IN THE SHADOW OF THE SPIRE
SESSION 14A: MANY UNHAPPY RETURNS
January 5th, 2008
The 3rd Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty
They returned to the surface just as the sun was slipping behind the Spire. They walked home in the Spire’s shadow, arriving as true evening fell and Ptolus’ second dusk began.
They weren’t sure when they had begun to think of the Ghostly Minstrel as home, but as they washed their bloody clothes and bodies in the stables, that’s how they thought of it. And all of them were looking forward to a long and well-deserved sleep in their own beds.
But before they could get there, Tee voiced a thought that was on many of their minds: “We need to talk.”
“Can it wait until morning?” Elestra asked. “Breakfast?”
Tee shook her head. “No. We need to talk now.”
They retired to Elestra’s room – the room that had once been Agnarr’s. Once the door was shut behind them, Tee turned to face Elestra: “What happened down there… That can’t happen again. You nearly got us all killed.”
“It’s not that simple,” Elestra protested. “My snake—“
“It is that simple. That door had to be closed. Agnarr knew it. And you kept opening it.”
Agnarr nodded, and then Tor joined in: “And this isn’t the first time. This is life and death. You have to be focused. If you ever put us in that situation again, I’ll kill you myself.”
“I don’t know about that,” Tee said.
“Better one of us than all of us,” Tor said bluntly. “Dominic can always heal her wounds if we survive.”
Tee didn’t have a response for that. She turned back to Elestra. “Look, you say you care about your snake, but you keep sending it into dangerous situations. And its gets us all in trouble.”
“I understand that,” Elestra said. “But what am I supposed to do?”
“You can start by staying out of the way,” Tee said.
“You’re vulnerable and you’re inexperienced,” Agnarr said. “You get in the way. You stop me and Tor from holding the line. You need to stay in the back.”
“Which means you need a bow,” Tee said. “And I think that needs to be your first test: Either you get yourself a decent weapon, or you don’t come with us when we go back down there.”
Elestra was hurt by everyone else in the group turning against her, but she wasn’t the only problem. It was clear that they were suffering from an overall lack of discipline and leadership.
They spent the rest of the evening laying out a standard plan of action: If they were going to explore the catacombs beneath the city, then they needed to be better prepared to face the dangers that were found there.
When they had perfected what they felt were simple, flexible, and (most importantly) effective plans for both exploration and combat, they retired for the night and fell, separately, into exhausted sleep.
IN THE MORNING
(09/04/790)
When Ranthir awoke, he quickly prepared the magical rites he would need to analyze and identify the equipment they had taken from Morbion. Much of this proved to be magical, but perhaps the most valuable were the finely-crafted boots he had worn. These had been enchanted with a levitation charm.
As Ranthir explained over breakfast, not only were these boots generally useful in any manner of ways, they more specifically afforded them a means of reaching the valuable cindershard outcropping they had previously espied but been unable to reach.
The equipment for which they could not find an immediate use, Tee took to sell. She also collected a general shopping list from the rest of the party.
Ranthir also reminded them that he had an appointment with Cordelia Erthuo that afternoon to discuss selling the knowledge of the orrery. Tee and Dominic had other plans, but Elestra and Agnarr both said they’d return to the Ghostly Minstrel in time to accompany him. Ranthir nodded and headed up to his room to study while the rest of the group went their separate ways.
CORDELIA’S ABODE
Elestra spent the morning heading over to the Hammersong Vaults, withdrawing a large quantity of money, and then shopping around for a decent weapon. She finally settled for a complex repeating crossbow before – true to her word – returning to the Ghostly Minstrel to meet up with Ranthir and Agnarr.
The three of them took a carriage up to the Nobles District, arriving at the large estate grounds of House Erthuo. The elven influence of the merchant house was clear: A series of elevated walkways and gracefully arched bridges connected slender towers scattered throughout the wooded lands.
After identifying themselves to the gate guards, they were led through a curved gate of white iron to one of the towers. Passing into the tower they found a simple room of richly polished wood. An elven woman rose from behind a desk and introduced herself as one of House Erthuo’s librarians.
The woman led them over to an open doorway. Through it Ranthir could see a huge room filled almost to overflowing with books. His interest was immediately piqued, but the librarian quickly shut the door and began touching various carvings around its edge.
When she opened the door again, it revealed a completely different chamber, this one of carved stone. Shelves throughout the room were packed full of various artifacts.
At a table near the center of the room, a fair-skinned woman of feyish feature – but definitely human – was working. He pale golden-brown hair was pulled back into a tight bun and, when she turned to look at them, Ranthir could see that she wore narrow spectacles of filigreed gold and diamond crystal.
The woman introduced herself as Cordelia Erthuo. Although she had a rather distracted air about her, she was fascinated by the orrery once Ranthir set to describing it. She questioned him in particular about its features and agreed that it was a most fascinating specimen. She seemed familiar with the work of the Sons of Jade, but only in the vaguest sense.
