Aspirants of the Diamond Throne

Mezezar had joined the caravan heading towards Khorl first. Well at least that痴 what Ke-Tant Faerblay suspected. The young giant had noticed the mojh when he was on his first watch night, guarding the third wagon as he had agreed with the caravan master. His new armour had chafed uncomfortably as he watched the scaly humanoid stare motionlessly into the night. The merchant had said that the armour was made from wyvern scales and although Ke-Tant was not too sure, it was certainly lighter and stronger than the other options that were open to him. It had also cost him the rest of his coin. After his bonding ceremony with his greatsword, he felt that simple leather jack would not be a suitable accompaniment for such a weapon. But his first choices had left the giant with little option. If he was to pursue his wanderlust, he would have to pay his way, and a simple caravan guard would accomplish both at the same time. Jerad had become too familiar and staid. If he was to make his name, he did not want people痴 pre-conceptions to cloud their judgement of him. So what if his family did not amount to much, in a new city that was teeming with trade and intrigue, he was sure he could find adventure and advancement.

Obur Tilsen stepped out of the darkness a few nights later. The brash human was nearly impaled by a number of the impetuous guards, but when they realised that he had no horns on his head they relented and let him converse with the caravan master in private. He too, was soon standing watch over the goods of one of the wagons after a nod and a quiet clap on the back from the master.

A few nights later these three found themselves watching the same cargo as some rhodin attacked from the darkness. The two raiders that approached the caravan were swiftly dealt with, so they moved on to help out others further to the rear of their camp. They found a woman keeping one of the horned creatures at bay with her morningstar. She had been wounded by the creature, but had also damaged it. With the help of the new arrivals the creature was soon incapacitated. Seeing that a number of their fellows had already fallen, the rest of the rhodin dispersed into the darkness in some disarray. Mezezar and Obur went among the injured and used their magic to heal or stem their wounds. One caravan driver who was unconscious due to blood loss was brought back to wakefulness through Obur痴 channelling of the green.

The caravan master congratulated them on their efforts as they were finishing their ministrations. Mezezar took the opportunity to speak to the caravan master about a sibeccai that he was seeking. Although the caravan master was not familiar with the name, he promised that he壇 ask around or find some other way to help. Since they found that their skills complemented each other well, the three decided to find out more about each other with a view to forming a partnership. Ke-Tant and Obur did not have much to say for themselves, except to express and interest for advancement and wealth. They probed Mezezar about his reasons for wanting to find this sibeccai. He told them much about his background. The three decided to call themselves the Mokers from their initials and agreed to share all that they found equally amongst the group. They approached the woman that they had fought with earlier. They discovered that her name was Mera Reerance, a human witch. She accepted their offer of an equal place in the Mokers at least for the time being. Mezezar was especially anxious to ensure that she joined up.

A few days later as the city of Khorl was visible below them on the coast, the caravan master approached the Mokers and explained that he had considered Mezezar痴 request for assistance and thought that the best thing to do was to put the Mojh in touch with a contact that he had in the city. Brother Egil was a disciple of Vekik, The Runegod and could be found or contacted at the temple to Vekik in the city. Since this temple gathered information from all areas of Khorl, Egil might be able to help them on their quest for knowledge of Eritic the Invincible.

The Mokers travelled through Khorl with the caravan and down to the docks. There they stood guard while the wagons were unloaded into warehouses and on to ships. It was only after all the trade goods were accounted for that they were given their final coin and sent on their way. The temple was in a prosperous district abutting the old city and once they entered the vaulted main hall they could see many priests studying and copying from parchments and scrolls, seeking meaning in all the symbols of communication. When they enquired after Brother Egil, the novice immediately set off to find him and left the Mokers to admire the architecture. It wasn稚 long until a modest human arrived to speak to them and to draw them off to his own alcove, which he cordoned off with a plush curtain. Once they had revealed their intent and that the caravan master had sent them, Brother Egil seemed eager to help, although he had no immediate knowledge to share. He did, however, seem to be troubled by another matter, namely the disappearance of a friend of his; a scribe named Lucius. Two days ago he had disappeared, echoing a time six years ago when he had disappeared in bizarre circumstances, only to reappear five years later with no apparent memory of the intervening time, begging to be restored to the temple.

Lucius returned to the temple, and it was just like old times for eight or nine months. Then he started to look haggard, and he told me he wasn稚 sleeping well. Something was disturbing him, but he wouldn稚 say what. He started asking a lot of questions about what he had been like right before his expulsion. The high priest talked to him about it, but Lucius wouldn稚 let it go.

"I grew increasingly worried for my friend. He seemed on the brink of insanity, as if one small thing could push him over the edge. Two days ago, he failed to come to the temple. I went to his home and found it empty. I searched all over but could not find him. The priests of my temple deny it, but I know that something has happened to Lucius. I want you to find out what.�

The Mokers asked about accommodation in the city and Egil recommended the Scholar痴 Quill, an inn between the temple and Lucius痴 house. He accompanied them there and got them a preferential rate. So that he would not miss evening prayers, Brother Egil hurried them out and on to Lucius痴 house to see if they could turn up anything of interest. The house itself was very modest and inside they found a To Do list written by Lucius and hidden in a desk under a false bottom they found a diary. In the basement they found recently constructed shelves on every wall and some that were free standing, but there was no book on any of them. The Mokers retired to the Quill and Lucius to the temple to ponder these things.

To Do List

Things to do:
Get some sleep!
Talk to Cpt. Scarbelly
Turnips
Update diary
Examine travel logs
Get more sleep!

Diary

From six years ago:
I awoke this morning frightfully fatigued. I feel as if I had spent the night in combat, not sleeping. My head hurts, and I feel weak. I can稚 miss work at the temple, but I think I値l confine myself to light tasks today.

The next entry is dated five years later:
The god help me! What happened? I awoke from some strange dream to find that
five years have passed! Egil told me I was kicked out of the temple four years ago for violating the sanctum. Surely this is madness!

From six months ago:
Life has resumed a kind of normality. I have won admittance back into the temple.
My reception was strange, but everyone seems relieved that I am 澱ack to my old self.� I have so many questions about these missing years but it seems best to simply move on with my life now. If the god wills it, knowledge will come to me.

From four months ago:
Egil says that Milos was asking after me again, that he was worried about another 兎pisode.� Maybe he痴 simply concerned for the temple, but surely I have sufficiently proven myself by now. My life is mine again, and I知 not giving it up!

From two months ago:
The dreams came again last night. I don稚 know that I値l ever get a good night痴 sleep! I dreamt of cities as tall as the clouds and creatures so alien in form that I can稚 describe them. Does this have something to do with my lost years or is this some fresh torment?

From one month ago:
It痴 clear to me now that I must find some answer if I知 ever to make the dreams stop. Thuron and Milos tried to discourage me悠 think they fear what might happen to their temple. A pity their compassion does not extend to a living being.

From one week ago:
I have begun to feel like I知 being watched. I pray this is not a further milestone
on the road to madness. I think I値l take my dagger with me in the morning. In a city like Khorl, I suppose one can稚 be too careful, especially with pirates in port.

Mezezar and Mera decided that they wanted to prepare for contingencies by creating some spell completion items. Mezezar began crafting magic into a stone while Mera’s item was a bundled assortment of oddments that she considered to be fitting for the task. They realised that this would take them a day to complete, so Ke-Tant and Obur decided to see if they could find this Captain Scarbelly. The owner of the Scholar’s Quill, Desi was able to inform them that Scarbelly was the notorious pirate captain of the “Bloody Vengeance”, but she did not know anything else about him or why Lucius might have been meeting him. She remembered that Lucius had come in to the Scholar’s Quill on occasion, but nothing in particular about him. The two Mokers decided to go down to the docks to see if they could find out anything more.

