The Prophet of Water

Pharast 22, 4713, part 2

With combat already engaged and with the wall of force blocking their escape from the throne room, the Coopers have no choice but to pursue their attack against Thurl Merosska and cultists of the Howling Hatred. Ruddy fires an arrow from his crossbow, and Thurl is blinded. Earl strikes one of the Feathergale Knights down to the ground, while Thorne lands several blows on the other Knight. Struck by a cold ice strike, Naga uses his vampiric touch ability to heal himself.

Now blinded, Thurl teleports away from the battle. As the knights fight back and the priests casts spells, Earl crushes one of the knights' skull in. Naga casts fireball, blasting all of the enemies along with Thorne. Whalerider and Daryle attack the other wall of force that blocks the staircase and manage to break through. At the same time, Thurl's delayed blast fireballs explode, killing the remaining Howling Hatred members and severely injuring Thorne. 

With the battle now over, Earl picks up the great horn hung on the wall behind the marble throne. He blows in it, which calls forth the djinni Daryle and her sister Darelle had previously encountered. The djinni is clearly unimpressed with a new master summoning him, and he inquires as to which favor his master would like to see accomplished. Earl looks at the djinni, and immediately wishes that the djinni would grant him the ability to free him. The djinni tells him what words should be said to free him, and Earl utters them. The djinni, visibly relieved, bows low to the monk, then departs the Material Plane in a puff of blue smoke.

The party takes a breath before discussing what to do next. Should they return to Red Larch to check on the threat of releasing an orb of destruction Aerisi's minions had made? Should they pursue their exploration of the tunnels leading either towards the Black Earth or the Crushing Wave? Should they continue investigating how Thorne and Dhukhean were transported away from Tyar-Besil?
 Coopers decide to head towards the section of Tyar-Besil controlled by the Crushing Wave, the only of the four cults they have yet to overtly confront.

Once again they pass through the heavy iron door, and enter a residential section of Tyar-Besil.After about two miles of travel through endless ruins of houses that have been thoroughly looted over the ages, the party finds itself in front of a similar iron door. This one is covered in graffiti left by Howling Hatred cultists. Thorne takes a quick look at the heavy lock, grabs his tools, and picks the lock opened. Carefully pushing the door, they come into a short tunnel leading to another commercial area of Tyar-Besil.

This area is well traveled here, and Daryle easily finds footsteps on the floor leading away from this room. Thorne enters one of the rooms, and is ambushed by bugbears wearing uniforms of the Crushing Wave. He attempts to convince them he's from the Crushing Wave, but he accidentally insults them, and they slash at the rogue. He runs away back to his party, closely followed by two of the bugbears. Seeing the large group, the lead bugbear yells to the others behind him to get reinforcements.

As the battle rages, a large bearded man with lightning shooting out of a missing eye joins the fray with six other cultists. Earl yells that it's all a misunderstanding, that he and the party are agents of the Crushing Wave who have infiltrated the Black Earth and were reporting back. The fighting subsides, and Thorne is eventually able to convince Morbeoth to take them to the Crushing Wave leadership.

Accompanied by heavily armed guards, the Coopers cross two bridges and enter a large room currently converted into the Temple of Elemental Water, where a religious service is taking place. Darelle, Naga, Ruddy and Daryle recognize one of the men at the front of the room as Joliver Grimsaw, the man in charge of Rivergard Keep.

When the service concludes, the party is escorted to the altar, where they are confronted by Gar Shatterkeel, prophet of the Crushing Wave. Grimsaw recognizes them as agents he sent to attack the Eternal Flame earlier in the year. They report their exploits and how they destroyed the tower, only to find themselves underground in an epic struggle with the Howling Hatred. Thorne mentions that the cultists of the Howling Hatred have captured a dwarf and are bleeding him in their ultimate redoubt.

After a lengthy conversation, Gar Shatterkeel agrees to outfit the Coopers and provide them with shock troops and directions to infiltrate the Howling Hatred once again, free the dwarf, and bring him to the Crushing Wave. The Coopers begin their preparations...

Infiltrating Rivergard Keep

Calistril 11, 4713, continued

The chaos caused by Ruddy's stealing of religious artifacts from the Rivergard Keep chapel spreads to the rest of the compound as workers and guards run around, evidently searching for something, but with a clear lack of enthusiasm. Watching the chaos, the Coopers snicker at the gnome's cleverness.

