Family Secrets

The party awoke feeling much better, and with a clear plan for the day: they were off to visit the Arkonas. Salvator Scream had told them he’d taken the Seneschal, Neolandus Kalepopolis, to seek refuge with the Arkona family, and they suspected that Vencarlo Orsini had also gone there, seeking Neolandus. With any luck, they’d find both men hiding out on the Arkona estate, and they could report back to Cressida Kroft that they’d accomplished their mission.

 

Laori Vaus had made her good-byes the night before. They’d had to promise Scream that they could get him out of Korvosa before he would talk, and Laori had offered to make good on that promise. “This has been SO much fun!” she gushed. “I really wish we could have gotten to know each other better!” This was accompanied by a sultry glance in Shadow’s direction. “I have a funny feeling this isn’t the last time we’ll see each other, though. If you ever want to kill a bunch of people again, I hope you think of me!” With that, she’d taken Scream by the hand, stepped into a shadowy corner of the room, and vanished.

Now they’d finished a cold breakfast and were gearing up to head for the Arkona Estate. “So what do you guys know about this Arkona family, anyway?” Wren asked. Of all the group, she seemed the most reserved about meeting the Arkonas, and there was a subtle note of fear in her voice as she asked the question.

“Rich and crooked – what more is there to know?” Jax huffed. “Although really, those are two sides of the same coin.”

“Actually, the Arkonas are one of the oldest families in Korvosa,” Nat piped up. Jax rolled his eyes – Nat never seemed to tire of lording his ‘education’ over the rest of them. “They were one of the founding families of the city, way back in colonial days, and they’re one of the handful of noble families in the city today. They really made their fortune several generations ago, when they started trading with Vudra. Since then, they’ve almost cornered the market on trade between Vudra and this part of Avistan. Today, the family is led by a brother and sister – Glorio and Vimanda Arkona.” Nat’s expression shifted to one of disapproval. “Of course, they’re also rumored to be involved in lots of unsavory activities – smuggling, extortion, loan sharking, blackmail, that sort of thing.”

“Just part of what makes the world go around,” Shadow said with a grin.

Nat bristled. “But they should know better! They already have so much – they shouldn’t need to resort to illegal activities just to make a little more money.”

Shadow looked at him with a baffled expression. “There’s no such thing as ‘enough’ money.”

“Whatever,” Erin broke in with exasperation, “let’s just make sure we’re clear on the plan. And the plan is not to kill all the Arkonas! Right Nat?”

“Hey, the Emperor was chopping people’s heads off!” Nat replied defensively. Erin just glared at him, and he returned her glare with a sulk of his own. They never seemed to appreciate it when he saved their butts.

Satisfied that the parameters of their ‘plan’ were clear, Erin led them off to the Arkona Estates. The Arkona Palace was perched at the top of Garrison Hill, the highest point atop Endrin Isle. The estate was surrounded by a fine stone wall, topped with iron spikes. An elaborate wrought-iron gate barred the entrance to the grounds; despite its decorative appearance, it looked solid enough to provide a strong defense against intruders. Half a dozen guards stood watch inside. Ethnically and racially, they looked like any other Varisians, but  they were clad in elaborate Vudrani armor, their spiked helmets wrapped in silk turbans. As the party approached, the leader broke away from the group and came to face them through the gate. “Halt!” he commanded. “State your business!”

Shadow stepped forward with a smile. “Salvator Scream told us that that Seneschal Kalepopolis is here, and we’d like to speak with him.”

“No!” Erin gasped involuntarily, and several other members of the group slapped their foreheads in disbelief – so much trying to keep their mission a secret.

The sergeant of the guard gave no indication he recognized the name. “That’s not my problem,” he said gruffly.

Wren decided it was time for a different approach, and she elbowed her way in front of Shadow. “Actually, we’re looking for Vencarlo Orsini,” she said in a friendly tone. “Could you please tell him we’d like to speak with him? Perhaps this would help.” Reaching through the bars, she slipped the sergeant a pair of gold coins.