When they asked around, they were able to discover that the Bloody Vengeance had docked about a week ago and that its crew were edgy and on alert. They found the berth where she was docked and approached the two sibeccai seamen who were guarding the gangplank. Ke-Tant politely asked for an audience with Captain Scarbelly, but the pair rebuffed him. Despite persisting in his request, the two guards were in no mood to accede to the giant’s wishes. Indeed, they drew the attention of another lookout in the crows-nest who was armed with a crossbow. This dissuaded the giant and the human from pursuing things further. So they withdrew.

Thinking of another stratagem, they entered the insalubrious Rusty Hook tavern on the dockside near the ship. After a number of failed attempts they managed to discover from one of the patrons that Captain Scarbelly had taken his evening meal in the Hook on a couple of occasions in the last week. Our intrepid pair decided to return later. In the meantime they felt that another search of Lucius’s house would not go amiss. When they got there however, they could not gain entrance as it was locked. They got an urchin to send a note over to Brother Egil at the temple asking for his assistance, but after a few hours waiting near the door they had no response and returned to Quill. The preparations of Mera and Mezezar were complete and they were now having a quick drink in the taproom. The four of them decided that their next move should be to see if they could find Captain Scarbelly in the Hook, so they made their preparations and set off.

Night had fallen, so the Mokers picked their way through gloomy streets, lit only by the occasional street lamp and what light filtered from surrounding buildings. As they got close to the docks the lights were fewer and further and farther between. In a particularly dark cut, a group of unsavouries gathered around them. Their leader, a toothless human who had tattooed knuckles congratulated them on their forthcoming life at sea. When it was obvious that the Mokers did not intend to submit to this press-gang easily, the group started employing their saps. Outnumbered two to one the Mokers had to act fast to save themselves from unconsciousness and worse. Their response was brutal and efficient. The press-gang managed to land a few blows with their saps, but before any of the Mokers had suffered serious injury, five of their attackers lay bleeding on the ground and the rest were trying to flee. But the Mokers were irked and did not want any to escape. Two more sailors fell, but one managed to escape, running off down an alley and losing himself in the flow of people. Obur healed one to try and question him, but he fell back to another blow from Mera. Mezezar also healed one and managed to ascertain that the press-gang was not connected to the Bloody Vengeance before knocking the unfortunate out again with his staff.

The Mokers left the wreckage of the press-gang where they fell and moved on towards the Rusty Hook. A small crowd had gathered near the dock and gave them dark looks as they passed. Obur just caught sight of onlookers moving in to help the fallen as they turned north onto the dock shore. In the Hook, it was much busier than it had been earlier. The group strode up to the bar and Mezezar enquired about the whereabouts of Scarbelly. The proprietor denied all knowledge of the captain, leaving the mojh somewhat stumped. Obur tried another tack and moved from table to table looking for a sibeccai with a protruding belly. He was successful in his hunt and directed his colleagues to a table near the bar where the scarred pirate captain sat alone at his table eating. He seemed to be amused by the high manners displayed, but motioned the group to sit while he listened to their query. After taking their coin he said that he had indeed been approached by Lucius, but that he had thought it very strange, because Lucius was asking him to relate events that the human had himself been part of when he paid Scarbelly to take him from port to port those years ago. He had stayed on the Vengeance for about four months and took copious notes while they travelled. Now, a few days ago, he comes back and asks about where he went and what he did – very odd. After their chat he hadn’t seen Lucius again. Intrigued by this the Mokers returned to the Quill to plan their next move.

In the Scholar痴 Quill the Mokers asked around to see if anyone could shed any more light on Lucius. Some other scholars were there and mentioned that he had been friendly with a Brother Egil. They also said that he had go himself into difficulty with the temple at some point a few years ago but that it all seemed to be settled now. Getting frustrated at their lack of progress the Mokers wanted to talk to Egil, but remembered that he did not want to be identified as the instigator of an enquiry. He was not due to see them for another two days. So, as an alternative, the next day they decided to try and talk to Thuron, the high priest of the temple of Vekik.

A novice greeted them at the entrance to the temple and took them to see Milos, Thuron痴 assistant. Milos, a slight man who wore horn-rimmed spectacles, flatly denied them access to Thuron, saying that all queries could be handled through himself, because the High Priest was too busy with his duties and his preparations for the dedication of the new lighthouse to be disturbed. The overbearing questioning of some of the Mokers raised Milos痴 hackles and Mezezar had to intervene in order to ensure that they obtained some information. When the others had left the mojh talked to Milos alone. Mezezar discovered that Lucius had donated a large amount of books in order to make reparations to the temple for his violation of the sanctum. These books were under study for their authenticity and would not be available to the public until the following year. Milos made it clear that he believed that Lucius would turn up again in a couple of days and that no one should be worried. The temple of course, did not have the resources to send out search parties for every librarian who failed to turn up for work.

Realising that they would not get to see Lucius痴 travel documents without stealing them or infiltrating the temple in some fashion the Mokers left to consider other options. They returned to Lucius痴 house for another look, with Mezezar opening the lock with a spell. They did not find anything new out there though, so they went off to see if they could obtain any more information from Captain Scarbelly. They were again refused permission to board the Bloody Vengeance. So, once again they went to the Rusty Hook in the hope of bumping in to the Captain having some food. This time, however, they were unlucky as the sibeccai was not present. After a frustrating day of going from pillar to post, the Mokers decided to return to the Quill to await their meeting with Lucius on the following evening.

As they approached the temple district, an armed group, who bore yellow shields, set upon them. They had obviously prepared their attack in advance, as a crossbowman was already in place on the roof a low building ahead of them. Below him, three others advanced towards them menacingly. When the Mokers turned to check their options for retreat, they saw two more opponents blocking the way they had come.

Mera was the first to react, but she missed with her crossbow, which shot at the advancing humans. But then the yellow shields were among them, striking out at Ke-Tant and Obur. Both attacks failed, as did a crossbow shot launched from behind them. The giant and the greenbond also failed to land a blow. After this, the Mokers took control of the situation. Mera summoned a cloud of iron scraps that swirled around the crossbow wielders behind the group damaging both of them. One of them also suffered from a crossbow bolt from Obur. Ke-Tant was focussed on those in front, managing to score a mighty blow with his greatsword, which took out one opponent immediately. Mezezar also managed to damage one of the swordsmen with magic. The Yellow Shields were no match for the Mokers and failed in most of their attacks, though Ke-Tant was scratched by a blade. One of the crossbowmen at the rear took a potion which seemed to heal him somewhat, before they took to firing again. Mezezar was sorely wounded by a crossbow bolt just before his acidic splash both blinded and damaged its sender. Mera employed her crossbow to great effect, bringing the enemy on the roof down to fall at their feet with one shot. Ke-Tant and Obur stood toe to toe with the enemy and came out victorious.

Three of their opponents were dead, but they managed to get some sense out of the others, learning that the leader of the gang, Nezalan, was one that had died. He had been hired to kill the Mokers by someone that the rest of the group did not know. However a scrap of paper that they found on his body indicated a meeting that was arranged at the Black Gull tavern, which would probably be with the person who wanted the Mokers dead. They decided to go there and discover who this was.

Urden and Yind of the Yellow Shields had pointed them in the direction of the Black Gull where they headed immediately. It too was near the unsavoury docks and filled with the kind of patrons that the Mokers either liked to avoid or get information from. They were fearless in their approach and split up before entering. Ke-Tant stood guard outside, where Mezezar and Obur were trying to persuade him to be less conspicuous. The mojh went inside and found a table. Obur did likewise, near the door, but Mera approached the bar and scanned the patrons blatantly. As they did not have a description of their quarry, or even a name, the Mokers felt at a disadvantage, but the yellow shield that Mera bore, and that she placed obviously on the bar, might prove to draw them out. After her queries to the barman about the Yellow Shields came to naught, Mera strode through the crowds in the bar searching every alcove for someone suspicious.

