Chapter 3 - The Book of Dead Gods
"Vampire spawn?" asked Kaedyn in surprise. "Are you serious?" Vexir and Astarion had just informed everyone of Astarion's secret. Most were stunned into silence.
"Utterly fascinating," Gale remarked, deep in thought. He didn't seem angry or concerned. He just seemed intrigued.
Vexir glared at Kaedyn threateningly. "Do you have problem with my decision?"
Kaedyn's expression became unreadable as their eyes met. Then, much to both Astarion's and Vexir's surprise, he said, "No. In fact, I'm glad to know the truth. I knew something wasn't quite right, and the more he kept that from us, the harder it was for me to trust him. I WAS trusting him, mind you. After all, until someone has done something wrong, how will I know whether he or she can be trusted unless I first trust them? If he has done nothing wrong to us, should we cast him out of the party just because he is a vampire spawn?"
Then he added, "And, it's important to know your predicament. Now we know there's an even greater complication. I'd rather know you are stuck in a terrible situation, and try to help you get out of it, then to have you attempt to handle it yourself because you are afraid you'll be back under Cazador's power. It's better to plan these things out together than to have us messing each other over in the end." And, with that, Kaedyn's relationship increased with Vexir by 5 and with Astarion by 10. So he was at 56 with Vexir and 58 with Astarion. His acceptance went a long way with the vampire spawn, and the fact that he didn't resist Vexir on the matter also went a long way with her.
Lae'zel was also a surprise, and she spoke up next. "As long as he doesn't attempt to bite me, I see no reason to reject him. But if you so much as look at me the wrong way, Astarion, I will end your miserable existence without hesitation."
Astarion grinned mischievously, and he remarked, "Ooo! Hsss! I do so love spicey food."
This got a chuckle out of more than one person in the room. Ryth-Shan then added, "I agree with Kaedyn, actually. Astarion makes a fine addition to the party, and I'd rather know his situation now than find out later. This way, we can all keep our eyes peeled for something that might somehow fix his problem." His Astarion Relationship Score then went up by 5 as well to 55. His wasn't as touching as Vexir's and Kaedyn's for he felt as if Ryth-Shan was now just jumping on the bandwagon. He also knew Ryth-Shan a bit better already, and he figured ahead of time that the Gith might not have as many problems with his true identity.
"Well," said Shadowheart. "Why not? I mean, it's not like the craziest thing we've encountered so far. Nothing about this little adventure is normal, so why shouldn't we travel with a vampire spawn who can travel about by day?"
Gale then concluded the conversation by saying, "Well, that's settled. Perhaps we should get moving then. I don't know about all of you, but I'm dying to find out what's beyond that door over there." He pointed to the locked door across from the tomb.
And with that, the party unlocked the door and made their way inside. The musty smell became more prevalent, and they could hear the sounds of rushing water echoing about the chamber. It wasn't obnoxious. In fact, it was quite peaceful.
This chamber had not been disturbed for a very long time. As the party looked around, they saw that there was a thick layer of dust on everything and cobwebs upon cobwebs. It was a rather large chamber. At the center was a statue that stood about thirty feet tall bathed in the light of the sun. The only way to get to this central courtyard was by descending one of two staircases on the right and left. Straight ahead was a five foot diameter brazier. Near it was a corpse; all bones wearing a dark robe of some kind.
The raised walkway they were standing on went right and left and then framed the central courtyard with the statue. There were three more of the robed corpses. Each was armed with a quarterstaff or knife. The party confiscated these items and looted other ornate chests in the room. None produced any items of true value.
There were two other ways out of the chamber. From both of these, the party could see mists and hear running water. Light was coming from one of them, but the other was completely dark. They sent Zriek to the tunnel with light and Shpri went to the passage that was totally dark. As Zriek returned, Ryth-Shan used Speak with Animals.
"Looks like there's another way out from over there," he reported. "The river runs through that passage very swiftly. No one could swim or row against that current. There is a lever and a ladder. It seems pretty obvious that if we pull the lever, the ladder will drop and let us up to a hatch above. He's not sure where the hatch leads, but he's guessing it's up to the cliffs overlooking the camp."
"Makes sense," said Gale as he checked his map and made additions to it.
Then Lae'zel reported, "There are sarcophaguses in the other chamber. It opens up to a massive underground network of caves. However, the river runs so fast, there is no way you could go beyond the chamber in that direction. Looks like there's a heavy chest and some sort of book."
"All this seems almost... anti-climactic," remarked Astarion. "I thought we'd at least have some sort of fight here."
"Why would you say that?" asked Ryth-Shan. He was joking; just giving Astarion a hard time. "Don't you know anything? You can't say things like that. You've just doomed us all. Everyone! Expect a giant dracolich to come out of some secret passage and devour us now. Thanks, Astarion!"
The vampire spawn gave him a look as if to say, "How cute!" but he said nothing.