The sergeant looked at the attempted bribe in disbelief, then threw the coins back in Wren’s face. “You keep asking about people I’ve never heard of, and whether they’re here or not, I don’t work for them or for you. Now get the hell out of here, and don’t come back!”

Tomas stepped forward. Using his most aristocratic tone, he addressed the guard formally. “We’re here to request an audience with your master. Please announce us and state our business.”

The guard looked at Tomas, then to the rest of the scraggly group. “You? You want an audience with Lord Arkona?” He barked out a laugh. “Yeah, right! OK, sure, I’ll ‘announce’ you, and then I’ll tell you on my Lord’s behalf to get the hell off his property!” With that he spun on his heel and strode off up that path that led to the Palace.

The group cooled their heels for almost ten minutes before he returned, looking sheepish. “Lord Arkona will see you,” he mumbled, and his men rushed to open the gates. He and his men formed ranks on either side of the party as they entered, and escorted them up the path.

The grounds of the estate were mostly open, decorated here and there with small copses of trees, exotic topiary animals, beautiful flower gardens, and exquisite fountains. The palace itself was a breathtaking structure built in the Vudrani style, a white marble building with golden pillars, high windows that rose to tapered points, minarets, and domes decorated with slender spires. The main entrance door was a massive mahogany affair, carved with the image of a six-armed, four-faced being riding a tiger with human hands for paws.

The sergeant of the guard knocked on the doors, and they were opened immediately by a man dressed in fine livery, a silk eyepatch over one eye. “These are the ‘guests’ who requested an audience with Lord Arkona,” the sergeant growled, then stepped back.

“Of course! Welcome!” the man inside said with a broad smile. “I am Carnochan, the Arkona’s major domo. Lord Arkona bids you welcome. Please – follow me.” He led them into a broad entry hall, and if they had thought the outside of the palace was impressive, their mouths positively dropped open at the opulence of the interior. The ceiling rose twenty feet above them, inlaid with delicate mosaics of colored marble. The morning light streamed through tall windows that provided commanding views of the grounds outside; by night, they could see the interior would be lit by everburning torches that hung in gilt sconces on the walls. Exotic plants in clay pots lined the hallway, the air rich with their scents, mingled with that of sandalwood incense burning in brass censers hanging from the ceiling. Opposite the entrance was another grand door, a great ebony thing topped by a carving of an elephant in profile, its single eye a glittering bloodstone the size of an apple.

Carnochan led them down a rich red carpet, ten feet wide and luxuriously thick, and around a corner. At the end of the hall they could see a statue, another representation of the six-armed, four-faced figure they’d seen on the entrance door. It wielded a different weapon in each of its arms, and each of its eight eyes was a sparkling green gem. Nat recognized it as a statue of Chamidu, a minor Vudrani deity of wild beasts. However, Carnochan stopped them mid-way down the hall, and motioned them into a room off the main hallway. It appeared to be a comfortable lounge, furnished with a number of cozy-looking chairs and a large, well-stuffed sofa. It was warmed by a large fireplace, its marble sides and mantle carved into a parade of capering monkeys and tigers. “Please, make yourselves comfortable,” Carnochan instructed. “Lord Arkona will be with you shortly.”

The party was still a bit stunned by the displays of wealth around them. Wren was afraid to touch anything; she started to sit in one of the chairs, then leaped back up, afraid her dirty armor might stain the upholstery. Jax was surreptitiously picking up various small sculptures and knick-knacks around the room, appraising their value. Only Shadow seemed at home. He dropped onto the sofa, put his feet up on an end table, and stretched his arms out to either side. “I could get used to this!” he said with a sigh. “I wonder if they’re hiring?”

