Tag Archives: Shiquos

Revenant

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While the others go home, Lilith goes straight to Potions & Poisons in the Ghetto of Artisans to get rid of the inflammable blood moss. Jharrath drags his feet after his mistress. They are welcomed by Lha’Zis Ulvira.
‘Ah, so you have returned. Did you succeed?’.
Jharrath shows him the sack. ‘We have the blood moss you’ve asked for. Do you have a place to put it?’
Watched by countless spiders, the shopkeeper leads them past the counter. The wizard sees many alchemy treasures, but the way the shop is organized, it is a small miracle that Potions & Poisons hasn’t exploded yet.
‘Just put it down here.’ Lha’Zis blows out the candles, whereas glowing gems provide enough light. ‘So much moss, very nice!’ The poison maker takes another look in the bag. ‘Fantastic!’

Poison

‘It is much indeed,’ Jharrath says quickly. ‘I presume we get an additional discount?’
As a reply, Ulvira hands him 25 knockout poison –five extra– and 20 sick stones.
‘How about the gland, did you find it yet?’
Lilith, who is observing the spiders, shakes her head.
‘After you bring it to me, it will take two days to make the virile madness.’
The cleric bids him farewell, and together with Jharrath heads home as well.

At the Xaniqos mansion, the siblings go their own way. Some freshen up and find healing. Alvra makes his rounds and talks with the guards, while Lilith spends hours in reverie. Afterward, she takes 100 gold, a bag of gems and the drow mission blade to the treasury. The blade protects its wielder from acid and gives extra luck when near a node, like in Erelhei-Cinly. Phaedra is happy with the five vials of black, gummy poison. Somewhat later, Thaldynion brings them a message from the Matron Mother: she is pleased with their actions and provides each with 8000 gold to enhance their equipment. This is a big favor from Lady Thandysha and they all feel honored.

When the drow walk into the Ghetto of Scholars, there is no open hostility, but they notice that the House-affiliated are not favorable towards House Xaniqos. The city is on edge, more so than normal. They enter Nyttoris Arms & Armor, as a big sign says over the door. Nyttoris is glad to see the Xaniqos walk in his door. With a big smile, he says, ‘Well, well, well, what brings you to my place? It is good to see you again. We have many items on display today. We have boots, armor, weapons like rapiers and scimitars and many magic items. No dwarven ware though, those are not sophisticated enough.’ When he hears the drow’s wishes, Nyttoris leaves the other customers in his servants’ care and takes the Xaniqos to his private office. A young drow female takes care of food and drinks. The table is well provisioned.

‘House Xaniqos seems to be doing well. All of the requested items are present, but first I want to offer you a business deal. I am waiting for a ship with goods from the Upper world, and it is already a tenday too late. There is no sign of it after it left Luskar. Either it sank in the Glimmersea, or it was attacked. If you can find out what happened to the shipment, and perhaps take the goods back to me, I offer you a 25% discount.’
Nyttoris shows them a map of House Shi’quos, with the safest and most probable routes. After Lilith has studied the map and accepts the assignment, he hands her the scroll.
‘You’ll get the discount when you return. You can use one of my galleys to investigate. It is waiting for you at Blessed Seahaven. Thank you for doing business, and I hope to see you back soon, preferably with the goods.’

When they step back onto the street outside of Arms & Armor, Alvra is wearing new leather boots, and his brother has a new red robe with spikes on it, plus new bracers of red-brown leather. The scout has new bracers as well, and her spiked chain is continuously crackling with electricity. Her armor looks slightly shinier. Lilith has a new leather belt with a buckle with three black pearls, and on her finger is a ring with lavender glass. On their way back, Jharrath buys two potions that will help him to breathe underwater. It never hurts to come to a battle well prepared.

The siblings gather at the Xaniqos mansion and call one of the servants.
‘Tell Thaldynion that we’ve gone to Blessed Seahaven. We hope to be back in two days.’

The Xaniqos presence in the Ghetto of Outcasts is becoming more visible. Buildings are under repair, and beautiful mansions are constructed. More and better guards patrol the perimeters. As they walk through the district, they hear a loud wailing moan, gathering in intensity. It is a dreadful, very nasty sound. As they draw closer, they see a shape walking, dragging itself and its evil bastard sword forward. The dust of the street swirls and gathers around the shape.