When all was said and done, Cordelia offered 4,000 gp for the location of the orrery. She also made some casual mention of perhaps purchasing Greyson House so as to guarantee access to it.
Ranthir mentioned his own interest in continuing to study the orrery once it had been removed and perhaps reconstructed, and Cordelia actually seemed eager at the thought of collaborating with a colleague trained in Isiltur.
Arrangements were made for the monies to be paid, and their business was concluded in the friendliest of manners.
THIRD LESSON OF THE DREAMING
After finishing her shopping, Tee headed to Iridithil’s Home. She had almost forgotten about it while struggling for her life in the depths beneath the city, but now the thought of receiving her next lesson in the Dreaming from Doraedian was all that mattered to her.
Doraedian greeted her with a friendly smile. “How are things with you, Tee?”
Tee had to think for a moment before answering that. “Well enough, I suppose.”
Tee hadn’t forgotten the promise Doraedian had made at Castle Shard, and it was clear he hadn’t either. So over the next several minutes, she gave a detailed description of her affairs with Lord Zavere and Linech Cran.
Detailed… but not complete. She left out the details of exactly what they had done for Linech Cran, including the involvements of the Balacazars and her personal encounter with Malkeen.
If Doraedian suspected there was more to her tale than she was telling, he seemed content to let her keep her secrets. But he did offer her a caution: “You are dealing with powerful people, Tee. Powerful and dangerous people. If this is your path, then it must be. But, I pray you, walk this path with care.”
“I will!” Tee said. “Of course I will!”
The moment she had dreaded was past, but Doraedian wasn’t ready to begin the lesson quite yet. He had another piece of news: He had identified – or at least partially identified – the rune that she and the others had seen in their visions. It was an interworking of two ancient sigils, one for “dream” and another for “king”. Unfortunately, he had no idea what this meant, and could only offer the possibility that the answer might lie somewhere within the Dreaming.
And so the lesson began. Tee once again struggled with her meditative trances – failing to achieve the Dreaming itself, although often coming close to it. She might have been disappointed, but the more prosaic lessons that Doraedian instructed her in were fascinating:
Minor Spirits, Lords, and Ladies: House spirits are the most common of the “minor spirits” which Arathians see manifestly in the world around them, but they are far from the only ones. These minor spirits, also known as rivera, can be found almost anywhere. For an Arathian, the world around them is filled with a spiritual life. Those who smile upon the spirits are blessed by good fortune, while those who do not will find their lives cursed by them.
Above the minor spirits of the world there are the Spirit Lords, who each possess dominion over a common family of minor spirits. For example, Pegana, the Lady of the River, rules over the spirits of stream and brook. They were first worshipped by the Arath clans. Their ancient representations can also be found on the charm tokens of the Hyrtanians.
Lords of the Dreaming: What the common Arathian does not understand is that the Spirit Lords are, in truth, powerful lords of the Dreaming. It is through the Dreaming that these Lords have power, for they are of the Dreaming.
It is overly simplistic, however, to consider them as individuals. They are not gods. They are more fundamental than that – they arise of the Dreaming, and the Dreaming arises from them. The Pegana one meets in the deltas of Duvei is not the same Lady of the Rivers one might meet in the spring thaws of the Great Glacier or the mountain streams of Hyrtan. She might not even be the same Pegana you’d meet in the next river valley to the west. She might not even be the same Pegana you met last night in the very same place. Or, on the other hand, she might be.
Shaping the Spirits: Few Arathians take these beliefs literally any more, but they remain a part of their philosophical outlook. For example, Arathians tend to believe that a person’s outlook on life “shapes the spirits” around them and has an effect on the fate that life brings them. In this there is truth.
Guides: The Spirit Lords serve as guides and signs. We have learned to trust them, although not completely. Some are more trustworthy than others.
When a Spirit Lord seeks out a Dreamwalker, however, it is always a matter of great import – an event which will change the Dreaming and thus the world in ways unforeseen and unknowable.
“And for a Spirit Lord to seek out one who is not yet trained in the Dreaming Arts, as the Lady Pegana did with you, is something rarely if ever seen.”
THE SILVER EYES OF DOMINIC
Since speaking with Shibata at Harvesttime, Dominic had found questions of his faith and his purpose gnawing at his mind. After turning the matter over in his mind again and again during the long hours while they had been crouched in the ooze-ridden halls of Morbion, he had finally come to the resolution that he needed further guidance.
And so he found himself looking up at the Temple of the Clockwork God – a Reformist church dedicated to Vehthyl in his aspect as the Hidden Mover of the universe.
Swallowing his nervousness and burying his fear, Dominic headed up the steps. The large, intricately-worked doors of the temple appeared to be of adamantine. Passing through them he found himself in an antehall, down which a second set of similar doors appeared to lead to the temple’s inner sanctuary.
Here there were a few worshippers kneeling in scattered prayer, and a solitary priest polishing a gleaming altar of metal gears and mechanic joints.
Dominic tentatively approached the priest. The priest looked up as he approached, and then glanced down at his holy symbols. “What brings an Imperial priest of Athor to a temple of Vehthyl?”