Glorio Arkona

He jerked his feet off the end table as the doors re-opened, and Carnochan returned with his master. Their eyes went wide as Lord Arknoa entered; Glorio Arkona was not at all what they expected. He was a middle-aged man with thick black hair, a neatly-trimmed goatee, and a broad smile. But he was seated in a wooden wheel-chair, pushed by Carnochan. His legs were withered and motionless. Nonetheless, he greeted the party warmly. “Welcome to my home. It is an honor to meet you. I have heard much of what you have done for our city – enough to know that thousands of us owe our lives to you for your work in ending the plague – and that the tales that are now being spread about you are false. Carnochan! You have not offered our guests any refreshments!” The servant bowed apologetically, and hurried off to fetch wine and cheese.

“I have to say that I am surprised, but quite relieved to see you here in Old Korvosa. This district has been our family seat for generations, and it holds a special place in my heart, despite the hard times that have befallen it. I have done what I can to try to stave off complete anarchy, but with the Queen’s quarantine … well, it has been difficult. I’m sure that it was the only choice open to her; at least one would hope that a responsible monarch would not take such an action except as a last resort. And the fact that the Queen’s Physicians were agents of the plague’s spread – well, that does call into question her wisdom in choice of allies. I cannot believe that King Eodred would have ever allowed himself to be so deceived, nor indeed any ruler with greater experience than our young Queen. And it seems that there is more to our Queen than meets the eye, if the tales out of the city are to be believed. I pray they are not true – that would be most troubling.” Despite his honeyed words, Glorio Arkona’s innuendo was clear to everyone in the room: Queen Ileosa was a danger to Korvosa and should be removed from power. (Clear, that is, to everyone except Tomas, who came away convinced that Lord Arkona was a loyal, if concerned, subject of the Queen.)

“I wasn’t aware that anyone was spreading ‘tales’ about us,” Wren said in a worried tone. She was still feeling paranoid from the Queen declaring them ‘enemies of the state’, and worried that perhaps there was now a price on their heads.

But Glorio gave her a reassuring smile. “Well, perhaps ‘tales’ is a bit of an exaggeration on my part. I have many sources of information, and even in these difficult times they manage to keep me very well informed. I hear much that is not public knowledge, even things that some might believe to be closely held secrets. But come – let us not waste time with idle talk of politics. What has brought you into Old Korvosa? Have you come to help restore order for our people?”

“We’re actually looking for a couple of people,” Shadow spoke up, and the group tensed. Glorio Arkona looked at him with a sympathetic expression. “Of course – how can I help you?”

“Salvator Scream suggested that this might be a good place to start,” Shadow continued. “We’re looking for Vencarlo Orsini. And for Seneschal Neolandus Kalepopolis.”

At the mention of Vencarlo and Neolandus’s names, Glorio’s expression grew more somber. He looked down at his hands for a long moment before responding. “Yes, I might be able to help you with this – if you can help me first.” The group groaned inwardly – here it came. “As I said before, Old Korvosa holds a special place in my heart, and I weep to see what has befallen it. There is a man who has all but seized control of much of the district, and wields the mob as a weapon. He styles himself ‘The Emperor of Old Korvosa’, and rules from a shabby ruin in Old Dock. As long as he holds power, there is no hope of lifting the quarantine or reestablishing relations with the rest of the city. My personal guard is much weakened by the plague, and I,” he waves his arm to indicate his useless legs, “can do nothing myself. If you will rid Old Korvosa of this ‘Emperor’, I will help you find your friends.”

The party let out a collective sigh of relief. “Oh, no problem with that,” Shadow said cheerfully. “The Emperor is no more. He is deceased; bereft of life; he rests in peace. He is an ex-Emperor.”

At that news, Glorio clapped his hands. “Excellent! You continue to serve your city in its greatest need.” Then his face darkened. “As to your friends. Yes, both men came to visit us, first Neolandus then later Vencarlo. However, delivering these two guests may prove … a trifle complicated. I’m afraid my sister has them.