Given that they now find themselves in possession of two of the Crushing Wave's sacred (if nonmagical) items, the Coopers discuss what they should do with them. Eventually they agree that disposing of one near the Sacred Stone Monastery is the better plan, as they reason that finding such an item near their lair, the Black Earth most would not accept such an insult.

Naga transforms into a hawk and carrying the plate, which Darelle places into a sack, to the Sacred Stone Monastery and drops it in the garden to be discovered by the contemplative monks that use the space for their daily reflections. It takes him a full day of flying to reach the Monastery and return to their camp of fortune.

Meanwhile, Ruddy proposes to hide the defaced chalice into Gar Shutterkeel's quarter, and arrange for Grimsaw to find it. This, hopefully, would be the impetus for a confrontation between Grimsaw and Shoalar. Darelle agrees to carry the plate into Rivergard Keep.

Tom the gatekeeper greets Ruddy and Darelle when they present themselves at the door. Ruddy attempts to convince Tom that he's returning with an expert. Tom is confused, and seems reluctant to let them enter the Keep, and Ruddy's poorly attempt at distracting the gatekeeper is saved when Mikael runs in the gatehouse, and he engages the gnome in a conversation. Tom becomes even more confues. Mikael reports that Drosnin, the cleric who runs the chapel, ordered everyone to look for her missing chalice and plate. Mikael also informs Ruddy that if the dishes are found, they are to be brought back to Grimsaw for inspection before he gives them back to Drosnin. Tom lets Ruddy and Darelle enter the Keep.

Meanwhile, Daryle goes hunting and she catches three rabbits. Using some of her sister's herbs, she laces them with hallucinogens. At the gatehouse Tom is even more confused, and attempts to sort out the fact that he just let her in a few minutes ago. He agrees to lets her in after she gives him a few coppers. She spots the gnome and her sister heading towards the old keep. She heads down to the boat to meet with Shoalar and try to sell him her rabbits. Pike intercepts her, however, and agrees purchases them for 3 silvers.

Ruddy and Darelle drink potions of invisibility and enter the keep. Grimsaw looks up at the open door and tells a worker to close it. He seems puzzled and stares intently at the invisible figures, but he goes back to his paperwork after a few moments. Carefully, the two climb the stairs on the left side of the keep and reach the wooden balcony above the dining hall. A hallway leads to three closed doors. Behind one of them they can hear the sound of people arguing in low voices. The second one is quiet. The third one, at the end of the hallway, is locked. Darelle uses her gloves of magnetism and unlocks the door. They enter a sparsely furnished room, with a chest, a dresser, a bed, a chair, and little else.

Darelle spots a button on the wall. She pushes it, and a ladder falls down from the ceiling. The voices in the room next door stop, and the door opens as four guards emerge. Ruddy and Darelle climb the ladder and find themselves in the rafters. This is not Gar Shatterkeel's room after all. Guards also climb the ladder, but thanks to their invisibility they remain hidden. Grimsaw, who was alerted to the commotion, stands in the room below and looks at the chest, making sure that it is still locked.

Ruddy and Darelle shimmer down the ladder and avoid Grimsaw. They make their way down the stairs and out of the keep, and become visible again.

Midday, the dwarf makes his way to Rivergard Keep. Dhukhean is welcomed by Tom, who directs him to meet with Grimsaw. He notices Ruddy and Darelle reappear outside of the old keep. When the dwarf enters the dining hall, he sees Grimsaw berating his guards. The old man then turns to him and tells him to report to Jubber, the foreman. Dhukhean mentions to Grimsaw the weaknesses he discovered in the curtain walls.

Working on Jubber's crew, Dhukhean meets Belsun, a local dwarf who's been working on the keep for the last three months. Belsun tells Dhukhean that he's treated well. He's been searching for the lost kingdom of Tyar-Besil, but he ran out of money and has taken employment with the keep to replenish his resources.

At the end of the day, Jubber reports to Grimsaw that Dhukhean is not that great of a stone worker, and the dwarf is downgraded to three coppers a day to haul construction debris in a wheelbarrow. All of the Coopers aside from Naga are now inside the walls.