Eventually, a rather non-descript thin human got up nervously from a table on his own and headed for the exit. Mera was convinced that this was the contact that they were looking for and Obur and Mezezar were not far behind. Ke-Tant detained the poor human as he left the Gull and soon the Mokers were questioning him about Nezalan and why he had set him and his Yellow Shields on them. The human, whose name was Enzo succumbed immediately and managed no resistance to their questions. He said that they had angered his cult痴 master. He had been ordered to hire these mercenaries by his superior. The Mokers descriptions had been given and handed on to the Yellow Shields. When questioned further about his cult, Enzo seemed to know little. He called it the Brotherhood, but was unable to say who the Master was or even what its aims were, he said that he was not yet worthy to know these things.

Enzo was able to tell them that he was to report the success of his mission to his superior by leaving a note in a particular building in the northern district of Khorl, just west of the docks. This bricked up house served as some sort of base for the cult, but Enzo did not know what went on there, although, unusually, he had been asked to bring food there twice in the last week. The Mokers immediately made Enzo lead them through the maze-like alleys of the docks, north and west to this place. The area in which they found themselves was quiet and non-descript. The one storey building itself was narrow and dilapidated. The windows were bricked up and the tiles on the roof were loose. The Mokers stood in the shadows observing for a while before attempting the door. They could not overcome the lock, so they hoisted themselves onto the roof and made an entrance by removing tiles. Leaving Enzo behind, the Mokers clambered up and through the gap and soon the four were standing in the rubble and rubbish of the ground floor of the house. Searching around here for exits or something interesting, they realised that the rear of the building had foundations that were quite old. Concentrating in this area, they uncovered a trapdoor, which led down some stairs to a wine cellar. Nine large casks lined the walls of the room. When struck, four of them seemed to be empty, so the Mokers concentrated on these, opening the one in the northwest corner. They walked through the fake cask and into the corridor beyond. It ended after fifteen feet in a narrow stone stairway, which led further down.

The foot of the stair opened into a worked stone corridor, leading north. They could see from their lamp that a doorway led straight ahead, but that two alcoves opened to the west and east just before it. Ke-Tant strode confidently forward, planning to heave open the doors. He did not notice the outlines of the pit trap beneath his feet until it was too late. It took a few moments for the Mokers to heave the weighty giant out of the pit and in that time some creatures slid out of a secret opening in the western alcove to come upon them from behind. These scaly humanoids were similar to mojh in appearance, but had more pronounced tails and were more bestial. They attacked immediately without deigning to converse with their opponents.

Although the cramped confines around the pit proved difficult for the Mokers to negotiate, their martial prowess again shone through. The creatures� short spears damaged Mera before she managed to withdraw to a safe distance where Mezezar healed her. Ke-Tant and Obur held the line against their five enemies and wore them down, while the others used ranged attacks from beyond the pit or behind their comrades. Once they had defeated them, the Mokers followed the dank passage through which they had come. It meandered west and north until it reached a large irregular cave. The floor was scattered with refuse and filth and they could hear water lapping from the far corner. A rough corridor led off to the east ending in a flat wall. Realising that this must be another concealed opening, the Mokers soon discovered a catch and opened the door into a bright torch-lit room. Pillars stood at equal distances down its length, with carvings of serpents or wyrms coiled around them. To the left of them at the end of this hallway stood a black altar with a strange yellow symbol inscribed on the wall behind it. Beside this stood a statue of a large reptilian creature with tentacles, which may have been the manifestation of the god worshipped here. Behind the altar stands a small man wearing black robes with a full hood. As you enter the room, he throws back his hood, exposing familiar horn-rimmed glasses. Milos smiles at your reaction and says, 添ou are the first outsiders to ever reach the Temple of the Unspeakable One. Your achievement deserves congratulations. It is also your doom!� Just then they noticed a flash of movement from the south as another creature leapt to attack them.

Before they had a chance to enter this underground temple and respond to Milos’ threats, an unarmed human female in a cowled robe confronted the Mokers. Most of their attention was focussed on this opponent, although Mera and Mezezar attempted ranged magics to weaken Milos, as he did on them, sticking Ke-Tant in place at one point. Mera’s metal hail damaged Milos but he did not fall, though he did look uncomfortable facing her animated mace. Eventually, the human fell before them and the Mokers moved to surround Milos, but he did not surrender and they had to finish him off. As he lay bleeding on the floor, they removed his staff and his items and his true form, that of a mojh, was revealed. Obur stepped in and healed him so that he would not bleed to death, and so that they could question him. But he proved resistant to their threats only wondering why the Mokers were so interested in a puny librarian, saying that he was insignificant. It was then that they discovered Lucius gagged and bound behind the altar. He required some healing to stand too. He was very grateful to the party for their help, but seemed a little confused. He steadied when they mentioned Brother Egil. The Mokers tied Milos’ hands and led him out with Lucius to the cave with the water and back along the passage they way they had come.

Before they managed to reach the end, the Mokers were attacked from behind by another human warrior who was not armed, as well a number of other kobold-like creatures. In the course of this fight, Ke-Tant went to fight, moving from the front of the group and leaving Milos unguarded. He managed to slip his bonds and escape while attention was elsewhere. The Mokers finished off their attackers and they could see that they had approached through a secret opening that they had not seen. Mezezar tried this opening and was rewarded with swift attacks from the giant scorpions in the room beyond. He withdrew, swiftly slamming the door shut to block off pursuit. The Mokers proceeded through the passage to the secret opening next to the pit, but could find no trace of Milos. They searched the rooms nearby but could not find the mojh anywhere. Realising that they had better bring Lucius to safety, they decided to head back to the temple of Vekik the Runegod. They set off up the stairs…

The Mokers brought Lucius out of the ramshackle building and across Khorl to Brother Egil’s lodging. He then accompanied them and Lucius to the temple where Lucius was tended to by the brothers there. The Mokers were led into the chambers of the High Priest, Thuron who greeted them gravely. They told the story of Lucius’ abduction and that of the sinister cult hidden beneath the bricked up house in the eastern district. Thuron seemed very concerned to hear about Milos’ role in all of this.

When the Mokers had rested they returned to the bricked up house and went down through the roof to the temple below. They searched methodically through all of the rooms and killed the monstrous scorpions that were still there. They did not find any further trace of Milos. When they returned to the Vekik the Runegod’s temple the Mokers talked again to Egil and to Thuron. The latter said that he would contact the watch about putting in place a guard and to tell them what had been found. The Mokers also asked Egil to see if he could find someone who could divine the current location of Milos.

Brother Egil revealed to the Mokers that he had been doing his own investigations into Milos since they had uncovered his activities. He had heard that a man fitting the description Milos’ human form and calling himself Devlin had been seen around the old city posing as a merchant and had taken lodgings in an inn there.

Mezezar asked around in the old city, searching for well-to-do merchants and he was directed to one Iltan who was a silk merchant. Eventually the mojh’s conversations led around to asking more directly for Milos and they discovered that he had lodged in an inn called the Marquis Moon. Inside, they found a surly but ultimately cooperative bar-hand who was only too glad to earn some coin from the unoccupied accommodation above. After a search of the rooms the Mokers determined that a mojh, at least had stayed there from the scales in the many cushions that lay on the floor. Obur managed to discover a book that had fallen down behind a bookcase where other books had obviously been removed. This book had a hand scrawled diagram on the inside cover which depicted a lighthouse with some of its bricks highlighted in some odd pattern. As the Mokers left the place a litorian patron let them know that he had spotted an odd group snooping around the rooms earlier in the week.

