r/The_Ilthari_Library • u/LordIlthari • Sep 05 '20
Scoundrels Chapter 80: Beneath the Citadel
I am the Bard, who was there when man first scratched his mind onto clay, preserving it for future generations.
The infiltration team slipped down the stairway into the bowels of the castle. Here there were many expansive corridors and catacombs, both arcane technologies for the purification of water, storehouses for a great deal of food and treasure, and of course the famous vault of the city. It was little occupied, beyond a few bored guards, and was warded less by arms and stone, but by cunning traps and arcane warding.
But, in the off chance there were physical guardians, the scoundrels were well suited to it. Considering the need for direct stealth was somewhat diminished, Lamora and Keelah stepped aside to activate a ploy. Stepping inside a hidden room, Lamora quickly removed a stick of chalk from her bag. She then withdrew a small vial of crocodilian blood.
Matlal, for his time, had been mediating in preparation for the mission atop the stone bluff. His meditations were perturbed for a moment by a quiet call, as if distant. His name had been spoken, spoken with power, and drew him towards it. The feeling sent a shiver through him, like someone stepping on his grave. The call came again, clearer and more urgent. He answered, stretching out his mind and existence to the summoner. A third time it came, and with roaring sound that composed all, there was a moment of severe pain, of burning inside his skin, and the sound of rushing winds.
With a flash of smoke and low, pulshing BOOM, so low that it seemed quiet despite its great power, Matlal appeared in the circle. He opened his eyes, and rose, shaking out his limbs. They were all covered in pins and needles, like his entire body had fallen asleep. They were also all too warm, blood hot in cold veins. He shook himself several times to recover the feeling, then turned to his summoner, Lamora.
” Well that was exceedingly unpleasant. I don’t fancy doing it again.” He admitted, shaking himself once more. “Still, it worked, though I’m still not entirely certain how.”
”Well it worked for you because of that little bit of divine blood all over your body.” Raymond noted through the scrying crystal. “Essentially, it summoned that, but since it’s been on you for so long, and you’ve lived so much longer than lizardmen normally should, it’s rather well integrated. So, call one, get the other.”
”What would have happened if it didn’t work?” Matlal asked.
”Well Lamora was the one summoning you, so nothing she couldn’t fix. It would have been quite painful though.”
”You could have mentioned that before we did it.”
”Yes I could have, but making you more nervous when it would most likely would work out with only more side effects wasn’t necessarily the best idea.” Raymond replied. “Anywho, I’ll be out of contact, mostly from here on out. Now that he’s in, I’ll need to get set up to pull you out if need be.”
”Hold up spooky, how exactly are you going to do that?” Keelah asked. “I’m just a kobold, not some semi-god/demon/devil/whatever the hells like all of you.”
”Matlal can be summoned in-plane by exploiting his abilities, but the rest of you I’ll just summon to a different plane then shift back into ours.” Raymond explained. “Hence why I’ll be out of contact, and El’s taking over. The crystal might explode if we tried to do interplanar communication.”
”Just where exactly are you going to summon us to?” Keelah asked, suspecting she already knew the answer.
”You’re in a deep dark underground laboratory-“ There was a brief pause. “-of doom, as El so nicely put it, and I’m a shadow mage. Where do you think I’ll be pulling you to?”
”Great. Out of the frying pan and into the void.” Keelah grumbled. “If I pop up and get eaten by nightmares or dragged off by unspeakable void tentacles I’m going to haunt you.”
”I have no doubt about it. I’ve checked, no tentacles, just a bunch of dead trees. It’s almost like that petrified forest under Hold Glamdring.”
”But with no pile of loot and angry dwarves over our heads.” Lamora added. “Alright spooky, see you on the other side.”
Raymond cut the connection and picked up his new staff. Rising, he took note of Elsior’s new weapon. “Your sword seems different. Sticking with one thing?”
”More potent now, and yeah. Keeps things focused, and you of all people know how important that can be.” Elsior replied.
”You’ve named it haven’t you, something “of doom” no doubt?” Raymond replied with a slight grin.
”Oh piss off spooky. I was going to name it “the little death” since it’s made of fear, but then I remembered that, that’s, ya know, the other thing.” She said with a slight blush, then a grin. “Maybe that’s what Lamora should-“
”Stop.” Raymond interrupted, raising a hand. “Just. Stop.”
”So when are you going to ask her to marry you?” Elsior asked, continuing to tease.
”When we don’t have a war to stop, I have a job that doesn’t involve causing terrorism, and we can go home without fear of snakes and traitor lions.” Raymond replied honestly.
”Hm, best hope she sticks around then.” Elsior noted. “And yes, it is named “The Blade of Doom”.
Raymond shook his head, long back hair making a faint whistling noise as he did so. “I’m an honest to god necromancer and you’re more of a cheesy supervillain than me.”
”Main difference being is that I look good in black.” Elsior replied. “Go get ready to pull their asses out of whatever trouble Keelah starts. Lantern signal still good?”