“Let me explain. My sister, Vimanda, and I are the scions of House Arkona. For years, following the deaths of our parents, we ruled together, as partners. Then, several years ago, she made a voyage on one of our ships to Vudra. This is common – members of the Arkona family often travel to Vudra to maintain and strengthen our trading relationships. But when she returned, she was … different. She was distant, and cruel. She returned with all new servants, and they would answer only to her, not to me. Then, when I fell ill and lost the use of my legs, she began to exert more and more control over the family business. Now … I fear I am the head of House Arkona in name only.

“Neolandus arrived at our home looking for a place to hide from agents of the Queen, and Vencarlo arrived some days later looking for Neolandus. Vimanda took both of them. I do not know what she wants from them, but she is holding them prisoner below our palace.

“There are caverns beneath our estates, with an opening to the sea. That’s why our home was built here – to provide secret access to move goods in and out of the city.” He smiled ruefully. “I’m sure you are not surprised to learn that not everything the Arkonas do is strictly legal. When Vimanda returned, she began doing extensive work to expand the underground chambers. She calls it her ‘Vivified Labyrinth’, and I fear I know nothing of what it contains. But Neolandus and Vencarlo are being held there, if they are still alive.

“I can tell you how to access it, though. In our courtyard is a statue of an elephant standing on a stone pedestal. In the center of that pedestal is a hidden plate; if you press it, the platform will rotate to the side, revealing a stairway leading down into the caverns.”

The group exchanged looks; they should have known it wouldn’t be as simple as strolling in and finding Vencarlo and Neolandus having tea with the Arkonas. “Do you know what kind of troops or servants she might have down there?” asked Erin, already starting to sketch out the tactical situation.

Glorio shook his head. “I don’t believe she has any ‘troops’ as such, certainly none of our personal guard. As far as servants, I’m not aware of any, but …” he paused, as if uncertain whether to proceed. “I’m afraid that my sister practices the dark arts. She may have summoned servants from beyond. I do not know.”

“What about the renovations she was doing?” Nat asked. “Any idea what materials she brought in? Anything magical?” But again Glorio shook his head. “As I said, the caverns offer direct access to the sea. Everything she brought in came that way, not through the house.”

Shadow came out and asked the question no one else had been willing to broach. “What if something … happens to your sister while we’re down there? Would that be a problem for you?”

Glorio was silent for a bit, his face a mask. When he finally spoke, his voice was strained. “I love my sister, but I fear she stopped being my sister a long time ago. I ask that you be gentle with her if you can, but I understand that she may not give you that choice.”

“Is there anyone who knows her well, any friends? Anyone who might be able to tell us more about her?” Wren asked.

Again, Glorio couldn’t help. “She really has no friends, not that I’m aware of. Her personal maid, probably knows her as well as anyone, but Vimanda would never consider Meliya a ‘friend’.”

Tomas’s ears perked up at the name ‘Meliya’. “Is Meliya Vudrani?” he asked. He was remembering Verik Vancaskerkin, the rogue Guardsman they’d taken down during the riots. He’d had a mysterious Vudrani girlfriend named Meliya.

“Yes,” Glorio nodded. “She’s one of the servants that Vimanda brought back with her from Vudra. She said there was a sickness that killed all of the servants she took there with her, and that she had to take on all new servants.” Everyone exchanged skeptical looks at that story.

“Do you have anything your sister has handled a lot?” Nat asked. Glorio looked surprised at the request, so Nat clarified. “We might be able to use magic to locate or scry on her if we had something that belonged to her. Glorio thought for a moment, seeming unsure as to whether to comply with such a personal request. “I suppose her hairbrush. I can send Carnochan to fetch it for you.”

As they waited for the servant to return, they began to discuss tactics. “I don’t like the idea of ringing the front doorbell,” Jax grumbled. “I think we might be better off using the entrance from the ocean.”

Glorio Arkona spoke up. “It won’t be that simple,” he warned. “The entrance is extremely well hidden with illusion magics. Unless you know where you’re going, it’s almost impossible to find. And with the Gray Maidens patrolling the Jeggare River between Endrin Isle and the mainland, it will be difficult to make a slow, deliberate search.”