Once outside they discovered a faen messenger being accosted by a gang of sibeccai thugs. When they stepped in to help, they were distracted enough for the book to be filched from Obur by the very messenger who they had sought to help. They were unable to follow the quickling though the crowds. Obur, luckily was able to recall practically every detail of the lighthouse drawing and he reproduced it back on his own parchment in the Scholar’s Quill.

The lighthouse drawing led the Mokers down to the docks where they tried to get a look at the lighthouse being built across the bay from the quays. The shipping that was heading out to the island went from a quay that was guarded by some watchmen with a V symbol on their chests. They then hired a boat to take them out on a “tour of the harbour”. They were rebuffed, though, when they asked to be redirected to the lighthouse. The skipper pointed out the patrol ships lurking in the area which would soon pull them up. Frustrated at this turn of events the Mokers returned to the temple area in search of Egil’s advice. He suggested that the Mokers ask in the public records office about any connections between the V and the lighthouse.

The Mokers went to the Office of Public Records in the Warehouse district of Khorl. Reed, a grubby, gruff human seemed to be the only attendant. Despite his mumblings and mutterings he proved quite useful to the group, especially when they sympathised with him over the attitude of some previous researchers that he had thought were sent by Verlaine, the Head of the Speaker’s Council of Khorl. His “V” symbol was often to be found on the uniforms of watchmen in the city, indicating that they were part of his elite guard. These researchers had been interested in some sewer maps and Reed showed the ones that they had viewed to the Mokers. Mera noticed a finger mark on the sewer map very close to where the bricked up house stood over the cultists’ temple. Reed also informed them that Verlaine was Speaker Milton Drac’s right hand man, and that he had an interest in many businesses around Khorl. He was also the main contractor on the construction of the lighthouse, or what he called “Milton’s Folly”, given that it had been under construction for ten years at this stage.

Thanking Reed, the Mokers left to return to the house to look for the sewer entrance that they presumed that they had missed on their earlier visits. The place was indeed now guarded, by watch members sporting the “V” of Verlaine. The Mokers climbed up onto the roof of a neighbouring building to avoid them and lowered themselves into the house. They couldn’t find anything on the ground floor, though they resisted pulling up the floorboards for fear of alerting the guards. So they moved down the stairs into the cellar and the temple and continued their search. When they came to the room with the altar, they could see that many of its furnishings had been removed, so they became suspicious. In the cave next door, they found the reason: a team of kobold kin were carrying crates through to the secret tunnel. They were accompanied by a verrik. Battle ensued, with the enemy being joined by the quickling faen who had stolen the book from Obur earlier. Though, they overcame their opponents the Mokers were left battered and without further recourse to magic.

Opening the crates, the party discovered some bricks with a golden seam running down the middle. When they prised some open they could see the symbol of the cult etched in thin gold on the inner surface. Taking a few with them as evidence and tossing a number of others into the pool beyond, the Mokers left the remainder and took any interesting items from their fallen opponents.

The Mokers went up through the wine cellar, arriving on the ground floor of the bricked up house. Ke-tant decided to try the rope leading to the hole in the roof. After climbing up it a few feet his hands slipped and he fell heavily in his metal armour, crashing to the floor below. The party heard the guards at the door, attempting to open the lock. Ke-tant picked himself up and prepared to face them down. Mezezar, meanwhile, started his own scramble up the rope. The door opened and Ke-tant demanded that the guards let them leave, but they demurred. Ke-tant took a swing at the nearest one. The spellcasters all realised that they did not have any useful magics and either decided to flee or engage with weapons. Obur stood shoulder to shoulder with his giant companion, but they were outmatched.

Mezezar had slipped off the roof and had hidden in an alley to don the Face of Man that had shielded Milos’ identity. He heard the whistles of the watch from various directions, but he managed to find a path through them and headed for the merchant’s district. Mera also scaled the rope when she realised that she could not assist the others. Ke-tant was labouring fiercely at the door, but it was no use, just as he felled one of the guards he himself dropped bleeding to the floor. Obur realised that the game was up as another scratch would have left him in the same situation. He and Ke-Tant were taken into custody. Mera, meanwhile, had also heard the watch being summoned. She checked her garb and made herself look as nondescript as possible. Unfortunately she came across a patrol who brought her in for questioning to the local watch post. The guard who remained standing was able to identify her as one of the group when he returned to the watch post with his backup and a handcart carrying Obur and Ke-tant. The others who had been rounded up were let go.

The three Mokers were united in a single cell and questioned about what they were doing. Their excuse that they did not think that watchmen with a “V” symbol were not legitimate did not seem to cut any ice. The guard who questioned them had to return a couple of times before the Mokers would even discuss their situation. This seemed to frustrate him. The party was given no food or other assistance while they waited. After some time they were visited by Councillor Verlaine. He swept in to the watch post and conferred with the staff there before confronting the Mokers. Although he thanked them for their previous work against the cult, he emphasised that the rule of law must still apply and that their recent actions were unacceptable. He said that he wanted them gone from the city by morning. Obur managed to explain what they had found in the cult temple and what they understood of the risks they exposed, but Verlaine lost patience with their explanations and left them to ponder their fate.

It wasn’t long before a group of his men came in and dragged out the three Mokers forcing them to walk with them in the direction of the docks. The guards obviously had other plans too, for when they came to a secluded alley along their route, they halted and pummelled first Ke-Tant and then Obur into unconsciousness, making it clear to them that Verlaine’s guards were not happy with those who presumed to attack one of their own. Since the guards were all intent on this activity, Mera managed to slip away from her captor and ran pell-mell down the street, looking for somewhere to hide. The guard captain managed to wound her with a crossbow bolt, but she managed to hide on the landing of a warehouse and her pursuers could not find her.

Mezezar, meanwhile, had found refuge in the merchant district, in a comfortable inn called the Green Grain. He ordered food in his rooms, ate quietly and shoved a chair against the door as he took what rest he could while worrying over his companions.

Mezezar awoke in his room in the Green Grain, more rested than he had thought he would be. After preparing his spells for the day, he set off in search of his companions. He went in search of the nearest watch post to the bricked up house and when he found that it was on the border of Scurvytown, he thought that he better not go there alone. After coming across a loresong faen selling food from a stall on the street, he made contact with a litorian mercenary who agreed to act as his guard. With this insurance, Mezezar made his way to the watchpost and asked about the other Mokers. The watchman on duty looked through his ledger and informed the mojh that his companions had been released by Councillor Verlaine. Somewhat confused by this, though grateful, Mezezar wrote a note of thanks to Verlaine and delivered it to the Council offices in the old city. He then went back to the Scholar’s Quill to await his friends, or any other developments.

Mera had found refuge in the warehouse where she had eluded her guards. After a rough night spend curled up in amongst the crates and barrels, she stole a long cloak that hung from a row of hooks by the door and crept out into the city again. She made her way back towards the temple and Egil’s house to see if she could see any of her companions arriving there, or in the hope that Egil might emerge so that she could talk to him without being seen. After a couple of hours there, she thought that the Scholar’s Quill might suit her purposes better, so she found herself a suitable vantage point and waited.

Obur and Ke-Tant awoke in the bilges of a ship. They were aching from their beating and uncomfortable in the slight swell. What remained of their last meal, ended up colouring the bilge water that lapped around. Once they had steadied themselves, Obur used whatever channelling of the green that he could to ease their wounds. Then they turned to face the exit. A couple of steps up took them to a wooden door which was unlocked. When the opened it, a sibeccai guard looked down on them cordially enough and called up to his shipmates to inform the captain that they were awake. In a few moments Scarbelly, the captain they had questioned about Lucius, appeared in the doorway.

