Swamped

"Would be real useful if the crow-man were here," Arlene mused. "He's got actual armor."

"Well, if that's the direction we're going, there were some military types in the hospital," you grumble. "But I'm not sure they're going to just leave that door open while we run off and grab reinforcements."

You think for a bit and turn to Marian. "Maybe you could go in and work some magic?"

"They've already demonstrated an ability to block magic. It might just be some sort of ether-catching mechanism in the door, but if it's more than that, it could be hard for me to do anything," Marian grumbles. "Our best bet might be to have your costumed friend go in and confuse them. It could give us the rest of us an opening for an ambush."

"Hey! Are you saying I'm weird?" Arlene asks.

"I'm saying you could give that impression," she replies carefully.

"Don't know that would work. Not if they decide to hit weird things with their sword." Arlene thinks for a bit. "I do like the thought of pulling a trick, though. Maybe Drip could go in and since he's a priest, they try to capture him? I mean, they've taken a bunch of priests already."

"Assuming our theories are correct," Drip interjects. "Which they may not be. This is a difficult decision, and at times like this, I seek divine guidance." He turns to you. "And I note that you came here with a relic of Nual. That seems like a powerful sign to me."

Oh, hells. You're just going in circles now.

"Well, she found one too," you say, pointing to Marian. "For that matter, we could just give them both to someone. Don't see how the fact that I started with it makes a difference."

"But you, I believe, were guided," Drip says.

Guided? All you did was follow the aura... which, well, does sound like a sort of guidance, doesn't it.

"That does have some merit," Marian agrees. She hands you the stone fish. "If you hadn't brought that shell, we wouldn't have gotten that far. Might as well carry them both, right?"

Arlene just stands there, but you can tell she's smirking under the mask.

"Right," you sigh. "Guess this is our best bet."

You step into the door. Almost immediately, it slams shut behind you.

You don't see any priests. Just a coffin in the middle of the room.

It's open, and it's empty.

And someone is standing in front of it.

Is it actually person? It looks more like a projected reflection...

Or at least, you'd think they were standing there if you didn't know a few theater tricks. But you've got the experience to recognize a directed mirror when you see one.

And you can figure out where the person must actually be standing. It doesn't tell you who it is, or what happened with the priests, but playing this like you've been fooled might let you get some leverage out of it.

"Who are you? A grave-robber?" you ask.

"Technically I'm an accomplice," they reply. "I didn't open up the grave. I just helped."

"Helped how? If the idea was to seal the place up to stop anyone from finding out the body's missing, all that water and the strange ooze only make the passage more suspicious. Harder to get into, sure, but it's bound to draw attention."

"Don't know anything about that. Wasn't my plan. I just helped with gettin' in, and I got asked to stick around when they left. Didn't ask any questions beyond how much they were payin', so if you're hoping to learn somethin', afraid you won't be learnin' it from me."

This is strange. They're clearly bluffing, but the door shut behind you. So what's the point of this bluff? If the idea was that you'd think they were a dead end and leave, why trap you in here?

Your best guess is they're trying to bait you into the middle, so they can pull a sneak attack. This is the first step in a conversation where they get more difficult in an effort to frustrate you until you resort to physical force.

And if that's the game, well. You think you can play it for a while. Let them think it's working, until you're ready to make your real move.

It's too early to sound really upset, though. You want to sound irritated. They've given you a fairly clear lead - in fact, they probably even want you to ask about it. May as well oblige for the sake of the charade.

"And how exactly did you help them get in?"

All the catacombs gotta connect to the sewers for proper drainage in this town, and nobody knows the sewers like me

"How? Think about it for two seconds, stupid," they sneer. "You were just talkin' about water. What do you think happens here if it rains? You think they let a sacred crypt get flooded? No, they gotta drain the water somewhere. And I know where that somewhere is, and how it connects to the sewage system. Real profitable information sometimes. So don't go thinkin' I'll tell you my trade secrets just because you surprised me."

You don't know if any of that's accurate, but they're moving on to insulting you. Your hunch that they're trying to provoke an attack seems to be holding up. Still, they haven't escalated very far yet, so it's not time to pretend you're taking the bait.

No, it's time to convince them that the insults are getting to you.

"Stupid? You're calling me stupid? I at least have the sense to know what sort of mess I'm sticking my nose into. I probably know more about your employers than you do."

"Yeah? And what good has that done you?" They chuckle derisively. "All you managed to do is get yourself locked in here. Or did you maybe not notice I shut the door on you?"

