"I worry that taking time to get the refugees to this place might take time we could be doing something else." Brin says with a frown. "It is also a job I do not believe we are as suited for as the guard would be. If we can help this noble, and pay back the guard for escorting the refugees, then I think that is likely our best option."

Murphy nods at your comments. "I can understand why you are leaning towards the last choice. Adventurers seek out exploration and action. While you want to protect these people, you are probably not as comfortable doing that.

"I will pick out guards and protectors from the Iron Gate that I trust. Nature's Wrath will lead them, and keep those people safe."
(The brawny elf barbarian sitting off to the side scratches his head, then looks around absent-mindedly.)
"Don't worry, I'll send someone with him to do the heavy thinking."

"You should prepare and relax today. I'll send the messages to the Lord Finesilver to expect your group. Tomorrow, two hours past sunrise, you should present yourselves at his estate in the High Garden region of this city. This scroll has the directions to get there, and this second scroll is permission to pass through the northern entrance of the High Wall. The estate is between the entrance and the High Castle... Do you have any questions?"

Murphy gives a sly look when he asked if you had questions.

He seems to have more information about the Finesilver request. But these rogue mastermind-types always like to test how other people operate...

“What do you know about what we will be facing at this noble’s estate?” Brin asks with a glance o the man speaking.

Reverie frowns slightly at Murphy's sly look, and then she is wondering if she knows or have heard of Finesilver. (Does she know anything about Finesilver?)

History - 21

Trimyrai: (to murphy) "how presentable should we be? Just be ourselves, or should we be in more formal attire and manners?"

Murphy: "I've been informed that you've done guard duty for the archaeologists Salah and Marion while exploring the areas underneath the city. As you know, there are relics and structures from older habitations down there." (When the party fought ghouls and freed the tormented spirits of past adventurers, you found the wreckage of an elvish watermill, but no signs how it got underground.) "Despite the dangers, the Finesilvers decided to excavate the areas underneath their estate, to try to find valuables of ancient times. They found some kind of shrine or tomb, but as their workers were trying to break into it, they were attacked. Those not slain, fled. They have now hired the Iron Gate. The mission is to have the threats destroyed, and a safe route for them to pillage that shrine."

When Reverie mentions that she has not heard of any heroic or adventurous tales of the Finesilver family, Murphy pauses about how to say something diplomatically. "The Finesilvers are concerned with industry and trade. They wouldn't be interested in exploration, but gossip about wealth blinded them to the dangers of sending their servants underneath the city. They delved too greedily and too deep... They must be rather desperate too. Several other mercenary parties were hired and sent to secure that area, and also had to retreat. When the Iron Gate heard about the troubles, the price tag to send a party down there was substantial. The Finesilvers complained, but eventually agreed to pay."

To Trimyrai: "You do not need to worry about fineries. You do not have to meet the Finesilvers. Dress for combat and exploration. When you go to their estate, you will be led to entrance below and start the mission immediately."

To Brin: "From your last venture to the The Pit and the catacombs below the city, you know to be alert to undead, underground creatures, and entities tied to the Shadowfell and the outer realms. In particular, this shrine/tomb had guardians, although we cannot get any details. (The workers were either slain, or too frightened of what they saw to give a coherent description.) It is also unclear if those guardians are meant to defend the shrine, or to keep it sealed shut... Your work is likely to be done in a day, perhaps two. You won't be very deep, but the Finesilvers expect you to finish your mission before returning to the surface."

(Did you have more questions? That was all I had in mind, but sometimes I forget the obvious.

If you wanted to do any shopping or preparations, there is still time during the current day. Otherwise, I could fast-forward to the next morning.)

I believe Brin is ready to move forward.

(Reverie is ready to move forward as well. But maybe we can prepare more for healing potion if we do not have enough.)

(OOC: i have two potions of healing, im not sure if we need more or not.)

(Sorry for the long absence.

If you wanted to purchase healing potions, I'll allow everyone to buy either 2 regular (2d4+2 hp) or 1 greater (4d4+4) healing potion(s) for 100 gp. You can subtract that from your gold and modify your inventory.)

The next morning, your party leaves the inn (in the northeast corner of the city, in the Craftsmen Ward) and travels south. You go through the heart of the cluster of churches and temples of the city. (You don't know if the saying is true, that every faith is represented somewhere in this city, but the bewildering number of buildings seems to support that.)

You cross the Avenue of the Divine, which is part of the Primus Road that extends hundreds of miles east of the city. Everyone clears off the Primus Road at night, but with the morning light, street vendors and tents are encroaching on the sides of the road. It is still early enough that you are not greatly delayed by the milling crowds.

After more travel through the Merchant's Ward, you arrive at the High Wall, which surrounds the High Garden (where the lords and ladies dwell). While the High Wall is formidable in size, after seeing the inhumanly precise craftsmanship of the Primus Road, this wall somehow feels... ordinary.

The guards at the gate bow to Reverie (noble background). They eye the rest of you with more intensity, but are satisfied by the documents given to you by Murphy and the Iron Gate, and allow you to enter the High Garden. After your recent trip to the slums in the west part of the city, the opulence of the estates takes some getting used to.

You reach the Finesilver estate without any problems. The grounds are surrounds by an 8 ft. tall metal fence, the iron bars all plated by silver (of course). After you present your documents (that you are working for the Iron Gate), the gate is opened to allow you to enter. A bronze dragonborn in ornate (but combat impractical) silver armor greets you. He is the head of Finesilver local security. He gestures for you to follow him, as he walks along the estate fence past neat lines of fruit trees (currently barren since it is winter).