"Shall we check out the statue in the center or the room with the book?" asked Shadowheart.
"I opt for the room with the book," said Gale. No one argued, and so they did. Once again, they found a few non-special items in the heavy chest and sarcophaguses. Then they made their way to the book.
Kaedyn was the first to the book, as was Gale and Shadowheart. In fact, the others remained at a reasonable safe distance. They didn't need to speak. Each communicated to the others the same thought. If something was going to happen, they wanted to be far enough away to not be caught in the wake.
Kaedyn picked up the book. "The Book of Dead Gods," he said, reading the cover. "It's locked. Odd. The book seems light for such a large lock on it."
"Should we try the master key?" asked Shadowheart.
Gale shook his head. "It's not a standard lock. It requires a bit of either arcane magic or divine energy. Either that, or I supposed you could always just break it or pick it."
Kaedyn shrugged. "I guess I'll try." Then he took his holy symbol and placed it on the massive lock as he prayed to Tyr for a spark of the divine. He made a Religion roll of 6+2=8 and failed. Nothing happened.
Shadowheart took it. "Let me try." She then did the same with her own holy symbol. An Insight roll was then made by Gale and Kaedyn as she did this. Kaedyn rolled a 2 and Gale a 3. Both failed. They did not notice that Shadowheart was purposely positioning herself to block their view of her holy symbol. She rolled a Religion roll of 19+1=20 and succeeded. There was a spark of energy, and the lock clicked open. Shadowheart then flipped the book open and noticed a loose page that was being used as a bookmark. It was an unrolled scroll of some sort. Gale would need to identify it later.
As she opened it up to the bookmarked page, all three of them made a Religion check to see if they could figure out what they were looking at. All they could see, at first, was that the page contained a list of names. What was once script was now an obliterated scrawl. It was clear that it was a list of names, but of what? Kaedyn rolled a 5+2=7. Shadowheart rolled an 8+1=9.
Gale rolled a 15+3=18. They only needed a 10. "Well! Would you look at that."
"What is it?" asked Shadowheart.
"The names of gods," said Gale. "Once lost, but now restored after the Second Sundering. Most of them are unfamiliar. I can't even pronounce many of them. However, I recognize this one and this one too. There are entire pantheons from all over the realms listed here; entire pantheons that have dwindled and been reborn, silently recorded by this book"
He then took the book from Kaedyn and flipped to the last page of writing, for there were many blank pages afterwards. He pointed to the last three entries. Now it was Kaedyn's turn to look over his shoulder. "Look at this. It is as if someone has been updating it; even presently. Several entries on the last page have been stricken through, the final three thoroughly enough to be completely illegible."
"Three gods?" asked Kaedyn with raised brow. "Here we go again. Another coincidence? We were just talking about the Dead Three yesterday. Now we have three gods from this book completely obliterated on the page."
"I don't get it," said Shadowheart. "What are you trying to say?"
Kaedyn replied, "This is a book of gods who died. So, if it lists gods who are dead, and those last three are so obliterated on the page that we can't make them out, is it possible that those three are no longer dead? Maybe, just maybe, they are very much alive. If so, and we found a shield with a symbol that is like the combination of the Dead Three, Myrkul, Bhaal and Bane, then could it be that the Dead Three have somehow been resurrected by the Second Sundering?"
A heavy atmosphere fell upon the chamber. Even Lae'zel, who normally didn't care what they were looking at, seemed to be paying attention now. "And you, somehow, think this has to do with us?" she asked. "I admit that there are a number of things pointing to the Dead Three, but how does this form a connection between them and us?"
The three looking at the book turned to face the others. Kaedyn shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "Maybe it doesn't. I guess it just seems somehow important."
Gale considered her question carefully. "Oftentimes, things are not just coincidences but divine intervention. Although I admit that I can't see a connection between the Dead Three and us right now, I can't help but think that we've stumbled onto something here. Did we crash on some random beach, or was it by divine design? I'm beginning to wonder if our meeting up with one another was also something that was meant to happen. I wonder if we've all been brought together on purpose."
"Yes, but what is that purpose?" wondered Ryth-Shan. "And who is giving it to us? Are we being manipulated by good gods or evil?"
"THAT is the million gold coin question, My Friend," said Gale. "THAT is why it is important to keep looking into it. You serve Vlaakith, yes?" he asked Lae'zel.
"Of course," she replied.
"What would Vlaakith say if she learned you were hypothetically doing the will of the Dead Three?" he asked.
She sneered. "I would rather die a thousand torturous deaths than serve anyone but my queen."
"Exactly," said Gale. "So, we need to be sure who it is that is guiding us here."
Another silence fell between them. Kaedyn closed the book and stowed it in their gear. "Okay," he said after a few moments. "Why don't we go explore the statue now. We can always ponder this whole thing about the dead gods later." Everyone agreed, and they were off to the central courtyard.