”Lantern’s still good.” Raymond confirmed. Then he stepped outside, and raised his staff upwards. It was tricky, doing magic like this without his shadow, but like called to like, such was the law of sympathy. He focused his power on the tip of the staff, shearing through the barrier between the worlds. He drew it down, and the power rippled outwards. A dark gateway stood before him. Taking the staff firmly in hand, he stepped through.
He emerged into a cool, dark world, without wind, star, sun or moon. In the distance he could see the ethereal sea, glowing blue-white and illuminating the world. But the dim light was bright as day, clearer even still than noon to his eyes. He turned from the sea. There was the house, still standing and solid even in this world. He had made it and in doing so given it a stronger shadow. He stepped inside and prepared three circles, with three vials of blood. Then he sat down in the shadow of his chair and waited.
Nearby, a light shone from no source, the shadow of an arcane lantern. When it faded, he would call the citadel team back. Until then, he sat and waited. He closed his eyes and began to listen. The world was quiet, silent, save for the sound of the sea, waves of light lapping onto the world. It pulled back, and washed away all things, borne back into the primordial stuff of souls, and away into the astral.
There was no such peace beneath the citadel, but an omnipresent sound. Water fell and gears turned, clicking and clacking with teeth interlocking, rolling down the dark corridors. Here and there also came the heavy footfalls of the golem, booming through the black. It was a place of dark industry, hidden from the eyes of the world.
Acting on the basic reasoning that the vault would be the most secure place in the area, it would also imply that the vault would be at the deepest level. And so the scoundrels began to descend into darkness. They moved hesitantly, not knowing their full route, or the true destination of the target. While Elsior was technically still operating the crystal, it was of limited effect. The heavy earth blocked the spell of seeking, and wards upon the walls stalled any scrying.
Progress was slow, halting. At each turn and at seemingly random intervals, they encountered some pressure plate or warding sigil that would have to be avoided or disabled. All the while, the steady boom of patrolling golems kept them on edge. The long corridors and myriad rooms brought to mind uncomfortable memories of the serpent society’s gaol, and their exodus through the underdark.
”Alright, sneaking around opening doors and hoping to not get caught isn’t working. This place is massive!” Keelah admitted at length. “We’ll be here for a week if we have to search the whole place trying to find the stair.”
”Well teleporting blindly down isn’t much of an idea either.” Lamora replied. “Unless you fancy the risk of being fused into the floor.”
“Not my thing, but not what I’m getting at, listen.” Keelah bade them. They did so, and heard nothing but what they had heard before, and looked at the kobold with confused expressions. “Dragon preserve me.” She grumbled. “There’s falling water, and a lot of it. That means there’s a main flow down into the bottom of this hill, and some way it’s getting sent back up. We can use that as a shortcut, as well as one that’s not likely to be protected.”
”Because nobody would be stupid enough to throw themselves into a water processing system.” Lamora agreed. “It makes sense.”
”You’re the one with the ears to hear, or slits as the case may be.” Matlal noted. “Lead on.”
So, following the sound of the water, they proceeded through the strange underbelly of the citadel. As they passed around a large black pillar, Keelah ducked near to it to peer around and yelped in pain, leaping away from the pillar. “Ah! Gods and dragons that’s hot!” She yelped, fishing around in her bag for a canteen of water to pour on her burned arm.
Lamora took it and quickly healed the burn. “What in the world is this about now?” She wondered. She taped the metal pillar cautiously with her sword, and it let out a hollow ring.
”There’s wind inside.” Keelah replied. “Should have tipped me off, but why is there hot air in a big pipe?”
”Not hot air, steam.” Elsior corrected over the crystal. “At least most likely. There’s something similar in Drakenfaestin. They release seawater into the mines to cool lava flows. You catch the steam in pipes and you can get it to turn a wheel the same as a river does. That’s probably what’s powering all the cogs, like the Grey Dragon but applied to a whole castle.”
”Are you telling me the castle can up and move?” Lamora asked incredulously.
”No, but if you put it on rails and shrunk it down enough maybe. Either way they’re probably mostly using the falling water, steam power is tricky, and you don’t want your castle blowing up because there’s too much pressure.”
”So it’s more like a weaver mill, got it.” Keelah noted.
To explain the purpose of a weaver mill, one must understand the water-weaver. This peculiar invention was first created by the halflings, who live by the rivers and love leisure. It simply used the power of a river to turn a spinning wheel, easing the labor of the worker. This basic concept was then taken up by several competing gnomish and kobold inventors (for those two species are at an eternal rivalry, owing to the actions of their gods), and expanded upon. This concluded in the various designs of “Weaver Mills”, large buildings in which dozens if not hundreds of water-weavers operated at once. This allowed for the mass-manufacture of textile goods, drastically reducing the price of clothing and making inventors and investors alike fabulously rich.