Ah. This is progressing nicely.

"And yet I can't help but notice you haven't made a move," you reply, sounding overconfident and just a little bit shy of angry. "You must not think you can handle me, if all you've got are insults."

You sound close to the line. So most likely, they'll try to send you over it. You need to ready yourself to make your move.

"You're not worth my time. All I'm getting paid for is to keep watch, and you don't have the brains to work the door. I can keep an eye on you perfectly well from right here."

Hmm. Not as strong as you were expecting. Maybe they suspect you're wise to their game. Or maybe they don't think you're quite aggressive enough yet, so they're trying to prod you a little more just to be sure.

Whatever they're trying, it's thrown you off enough that you need a moment to work out your response.

How much they paying you?

While waiting for an answer, scope out the lighting situation. Is it possible to douse the lights and take them by surprise?

Well. Maybe they're raising the temperature based on how much you are. So it's time to get a little more personal.

"Have to wonder how much they're willing to pay a lowlife wretch."

They start cackling loudly. Probably going to go for it, then. You look carefully around the room, readying for your move. If you mess up, you won't get a second chance.

"At least I don't pretend to be more than a wretch! I've seen those flyers. You're just some phony actor who says she's descended from a phony noble. Whatever I may be, I ain't a phony."

Interesting. This is the first sign they've shown of recognizing you. So if they know you're an actor, maybe they had a hunch you were faking it.

Well, that might have been a problem if you hadn't just made a new plan where it doesn't matter.

"You can say what you like about me, but Grandmother was far more than a fake!"

That sounds nice and angry. And you make the feint you were thinking of, taking a few steps out towards the center.

But instead of the second part of the feint, you fling the stone fish at the glowmoss-lamp and back away. They rush out, just as the lamp shatters and the crypt goes dark.

Thing is, auras are still easily visible without a light source. You tackle them while they're flailing around.

Their aura dims a bit. Unconscious. Well, hopefully not too deeply, you've got some questions for them.

First, though, you should probably figure out how to open the door. Which would probably be easier if you had some light. You walk over to the spilled glow-moss and pick it up - better than nothing, you suppose.

Next step, you think, is examining the door from this side. You close your eyes, and focus on auras. This always gives you a headache, but it's your best bet at figuring out where the door is. If you're using regular vision, it's very insistent you can't see through walls.

And indeed, you can see three auras nearby. One of them is a little weird, but that should be your allies. You walk towards the door, and start examining it. Eyes open this time, because you don't need the distraction of auras.

Still, in this weak light, it takes a little time to find something helpful.

A rope mechanism for opening and closing door. You can only get at the mechanisms here, though, the rope for operating it is out of reach and leads away along the ceiling.

You see something that resembles a wheel, but it doesn't turn in your hands. However, pointing the glowmoss up, you see some ropes going into the door. Maybe this is some kind of pulley.

If so, you don't see how to control it from here. Is the mechanism higher up? Perhaps operated by someone else?

You close your eyes again. No aura up there. You open your eyes and try the glow-moss, and follow the ropes.

It's not exactly easy to see, but they appear to go across the ceiling. Maybe there's something on the other side.

If there is, you don't see it here. The ropes seem to go into the back wall. Is there a passage there?

You feel around, and find a wall that ends. Going around, you see a small chamber - with its own glow-lamp, so you pull that off the wall for better visibility. You see something suspended in the air, and some kind of stand at the bottom.

A counterweight, you realize. Pull it down and lock it in the stand, and it pulls the door up. You press down on it, and hear a click as it locks in place. There's clearly more to this, but you don't really need to understand it better right now.

You head back in. Everyone else has come in through the door.

And now that you've got a stronger light source, you can get a better look at the person you knocked out.

They're younger than you expected

The first thing you notice is how young they are. Right at the point where you're not sure if they're an adult.

"Do any of you happen to recognize this person?" you ask the others.

"I do," Arlene says. "Last year, a bunch of us from the old theater got together for a performance at one of the orphanages. This young one was sitting in the front row excitedly. Seem thrilled for the whole show."

You glance towards the middle.

"They've got an interest in theater, then. Could explain the trick mirror, and why they sounded a lot older than they look, but we've got a lot of other questions that are much more pressing than those."

"Chief among them, why are we even still here?" Marian asks, frowning. "I don't see anyone else here, so unless there's some sort of hidden chamber, then this isn't where the priests are. Or my quarry, for that matter."