Calistril 12, 4713

In the morning, having returned from the Sacred Stone Monastery, Naga presents himself at the gate with a deer. Tom the Gatekeeper asks for it, and Naga graciously offers it to him. Tom lets him inside, and tells him to go and meet with Grimsaw in the old keep. Naga meets with the old man and introduces himself as Wyatt Gray, a man looking for work. Grimsaw tells him to go see Ankos, the foreman on the western curtain wall. The rest of the Coopers continue to work with various crews around the keep.

Following his performance as a worker, Grimsaw appoints Naga as a foreman on the south curtain wall for 7 silver pieces a day.


Calistril 18, 4713

Over the next week, the Coopers continue their work and their observation of Rivergard Keep. A storm that lasts three days dumps four feet of snow, and Dhukhean is tasked with shoveling all of it out of the keep. Naga manages to get all of the Coopers to be assigned to his work detail.With access to blueprints, Naga is able to determine that Gar Shutterkeel does not have a room in Rivergard Keep.

Late in the afternoon two monks from the Sacred Stone Monastery arrive at the keep and meet with Grimsaw. When they emerge from the old keep the Coopers notice Grimsaw slapping the monks on the back. That evening, Grimsaw tells the assembled workers that brothers from the Black Earth have returned holy objects that were stolen, and tomorrow morning at dawn all workers are expected in the chapel.

Calistril 19, 4713

Following the morning ritual packed with all workers, Naga quietly talks to Drosnin, thanking her for an inspiring sermon. After carefully asking questions, the cleric is more than happy to explain the relationship between the cults. The followers of the Crushing Wave detest the Cult of the Eternal Flame, because they find the fire cultists to be hostile, short-tempered, and unforgivably rash. They aren't as hostile towards the Howling Hatred cultists, but because they are given to sudden impulses the Crushing Wave finds them unreliable. The Crushing Wave cultists get along with the Cult of the Black Earth. The earth cultists are deliberate and dependable, if perhaps too inflexible for their own good.
Naga reports his conversation with Drosnin to the remaining Coopers. Now that they know the relationships between the various cults, they have a better idea how to strike back. Naga uses his fire abilities to damage the chalice and inscribes it with the symbol of the Eternal Flame.

Darelle drinks another potion of invisibility and enters Sholar's cabin. He harps about the events in Yartar, ranting that surely the Eternal Flame is about to make a move since they detonated one of their orbs of destruction. The ranger carefully places the chalice on a shelf, but it falls and clatters to the ground. Sholar turns around and grabs it. Startled, he wonders aloud where it came from when he notices the symbol of the Eternal Flame. He hurries out of his cabin. Darelle follows him up the stairs, and into the old keep.  

Grimsaw is visibly upset that Sholar has interrupted his work, and his guards close in. Sholar hold the chalice up and shows the damage to Grimsaw. The two agree to put their claims to leadership aside, for surely the desecration of a Crushing Wave chalice by the Eternal Flame means war!

Rivergard Keep

Calistril 7, 4713

Better equipped after their trip to Yartar and provisioned following their first failed foray, the Coopers, Dhukhean and Ruddy decide to stop by the Sacred Stone Monastery once again and see if infiltration will be easier. Darelle drinks a potion of gaseous form and enters the building through the kitchen door. She travels quickly throughout the upper level of the monastery, taking mental notes as she moves. She notices that many of the acolytes are glancing furtively at the monks, and angry whispers are exchanged. Clearly the whisper campaign she started a few days ago has already begun to bear fruit.

Unfortunately, the Sacred Stone Monastery appears too well defended for their small group to infiltrate successfully. In her exploration, Darelle notices a secret entrance into the Monastery's garden. Returning outside, she quickly sketches her discoveries, and faced with the possibility of a deadly encounter with the monks, the Coopers decide to return to Red Larch and consult their maps to get a more accurate location for Rivergard Keep, the rumored home of the Crushing Wave. Perhaps these cultists will not be expecting a visit from the Coopers.

During their research, Dhukhean realizes that the symbol of the Crushing Wave closely resembles other religious symbols of Olhydra, Princess of Evil Water. Using books at the Allsfaith Shrine, the dwarf deepens his understanding of this elemental power. Olhydra displays a certain interest in mortals, especially pirates and waterborne raiders.