Two Xaniqos guards approach, their weapons drawn, but the undead ignores everything around it.
‘Don’t worry,’ one of the guards says, ‘we’ll take care of it. It is probably just an escaped undead from the district of the dead or something.’ The guards stop, flanking the animated corpse from 30 feet distance.
Alvra nods towards his men. ‘Do your job,’ and the siblings continue on their way to Blessed Seahaven. Then the eyes of the undead focus on Phaedra, its stare pure hatred. Phaedra halts. She recognizes him as Jhaelmin Shi’quos, the second son of the House, whose throat she cut in the Lair of Principles when they were searching for the Cloak of the Patriarch.
‘This is impossible! He has been dead for a long time!’ But is it? House Shi’quos specializes in necromancy…

Revenant

The guards attack the Shi’quos but are immediately covered in a swarm of insects that bite and claw at their faces. The dust forms a vortex and the undead lays his hand on one of the guards. The soldier screams in pain and a moment later his armor crashes to the ground. He has turned to dust, all moisture sucked from his body.

Lilith recognizes the form of a hand burned into Jhaelmin’s forehead as a sign of Kiaransalee. She tries to rebuke the undead, but the power of the Lady of the Death is too strong. Phaedra and Alvra are hurt by the negative energy of the vortex’ swarm attack. The fighter counters by throwing a javelin at the Shi’quos, but to no avail. Jharrath summons a large earth elemental, which attacks the undead. It seems to be able to damage the creature that once was a drow. The remaining guard keeps his distance, still under attack by the swarm.

Phaedra hits the undead but doesn’t hurt him. Once again, Lilith tries to rebuke, but the one who put the spell on the undead is very strong; her own level at least.
The revenant stretches his hand and under his command a wall of sand rises, covering Jharrath from head to toes. The wizard can’t breathe, is blind and deaf. Alvra steps back and throws another javelin, right in the center of the undead’s chest. Death oozes from the cavity, but the vortex grows only stronger. Fortunately, the elemental isn’t much bothered by it. Two more javelins disappear harmlessly into the vortex.

Lilith calls forth dark fire and strikes hard at the creature. She uses her brand new belt to get another attack and dark fire again strikes towards the undead. The three pearls of the belt’s buckle are spent and turn white, but she manages to force the creature to let go of the sand wall. The undead steps forward and again the cleric counters with a touch attack of dark flames. Phaedra teleports out of harm’s way, as Alvra attacks twohanded. This time his sword attack succeeds. The elemental aids him, and the wizard follows up with a Kellgore’s firebolt. The undead finally drops his sword and falls down.

Now the left-over guard comes near and brags, ‘I couldn’t have done it without you. Well done, masters!’ The drow incredulously stare at him.
’What is your name, guard?’ The Captain of the Guard’s voice is icy.
‘I’m Eldi’nine, master.’
‘Well, Eldi’nine. Return to the Xaniqos mansion and report for duty immediately.’
Alvra will take care of this impudent guard later.

Lilith tries to burn the remains of the undead with her dark flames, but it won’t turn to ashes. She knows that she has to destroy all traces of the revenant and its evil sword, or it will come back to revenge its death once more. She takes a bottle from her pack and pours holy water on the remains. Finally, the corpse and the bastard sword turn to dust.

Alvra orders a group of four new guards to take over the control of the Ghetto, and, together with his mistress, the scout and the wizard, resumes his path.

Footsteps in the dust

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The next morning, the Xaniqos are called to a meeting with Taldinyon. The weapon master introduces them to a familiar face, the draegloth Leargath, hired to help them search for Dark Fate. The half fiend also has a license to hunt down drow, so it can keep the other parties away from them if the need arises. Spies have informed house Xaniqos that house Tormtor en Shi’quos are also on their way, led by a priestess and a score of drow and many slaves.

After this briefing Taldinyon places a map of the Underdark on the table.

You’ll have to go to the burial grounds near Szith Morcane. Search for graves in the Underdark. And once you find the rod, do NOT use it. We do not know its abilities.

Phaedra takes the map, and together the Xaniqos leave the house, heading for the Bridge of the Nobles. Apart from slaves, the streets are quiet. The scout warns Lilith against follow-up parties, and the cleric decides they will take a detour to the west first, before heading towards their goal in the north.

After five days of travel through the corridors of the Underdark – avoiding goblins and other inhabitants – they draw close to their destination. It is a stony area, big and wide. Their path gradually slopes upwards and the air turns humid. The roads are old, but there are fresh animal tracks in the dust. Soon Phaedra sees the remnants of old buildings, pieces of marble pillars and other debris. They have arrived at the upper city of Szith Morcane.