Carnochan returned with the hairbrush and Lord Arkona gave him new orders. “Carnochan – please escort our guests to the garden, then return here to me.” He looked at the group, his eyes glistening with tears. “I wish you well in your quest. And I ask again that you not be … hasty with my sister.”

Carnochan led them to a set of double doors across the hall, beside the statue of Chamidu, and into a short hallway. “The garden is through those doors,” he said, pointing to the far end of the hall. Then he shut the doors behind him; he obviously understood his master’s intent to provide the guests with some privacy. Hoping that this wasn’t a big mistake, Jax took a deep breath and pulled the doors open.

Stepping through the doors was like stepping into a clearing at the heart of a vast jungle, teeming with life. The sky above, seen through a glass dome, was a deep, cloudless blue (despite the fact that as they’d approached the palace, the sky had been threatening rain). In the distance, hazy towers rose above the verdant canopy. Exotic bird calls filled the hot, humid air, the scent of dozens of unfamiliar flowers and plants assaulted the nose, and everywhere a riot of color demanded the eye, whether it was the wing of a tropical bird, the petals of a brightly hued flower, or the glittering multicolored tiles that made up a round fountain to the north. The fountain’s central plume was a stone pillar around which entwined two cobra statues that clutched green gems in their fanged maws.

At the south of the garden stood an immense, life-sized jade statue of an elephant, a howdah perched on its back, its tusks and trunk raised high in greeting to a pair of ebony doors that they recognized must lead back into the entry hall. From inside the room, the doors looked more like gates set into a wrought-iron fence that encircled the garden. Other gates set in this fence doubtless led to other parts of the palace.

Nat immediately cast Detect Magic, and almost fell down at the assault of magical auras around him. and after a bit more observation, the somewhat static nature of the jungle and landscape became apparent — the walls of this garden were in fact an incredibly realistic and clever painting of a Vudrani junglescape, augmented by countless magical illusions. Most of the birds and small creatures they could see scuttling among the underbrush actually appeared to be real.

As most of the group stared in awe at their surroundings, Shadow carefully examined the pedestal under the jade elephant. Had Glorio not told him what to look for, he’d probably never have spotted the cleverly concealed pressure plate in its base. He called Jax over to check it for traps, and even Jax’s experienced eye had difficulty locating the hidden switch. While Jax examined it, Shadow began casting protective magic on himself: Mage Armor, Invisibility, and Displacement. “Expecting trouble?” Tomas chided him, but Shadow nodded grimly just before he vanished. “Hell yes!” came the disembodied reply.

Expecting the worst, Jax pressed on the plate. The pedestal and the entire, massive elephant rotated silently to one side, revealing a circular opening in the floor. An iron staircase spiraled tightly down the opening, preventing any visibility of how far it extended or what might be below. When nothing emerged to attack them, Jax ventured cautiously down the stairs, the others following. About a turn down, he spotted a hidden panel on the wall; he pointed it out to the others, but made no move to open it.

The stairs continued their cramped descent for at least forty or fifty feet. At last they began to see dim light below them, and smell a draft of cool damp air. The stairs opened up into a vast grotto. A semi-circular ledge sloped steeply downwards around the outside edge of the grotto, while the center was an open drop into darkness. Across from them, they could barely make out a rope bridge descending from this ledge to one even farther down; the end of the ledge where the bridge began was some fifty feet lower than the point where they stood looking down from the foot of the stairs. From the darkness below they could hear the soft lapping of water on some unseen shore.

The ledge they were on was strangely beautiful — a tableau of all manner of odd-colored fungi, lichens, and molds. The fungi had been cultivated, shaped into symmetrical patterns normally not seen in nature, transforming the ledge into a sort of underground fungal garden. Here and there, flickering torches burned in sconces above the fungi, providing a dim glow of light to illuminate the subterranean garden.