Calistril 8, 4713

In the morning, the Coopers depart Red Larch and head northeast on Darelle's cloud, looking for Rivergard Keep. They reach the Dessarin River, and, flying high, travel north. Late in the afternoon, they spot a large stone fortification on the west bank of the Dessarin River. The Keep is located roughly 40 miles south of the Stone Bridge, 90 miles north of the Bargewright Inn, and 80 miles east of Red Larch. A large stone fortification, Rivergard Keep features a central keep surrounded by a twenty feet tall curtain wall on three sides and a sheltered harbor featuring a set of docks where ships can take refuge behind a massive chain designed to block entry into the keep. Three round towers protect the approach, while the old keep anchors the northeast wall. A gatehouse allows access to the inner courtyard. The entire structure looks in disrepair, but efforts are clearly being made to shore up the defenses. Scaffolding are spread out around three different sections of the keep, and construction crews continue to work even this late in the afternoon, with the sun rapidly sinking over the horizon.

The Coopers land the cloud and set up an observation post on a hill about a mile away from theKeep. Dhukhean constructs a base, and realizing he smells of gnome urine, he also builds a small bath, heats up some water, and bathes. They keep a watch, and realize that construction continues overnight.


Calistril 10, 4713

In the morning, with dawn rising, a bell rings for a few minutes, and a stream of workers come out of the new keep and head to a small building next to the old keep. An hour later, they emerge from that building and go to the old keep for a few minutes, before returning to their tools and scaffolding areas. The Coopers then notice a steady flow of traffic from the countryside. Farmers' wagons carrying goods and provisions pull to the gatehouse and after a cursory interrogation are allowed inside. Seeing how lackadaisical security seems to be, Daryle comes up with a plan. She goes hunting. She slays a deer and heads to the main gate to sell them her catch.

Tom the gatekeeper opens the door to the gatehouse and lets her in after she gives him a few copper coins. He directs her to the docks and tells her to ask for Pike. She finds two ships enclosed in the ice. The small one is a small oar propelled rivercraft. The second one is a two masted brig named the Rivermaid.

 
A large hole is in its port keel, evidence that it was rammed in the recent past. Sailors are busy repairing the ship, even in this cold weather. Daryle walks up the plank, and meets Shoalar, the ship's captain. Shoalar resembles a human but has blue skin and is heavy set. He gruffly greets her, and when she tells him her reason for being there, he introduces her to Pike, his halfling assistant. Pike offers her twelve silver pieces for her deer, and Daryle accepts. Her bargaining concluded, she departs the Keep.

That night, Dhukhean leaves the Coopers's camp and gets close to the curtain wall. None of the guards walking the parapets notice the dwarf. He closely examines the wall and notices three different sections that are weak and could easily be taken down given time and the right equipment. Returning to camp, Dhukhean reports his findings.


Calistril 11, 4713

A few hours following Dhukhean's return, Ruddy begins his own expedition. He climbs the eastern wall after the lonely guard has passed, and he begins to explore the structure. Workers are still out and about building under the lights of torches, but no one pays him any attention. In the new keep he finds workers' quarters, and meets a worker named Mikael who happily shares some of the details of what he is working on. Mikael reveals that Gar Shutterkeel is the lord of Rivergard Keep, but he hasn't been here for at least a month, and even when he visits he doesn't stay very long. Shoalar is second in command and controls the ship, with Pike his halfling servant, while Grimsaw is third in command and controls the keep. As he meets workers, Ruddy uses every opportunity to spread the rumor that the Sacred Stone Monastery is planning an attack on Rivergard Keep.

One of the buildings he enters is clearly a chapel, and he finally comes upon proof that the Crushing Wave is at the very least implanted in the Keep, if not running it. On the altar is the symbol of Olhydra.

Symbol of the Crushing Wave

Desiring to create mischief, Ruddy steals a ceremonial chalice and plate from the chapel, and leaves the Keep. In the morning, with dawn rising, the chapel bell rings, announcing the start of the service. Then a different set of bells rings, and workers and guards spill out of the chapel in a hurry.

Darelle decides she will send a message to the monks at the Sacred Stone Monastery to inform them that the Crushing Wave is behind the current unrest among their acolytes.