Scarbelly, it transpired, had been hired to dump the two in some southern port, but when he had noticed who it was had fallen into his hands, he felt somewhat more kindly disposed to them. He was offering a choice to them, where they would have to provide a service to him and he would locate their companions and set them all down near Khorl to go their own way once the task was complete. When he mentioned that he also had their gear, which he would return the deal was sealed. Yoval, the captain’s first mate, set off into Khorl in a rowboat accompanied by four of the crew. They headed for the Scholar’s Quill and asked for Mezezar. Mera had noticed them going in and realised that they were from Scarbelly’s crew, having contemplated splitting the skull of one of them with her crossbow a few days earlier. She waited outside. Mezezar came down from his rooms and talked to the abrasive Yoval. He was persuaded to go with them to the Bloody Vengeance when he could see no reasonable alternative.

On their way through the city to the docks, Yoval and his men spotted someone shadowing them. When Yoval asked Mezezar what was going on he claimed ignorance, so Yoval and two guards continued on while two others went off to ostensibly obtain some supplies. Mera decided to follow the main group and was surprised and overwhelmed by the two sibeccai five minutes later. She was unarmed, injured and unprepared, so she submitted to their directions and joined Mezezar in the boat. Soon the four Mokers were all united and they heard from Scarbelly about the mysterious haunted ship that his crew were too superstitious to board. He had obtained information about a chest that had been on that ship when it sailed originally for the south, but it had not arrived. Now it had returned to the waters near Khorl, drifting slowly, with strange lights coming from below decks. The Mokers were to bring the chest back to Scarbelly, he felt sure that they would not be able to open it. All other items that they found on the ship they could keep. The Mokers agreed.

Two days of sailing later, the Bloody Vengeance arrived near the mysterious vessel. The Mokers got in to a rowboat which was crewed by four of the sibeccai. Scarbelly lowered down a number of potions and supplies to them, telling them to return what they did not use. Soon the Mokers stood on the main deck of the ship. The craft had seen better times, its main mast was gone, only a few feet of a jagged stump remaining near the large metal grille that covered the cargo hold. The decking itself was damp and slippery and seemed to be rotting in places. The party had to walk upward to reach the door under the forecastle as the deck sloped away behind them and to port. The door to the cabin was warped with sea and wind and took Obur’s efforts, after the others had failed, to haul it open. The whole room was covered in cobwebs, but they could just make out a desk near the back of the room and a set of stairs leading down to one side.

The Mokers paused and lit a torch to try and clear the room of the webs, but when they set the flame to them, only those in the path of the flame shrivelled, the entire web did not catch. They were not surprised though, that their efforts disturbed a large spider which dropped to the floor near them and attacked. It did not last long. The painstaking clearing of the webs continued so that they made a free path to the desk and to the stairs, but they heard a muted scuttling and scrabbling which made them withdraw to the open deck as a swarm of smaller spiders boiled up from cracks in the decking and attempted to crawl all over the party. In response the Mokers followed the withdraw and burn policy, charring areas of deck where they had recently stood and taking a large proportion of the arachnids with them. When several oil flasks were spent, the Mokers had dispatched enough of the small creatures for the remainder to be no threat.

The party re-entered the cabin and searched the desk, finding a sea-chart of the eastern sea and the location of the southern cities. They took this with them. Next the group headed for the stairs. At their foot they came across an opening which was covered in fine webs. They burned through this, but attracted the attention of two more large spiders. These they dealt with, but Ke-Tant was bitten by one and its poison weakened him.

Pressing on through the companionway, the Mokers opened doors into a number of unoccupied cabins. They passed a raised platform that was covered in webbing that presumably lead to the deck below, but they left it unmolested. Their mere presence stirred up another swarm of spiders, so they beat a hasty retreat back up the stairs and laid another oily fire trap for the unthinking arachnids. When this swarm was dealt with, they returned below and found their way to the front of the ship. This large cabin contained two oddly shaped cocoons of webbing suspended from the ceiling. When the party approached the cocoons began to twitch and spin on their cords. Taking no chances, the Mokers smashed them with their weapons before anything could emerge. When they were done, two creatures fell out dead on the floor of the cabin. They had once been sibeccai and seemed to wear the uniform of Scarbelly痴 crew, but they had been overcome by spider-life and now in place of eyes had thousands of tiny arachnids crawling around. The party was glad that they had dealt harshly with them. They found no chests or other things of value here, so they proceeded towards the stern.

In another cabin that spanned the width of the ship, they found two more cocoons. The floor below these was decorated with a circular pattern or glyph drawn in blood and the room itself was cleaner than the others that they had encountered. At the foot of the starboard wall sat a wooden chest. The Mokers did not hesitate to destroy the contents of these cocoons, though they took rather longer over the chest. Mera cast a spell to detect the magical aura痴 coming from it and indeed she discovered that there were four separate faint auras, though she could not distinguish them. They pondered whether it was safe to open the chest.

The Mokers stopped pondering and opened the chest, taking out some gold and silver coins as well as two scrolls, a potion and a cloak. Mera used her skills to attune to these items and discover that the cloak was magical and that it would help protect from harm. She took this herself. The two scrolls were give to Mezezar, one of which was clearly a scroll of Gusting Wind, the other they could not decipher until a spell was cast that could read the magical writing. The potion would harden the skin of the imbiber to make it more resistant to blows. Obur took this.

Leaving by the other door, the Mokers came to the stern of the ship and a room that had once been the galley. This room was also covered in webbing, but they realised that a patch of this was less thick than the rest and that it concealed a trap door leading down. On the other side of the room an obvious staircase was choked with debris. This, the Mokers tackled, clearing a path upwards into the sterncastle. After a noisy, sweaty effort the party emerged in the cabin above and took their bearings.

This cabin did not suffer from the webbing of those below, but it did have large piles of broken furniture, crates and decking. A crude stone altar had also been installed against the rear wall, this altar was inscribed with runes which Mezezar identified as being connected with a god of vermin venerated in the south, but as they moved into the room a huge centipede swept out of one of the rubbish piles to attack. The Mokers were all able to approach the creature and land blows on it, so it fell fairly quickly. Searching the debris, the Mokers managed to find a tattered journal and pieces of a cargo manifest. These indicated that the ship had been bound for the Free Cities of the South bearing grains and wine out of Khorl.

The party went back down the stairs and uncovered the trapdoor to the deck below. When they opened it they could see a ladder immediately below them leading into shallow water about ten feet beneath. Lowering a lantern, they could make out crates and boxes along the port side of the deck, which seemed to have no divisions, being open to the hull on all sides. They could see here that the ship listed slightly to port as the water there was waist height, but shallower to starboard. Ke-tant climbed down to investigate but slipped on the wet wood and fell to the deck with a splash. Before he could raise himself up properly, he was enmeshed in a web of sticky strands that had been thrown around him. Mezezar just managed to make out two humanoid figures with long arms and spider-like heads at the edge of his vision towards the prow. He identified them as ettercaps. Obur jumped down to help Ke-tant and Mera ran along the deck above to see if she could come upon their assailants from a different angle.

The Mokers down below suffered a frustrating time or breaking free of webbing only to be caught again repeatedly, until Mera above managed to open the hatch and release a hail of metal on one of the creatures. The other moved forward to attack the giant who had freed himself and was swimming forward in an attempt to avoid further entanglement. Obur痴 crossbow began to be put to use against the creatures and Ke-Tant managed to land a blow. Mera came down from above to lend support and eventually the creatures were killed.

The Mokers quickly searched through the chests and crates, finding the one marked with an X. This they opened, revealing the blue metal casket within. They also found a jewelled belt and a necklace which they thought might be valuable. The shifting of the ship increased while they were below, so the party gathered up their prizes and headed back to the Bloody Vengeance.

