Chapter 2 - The Spoils
And with that, they all agreed. It was, in fact, a tidy score. They searched the dining hall area near the front entrance and the library/ study along with all the bodies. Not only did they find a bunch of useless things they could sell for some gold, but they also acquired a lot more food that was still quite good. There was cheese and wine and pitchers of water and sausages and so forth all over the dining room table. It was clear that Marli and Barton's Mercenaries had been using the place as their hideout for at least a few days.
More importantly, they also acquired potions of healing, including some Greater Potions of Healing. They acquired gold as well and all the weapons and equipment from the mercenaries. Most of it was common, but much to their delight, they found a Spear +1 on Mercenary 2 that Lae'zel copped onto. She immediately bonded with it, giving her the ability to throw it as an Action and retrieve it as a Bonus Action because of her Eldritch Knight Weapon Bond ability. This would give her a +6 to hit with her Spear even if she used it as a ranged weapon.
Besides this, they also found Bracers of Defense on the wizard mercenary. This they gave to Gale. These would increase his AC by 2 if he didn't carry a shield or armor, so it fit him best, raising his AC to 14. There were several magic scrolls as well, adding to Gale's arsenal of spells.
The library/ study had many books and tomes and a statue with a plaque on it. The text was ancient; a dedication to a forgotten god. They also found a book that was records for the chapel. A list of obituaries was written within. The people in the record were from all walks of life; followers of a variety of gods.
"Grobian Tipple, Ilmater - Drowning," Kaedyn read from the records. "Ivain Arkenson, Oghma - Internal Rot. Devryn Stoutt, Selune - Fever. Hmmm. Perhaps this crypt had something to do with one of the gods of the dead."
"Another coincidence?" said Vexir. "The strange symbol on the goblin shield implying the three dead gods of death, and now another item in that regards."
"Maybe," said Kaedyn. He stowed the book in his magic pocket.
"I found another book," said Gale. "Might be of some interest. It's about Shar."
"Shar?" asked Shadowheart. She seemed curious. "Let me see it?" She made a grab for it, but Gale withheld it from her.
"Now. Now," he said with a sly grin. "I can share it with everyone. The most interesting portion is as follows:
In life, her service had been impeccable. Daily did she devote herself to the Lady of Loss. Daily did she free herself from the tyranny of memory. All, in time, was lost to her - her relations, her preferences, even her own name. Upon the altar of her devotion placed she the ultimate offering: her emptied mind.
And when she died, when she awoke in death and found herself standing in the pale and faded City of Judgment, she waited for the Lady of Loss to retrieve her. A million souls and more passed her in colorless gusts, but no hand materialized in her hand; no voice whispered instruction in her ear; no guidance proffered itself from the bleached and barren sky. Time, immaterial time, passed around her like air, coming and going. And still, the goddess did not come for her devotee.
Kelemvor pitied her, as much as the Lord of the Dead is able, but could not intervene. The cleric of the Lady of Loss, unclaimed despite her worthiness, might yet have one more lesson to learn: That not of forgetting, but being forgotten."
He closed the book with a snap. "How... interesting. Wouldn't you say?"
"A ridiculous bedtime story for children," Lae'zel barked. She was in a foul mood. "I didn't even want to enter this stupid crypt, and now we are wasting time reading books about Shar and how she can't even remember her own followers. Sounds like a wretched goddess to serve."
Shadowheart shot her a dirty look. "Now there's an informed opinion for you," he commented sharply. "Leave it to a Gith to be totally ignorant of facts."
Lae'zel hissed in reply. She drew her spear and was ready to run Shadowheart through. Shadowheart, in return, pulled out her mace and shield. It was clear that a fight would begin in moments.
Kaedyn, naturally, stepped in. Fortunately, he was aided by Ryth-Shan who put his hand up to Lae'zel. Kaedyn rolled a 4 and 12+3=15 for Persuasion. Since Ryth-Shan was aiding him, he got advantage and succeeded.
"Ladies! Please! Do we really want to do this?" said Kaedyn. "We're all half dead already."
"We need one another right now," Ryth-Shan added. Then he whispered to Lae'zel, "You can always save killing her for AFTER we find a cure. Yes?" He gained a point of relationship with her, increasing it to 52.
