Part 2 - Chapter 3
Looking around the room that they’d procured, the quartet of adventurers found themselves again wishing that their pockets ran deeper. Despite the small square-footage however, the room was comfortable and provided a secure chest with lock and key, as well as a sturdy lock on the door itself. Charax was quick to stow Aquitaine’s blade underneath the bed, whilst Abby was quick to claim the bed itself. Confident that their excess gear was safely stowed (behind a locked door, at the very least) the gang decided that it would be best to start making headway in their search for the marauding Green Devil that very evening - there was a bar full of potentially informative patrons awaiting, after all!
Upon re-entering the floor of the Fool’s Flagon, the party was greeted by the scent of pipe-smoke, ale, and other stronger spirits. The place had filled up even in the twenty minutes since they’d first walked through, but the party was quick to note that there were still seats available at the bar. As a group, they sidled up and grabbed four unoccupied stools. Sindri was quick to cast her piercing gaze across the tavern, with the intent of reading lips and gaining a sense of the conversation being had. The environment seemed made to foil such attempts however, as only a few candles stuck to ceramic plates illuminated the bar itself, and a single fire in the common area cast writhing firelight across the rest of the establishment. This, coupled with the fact that many patrons wore heavy cowls or hoods, rendered the elf’s attempt fruitless. The three hooded and cloaked figures that the group had spied on their way in were still seated at the bar nearby, and Charax warmly greeted them. In response, one of the figures seemed to eye the bard from under their hood, before pointedly turning to converse with their comrades. By all accounts, the gang agreed that these short fellows were jerks.
Boot, trying his gnarled hand at unlikely diplomacy yet again, stomped over to the hooded figures’ side of the bar, and promptly took a seat beside them. The figures all shifted to face the old Druid, and Boot noticed what appeared to be a compact crossbow now being pointed at him from within the folds of one figure’s cloak. A tense silence hung between them for a moment. A brief exchange followed, in which the cloaked fellows inquired as to the group’s intent in approaching them, and what they were after in this part of town. After all parties were convinced that they sat among friends (or at least not among enemies), the secretive group dropped their hoods, and introduced themselves as Gida, Thuda, and Dwali. Deep Gnomes. Of the Deep Gnomes, Gida seemed to be the leader of the crew. She apparently had some authority over the other two, although it wasn’t clear if this was official or simply by dint of their natural demeanor.
The gnomes explained to the adventurers (being new to Redharbor, and not possessing much knowledge of the capital’s history) that the Deep Gnomes were driven out of the capital nearly three hundred years past. In the ages before then, they had prospered alongside the people of Redharbor - travelling from their underground cities and holds to trade with the surface dwelling folk. They explained with pride that much of the fine stonework still visible in the capital was done by Deep Gnome artisans, and not the Dwarves who are more often known for such work. Inexplicably, two-hundred-and seventy-some years ago, the king of the Deep Gnomes had orchestrated the theft of Redharbor’s crown of office. A masterwork of iron sculpture, crusted with brilliant Sapphire. One of the agents who’d been sent to perpetrate the deed was caught during their flight from the Citadel. As the Gnomes were blamed for the theft, their relationship with the people of Redharbor soured - this led to a decline in trade, and even violence against them. The gnomes themselves were taken aback by the revelation that their leader would commit such an act, and they rallied against their king even as he fled the justice of Redharbor. The act was never explained, and the Deep Gnomes eventually found themselves isolated underground. They lamented the turn of events, and hated their then outcast king for putting them in such a position. The king was never seen again, as he set off with his few loyal retainers into the depths of the Underdark. This unfortunate history in Red Harbor explained the Deep Gnomes’ fear of attention, and desire for secrecy.
Gida went on to explain that she and her compatriots were part of a mining expedition which unexpectedly tunneled into the cavernous catacombs beneath the capital, and became isolated when the path behind them caved in. As the group of Gnomes searched for a suitable place to begin excavating a new tunnel home, they managed to uncover a portion of an old, partially hidden stone door. While they began the work of uncovering the structure, something foul befell the group. None of them remember what happened, other than a feeling of confusion and fear, before coming to their senses elsewhere in the catacombs. The rest of their party was missing, and these three understood the signs - an Umber Hulk must’ve heard their work, and ambushed them as they excavated. With sorrow, they counted their comrades lost, and resolved to recuperate in Redharbor, as their rations would run low before long, and their ability to efficiently tunnel was hampered by their decreased numbers.
Learning that the adventurers were engaged in a hunt for the Green Devil, the Gnomes shared that during one of their evening trips to the central market, Thuda and Dwali had picked up on a foul scent, which they recognized as that of a Troll. They were happy to bring the party along to investigate that very evening, as they preferred to visit the market near closing time, where fewer eyes and less light meant that they could better conceal their identity. Most just thought them to be small dwarves, or stout forest gnomes. The group was eager for intelligence, and happily agreed to escort Thuda and Dwali to the market. Abby remained wary of the new Gnome-folk however, while Boot was rather pleased about the whole revelation.