The Mokers eagerly boarded the boat to take them back to the Bloody Vengeance. When they pulled alongside, the first mate called for them to send up the chest first. They demurred, wondering if this was really Scarbelly痴 intention. But when Scarbelly痴 own head appeared, repeating the command this did not make the party more willing to comply. They feared that the chest was their only bargaining chip and if they lost that, then the pirates would have no compunction in stranding them. Mezezar then threatened to drop the chest into the briny depths. Ten heavy crossbows balanced on the edge of the gunwale in answer to that threat. Ke-tant prepared to strike at the sailors who had rowed them back and Mezezar jumped overboard, holding the chest beneath him in the water while he kept his other hand on the rim or the rowboat. The crossbows loosed and Ke-tant was struck with several bolts. Mera and Obur could only stare in shock. Before Ke-tant could act again, more bolts thudded into him and he fell.

Mera and Obur were warned by Scarbelly not to continue the foolishness of their companions. Since they made no move to attack, Scarbelly then told them to retrieve the mojh and the chest. As the mojh came up from beneath, his first cry was "Never give them the chest" or words to that effect. Despite this, his companions managed to take the chest and give it up to the first mate. They were then disarmed and all of their equipment was removed. One by one, they were taken and bound and put into the hold of the ship. Ke-tant was taken somewhere too. The ship set sail again shortly afterwards.

After some time, Mera asked for a parley with Scarbelly which was agreed to. She could not persuade him to release them with all of their equipment, but he did agree to set them ashore, despite being insulted with her quip of "being tied up like dogs". Two days after they had re-boarded the ship, the Mokers were set down on a beach, Ke-tant still in the leather sack in which he had been held. The first mate directed their attention to some of their equipment that the pirates had left against a small rocky island in the bay. Mera waded out to fetch it and realised that all of the magical items had been removed, along with the coinage. Obur healed Ke-tant, so that he awoke and could stand. The Bloody Vengeance sailed off to the east.

From a bluff to the north, they could see that Khorl lay about ten miles to the north, the spire of Du-Nor made this obvious. They set off in this direction and reached there as evening fell. As they walked through the south gate, one of the watch who was on guard stopped them and summoned a contingent of his fellows to arrest the party. They were brought to a watch post under suspicion of murdering Councillor Verlaine. The Mokers were understandably surprised at this news and protested their innocence. This fell on deaf ears. Luckily for them, Brother Egil arrived shortly thereafter bearing some sort of writ from the Council that allowed the Mokers to be taken off in his company while they awaited trial. Apparently High Priest Thuron was a member of the Council and had some influence. Egil痴 news was not good though. He told the party that Lucius had again been taken and that he needed to be rescued. He implied that the only way of finding out about the cult was to follow the leads that they had discovered about the sewer entrances.

Soon they were slogging along dark and dingy passages while trying to avoid slipping into the muck. Although they were almost stymied by a floor to ceiling grating, the Mokers arrived at the supposed passageway indicated on the map. They found a door in the wall and stepped through into a strange room with a wooden ceiling. When the door shut behind them and would not open even though Egil was on the outside, they were not overly perturbed. When the rocks began to fall from above and the whole room shook with the workings of some mechanism, they became more concerned. However, the floor tipping seemed to trigger some survival instinct in them. Ke-tant led the way in smashing open the door by which they had entered, and soon the party had extricated themselves from the chamber with the help of ropes, nimbleness and strength.

Mezezar was suspicious as to Egil痴 authenticity. Obur scanned the ground for his tracks and led the group back along the passage to another wall. Here they found a door which they managed to open. A dark passage led ahead of them and the Mokers wanted to track down the identity of those who wanted them out of the way.

The passage led down as such a steep angle that Ke-Tant roped the group together to ensure that no one would slip on the damp stone. With these precautions in place the Mokers reached the bottom of the slope safely, though they all had to keep crouched in the cramped tunnel. The passageway turned to the right and rose slightly, then, almost immediately turned left again, back in the original direction of progress. Finally, the passage opened out into a paved corridor that was ten feet wide and twenty tall; it headed off to the right. Along this path, they found a room to either side.

The first, to the left had an oval opening in the wall leading to an ellipse-shaped room filled with crates and boxes. The second, to the right, seemed to be a more conventional library, with shelving along the walls. Leaving these for now, the Mokers continued to the end of the corridor and around the corner to the right. The passage took another couple of turns before opening out into a large, tall chamber filled with stalactites and stalagmites. Torches set into brackets, cast odd shadows across the chamber, made seeing distances difficult, but at the far end of the chamber clear light illuminated an altar, with an attendant who was incensing the altar. Behind the altar was the huge statue of the lizard-like creature that had adorned the previous temple.

Approaching cautiously, the Mokers could make out that a figure that looked like Egil was strapped to the altar. Crossbows were readied and the attendant dispatched. The Mokers moved up towards the altar, realising then that the altar too had been moved and examined the fallen attendant. Just then they heard the approach of some creatures and so prepared themselves by hiding behind the altar, except for Mera who was stuck out in the open with the attendant. She quickly threw on the robes of the cultist and hoped to bluff the new arrivals. Unfortunately she could not understand the draconic tongue that the two kobold-kin who arrived were speaking, though Obur realised that they said that they had arrived in response to the alarm and were wondering if they could be of assistance. Mera didn稚 realise this, couldn稚 think of another course of action, and attacked.

The other Mokers then stood up to help just as other kobold-kin arrived as reinforcements. Shortly thereafter another person arrived, this time a human cultist similar in build to Brother Egil. All of these were eventually dealt with and the party managed to free Egil and discovered a secret door behind the statue and a scroll in an unknown language hidden in the altar. Before using this new exit, the Mokers went back to the two rooms off the passageway to ensure that they had examined everything. The crates had the address marked on them that they had seen on the crates in the other temple which they had discovered, in the records house, belonged to Councillor Verlaine. They were now empty. The library had many tomes in obscure languages. In the desk they found a tome titled, in the common tongue, The True and Secrette Historie of the Brotherhoode of Khorl, and had the Yellow Sign impressed upon the front cover. The text, also in Common, was filled with illustrations and out-of-date maps and read like this:

Thousands of years ago, the dragons ruled the world. Their empire centered on a continent called Terrakal and the population devoted to the peaceful worship of the dragons. Then this great race vanished overnight, their world-spanning civilization destroyed by the hand of the Unspeakable One and his servants the dramojh, a loathsome deity born outside describable space. Most of the people degenerated into savagery傭ut a few retained their sanity, including some of the cultists who had summoned the grotesque god.
The Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign庸or that is what the cultists called themselves用ersevered and transmitted their black secrets down the generations. The cult found a home in the remains of the once-great Khorl. Over the centuries, the Brotherhood flourished along with the city, even as the giants arrived and established their kingdom. And it found a way for its members to move about in the daylight world. Its craftiest, most powerful priests disguised themselves as humans and established a church aboveground: the temple of Vekik the Runegod.

Egil expressed his disbelief at this discovery. But the party were in too much of a hurry to argue historical points. They made their way back to the secret door and up another sloping passage into a wine cellar. The grand house above, they soon discovered, belonged to Councillor Verlaine. In a bedroom above, several people had died, one while on the large bed; only the dried blood remained. The Mokers noticed that the house was guarded and so let themselves out through a back window and off through the alleys of Khorl. They made straight for the temple of Vekik the Runegod hoping that someone there could translate the scroll that they had found in the altar and hoping to find out whether the Secrette Historie was true.

The high priest read the scroll and told the Mokers that an attack on the temple was imminent. He asked them to guard the western door while he arranged for the temple attendants to guard the other two. He said that he would share the contents of the scroll with them after the attack. Soon a knocking was heard at the western door but the Mokers rebuffed the callers, telling them to try another way. They were trying to position themselves in the most advantageous vantages when the eastern door was opened.

