighs as he closes his eyes and tries to remember. "This place. It was all Bertold's idea. He wanted a good living for Angharad and saw an opportunity here. Other people were spooked by the ruins, but not us. The Church was wary about our intentions to purchase the property rights to the area, but nothing a few bribes couldn't fix in due time."

"It's only later, when we started working on the Ladder, that we realized the scope of what was lying under our feet. It seemed like some type of old temple or sacred place. Giving refuge to some of the brothers of Saint Fharlang who had associated themselves with the wrong crowd, according to the Church's prelates, seemed like an occasion to do some good in this world while at the same time getting some hearts and minds to help us uncover what the hell that was that we had found at the bottom of this pit right here."

He sighs again. "If I had known then... if I had realized the danger we were all putting ourselves in, and how my own arms and legs would betray me when they were needed most!"

Anger flashes across his weary face. "I just hope we can still find some of them, Bertold, yes... Bertold most of all, still alive somewhere."

"Tell us more. How did you lose Bertold? Describe him for me, please."

OOC: Could this Bertold guy be the guy we found in the other dimension, the Limbus Sanguineum? The Halfling?

[Benoist]

"Bertold is still young in his heart. He was an adventurer once. He is heavier than you are, much heavier, and balding. He had a beard but shaved it just recently. The fool. His eyes are blue, his eyebrows thick. Some wondered if he had Dwarven ancestry of course, especially since he is a Cleric of Ollom, the God of the Keg, but all these rumors are nonsense, obviously."

Cadfan sighs again. "We lost him with the others. I couldn't work down there. Too old, too stiff without any potions to help me along the way. So the Brothers did most of the work, with Bertold and Delbaeth - the elf of the Ladder, he was supposed to tend to the potions and balms for the customers while I would look after the weapons and exploration supplies - Delbaeth checking on their progress every once in a while."

"Both Bertold and Delbaeth were down there when we heard a loud explosion three days ago. Flames came out of the pit. Only Delbaeth made it back out as all hell broke loose. He was levitating, his whole body aflame, crashed into the roof up there, and lost consciousness. We've been tending to his health ever since. I'm not sure even now if he's going to make it through the week."

"We didn't know what to do. I was too old. Angharad is too frail. So we used her connections to the orphans here, and searched for people who could assist us with rescue attempts without attracting the attention of Dalenguard. Our enterprise here isn't exactly legal. The Commissar and the Church wouldn't be too pleased if they found out what we were doing here. Delving is forbidden within the city walls, as you know. No amount of bribes can really change that, though they did make some officials look the other way while we built all this..."

[Werekoala]

Davin, taking all of this in, interrupts politely.

"Pardon me - this explosion you mentioned from the pit? Do you know if it happened around the time of the unfortunate explosion at the sage's residence? Quip, what was the man's name again?"

[Benoist]

The kid answers eagerly : "Osmanthius! The office of the loremaster blew up a little more than a week ago."

Cadfan then points out : "The explosion here happened three days ago. I don't think there's a link, though I must admit, I had not thought about it."

Udo, the Brother of the Sword, cuts in : "We did an investigation on the grounds of the loremaster's office after the tragedy had occurred. The explosion was not natural. What exactly happened that night, nobody knows for sure. There are rumours that the loremaster got his authorization from the Commissar to open his office against the advice of the Church. Some say we - we, Brothers of the Sword, I mean - were sent there by the Abbot to shut down his business before it could open its doors."

He points out as a matter of fact : "This is complete nonsense, obviously."

[Imperator]

The kid answers eagerly : "Osmanthius! The office of the loremaster blew up a little more than a week ago."

Cadfan then points out : "The explosion here happened three days ago. I don't think there's a link, though I must admit, I had not thought about it."

Udo, the Brother of the Sword, cuts in : "We did an investigation on the grounds of the loremaster's office after the tragedy had occurred. The explosion was not natural. What exactly happened that night, nobody knows for sure. There are rumours that the loremaster got his authorization from the Commissar to open his office against the advice of the Church. Some say we - we, Brothers of the Sword, I mean - were sent there by the Abbot to shut down his business before it could open its doors."

He points out as a matter of fact : "This is complete nonsense, obviously."

Gareth is playing lots of attention to this. I have the feeling this is important somehow.

[Benoist]

Cadfan seems to doubt the monk's faith in his own brotherhood : "I have no doubt you did not take part in any such... punitive endeavor yourself, Udo, but... how can you be sure none of your brothers could have done it themselves ? They are all, as far as I understand, people who have committed crimes in the past and received a pardon in exchange for their services to the Church, so it's not within the realm of fantasy to imagine some of them could fall back into old habits, is it ?"

