Everlife Southern Watch Tower
A nasty thunderstorm has made the outside dark and difficult to navigate, but the heavy rain and thunder makes it difficult for the undead to track the living. We continue to explore the guard tower, heading to the upper floors.
We fight more ghostly guards, defeating them. Within the guards barracks we find a hidden treasure, a Rapier of fine workmanship and enchanted to hold balance and edge. Ioun confirms that the blade will allow us an edge against creatures that are only harmed by magic… which we have been meeting a lot of.
Further up the watch tower we encounter a Helmed Horror, likely used by the Guard to fight mages and particularly dangerous criminals. It is resistant to many forms of magic, and is a construct that is essentially an animate suit of plate mail. We defeat it after a long fight.
We find that the officer’s barracks are all cleaned out, likely they were warned of the attacks and fled south with the nobles. However, we do find the Scout’s office, and a map that highlights several points of interest in the surrounding areas. Of specific interest is an area marked as “Dangerous” in the hills to the North and West.
With the Guard Tower cleared, we leave and try to return to the Noble District in Everlife.
Everlife Merchant/Middle Class District
The thunderstorm makes travel difficult and the lightning strikes dangerous, but we manage to keep to the taller buildings and skirt the wall. Along the way we decide to stop at a warehouse to gather as much food as possible for the Spire.
We find a large municipal storehouse, and a large amount of preserved food, but we needed a wagon to transport it all. We find a wagon in a nearby barn, but inhabiting the barn are a pair of Vampiric Mists, the remains of a slain vampire that drain blood from people. The Mist is defeated, but it weakens Simon and Bale.
Everlife Noble District
We load up the wagon and return to the Noble District, opening the gate in the torrential rain.
Everlife Noble District
We return to the Tower and drop off the food.
The book of the madman contained a passage, indicating that a warning had been placed in a library “close to the embrace of Pelor” – the Spire Library.
After searching fruitlessly, Maud suggests to use the Locate Object spell. Codex objects, saying that he hasn’t seen the object… but then he realizes the object is a page torn from the book. So, he gets Maud to take the book down a few flights, and casts the spell again. He finds a page from the madman’s book.
The page says:
“I don’t have long. The Master isn’t human. Not for a long time. He resides in a cave in the hills, surrounded by loyal tribes. Only the shaman knows his name. Find his name. That is his undoing. Find the shaman. Find his name.”
The Scout’s map had the location of a “dangerous area” in the hills, which is probably the cave surrounded by loyal tribes. The Tribes are probably ogres, given the encounters with Ogre Zombies.
A strange glyph in the book is identified as a route, and it matches up to Codex’s map. It shows a path between Disregeur, the cave, Everlife, Kingstown and the Dwarven Outpost known as SouthSpire.
We are at our deadline, and have to return to Lasthaven soon or incur Hooks’ wrath. But the Spire is vulnerable to the gangs.
We come upon a plan. The Noble House of Xiaon Que does not contain a gang, Karesi and the Tiger Claws are most likely an Honor guard. The Diplomats for the Kingdoms of the Tiger are still in the city.
Maud is one of the last guild artisans left in the city, and by a very long chain of succession, she is a member of the ruling Council in Everlife. Michael acknowledges this and hands her the Signet ring of the Office.
The Kingdoms of the Tiger land is very poor in precious metals and gems. As far as Everlife and the Nobles are aware, White Star travels to the Dwarven Outpost of Southspire. They didn’t know that the Dwarves travel to Lasthaven, and that they’d be willing to travel further. With Maud’s official status and Berdyn’s influence with the dwarves of Southspire, we might be able to convince the Diplomats of the Kingdom of the Tiger to protect the Spire until we return from Lasthaven.
We just have to offer them a meeting with the Dwarven Caravan. And convince the Dwarven caravan to travel to Everlife.
We also found a ring, hidden inside the office of Sabre Khaludz, the high Priest. It is evil, and used to communicate with the “Master”. That means Sabre Khaludz is involved.