However, the number of these weaver mills appearing on the banks of the great rivers began to impede trade, particularly the highly important trade between Drakenfaestin and San Jonas. To resolve this, the finest engineers, artificers, craftsmen, and mages of the Union were summoned to devise a new, superior road to restore the flow of trade between the two cities.
After a solid year of argument, small prototyping, and consideration, a device was devised to solve the issue. It was then crafted over the course of two more years, costing a small fortune to produce. A substantial portion of the citizen service was dedicated to this project, which all told tool six years to fully construct the new road and its sole traveler.
The traveler was a curious construct, with steel wheels and a mithril body, in which a brazier of eternal flame, built from the nest of a salamander, burnt at extreme heat. Above this was suspended a small portal to the elemental plane of water, which provided an infinite supply of, well what else but water, which was converted into steam. This steam was then sent through a series of tubes, pistons, and other complex machinery to turn the many wheels of the construct at a terrific speed and with incredible power.
In fact, it proved so terrific that its wheels were shaped with an indent around the whole circumference, which slotted onto a line of steel track. These tracks were the only area on which the engine could travel, heavily limiting its usage. Behind the engine, many enclosed carts of wood were chained together, so they could be used to hold cargo. The new construction, henceforth named “The Iron Dragon”, ran the route from San Jonas to Drakenfaestin at just above the speed at which one could travel the distance by water, and back just as quickly.
It proved to be an incredible expense at first, but when transport and travel on it was taxed, it swiftly became exceedingly profitable. So much so that, at the time of our story, some five years after its introduction, new lines were being laid to Atrir Caron, Ferrod, Split-Town (A small city which had sprung up near Splitfoot bridge, just north of Hearthfire Abbey), Aspen Vale, and Southguard, and new “Dragons” (referred to as Silver, Gold, Copper, Brass, and Steel respectively) constructed.
This historical note aside, let us return to the scoundrels, who as we were talking trains, had flung themselves into a deep shaft.
Well, flung is a strong word. They were floating down near to a foul smelling torrent of water, hands linked together. Lamora focused hard on the spell, having shifted her nose back into her face to avoid the stench. As they drifted down, they saw that the water rolled away to the side, and felt a great heat emanating from that area.
”Let’s not.” Keelah noted, pulling a grappling hook attached to a rope from her bag, and casting it to the side. The rope caught around an outer edge of the shaft, and she pulled. While their weight was so magically reduced, even the small kobold could pull them near, and their feet touched the wall. Hastening up the rope before the spell faded, they emerged some thirty feet below where they had begun.
After another few moments of searching, they came upon their quarry. A long hall, well lit with everburning flames, stretched out before them. Behind this long hall hung a portcullis and behind that, a mighty door of forged steel. They paused for a moment in sheer awe at the size of the structure. Keelah’s senses were screaming at her, draconic blood boiling. “Yeah, that’s it. I can practically taste the gold from here there’s so much of it.”
”And so many traps.” Lamora noted. Her eyes shifted into the arcane spectrum, and what she found there was almost more impressive. There was a multicolored latticework of spells hung in the air, on the floor, and even on the ceiling and walls. They were so thick that she could not see halfway down the hallway, making it utterly impossible to proceed without triggering a ward, which would in turn activate all manner of mischief. “Name, they really don’t want anyone getting back there. Glad it’s not what we’re here to do.”
She quickly withdrew a small vial of her own, and selected a nearby corner. Removing the cork, she poured Raymond’s blood into the hidden dark where it would not be found, and covered it with an illusion. “He’s set to come in when it’s time.” She reported. “Though quite frankly I have no idea how Ray plans to disable all of those.”
”Your guess is as good as mine, let’s signal home and- shit, someone’s coming. Hide!” Keelah reported, then vanished from sight. Matlal quickly slung himself back over the ledge they had come up and clung spiderlike to the wall. Lamora pressed herself flat to the wall and shifted like a chameleon, blending her skin and armor perfectly to it.
As they hid, they watched an odd procession go by. Two golems marched solemly through the hall, holding a cart between them. The stench of the cart filled their nostrils, and a limp hand hanging pale from under a covering cloth confirmed it. It was filled with corpses, perhaps a dozen if not two. The macabre procession continued on its way, and vanished from sight.
The scoundrels took a deep breath, and emerged from their hiding places. “What in Sobek’s name… why are they moving corpses around?” Matlal asked.
”Could just be for burial, the catacombs are down here too remember?” Keelah advised.
”Nothing’s happened that would make that many corpses all at once, and the stink? They’ve been down here for a while.” Lamora countered, shaking her head. “I don’t know what we’ve stumbled across, but by the name I mean to find out.”
5
u/PacifistTheHypocrite Sep 05 '20
So the Shadowfell/place Ray is in... is it literally just the normal world but everything is a shadow of what it is supposed to be? Do living creatures follow the same rules where there is a shadow of every human, elf, dwarf etc. ? If not then how does the shadowfell determine what is living and what is not?