The Mokers quickly ran over to re-enforce that group along with a faen called Gath Kingtongue, who was looking a little the worse for wear. The group seeking entrance seemed to be temple staff who had been attacked in the market and they were seeking sanctuary. Thuron, the high priest seemed satisfied that they looked genuine, but when the Mokers made to close the doors the intruders were able to act first and a number of them stole inside to attack. They had not counted on the presence of the experienced defenders though, and so although they managed to land a few telling blows all four of those who got inside fell while the Mokers and the temple attendants still stood. The party barely had time to cast a few curative spells before sounds were heard coming from the southern door.

The Mokers reacted to the knocking at the southern door by sending Ke-tant and Obur out of the eastern door and heading down to see who was there. Another group of temple staff were seeking admittance. The Mokers told them to come singly to the corner of the temple and then towards the entrance. Though they did not follow this instruction exactly, at least some order was put on these attendants approach. The person in the lead managed to throw a detonation amongst those by the door, injuring some, but Ke-Tant managed to slam the door shut so that no one got inside.

The next noises were heard by the western door and the Mokers decided that they could not sit and be attacked by their enemies any longer. They all left through the eastern door leaving a password with those inside, so they would be trusted on their return. When they got around to the other side of the temple, they could see a cultist running away. Although, they did manage to fire arrows and sling bullets on him as he fled, none landed a telling blow.

Meanwhile, the cultists must have managed to overhear the password, or trick the temple staff in some way, for when the Mokers returned to the eastern door, they found it open and those inside beset by enemies. The Mokers leapt to action, helping the temple rune priests defeat their disguised foes. Once they all had fallen and no new attacks seemed to be originating from outside, Thuron took the Mokers, along with Brother Egil, down to the temple tombs. There he had a confession to make, he was not Thuron, but rather Jaralin a mojh from the Free Cities of the South. He opened a tomb to show them the peaceful, dead form of Thuron.

Jaralin went on to explain that he dreamed a great dream about a group of mojh who had uncovered a great magical force and were going to use it in some great act. He had discerned their location as Khorl, but when he met with one of their number in secret and Milos had tried to recruit him into the cult, he realised that they were cruel and ruthless. Instead of letting them act freely, he went to the temple of Vekik the Runegod to see how deeply the conspiracy had spread. There he had discovered the dead Thuron, apparently the victim of a simple heart-attack. Then he made a fateful choice. "Perhaps not a wise one, or even a brave one, but one that made the most sense. I took Thuron痴 place and devoted myself to the study of the scrolls to see what I could discover about this cult. When I learned of your adventures with the Brotherhood, I should have abandoned my charade. But I was too greedy for knowledge. Now I will render you the only service I can庸ar too little, far too late. This document promises great danger for Khorl預nd for the world. It is a public speech, an explanation of tonight痴 events. I will translate it without remarking upon the obvious擁t is all lies."

The Speech:

This evening, after the death of Councilor Verlaine, the clergy of the Vekik the Runegod have been slain. Their murderers are the adventurers who of late discovered the caverns beneath our town: Obur Tilsen; Mezezar the Mojh; Ke-Tant Faerblay and Mera Reerance.
After an investigation by the Speaker痴 Council and the City Watch, we have pieced together the truth. Chief Councilor Verlaine, that great servant to the city of Khorl, heard rumors about town of unwholesome activities at the temple to the Vekik the Runegod. He hired the wandering mercenaries to investigate. They made a tremendous discovery: The temple and its priesthood were a cover for the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign, a grotesque cult of mad mojh. The mercenaries joined the temple to gain its secrets, but they proved treacherous to both masters. They revealed the caves beneath the city and threatened to expose even more secrets unless the Brotherhood paid them a fortune in gold.
The Brotherhood agreed to their demands, on condition that the mercenaries accept one final task for their masters預ssassinating their erstwhile employer, Councilor Verlaine. The double-crossers carried out the grim job, but they quickly found themselves double-crossed. The Brotherhood refused to pay them their blood money. The mercenaries went mad with rage and slaughtered the cultists, but were killed themselves in the battle.
We mourn the loss of Councilor Verlaine, but his efforts brought this menace to light預nd rooted it out of town, once and for all.

Jaralin looked up from the note, concern etched in his face. "It is the next part of the document that troubles me the most. For the note is addressed to Speaker Drac. And his name is marked with the Yellow Sign."

After the performance of the prophet, the grand ball did not have much life left in it. The Mokers retired to the temple of Vekik the Runegod to confer and to come to some sort of understanding. Jaralin arrived back and was able to give them some immediate insight. The “Jade Serpent” reference from the verses, he has seen before, referring to an item that was kept in a temple to Yig, a god once worshipped in Serran. The Jade Serpent seemed to have a role in protecting the worshippers in some way. During his studies at the Temple of Vekik the Runegod, he had come across some information about a temple to Yig, which was converted into a now forgotten temple to a minor sea god. This temple was also called the “pit of murdered children” in some sources and was said to lie within the ruins to the north of Khorl. He suggested that the Mokers try to locate this temple.

The party decided to do just this and headed north through the old city and beyond, reaching the city walls. They chose the easterly gate, nearest to the sea, as their point of entry to the ruins. They were somewhat surprised to come across a square acting as a market, some of the buildings around it having been reclaimed by the traders. Some were being used as taverns. They entered one to see if they could discover the location of the temple but they were directed to ask Marivik the Hunter, a sibeccai who was helping to clear the area outside the city walls. On their way through the market towards Marivik’s base, they were warned against straying into an alley plagued by a serpent headed woman who could turn people to stone with a look. The Mokers were a little sceptical of this but followed the directions.

Marivik’s camp was more impressive than they had first thought. It was entirely walled and had guards on high walkways around the perimeter. There was one large building that had been completely restored, but the rest of the area was filled with cruder shelters for a number of people who were trading, sleeping, being healed or trained in combat. Marivik was as helpful as he could be. He encouraged the Mokers to avoid the area that was full of statues, but only because he thought than one “Eritic the Invincible” was holed up in the area with his gang. He described the major geographical locations between them and the temple, suggesting that they leave the market by the western avenue, then turn north to the fort, the head northwest to where they would find the temple, west of the forest. He warned them of rumours that those who had stayed near the temple often lost their eyes. The Mokers thanked him and departed.

They found the fort easily enough and headed into the maze of ruined buildings to the northwest. They kept coming upon roads that ended in the forested hill, so they backtracked and went northeast from the fort to the lake and along its western shoreline. They could see a hill with caves beyond the eastern shore of this lake, but proceeded north until the reached the first bridge over the river that flowed north and east out from the lake towards the sea. The party crossed this and wandered amongst the ruins for a while, finding an interesting structure whose stone roof seemed intact, but had fallen on a pile of rubble. They searched this for an entrance below, but found nothing large enough to squeeze through.

After a rethink and Obur’s clearer recollection of the conversation with Marivik, the Mokers returned to their scouring of the streets northwest of the fort, eventually finding a building that fitted the description that they had. They found a stone stairway beneath a circular tower. The upper floors had collapsed down into the stairwell below, but they managed to clear a path to the floor below. The room at the bottom of the stairs was also full of debris from above, but the party could clearly discern double doors to the northwest. They opened these and found a small room which once had shelving, but this had now collapsed in piles of rotting boards around the walls. To the west there was a door. While searching this room, the Mokers disturbed a cat-like creature with a dark green ridge running down its back. It had no tail, but a single tendril rose from behind its head ending in a three pronged claw. Mezezar realised that they faced a staj and related as much as he could to the others about these “eye-hunters”. Luckily the Mokers were able to react quickly and remove the threat before Mezezar or any of the others were injured.