The party began to make their way carefully along the spiraling ledge, Jax in the lead and the others spread out behind him. Erin paused at one particularly deep alcove and peered into the darkness, but saw nothing. Nat, at the tail, cast a Detect Magic. Of course there was magic in front of him – his friends were covered with it. But as he started a slow circle of the grotto, he saw an aura coming from the direction of the niche Erin had poked her head into. Suspecting that Erin had missed something valuable, he too stopped at its entrance and gazed intently into the darkness.

The source of the magic quickly became clear: it was the magical scimitar of a creature that suddenly appeared in the alcove. The blade slashed deep into Nat as he screamed in shock and pain. He staggered backwards a step, then paused and fumbled in his pack, pulling on the Red Mantis mask and activating its See Invisibility power. As he started to shout a warning to his friends, another of the creatures hit him from behind.

More of the things began to appear around the grotto, their Invisibility ending as they launched surprise attacks against the party. Two attacked Tomas, sending blood spraying from the unsuspecting archer. Another was directly in front of Erin, slashing her with two quick blows. Shadow, protected by his own invisibility, bumped into something unseen, and then it appeared as it slashed at Jax, joined by another of its kin. The things looked like armor-clad skeletons, with gelid ooze and tufts of mold and fungus in place of flesh.

Tomas took a step back from his assailants and fired a pair of arrows. They struck, but despite their undead appearance the garden's guardians didn’t respond to his attacks as he’d come to expect from undead. Wren stepped in front of Tomas; her presence shielded him for the moment from the things’ attacks, but her axe missed wildly. Jax slid between the pair flanking him and hit one of them. Shadow, standing unseen right beside it, stepped backwards and fired off a pair of Scorching Rays, amplifying their power twisting their energy into electricity instead of fire. The bolts of energy zapped the attacker near Jax, but it stayed stubbornly on its feet.

Nat was in trouble. He was badly injured, and had attackers on either side of him. He took one step back, but was teetering on the edge of the precipice and knew he couldn’t stay there. The only way to escape without drawing attacks from the guardians was to leap across a small gap in the lip of the ledge. His adrenaline flowing, Nat made the jump easily, and took off running for the stairs. One of the fungal guardians lumbered after him, but Nat easily outpaced him. Not wanting to take any chances, Nat kept running up the stairs until he was out of sight of the grotto, then stopped to gulp a healing potion.

The other guardian who’d been hitting Nat turned and took a few steps towards Wren. Then he stopped, and his whole body seemed to vibrate for a moment. Then a cloud of fungal spores exploded outwards, creating a cloud that engulfed both Wren and Tomas. Tomas managed to see it coming and hold his breath, but Wren gasped in surprise, drawing the spores deep into her lungs. She instantly felt weaker, and her fatigue left her hardly able to swing the battleaxe she’d gotten from Jabbyr.

Erin was toe-to-toe with her assailant, trading blows back and forth. Then the thing stopped swinging and appeared to cast some sort of spell. Erin hit it as it cast, but for a moment felt herself getting smaller. Then the magic faded, and she returned to her normal size.

One of the guardians that had been attacking Jax now saw Shadow and turned to follow him, pausing long enough to emit a spore cloud of its own, but both Jax and Shadow avoided breathing in the spores. Jax hit the other one, but it hit him back, and Jax knew he was in trouble if something didn’t change quickly. Shadow, now visible, backed away from his pursuer and cast an Empowered Scorching Ray. He wasn’t able to change this one into electricity, and even though the power of the rays was massive, he was disappointed to see that the fire did far less damage to the guardian than electricity had.

Tomas feathered one of the guardians attacking Wren with three arrows. It responded by attempting to cast Reduce Person on him, but as with Erin, the spell failed. Its partner hit Wren (who was still missing badly with almost every swing). The guardian pursuing Shadow swung its scimitar at the sorcerer; one blow drew blood but the other, which should have decapitated him, missed because of his Displacement.