"You may call me Silver Sergeant. I will lead you to the entrance underground. It is at the edge of the orchards, away from the manor. The Lord does not have time to greet you, but is eager to have this situation ended ... Currently, the metal doors are sealed and barricaded by heavy stones. We haven't had any incidents recently, but when the guards check on the doors, they still sometimes hear sounds of something scraping on the other side of the doors... It will take some time for the servants to move the stones aside, so we can discuss the mission details while they are working."

Trimyrai nods along and follows the dragonborn.

"So what, exactly, has come out of there, before you blocked the doors off?" Brin asks as they walk along towards the orchard.

The party arrives at a small mound, with a pair of heavy metal doors (like a very large storm cellar). Each door is over 5' wide. The doors are closed and barred, with a number of large stones piled on top. The Sergeant has the party pause 20' away, and gestures for some nearby orchard workers to move the stones away from the doors. The workers are reluctant, but eventually come over to roll the stones away (trying to keep the noise as low as possible).

The Sergeant unfolds a simple map, and explains the situation in a hushed voice. "You asked what came out. At the temple, it is unclear. The few survivors were at a distance, and their testimony jumbled. Some say angels, some say fiends, some say undead. I'd guess more than one thing, with something inside the temple, and something different outside of the temple.

"Another problem is the survivors returned in a panic, and they trampled and broke the barriers and wards that were in place to protect the route from the surface to the temple. That allowed the dark beings that dwell in the city's underground to return to the passages that we cleared out.

"There are many caverns and tunnels that we're explored. After careful analysis of the maps we made (before the calamity), you've been hired to make a short, safe route to this target temple. If you can secure two caverns along the route, and fix the barriers in those caverns, that will block off most of the "normal" threats down there.

"I mentioned that you will need to secure two caverns to make a path to the temple, but you have some choices. I've marked these two caverns as 1A and 1B. Pick one of them. Block off the passages out of that chamber with rocks, other than one to the surface and one going forward. Then retrace a circle of sand in the center of the cavern, and read from this scroll to re-activate the wards that were placed before.

"After that, move to either of these caverns marked 2A or 2B, and repeat that process. (I've highlighted which passages connect the caverns, and the path forward to the temple.)" The sergeant hands you two pouches of sand, and two scrolls.

"After that, go to the temple, and destroy whatever creatures are guarding it. You cannot take anything out of that temple, as it will be property belonging to the Lord. (It is written in the contract that was made with the Iron Gate.) When it is safe for other people to go to the temple, return here, and your service will be done.

"As for choosing which 2 of those 4 caverns to secure, this is what they were like when initially explored. 1A is filled with plant and animal life, even green plants that shouldn't be able to survive without sunlight. 1B is completely barren, with winds from the passages making sandstorms. 2A is hot, with pools of lava in parts of the cavern. 2B has flowing water and mud, very marsh-like... There are other caverns that might be safer or easier to pass through (also marked on this map), but those aren't bottlenecks that you could use to make a secure path to the temple."

As he is asking if you have questions, there is a loud bang from the metal doors (still closed and barred).
The workers have most of the stones moved aside, but they are backing up as the doors are rattling and shaking from something heavy or strong striking the doors from the other side.

Trimyrai: (to Silver) "Replace two wards, make a safe passage, do not take anything from the temple, seems easy enough. Is there a way to tell if the workers are just afraid or if it was some sort of magical fear?"

Brin steps closer to the doors as the sound of something comes from the other side. "Seems like we might need to fight our way in." He observes as he stops a few feet from the doors. He looks to the noble's man. "Do you have soldiers who can help deal with whatever that is, so that it doesn't get out to cause your boss troubles? Can't say we can keep it bottled inside,, as we don't know what it is at this point..."

The Sergeant hesitates as his attention is on the rattling doors. There are a few seconds between blows, like something backing up and charging into the doors over and over. He finally relaxes slightly when the doors seem to be able to withstand the beating.

To Trimyrai: "I don't remember anyone mentioning magical fear. However, the survivors were far back from the front lines, so it is possible they were out of range."

To Brin: "The Lord Finesilver does not have a large fighting force. And he has ordered us to protect the orchard, and leave the underground work to the Iron Gate employees." (He looks slightly apologetic that he can't/won't be of help to your party.) "Ever since we closed up those doors, every few hours something (or somethings?) tries to get out, it usually gives up after a minute or two. I'll have the workers wait for several minutes, and give whatever is on the other side a chance to move away."

"Works for me." Brin says with a shrug. "Just wanted to make it clear that we were not hired to deal with threats out here. If something gets out before we can get in, then it might not be something we can take care of before it can get away. At that point it becomes your problem."

(OOC: I wasn't planning to go in this direction, but Brin's comment is too much fun to play with.)

The Sergeant is sympathetic to your party wanting to work together with Finesilver guards, but he has direct orders from the Lord. "Right, anything out here is our problem, and underground is your problem."

Almost immediately after he finishes saying this, there is more banging/thumping noises from the doors. The thumping stays underground, but gradually moves from the doors to the nearest tree in the orchard (about 30 ft away). The tree starts shaking, and gradually ground around it is pushed up. The tree (20 ft in height) topples over. From the hole in the ground, a pair of bulettes push out, looking to feed on anything.

The guards sound their horns to bring reinforcements. There is a pitched battle between the monsters and the guards. You feel a bit bad about not lending a hand, but the Lord Finesilver made the orders about not interfering... It looks like the guards will win without any fatalities, but most of them will be soundly beat up, and the tree orchard is taking a lot of damage.

The party can try to go down the hole the bulettes came out of, but that will probably draw their attention.
Or you can open the doors. (There are no noises on the other side right now.)