The next room once held a robes in now decayed wardrobes. A door led off to the north. Mezezar discovered a broken mirror next to the western wall and while he was searching there he found a brooch that was shaped like a breaking wave. Going through the northerly door, the Mokers could see a pool in the centre of the room. One door led west, another north and another east. Two more staj had secreted themselves here and leapt out to attack the Mokers once they had crossed the threshold. Both Ke-Tant and Gath were bitten by the beasts which leapt up on their chests to attack. The one attacking the giant then fell back down, but Gath’s one clung on and tried to use its claw to slash towards his face, which damaged him but missed his eye. The Mokers used spells and weapons and eventually managed to kill these two staj as well, though Gath got a nasty shock in the process.

After their fight with the staj, the Mokers went east through one of the four doors leading out of the pool chamber. This led to a narrow room which had been tunnelled into (or out of) at some point. Above the arch leading to the tunnel someone had carved “Continue and the loss of an eye will seem trivial”. The party took this as a rallying cry and moved out along the carved passage. They came across an opening to the south which led to a storeroom. Ke-tant led the way into the cramped space and a creature dropped from the roof, attempting to slam against his head and envelop him in its leathery wings. As this did not succeed Ke-tant got the chance to slash at it with his sword. His first attempts were clumsy in this confined area, so he suffered more damage from the creature before cleaving it in two with his greatsword. The room itself was lined with freestanding shelves which held jars containing water and dried meat. It was not very appetising, but functional.

Beyond this offshoot, the carved tunnel led east and then spiralled down into the darkness below. Before attempting this, the party decided to regroup and find a place to rest. They went up and out of the temple and wandered the streets of the ruins looking for a suitable house in which to hole up. They found one fairly quickly and set watches once they came upon a defensible location. Their rest was uneventful, so the Mokers returned to the lairs of the staj and decided to try the doors they had not looked behind. In one they found a mouldy bag with an amethyst and a dagger inside. Another contained a sibeccai skull stuck on a spear. A pearl sat in one eye socket and a phial of blue glass was perched on the crown of the skull. Mera revealed that the spear and the glass phial were magical, as was the dagger from the previous room. Once they had looked in these rooms, Mezezar became convinced that there may be another room lurking unseen behind the walls. He urged the others to search for an opening hidden in the stonework. The Mokers could not find anything. Now satisfied that they left nothing behind them, the party descended the spiralling tunnel.

The floor in the torchlight looked oddly like glass it was so smooth, and the wall to their right was carved from green jade. Covering most of this wall was a mural depicting two creatures in red robes, standing on the summit of a jade tower shaped in the form of a coiled dragon. Their hands were raised to the sky, and far below a throng of Kobold Kin look on. Between the two robed figures was an enormous, stone doorway; in the centre of which a bas-relief dragon was carved out of the green stone. The mouth of the dragon jutted out further than the rest of the relief, its teeth bared as if ready to bite or breathe. Beneath this head was writing in some strange script. Before they could have a chance to examine this more completely, they could hear a disquieting chorus of mumblings and babblings coming from further ahead which distracted them. Inching carefully forward, the Mokers found themselves confronted by a gibbering mouther. Mezezar ran forward to attack the beast, but he was stopped short by the acid spittle that the thing flung at him, momentarily blinding him. The mojh retreated. Ke-Tant was not to be cowed and he rushed forward and slashed at the creature with his sword. He connected but it was almost that the thing could flow around his blade, neutralising most of its effectiveness. Mera, Gath and Obur were about to confront the beast as well, when all went utterly black for them. Mera and Gath tried to retreat out of the darkness back they way they had come, but not before some spell effect exploded nearby damaging the whole group.

The Mokers were getting worried, and they left the giant to wade through the softening floor to attack the mouther while Obur pressed on through the darkness to try and find what they thought might be their other adversary. It was like a sick parlour game, with chaotic attempts at blind communication; shouting instructions; straining for the sounds of combat; feeling along stony walls in the hopes of finding light. Gath found his way south and realised that Obur had fallen to some foe and was bleeding beneath him on the floor. Mera found his way through to Ke-Tant just as the giant witnessed the mouther die, but strangely, not from a current strike against it. Mezezar sight returned to him while he was in the darkness so he too went groping for the greenbond.

The giant Ke-Tant, and Mera made it through the darkness while the other two tended to Obur in the lightless tunnel. On the other side stood a blind mojh, its eyes having been removed but it was not lacking in awareness. It moved as if it had the clearest of vision. As the two Mokers approached it made to cast another spell, but this was an error as it exposed itself to the attacks of the two before it. This opening was enough for the pair to finish it. Mera realised that the mojh had been about to cast another spell of darkness. Mera quickly searched their foe and found several items that she deemed magical. They waited for their comrades to come through into the torchlight and join them.

The Mokers called to each other and managed to gather in the area beyond the darkness where the blind mojh lay. Here they performed whatever other healing they deemed necessary. Mezzezar realised that the darkness that obscured their vision would disappear eventually, so they waited so that they could view the door with the bas relief. It took some time, but finally the darkness dispersed. The Mokers got another look at the door and the large dragon’s head that protruded from it. Underneath this head was writing in a strange script. Mezzezar was able to decipher it using his knowledge of draconic; it seemed to be written in some ancient form of that tongue:
“All those who would enter the temple must pass the test of the maw. Reach into the mouth of Yig, and your courage will be rewarded.”
Mezzezar did not hesitate; he plunged his arm into the mouth of the dragon and reached to find something that would release the door. As he did so it seemed to him that the jaws of the carved dragon were closing on his arm. It took all of his strength of will to keep his hand in the mouth and to find the latch to release the door.

The door ground open, sending dirt scattering across the floor. The chamber beyond was circular, about thirty feet in diameter. A ramp along the far right wall led down into murky water. In the centre of the chamber was an enormous, fifteen-foot-high, marble statue of a coiled dragon. In many different locations, someone has scribbled the same (ancient draconic) words across the walls in red ink. Mezezzar translated them as “Beware brethren, for Yig will abandon us.”

Ke-Tant led the way down the ramp and into the water as there seemed to be no other route to take. After going underneath the level of the water he returned and recommended that they rope themselves together to avoid getting lost. This they did and managed to descend the ramp safely into the water. Ahead of them, along the curving side of the wall, was another ramp leading down, so they pressed on down this ramp. When the Mokers came down this second ramp, the emerged into a dry chamber, looking up they saw a ceiling of water over the ramp that was not falling to the floor.

Mezezar was more taken with the room itself. Carvings of dragon’s heads were spaced evenly around the wall, each with a glowing globe of light in its open maw. A dragon-carved-altar stood against the opposite wall from the Mokers, and large circular cushions dotted the floor. There was another ramp leading down, but the Mokers made for the altar. On the way, Mezezar picked up one of the cushions. His examination revealed that it was mouldy and smelt of damp. When they got closer to the altar, they could make out a humanoid shape, barely distinct, in front of it. The shape seemed very like the kobold-kin that they had fought before in the temples below Khorl, but this creature was not solid. It repeated a few actions of benediction before the altar again and again. The Mokers came right up to it and suddenly it spoke. The shape turned out to be Alisst, a high priest of this temple of Yig and he was very grateful for the fact that living beings had come, for they could help him free his people from their curse.

In return for him revealing the whereabouts of the Jade Statuette; he needed them to find four artefacts of Yig for him: an amulet; the fangs; the venom and the scales. The Mokers agreed to this and immediately went down the next ramp to start their search. The first room they tried, the party encountered four more of the shadowy kobold-kin, but these were much more militant. Whenever one of their blows struck home some of the strength was leeched from their opponent. They also proved difficult to strike as the Mokers weapons often passed straight through them without effect. Ke-Tant stood in the doorway trying to block the creatures from reaching the rest of the party, while the others cast as many spells as they could. Eventually this worked although Ke-Tant felt half as strong and as healthy as before. The spell-casters were running low on options as well.