Both began to calm down and they lowered their weapons. Shadowheart stormed away. "I can't WAIT to be rid of them." She gestured at Lae'zel and Ryth-Shan as she said it. Then she was out of the library and pacing angrily in the adjoining room to cool off. Her relationship with Ryth-Shan dropped to 50.
Then Perception rolls were made. As Lae'zel turned and stormed to the little alcove behind the statue, her eyes beheld a strange crack in the stone wall behind some cobwebs. (She had succeeded in her Perception check.) "What is this?" she said, and she jammed her fingers into the crack and pulled. A small hatch popped open to reveal a nook. Inside the nook was a skull with a lever in its mouth.
Everyone but Shadowheart came to see. "Another skull," said Kaedyn.
"They're bloody everywhere," said Vexir.
"Should we pull on the lever?" asked Ryth-Shan. "I don't see any traps."
Astarion chuckled. "A clever trapper NEVER lets you SEE their traps. I'll tell you what. Let me step out of the room first. Then YOU can pull the lever. How does that sound?" Then he didn't hesitate. He spun around and darted towards the door. He wasn't about to wait to see if any of them would be stupid enough to just pull on it.
The others looked from one to the other. Gale then made an Investigation roll and succeeded. "There is a door in the adjoining room we can't get open," said Gale. "This could be the mechanism that opens it. I noticed a nasty magic trap on it. Anyone who tries to open it without finding the lever that'll do so is likely not going to live to tell about it. Could explain why we found a few skulls near it."
"Okay," said Kaedyn. "No sense in everyone risking their lives here. I agree with Astarion. Let's have everyone leave the room. Then I'll pull the lever and we'll see what happens." Kaedyn gained 1 relationship point with everyone but Shadowheart and Astarion, for they weren't in the room.
"That's awfully noble of you," said Gale, "but you ARE one of the ONLY people who can use a Revivify scroll on us to bring us back from the dead. I'd prefer someone else pull that lever." Kaedyn's relationship went up to 54 with Gale.
"I opt for the Mage," said Vexir. Her score with Gale went down by 1 to 44. "He's not needed."
Gale shook his head. "I wouldn't advise that," he replied. "Again, I can't say why right now, but I really shouldn't die. It would be bad for all of us."
"Oh for the love of all that is good and decent," said Ryth-Shan. "I'll do it. Everyone get out of here." His relationship with all of them increased by 1.
There was no further arguing. Everyone else rushed out of the room and into the adjoining chamber. Ryth-Shan waited until they were completely out. Then, as he was about to pull the lever, Astarion pointed out with a wicked smile, "You know, your familiars could have done that. Right? Then, if they died, you could just summon a new one instead of risking our only ranger."
They all looked at him as if totally stunned. No one had even considered such a thing. They had all recently gained familiars, so they weren't used to them yet and what they could do. Too late, Ryth-Shan pulled the lever. Fortunately, nothing happened to him. Instead, the door near them popped open to reveal a small bedroom. Another door led out of that bedroom.
Ryth-Shan joined them. "Did it do anything?" he asked, but they didn't reply. He could see the door was open, so there was no need to. He sighed. "Thank goodness. I was a bit nervous there."
"Don't ask Astarion about his idea," suggested Gale. "You won't like it."
Ryth-Shan glanced at him dumbfounded. "Huh?"
"Never mind," said Kaedyn as he led the way into the bedroom. "You really don't want to know. Let's just say that we have a better plan for next time we run into a situation like that."
Then, without another word, the group passed through the decayed bedroom to the doorway at the far end. When they opened it, they saw that it revealed a stairway that led down. A musty smell was wafting up from below. "Well," said Kaedyn as he glanced back at them. "Should we go down or no?"
Ryth-Shan closed the door behind them, plunging the room into darkness. The room they were in was not lit, like the others. They all heard it latch and the mechanism sliding back into place. It was likely that no one would be following them unless they also found the lever. "I say we sleep here for the night," the Gith said. "I'd prefer that we were all well rested and fully recovered before we explored a lower level of this place."
They all agreed. Gale soon lit his staff with the Light spell, illuminating the room for 1 hour each time he did so, and Kaedyn closed the door that lead down. They agreed to rest and recover and take turns keeping watch. Then, in the morning, they'd explore further into the dark and musty depths of the Dank Crypt.