Drip walks over to the coffin.

"Something that should be here is not, however," he says calmly. "The coffin is empty. So this person you are looking for may well have taken the corpse, for the very reasons we suspected. And if so, perhaps they have left some clue that will allow us to follow their trail."

Marian looks skeptical. You have to admit you are, as well. You think it might be best to just carry the kid out of here, and maybe they know enough to give you another destination.

But just as you're about to suggest that, Arlene shouts excitedly. She's found something.

There's a rune on the wall and it looks exactly like a marking on the map

"Look at that wall!"

There's a marking, and it's glowing. That's odd - you definitely should have noticed it before.

"Looks a bit like a rune." You turn to Marian. "You're a wizard, you could probably say that for sure."

"Not a rune, not that I'm familiar with anyhow," she replies. "But I think I've seen it."

She pulls out her sketchpad.

"I put the map together quickly, so I didn't draw the symbols in detail. But there are distinct ones at each spot, and I'm pretty sure this is the marking I saw here. Let me see the map again to be sure."

You show it to her. She nods.

"Why's it showing up now, though? I took out the glow-lamp earlier and I would have seen a rune when I was looking around..."

You glance at the lamp in your hands.

"Or does this one give off different light somehow? It was in a side room. Could have been put there intentionally so those in the know could see the symbol."

Drip glances at the shattered glass on the ground.

"You may be correct. The two lanterns appear to have different types of glow-moss."

"Well, we don't need to go to all the crypts if we want the symbols, since it seems Matilda left us a full list," Marian says. She's sketching frantically. "Since these seem more important than I first thought, I'll put them down properly now. Maybe a second look at the pattern with the symbols in place will suggest something to one of you."

She finishes, and shows off the new map, now with a complete set of symbols. You look over it, and you realize something.

Each one "points" to another... Except for one

"The shapes are odd, but they all have a thin side and a thick side," you say. "And if you follow the direction the thin side is on, it leads to another symbol. It's a trail, just like the visible map... And here's where it ends."

You point at a particular symbol, then glance at Drip.

"I do not recognize the location at a glance. All I can say is that it is not a church of Nual."

"I don't recognize that place off the top of my head either - it's a part of town I don't spend much time in," Arlene adds.

"Wherever it is, the symbol might be pointing somewhere else," Marian says, looking over the map. "It fits the same pattern as the others... thick side and thin side. Then again, how would we know how far to follow it?"

"Well, we can just go there, poke around, and if we don't find anything, walk in a straight line," Arlene suggests. "I mean, does it really matter where it is?"

"Considering the locations we could identify were all burial sites, it might," you point out. "Whoever runs it might not be too happy with us poking around there..." You pause. "And we don't technically have permission to go poking around here, do we. Didn't think about that until now."

"As a priest of Nual, that is my responsibility to address," Drip says. "Do not worry yourselves about it. I am more concerned about the fact that we appear to be no closer to finding my fellow priests."

Yeah, you feel bad about that. And following this hidden map might not even help.

Well, hold on. The whole reason you knew the map was important was that poem Matilda left you with. And it hinted at the hidden map, too. You know it by heart, so you recite it to yourself in case there's some kind of clue you've overlooked.

SpoilerShow

To be completely clear, I am not asking for someone to write out the whole poem in a suggestion, although I admit that would be cool if it happened. A couple of lines would be enough, or even just a rough concept of what it might be implying.

When you lay with pounding heart
thinking of what ilk thou art,
Consider this that you may know
What beast was buried long ago
And how the thing so misbegotten
Is not lost but just forgotten.
In the leaves of ancient lore
With the cures for boil and snore
I've writ the map to show the way
So you can stop the beast today.
Read it well, be not misled,
Among the living seek the dead,
The hidden path will guide you true
When even gods abandon you.
If coins of wisdom do ye seek
Go where voices cannot speak,
Where the dark waves writhe and seethe
And he who whispers does not breathe.
There my treasure you may find
And salvation for all kind.

SpoilerShow

I was right, that was cool.

The hidden path will guide you true
When even gods abandon you.

Grandmother was never very big on the gods, but you don't think that was literal. What could it mean metaphorically?

Well, you're in a crypt in a church's cemetery. Pretty obvious connection to gods there. So what if it means what you're looking for isn't at a church? Or perhaps one that's been abandoned...