While the drow search for a crypt, the wizard points towards two pillars up north, behind a hill. Slowly they make their way towards the landmark over the wide wasteland. Long ago, a huge battle took place here. Skeletons, armor, all crumbles to dust when they touch it. Most of the mausoleums in the area have succumbed to time, but about five are still standing. The doors of the first structure have been ripped open with great force; it has probably been looted. The door creaks when Phaedra peeks inside. There’s dust everywhere, but not much more.

An old campsite,

she tells the others when she returns to the entrance,

no one’s there and it has been picked clean. Let’s move on to the next.

But all have been ransacked.

They walk towards the pillars they saw earlier, the columns shaped like two big skeleton warriors. The piercing eyes of the skeletons give them all a creepy feeling. Jharrath uses his wand to detect magic, and he discovers two weak auras. This mausoleum has a family weapon, and Lilith can tell that it has been an old and noble drow family. They are probably on the right track. The doors are still sealed, though there is some damage. The scout searches the entrance for traps, while the others keep an eye on the surroundings. There seems to be no danger, but the doors are locked.

The wizard summons an earth elemental.

Go check the other side and open the door.

When the elemental obeys and arrives at the other side, he utters two simple words in his grating voice:

Chain, master.

Then break it!

They all hear a heavy jingling thump when the chain hits the ground.

What do you see?

Bodies, master.

We’re coming in, get out of the way.

Twenty feet further, the bodies of five drow lie on the ground -totally stripped- two women and three males. Crossbow bolts stick out of the backs of their heads and necks, while others have fractured skulls. The piwafwi emblem shows an electric javelin… drow of House Tormtor! Through a spell, the cleric calls the spirit of one of the females to her.

Who killed you?

Followers of the White Banshee.

What were you doing here?

Looking for the rod.

How many attackers were there?

I don’t know.

What is the White Banshee?

Kiaransalee

Lilith considers the words of the dead. Demi-god, Lady of the Dead, deity of vengeance and undead. Not a friend to any Lolth worshipper…

Meanwhile Phaedra checks out the door to the side, which is closed but not locked. It opens smoothly, but the layer of dust has not been disturbed. There are more empty rooms to the left and right, upon which the scout returns to the main corridor. There she finally sees footsteps in the dust, leading onward.

One, two… Principle missing!

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Suspiciously eyeing the pentagram, Lilith tries to erase part of the circle. After a few moments she succeeds, thus severing it. She takes some time to heal herself and be ready for the challenges ahead.

The room of Thra’esue is bare, apart from a small stone table with parchments. Phaedra takes a chart of a graveyard with her. On the map directions have been indicated with arrows. Lots of humanoid skulls litter the floor. At the back is a locked door. Jharrath summons an earth elemental and orders it to demolish the door. With several power attacks, it splinters the wood. Inside is a sarcophagus, which – the lid pushed aside by the summoned elemental – reveals the resting body of the ogre. The cleric takes a vial of holy water and pours half of the contents in the giant’s mouth. His eyes snap open, and with a horrible scream, he pulverizes. No mist, no nothing; the beast is gone. In his sarcophagus  lie a pouch with three potions, a key and a magical chain shirt. The potions inflict moderate wounds when used.

130403sarcophagus

The drow now move towards the room of Mephisolis, the upper Principle. The corners of his room are decorated with big urns. Something clicks when the scout passes the threshold and she gets hit by an arrow full of acid. With Thra’Esue’s key she tries to open the door to the inner sanctuary, but it doesn’t fit. Jharrath gets the same treatment, when he tries to open the lock with a scorching ray. One of his Melphs acid arrow takes care of the problem: the door is gone. The inner room is lit by four ever burning candles. A huge jump brings Alvra almost to the sanctuary… almost. Another acid arrow finds its target.

Now the method to destroy the Principles is clear, the cleric decides to leave it up to her siblings to take care of the vampire ogre. Elegantly she throws the still half full vial of holy water towards her brother, almost into his waiting hands… almost. Fumbling Alvra fails to catch the little bottle and it crashes to the stone floor. Quickly he wets a piece of his robe with the remnants of the holy water, while Lilith scowls at him. He walks towards the second sarcophagus – lined in red silk – and pushes the lid off. It takes quite some strength and the help of the wizard to accomplish, but finally they succeed. The wet cloth is not enough to finish the ogre, so they cut off his head and set the corpse on fire. Principle number two is gone from this world.

In the coffin another key, a beautiful magic chain shirt and a ditto great sword stay behind. Phaedra decides to keep the chain shirt for herself, though she will have to resize it. There are also two pouches and two shiny flasks, containing a silvery liquid. Alvra recognizes it as silver sheen. With a mighty jump, the fighter manages to reach the safety of the central room. His brother isn’t that fortunate, his clothing damaged by the acid that’s still eating its way through the fabric. The fighter hands the pouches to Lilith, and she finds gold pieces and two blue sapphires, worth 3.500 gold pieces.

