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Jarvyk Entry 20
15 Flocktime, 592 CY
We were all a bit wary on the day following the assault of the Silver Phoenix house. Our home had been violated and our lives just barely saved. The assassins that pressed their treachery against us were still at large and the investigation into their origins would no doubt lead through at least some levels of government or other corruption. As I have now come to believe, the ruling structures of Cauldron are not without their merits but in general bear little resemblance to the rule of law. If we want the source of the assault and justice for their wrongs, we will have to do much of the leg work ourselves. We have some contacts, friends even, among the city leadership that should be able to help. Unfortunately, those whom we have endeared towards our cause are generally unwilling to place their own necks on the line alongside ours.
In the morning, Bransen took Kort, Ashton, and Greyjek with him to Sasserine for supplies not to be had in Cauldron. They walked on air by means of Bransen’s sorcery and bore striking resemblance to the movements of the assassins. It was a strange sight, so many people walking on nothing and so soon after the same effect had been used against us. I am often reminded, in this band of misfits, that the impossible is frequently not.
Karamus and I, wanting to get to the bottom of the attacks more than escape from the tension, spoke with one of our inside contacts. He was not exceptionally helpful but did point us towards services available from the city guard. At his encouragement, we turned over the bodies of the fallen and awaited news. It seems the guard has at its disposal the ability to communicate with the dead. I await their news with anticipation and reservation. If a city is corrupted from the inside out, members of the guard are always involved.
We did something a bit abnormal this night. We setup a watch. I’m not sure this has ever occurred before, setting up a watch within your own locked home, but all felt it was necessary. Truth be told, I slept better knowing an alarm would sound at the first sign of trouble.
16 Flocktime, 592 CY
With the house somewhat secure, Bransen and I set out to discover what had actually happened to Maavu. We tried to get a meeting with Lord Vhalantru, tried to gain entrance to the garrison, but nothing worked in our favor. Then Bransen, owing in large part to his undying luck, was able to discover the exact location of Alek Tercival’s ring. With a little magic and some good fortune we were able to pinpoint the ring. It was being held in a third floor room at the garrison, but why and by whom? These answers would elude us. We knew only that the ring had been stolen and that it was being held at the garrison, where our friend Maavu was also being held. It would seem that both were acquired under false pretenses.
What we really needed was to get in contact with Maavu. Unfortunately, there was no legal way to do that directly and the indirect methods previously employed by Bransen did not appear to be available. Fortunately, our company has made a friend or two and so, with some effort, we were able to get promise of these indirect services. It would be tomorrow, but it would be done.
Ashton and Greyjek, as I recall, spent time looking into Karamus’s situation; which had apparently come to a head. The Cansin’s sister, subject of a hefty ransom, was in need of her brother’s help. I’m not sure how Karamus was able to procure such a hefty ransom, but he did it nonetheless. Now he’d only have the daunting task of getting to her, which appeared to be the more challenging aspect of the situation.
17 Flocktime, 592 CY
Fortunately, we were able to get word to Maavu this day, by virtue of near divine intervention. With a few spells, a little time, and a little gold we managed to procure the nature of Maavu’s arrest and the evidence against him, from his perspective. The ring of Alek, which we brought to this city, was being used against our friend. I seethed with anger over the circumstances. Someone had stolen from us and used the theft to falsify an arrest. To make matters worse, we had no idea who was behind either event.
Some of that would change when one of our city contacts arrived with news from the dead. The assassins had revealed, during their interrogation by the city guard, that Wee Jas might have had some influence in our troubles. Given the nature of the Wee Jas temple in town, and the money they have been throwing around, it makes sense that they could have financed the attack. The real question remains, why? In an effort to find this information we went to the Wee Jas temple, but found it to be very much closed. The underlings of the faith informed us that the temple would remain closed throughout the restoration / construction and that none were allowed inside. They also made it very clear that they knew nothing of the attack, as one would expect.
With no means to enter the Wee Jas temple and so question its priests, I decided that the guard would again be our best bet. Perhaps they could convinced the Wee Jas temple to clear up this mess, and so get them out in the open where questions could be laid before them and answers could be forced. I found our contact, pressed for information, and got very little. What I did discover was that the Wee Jas temple was being protected by virtue of their generosity and that the guard had little caring for such donations, as little actually made it all the way down the ladder to them. We were not being offered help, per se, but I did take the conversation to imply that justice served swiftly and silently is justice that all can stand behind. While it was not the news I’d wished to hear it was better than what might have come from such an inquiry.
As we finished our conversation Karamus arrived to inform me that the situation had changed. I left our friend and hurried back to the Wee Jas temple with him. He told me that the doors, previously locked, had been passed through and so seemed to now be unlocked. The story, however, did not appear to hold water. Upon trying the door Karamus found it to be locked and Sage, Greyjek’s companion, swore to have been watching that door since the last time it was tested. According to the crystalline creature, no one had passed through that portal. Was Karamus lying to us?
As I contemplated this question Ashton, having become exceptionally impetuous of late, simply stepped through space and disappeared into the door. Shortly thereafter, a great smashing noise began to emanate from the other side and we knew combat had been breached. Ours had not been the legal path, but the situation was at hand and the company’s defense was my only concern in the moment. In a flash, Karamus had the door unlocked, and we poured through. Kort took on one of the giants while I found my own target. The scene was rough, with giants and half-orcs supporting clerics bent on our destruction. Then fate stepped in, and Greyjek simply removed the main leader of their band, a cleric I would come to know as Calmus Vel. A thought passed through our companion’s face and then, in an instant, the enemy simply vanished. With the removal of their magical threat, the rest of the fighting was all but finished. Those that stood before us were formidable, to be sure, but we were ready for them and so they did not prevail. One, a giant, saw fit to surrender just before being killed. We took his surrender, questioned him, got nothing from his answers, and then let him go. The rest of the temple was before us and with it, hopefully, some answers.