Wait. It's no church, but you do know one place in this town that's abandoned. Arlene told you about it all the time.

"Arlene," you ask. "Just had a wild thought. Where was the old theater you used to work at?"

She brightens up. Probably because she wants to see whatever you're about to pull.

"It's right here," she says, pointing at Marian's map. "Mind sharing what you're thinking?"

You look where her finger is, and at the last symbol. It's definitely in line with the symbol, though it's quite some distance. The other symbols are definitely closer to what they're pointing at.

"It's a bit of a stretch, but not as much of one as I first thought. The last symbol could be pointing at it." You stop and think. "What happened when the theater closed, again?"

"Revenue dried up. Too many people stopped coming to the shows." She pauses. "I did hear some rumors as to why, supposedly some of the churches were calling it immoral. But I've never actually met a priest who said anything like that." She glances at Drip. "You heard anything of that sort in your church?"

"I have only been here a few years," Drip replies. "The theater was already closed when I arrived. If there was some form of dispute about it within the church, it was not especially relevant by then. Although, I have heard a few older priests complaining privately about the troupe in town. I thought that had to do with their dislike for Matilda, but it may have reflected a wider distaste for theater for all I know."

Hmm. That maybe fits the poem. If you didn't have something more important to do, it'd be good enough to look into it.

But surprisingly, it's Marian who interjects.

"I think we should investigate that."

Now you're really curious. She was interested in your map. Does she somehow know the poem, too?

You think you want to ask her some questions, and it's probably best if the two of you are alone while you do that. And you have the perfect excuse to split up the group, now that you think about it.

"I'm not so sure," you mutter. "Arlene, why don't you and Drip get that poor kid into the church? Marian and I can figure out our next move and we'll meet you outside once you do."

You give Arlene a slight signal to make it clear that this is going to be a sensitive conversation. She nods.

"Yeah, let's go," she agrees, lifting the kid up. "I can carry them, but it'll be hard for me to spot the weird ooze on the way out. Drip, you can go on ahead and help me with that."

And they leave. Marian frowns.

"I know what game you're playing, Laikenne. You mean to question me. I'm not interested."

Well. This is off to a grand start already. Seems the first step is convincing her this conversation is worth her time.

Maybe just be blunt with what you want to know and her reactions night tell you what she won't.

"How well did you really know elder Laikenne?"

You look her right in the eye.

"Look. I don't really care about why you're chasing this one person, what else you're doing in town, or why you look like at least three other people I've seen tonight. I just want to know one thing, and I think it's a perfectly reasonable question. Did you know my grandmother?"

She looks at you skeptically.

"Just how old do you think I am?"

Not actually answering the question, you can't help but notice.

"Not making any assumptions there. It's just that you seemed pretty interested in her map. Wondering how you heard about it, since I only knew about it because of her."

Now she's just irritated.

"We may be working together for the moment, but my information sources are none of your business."

"If they spied on my grandmother, I think they very much are," you reply. "And the fact you're not very eager to give me a clear answer makes me think that might be it."

She frowns. Then she gets a look of resignation.

"Consider this that you may know," she says. "If we did meet, it might have been under circumstances that aren't safe for me to talk about. So all I can tell you is that I'm not hiding things from you out of malice, it's merely caution."

Consider this that you may know
What beast was buried long ago

It's an awkward turn of phrase. So she's basically telling you that yes, she does know the poem. But apparently she's not willing to risk saying more than that.

You wouldn't say you're satisfied with that answer, but you don't think it'll do much good to push your luck. So you go back to the ostensible topic.

"Fine. I guess we'll have to leave it at that. So let's get talking about the old theater. Do you have some particular reason why you think it's worth investigating?"

You aren't expecting a straight answer, but you'll work with what you get.

She doesn't say anything, though. Just pulls something out of her pocket and shows it to you.

An old playbill for... A magic show? Featuring stylized mermaids and flying horses?

It's a flyer, but it looks rather worn. No wonder, considering it advertises a show at the Whistlefish Theater - the one theater in Port Sarvakken. The one that's closed. But even then, it still looks to be a good thirty years old at least.

It's not for a play, though. This promises a performance of incredible illusion, one that not even wizards can distinguish from real magic. In the center of the bill is a lavishly dressed man, labelled as the Amazing Evan, Master of Magic.

You know an Evan, too, and it's rather surprising to see that this one wears the same type of eyeglasses. The faces look different, but given how much Evan likes to disguise his, you can't say for sure if you've ever seen his true one.