The market was dead by the time the group arrived, though Thuda and Dwali weren’t bothered - they scavenged leftover and discarded vegetables or hunks of bread, all the while explaining to the adventurers that the scent of the beast had led them to the center of the marketplace, and a structure known to most as simply ‘The Rock’. This was a place of some history, the gnomes explained - in times long past, ‘The Rock of Reverence’ was a place of worship. The structure was essentially an enormous, spire-like stone jutting right out of the center of the marketplace plaza. The impressive stone was left largely untouched, with the exception of a number of alcoves carved into the exterior of it. The alcoves were perhaps ten or fifteen feet deep, and similarly wide. Each one of these small sanctuaries housed an altar, icon, or sculpture devoted to one of the ‘Old Gods’. Gods worshiped and loved before ‘The Long Night’s War’. The gnomes explained that this war was a cataclysmic affair, which took place even before the Deep Gnomes were driven out of Redharbor. Having taken place so long ago, they knew little other than legend; During the War, magic was used to great effect against the people of the Capital, and the violence was such that people began to lose faith in their Deities. Moreover, they seemed to understand that many of their patron Gods were capable of bestowing magical powers upon the mortals, and to see such power used against them shattered much of the people’s belief in ‘good magic’. Merchants capitalized upon this fear, and successfully petitioned to have the monument re-appropriated into a place where the markets could setup stalls, and that had been the places’ function up until the reign of Natali. She took back The Rock as a place of worship - conceding that the open-air marketplace which had sprung up in the half-mile wide plaza would stay. The party reflected on this, having lived through much of that long-enduring prejudice in their adventures up to this point.
Forgoing any close inspection of The Rock’s alcoves, the party followed Thuda and Dwali inside of it - for indeed, the structure had an interior as well. Lit only by skylights carved through the rock, there was a charge in the air of this place. Mystical and somewhat ominous, the adventurers decided. Perhaps contributing to the ominous vibe, there was a crevasse in the floor of the place - right behind a modest altar carved right from the earth. The Deep Gnomes explained that the scent seemed to emanate from this crack in the earth - and the party confirmed that while faint, they could still detect an odor of foul water and decay. Charax produced a torch, and dropped it down the crack to guage it’s depth - a full three seconds or more passed before the torch seemed to follow some contour of the crags out of sight. Sindri was beginning to get a sense for the thing they tracked, and in an effort to better understand their prey, took a moment to acclimate herself to the new surroundings, and focus her Primeval Awareness. As she came back to herself, she declared to the party that there was something of Draconic blood within a mile of that very spot. This was terrifying and exciting news all at once, and also managed to throw a fairly scaly and confusing wrench into their theories about the Green Devil. The group took off from The Rock then, and parted ways with Thuda and Dwali, making plans to meet again in the morning to talk further. Saying their goodbyes, the party then briefly investigated a site which was recently attacked by the Devil, finding a rather rundown tenement building which had been forcefully entered by something large and not lacking in pointy claws. There was no sign of any death, but the first floor was trashed - and Sin found a partial footprint which seemed possibly Troll-sized. The second story of the building showed no obvious signs of damage, but seemed abandoned - the doors had no locks, and a quick search turned up little evidence.
Deciding they’d done enough for one evening, the exhausted party returned to their room at the Flagon and tucked in for the night - feeling safe enough to pass out all at once behind their locked door. In the morning, they found the Flagon’s common area fairly empty, though the smell of fresh bread and some kind of cooking meat wafted from the place’s kitchen. They then met the Gnomes around the central hearth and discussed their plans moving forward over a cauldron of ale, and some surprisingly fine breakfast, served up by the still awful Roan (Apparently not a morning, or evening person). The Gnomes had an interesting proposition for the adventurers that morning: assist them in digging their way back home to the Underdark. They wanted the adventurers to help guard them whilst they excavated the door they’d stumbled upon - the same one that the party had discovered during their covert entry into Redharbor barely a day prior. The party had some hesitance, but the Gnomes offered to let them keep a fair share of any loot uncovered beyond the mysterious door (if any), barring any relics specifically precious to the Deep Gnomes. This last clause was tacked on, as the Gnomes seemed to believe it may be the entrance to a tomb or some similar spooky cave, and were not eager to obligate themselves in turning over ancestral heirlooms. At this, the party acquiesced. Their only stipulation was that they wanted time to shop, and offload some of the loot that they themselves were already carrying. The Gnomes agreed, and requested that the gang procure them a weeks worth of rations from the market while they were out - casually flipping a gold coin to Charax to cover the cost. Clearly, of the Gnomes’ many problems, gold ain’t one.
With that sorted, the party hit the market. Sindri managed to sell both her pilfered spear, and set of scale-mail armor to a characteristically gruff Dwarf and his doe-eyed assistant for a gold piece, while the rest of the party eyed the various exotic and finely crafted weapons on display in the smithy. They also stopped at a store which Sin had eyed the night before - a shop whose torches burned not with flame, but with faerie fire! The owner of the shop was a high elf named Eulid, who Sin found reading behind the counter - and surrounded by shelves and racks of wands, staffs, and other charms. Never having seen a place quite like this, Sin was somewhat taken aback, and was hesitant to approach the shopkeep. Eulid’s skin and hair were of a golden hue, and green eyes shone from behind a small pair of eyeglasses. Eventually working up the nerve, Sin approached the intimidating elf and inquired about her selection of magical items - Eulid, it turned out, was equally fascinated by Sindri, not having interacted with a Wood Elf in many years. They spoke for a brief while in private, as the rest of the party eyed the trinkets and wands displayed toward the front of the shop…
We leave our adventurers here, at the dawn of a new day in Redharbor. They’d gathered no small amount of information in the last night, and were still reeling somewhat from the revelations. A place of splendor, Redharbor seemed - and no doubt, a place of great danger as well.
Defeated: The Deep Gnomes’ desire for privacy
Characters met: The Deep Gnomes; Gida, Thuda, and Dwali / Eulid the High Elf
Acquired: The knowledge that something of Draconic blood lay within a mile of The Rock, a gold piece for Sindri’s spear and armor
Quests: Hunt the Green Devil / Assist the Deep Gnomes burrow home
The ‘Old Gods’ which have been referenced occasionally since the group’s arrival in Redharbor are in fact the Pantheon of Greyhawk, as referenced below. These are the deities which folk used to openly worship or look to - and are perhaps slowly starting to accept once again.
The list of Deities which are represented in the alcoves lining The Rock