2014-02-16 17.05.51

Checking out the Principles’ third room, Lilith commands her shield to transform into a spider and sends the arachnid to investigate. When nothing happens, she walks in to and tries out the keys she has found. They won’t fit. Out of holy water, Alvra and Lilith coat their weapons in silver sheen and hammer down the door. A closed coffin awaits them, which proves to be empty though. Where is the third Principle?

The Xaniqos gather in the central space, where the cleric casts a mass shield of faith. She warns her siblings to let their guard down before releasing the spell. Then they continue towards the last door: the library. The key fits the lock smoothly, and inside there are several shelves with lots of books and scrolls. Two are especially beautiful, but when Phaedra tries to read them, she gets nauseated. The wizard takes her place and soon finds out these are magic scrolls about necromancy. He takes them with him.

In the room of the ghouls, Alvra discovers a pouch with a black opal. Hurriedly he leaves the filthy nest. The cleric once again checks out the central room and the pulpits, but there is nothing there. All siblings search for hidden doors and other hiding places, but there’s absolutely nothing. The bats have found a quiet corner and witness the search.

The drow decide to go back to the first room. The corpses of the two ogres are still there, but the body of the mage ogre has disappeared! Could he be the missing Principle? It must be. A trail of blood leads upwards, but when they enter the upper floor again, an occasional drop and boot prints in the dust are all that is left of the trail. Though they search the mansion, even the upper parts and outside, there’s no trace of the mage ogre. He must have regenerated. Perhaps he ran off to House Shi’quos, they simply don’t know. The Matron Mother can be content: the leader of the Principles is dead and the rest has been slaughtered.

Trouble in the Ghetto of the Dead

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The next couple of days are spent in relaxation. The Drow have brought home quite an impressive loot and each sibling is amply rewarded. Four days later, being healed, bathed, rested and fed, they are once more called towards the hall of House Xaniqos. The eldest daughter Quarra is also present, though she doesn’t look too happy. Matron Mother Thandysha and her consort Taldinyon make an exotic pair. To their surprise, Thangarth and a group of Duergar are there too, the Draegloth at their side. His big scythe is still covered in blood. It seems like the company didn’t have an easy journey traveling to the Xaniqos mansion.

Artwork: SLefor

Lady Thandysha welcomes all and tells her children that the Duergar emissaries have been invited to establish a trade between the two parties. And since the four had a part in bringing about the contact, they are welcome to participate in the negotiations. The Duergar will stay in the city for one week. An agreement is reached about buying mithril for creating weapons and other items. When Phaedra replies in Duergar, the Draegloth seems pleasantly surprised. They talk a bit and he tells her she can find him in The Black Chalice if she ever needs him.

We won’t be staying there, we will find a place of our own!

Thangarth says. He doesn’t seem too eager to lodge in a place owned by a vampire, where undead frequent and narcotics are abound. The Xaniqos Scout advises him to try out the Knuckle Bones Inn – many guards and owned by a dwarf – or Teeson’s Roaming House. This facility seems to shift around a lot, which makes it an interesting place, but more dangerous. The latter seems to appeal to the Duergar’s sense of excitement and there might even be a bunch of kobolds to lighten up the place.

The Matron Mother looks at Phaedra, a disgusted expression on her face.

You speak that vile language?

Well, it’s useful for the trading relation, right?

Phaedra retorts.

The days, during which Lilith orders her Wizard brother to make more anti-toxins, go by quietly. After a full tenday K’yorl asks them to follow him into his study. They head up towards the large tower room, which is packed with alchemy sets, books and vials. They are filled with eye balls, powders, feathers and all kinds of other stuff. A neat personal collection, according to Jharrath.

Please, take a seat. House Xaniqos needs your assistance in a new task. It’s only a week before the Council meets again. And though we have dealt a good blow against House Shi’quos, they are on the move again. They seem to be in alliance with the Dod King and try to expand by taking over the Ghetto of the Dead. Rumors are that here is a group under the city, ruled by three principles. The entrance to this Undercity is guarded by at least one ogre, maybe more. House Eilservs is weak. The undead are not under control anymore, ghouls attack at random and other forces are moving up.

Will House Eilservs be punished for letting the Ghetto go out of control?

Be assured that the House indeed will be ‘entertained’ elsewhere, Jharrath.

The siblings agree to meet at The Black Chalice.