The situation was looking grim. The guardian who’d been chasing Nat gave up when the wizard fled up the stairs, and retraced his steps to join his fellows who were ganging up on Wren. Tomas fired three more arrows at one of those, but all three clattered harmlessly off the wall behind their target. Wren managed to dodge one of the guardian’s attacks, but the other slashed her badly, while her own swings continued to miss. Jax swung his sword at his foe, but it glanced off its shield to no effect; knowing he was in trouble, he tried to retreat toward the lower end of the ledge, but his attacker stayed hot on his heels. Erin continued to trade blow for blow with her opponent, but it seemed that Erin was still getting the worst of each exchange.

Only Shadow was consistently dealing out serious damage. He took another step back then leaned forward and opened his mouth. With a beast-like roar, a crackling bolt of lightning exploded from his open maw, blasting the guardian pursuing Jax. Unimpressed, the one in front of Shadow stepped forward and swung its scimitar; it should have scored a pair of painful strikes, but thanks to his Displacement spell, Shadow was never quite where the thing thought he was. Shadow backed up yet another step, and fried the one beside Jax with another Lightning Bolt (this time from a normal spell). The thing was staggering, but still up. Jax turned to face it, but it again blocked his swing with its shield. Then its scimitar lashed out, first slashing Jax across the chest then stabbing into his belly. With a groan, the rogue collapsed to the floor, unconscious and bleeding out.

Tomas managed to hit one of the guardians confronting Wren with another pair of arrows, but it was still going strong. Wren knew she was outnumbered and outmatched; she had managed to bottle up three of the guardians on the narrow ledge, but she was doing no damage, and she knew it was only a matter of moments until they overran her. Hoping she could be of more help as a healer than a fighter, Wren took advantage of Tomas’s arrows hitting the one right in front of her to escape to a position between Tomas and Shadow.

At that moment, Nat emerged from the spiral staircase. He scanned the battlefield and wasted vital seconds hemming and hawing over the optimal spell choice and placement. But there were just too many variables, too many enemies. At last he settled on blasting the guardian standing over Jax’s body with an Ear Piercing Scream, and the thing collapsed next to its most recent victim.

With Wren out of the way, the guardians were free to advance on other targets. Two converged on Tomas, slashing him painfully, while the third went to join its partner fighting Erin. Tomas stepped back, his heels at the edge of the cliff, and sank yet another arrow into the one he’d been pin cushioning all through the fight. This was apparently the final straw, and it fell straight backwards, dead. Erin shifted back against the wall of the grotto to avoid being flanked, but her back was literally against the wall, with nowhere left to run.

Shadow now had new enemies behind him, and couldn’t keep backing up from the guardian pursuing him. Counting on his Displacement to protect him, he dashed around his pursuer. It swung where he should have been, but hit where he wasn’t. Once he was at a safe distance, Shadow spun, lined up his aim, and sent another Lightning Bolt sizzling across the grotto; it caught two of the guardians in its path, and both fell.

Wren skipped farther away from the action, towards Jax, then called upon the power of Pharasma. Her goddess must have heard her prayer, because the positive energy she Channeled provided a badly needed jolt of healing to her friends. Nat, seeing how well Shadow’s Lightning Bolt had worked, darted along the ledge until the angle was right and then cast one of his own, catching two more of the guardians; one of them collapsed in a smoking heap of fungus. That left only one of the creatures still fighting. It advanced on Tomas, sinking its scimitar deep into his gut. Tomas gasped, jerked his body backwards off of the blade, then raised his bow. His arrow split the thing’s skull, and it fell.

Everyone gathered around Wren and Erin for badly needed healing. When they felt strong enough to think about next steps, they gathered at the foot of the rope bridge they’d seen from above. It led downwards, to yet another dark ledge protruding from the walls of the grotto. They could see another bridge leading from that ledge to an even lower ledge, and then could barely make out a third bridge leading down from there to somewhere below the protrusion they were standing on. Unlike the ledge they were on, there was no light on the lower ledges and only the sound of lapping water rose up out of the darkness.

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The PCs earned 8,000 XP, putting them at 64,743, with 71,000 required for Level 10.