Dominic opened his mouth, but then he realized that actions would speak louder than words. Shifting the cross of Athor to one side, he pulled out the doubled serpent of Vehthyl, grasped it firmly in the palm of his hand, and murmured a prayer to the God of Mysteries.
His eyes gleamed with silver light. The priest’s mouth dropped open. After a moment, he seemed to collect himself. He glanced around the sanctuary and then turned back to Dominic. “Why have you come here?”
“I’m looking for answers. I don’t know what’s happened to me.”
The priest led Dominic to a back room and then asked him to wait for just a few moments. It actually took several minutes, but when he returned he brought several other priests with him. They each seemed taken aback by the sight of Dominic’s eyes.
An elderly priest stepped forward. “Brother Anwyck tells me that you are looking for answers.”
Dominic nodded, and explained how he had awoken with a holy symbol of Vehthyl in his hands and no memories from the previous year.
The priests conferred amongst themselves for a moment and then the elderly priest returned to Dominic’s side. “The eyes of silver are a sign that you have been chosen by the gods.”
“What does that mean?”
The priest shook his head. “Why this should be or what your purpose is, I cannot say. And the wisest among us are not here. We would like to wait for their return and then pray for the guidance of Vehthyl. Can you return to us? Let us say in five days time, upon the ninth of Kadal?”
Dominic agreed. He was visibly frustrated that he was once again being turned away without anything like a definitive answer. But the thought that he might find the answers waiting for him on the ninth gave him some hope that his inner doubts and confusion would soon be resolved.
FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS
After leaving the Erthuo estate and passing through the Dalenguard, Elestra excused herself from Ranthir and Agnarrr, saying she had private business to attend to.
For a long time she simply wandered the streets, passing generally in the direction of the Temple District but not rushing the matter. As she went, she listened carefully for the Spirit of the City – hearing its whispers in the snatches of conversation she caught from those passing her in the streets and the shops.
In the upper reaches of Oldtown, the rumors at first seemed salacious, but then hardened into something truly disturbing: A magical disease was spreading through the various Merchant Houses. Known as the Lover’s Grip, the disease was increasing the physical attractiveness of its victims and then driving them into a frenzy of lust. Those who found themselves seduced by a victim became infected themselves.
Passing across the bridges into Rivergate and then west into the Temple District, this story weakened and then suddenly found itself swirled and mixed with another story – this one rushing up from the low city. A man had been found flayed alive and spiked to the side of a building on the edge of the Warrens. He had been identified as a member of the Killravens, sparking fear that a serious gang war was sparking up… either between the Killravens and the Balacazars, or between the Killravens and the Pale Dogs of the Warrens.
Eventually, however, Elestra’s thoughts found the guidance they had sought and she turned her feet towards the Temple of Asche and the office of Mand Scheben.
When she arrived, she quickly explained – her grief having been spent in her journey across the city – that her beloved python viper, her companion since childhood – had passed beyond the veil between life and death. She sought funeral arrangements for her pet.
At first, Mand Scheben was taken aback by the request. But when the importance of the python viper to Elestra became clear to him, he quickly explained that arrangements could be made. They would keep the body in sanctuary for four days while making arrangements for a burial plot in the Necropolis.
Elestra thanked Mand Scheben, and promised to meet him before the gates to the Necropolis on the morning of the 8th.
IN THE EVENING
While Elestra, Tee, and Dominic were all off tending to their errands, Ranthir and Agnarr returned to the Ghostly Minstrel. Ranthir excused himself, grabbed some dinner from the kitchens, and then headed up to his rooms to continue his studies. Agnarr, meanwhile, headed to the bar and began to drink.
He was joined perhaps a quarter of an hour later by Tor, who had spent much of the day exercising and tending to Blue. But a short while after that, Tor spotted Jevicca entering the common room, gave a grin and a slap on the shoulder to Agnarr, and called it an evening.
Agnarr headed over to Jevicca, reaching her just in time to pull a chair out for her. She gave him a dazzling smile, “Agnarr! I was hoping I might see you tonight! Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you for days.”
Agnarr gave her a wink. “Wandering beneath the streets. You know how it is.”
“I suppose I do. But I wanted to talk to you about Demassac.”
“Who?” Agnarr frowned.
Jevicca laughed. “Don’t be silly! You mentioned him to me last week. My comrades and I have looked into the matter and confirmed the rumor: He’s openly selling magic items to all comers, and particularly the Pale Dogs.”
“Really?”Agnarr said.
“Yes. It’s rather too small a concern for us to bother dealing with directly. And so I was wondering if you and your friends might be interested in taking a commission to investigate his operation further? And shut it down if necessary.”
“Sounds interesting,” Agnarr said. “But we’ve got quite a bit going on right now. And I’d have to check with the others to see what they think no matter what.”
“Of course,” Jevicca nodded. “Let them know the pay would be 2,000 marks.”
“I will,” Agnarr agreed. And then settled down to a proper conversation.