Udo seems genuinely insulted by the very idea : "None of the brothers would do this. Life in the Brotherhood isn't easy, Cadfan. We choose this life, all of us. I do not see why we turn our backs on the purpose the Brotherhood gave in our lives to serve as mercenaries of the Abbot, or anybody else for that matter."

An uneasy silence follows.

[Imperator]

Cadfan seems to doubt the monk's faith in his own brotherhood : "I have no doubt you did not take part in any such... punitive endeavor yourself, Udo, but... how can you be sure none of your brothers could have done it themselves ? They are all, as far as I understand, people who have committed crimes in the past and received a pardon in exchange for their services to the Church, so it's not within the realm of fantasy to imagine some of them could fall back into old habits, is it ?"

Udo seems genuinely insulted by the very idea : "None of the brothers would do this. Life in the Brotherhood isn't easy, Cadfan. We choose this life, all of us. I do not see why we turn our backs on the purpose the Brotherhood gave in our lives to serve as mercenaries of the Abbot, or anybody else for that matter."

An uneasy silence follows.

Sorry, my friends, but I have got the feeling that there is something missing, that you are not telling us.

Gareth tries to avoid being confrontational, but he's firm.

[Benoist]

Cadfan looks at Gareth quizzily while Brother Udo looks at his feet with contained exasperation, mildly offended, perhaps, but more frustrated than angry. The Brother then looks at the half elf to ask him : "What makes you say that ? I can swear on the One God that this is all I know. I just don't see how any of the brothers of the Sword would just forfeit their Oath to the Order to go back to the old lives that got them sentenced in the first place. So what it is that you mean, exactly?"

[Imperator]

Cadfan looks at Gareth quizzily while Brother Udo looks at his feet with contained exasperation, mildly offended, perhaps, but more frustrated than angry. The Brother then looks at the half elf to ask him : "What makes you say that ? I can swear on the One God that this is all I know. I just don't see how any of the brothers of the Sword would just forfeit their Oath to the Order to go back to the old lives that got them sentenced in the first place. So what it is that you mean, exactly?"

"I mean no offence, please accept my apologies if that is the case. It's just that something does not add up to me, and I cannot put my finger on it. Maybe it has something to do with my experiences down there. Maybe if I offered you an accurate tale of what happened to me, you could be able to help me and Rissthil."

[Benoist]

"It's alright, friend. I meant no offense either. It's just that... when you are in the Brotherhood, it becomes your family. Sure, most of us are repented criminals, but we do value the second chance that's been given to us. The thought that some of my brothers would reject that and thus put the entire order in danger in the eyes of the Church turns my stomach, I have to say."

Cadfan nods silently to then ask Gareth : "You are talking about your experiences down there, like they would shed a light on this whole situation. What do you mean by that ?"

[Imperator]

[OOC: I'm typing this fast and from memory and cannot at the moment check for accuracy, so please forgive any mistake.]

"It's alright, friend. I meant no offense either. It's just that... when you are in the Brotherhood, it becomes your family. Sure, most of us are repented criminals, but we do value the second chance that's been given to us. The thought that some of my brothers would reject that and thus put the entire order in danger in the eyes of the Church turns my stomach, I have to say."

Cadfan nods silently to then ask Gareth : "You are talking about your experiences down there, like they would shed a light on this whole situation. What do you mean by that ?"

Gareth takes a deep breath and unravels the tale. Gareth tells them how he met the rest of the group and decided to go down into the well, Ylarum and him first, untill they got to the dais. He tells about the coloured lamps, the repulsive slime, and the weird creatures, like goblins with some cancer, that attacked them, the giant Gareth killed and how they prevailed on the first battle.

Gareth tells them that they continued exploring the subterranean complex (finding some belongings related to the Knightly Order of the Rattle and Spear), but were attacked again by a greater group of the sickly goblinoids. While the fight raged, Gareth and Smeads were struck by some unholy idol - monster behind a secret door, and Rissthil was knocked unconscious by a magical trap.

Finally, Gareth explains how they regained consciousness in another place, that looked like a dark twisted mirror image of the dungeon. Riss and Smead ended injured and unconscious again, Rissthil disappearing and Gareth confronting and negotiating some goblinoids who seemed to be trapped down there. There was a halfling cleric that looked unhinged, and Gareth will tell everyone as much as he can remember about him. The halfling did disappear too. Finally, as Gareth regained consciousness, he woke up here.