The background of the picture is rather impressive as well. There's a couple of performers dressed as merfolk, riding on winged horses. You're a little surprised the artist went to the trouble of showing some of the details that make it clear these are costumes and props, like the strings holding the wings up - maybe it was meant as something of a joke.

When you've had time to look it over, you hand it back. Doesn't clear much up, really.

"You should really take a look at the other side," she says, turning it over. There's a message.

Missed your chance for the show? Perhaps they'll put on a repeat performance.

"A taunt," you say. "From your quarry?"

"Quite possibly. I intended to investigate. The fact that Matilda's map may also be pointing at it has simply moved it higher in my priority list."

"And no doubt having others with you will be very helpful when it turns out to be a trap," you reply. "Could've just said that."

"I can't show that to just anyone. But you did let me see the map, so I'm willing to trust you that much."

No further than that, though. Whatever - not like it makes much of a difference.

"It's a vague lead, but unless there's something else in here, I suppose it's better than anything else we've got."

"I'm not detecting any active ether, for what that's worth," Marian says. "There's traces of a spell cast some time ago on the coffin, but that's it."

Hmm. That reminds you, you haven't really looked at the coffin too closely. Seems worth a quick check before you head out.

Nothing here but dust and crumbled mortar. Some recent marks in the dust, though...

At a glance, there's nothing particularly interesting. Just dust and debris.

But then you notice tracks in the dust. They look a little like rat prints, but there's something odd about them. It's as if one of the toes is hooked.

And strangely, you don't see any similar prints outside the coffin. Did this creature fly in? Was it perhaps carried?

Well, it doesn't seem to be much of a lead, but you mention it to Marian.

"The prints seem oddly smooth," she mutters. "Almost as though it's some kind of tool, but it does look a lot like a footprint. Not that I have any more clue what sort of tool someone might want to use to steal a corpse."

"Guess that could explain why it isn't on the outside," you say with a shrug. "Well, that's all I was able to find, so I suppose we should be going."

Marian nods, and leads the way out. Seems you've got a bit of a walk ahead of you.

---

You're now Corvus, and you're almost at the hostel. But not quite.

The main reason for that being, there's a fight going on right outside it. A big one. Your best read on the situation is that it's two sets of Guild cronies fighting each other, but you don't know enough about the situation here to figure out who either of them work for. You can barely tell who's on one side or the other.

Might explain why things were so quiet around the hospital earlier, though. This fight sure looks like it's been going on for a while. Maybe the groups near the hospital got redirected here to help get it under control.

Unfortunately, you don't think you can slip into the hostel unnoticed while it's going on. Lots of people on both sides seem to be standing by watching, maybe waiting for a good moment to jump in and help their friends. Waiting around for one side to win doesn't seem especially productive, either, since they might not be inclined to let you go in.

You think your best bet right now is to try to get a better sense of just who the players are. Maybe you can cut a deal with one of them. Question is, how are you going to find anything out without getting sucked into this mess?

It'd help if you could overhear someone giving orders. Maybe you just need to introduce something unexpected to instigate a reaction from someone of authority.

Maybe throw a cobblestone at a nearby lamp to put part of the fight in darkness, then observe from a safe alley?

Step one. Figure out who's in charge. That at least tells you who to focus on.

Right now, that's not very clear - all you're seeing is a brawl. Nobody seems to be trying to direct it anywhere, calling out specific targets or anything. Occasionally one of the bystanders shouts when someone breaks away, but that doesn't seem to really be an order - just a warning.

So if you want a better sense of who's giving the orders around here, you'll have to make things get more complicated. Preferably without making yourself a target.

Hmm. You think you see something. A lot of 'em are gathered around one of the streetlamps.

You're no expert thrower, but you think you can manage to hit a target that big. You pick up a nice thick stone and fling it at the lamp. Then you duck behind a post so they don't look too closely at who threw it.

The lamp shatters, and you hear panicked noises. More importantly, you hear authoritative voices. You peek out slightly so you can try to see who they belong to.

"Don't lose focus! Fall back to the door!"

A group runs from the broken lamp to the hostel's front door. Are they defending it?

"Don't pursue 'em! Regroup! We've got reinforcements on the way, we just need to hold out!"

Reinforcements. That fits in with your theory that the hospital forces were redirected here. But you don't know that for sure.

Still, it's something, and you've identified the leaders. Now you need to make your next move.