Session 27 - Reluctant Assassins - Part 1
General Summary
On their return from the QuartzToil tower the party prepared to fulfil their promise to Zalatha and her employees. After making some arrangements and passing a peaceful night in the city, the party headed to the rendezvous point. As promised, there stood the red-haired Zalatha. She nodded a greeting to the companions and fell in beside Lady Cassandra, leading them off under the city to the room below the Fortune's Fool casino.
We require of you the disposal of Sister Alkava, a priestess of the Red Goddess. She is an enemy of my employers and a direct threat to the safety of Bard's Gate and its people.....
Alkava craves power and lusts after it. At first she was agreeable to our terms but now seeks to change them. We have lost our trust in her and she must be disposed of. We cannot be seen to act against her ourselves, she has powerful patrons with whom we wish to remain on friendly terms, a direct attack on one of their priests would be seen as an act of war. That is why we wish you to act as our agents and we put great trust in you not to reveal our involvement. We also believe Alkava may now be seeking to increase her own power without the permission of her superiors. Her removal may therefore also be welcomed by other concerned parties.
You will be rewarded for your help and will have earned the trust of my superiors. Fail or refuse and you will instead earn their ire. You will be hounded wherever you go in Bard's Gate and they will see to it that you are refused entry back into the city when you leave. I do not say this to scare you, it is fact. My employers are not quick to forgive indiscretions and errors.....
(Zalatha unconsciously rubbed her left arm at this moment and for the first time, Lady Cassandra noticed scars there, she felt that Zalatha spoke from experience.)
On their arrival they were greeted by an unusual scene. Four robed figures stood around a pulsating, lightning-wreathed doorway. The room seemed alive with arcane energy and those practised in the arts felt an awesome power emanating from the portal.
Zalatha turned to the party, a nervous look on her face:
We will deposit you at the entrance to an underground temple. Sister Alkava is a powerful Necromancer and uses the Undead as her servants. There is little more that I have been allowed to know. Having seen your prowess and the powers of Lady Cassandra I believe you will have little trouble in dealing with her denizens. Sister Alkava herself will be a different matter however.
The portal will be opened for you to pass through and closed again immediately to avoid anything unpleasant trying to return. We will reopen the portal on the hour every hour for the next six hours. This should be ample time for you to carry out the task and return safely.
When you arrive in the temple, head north to reach her sanctum by the quickest method. You may keep what you find in the temple, we seek only Alkava's death.
Taking Lady Cassandra's hand in her own and looking deep into her eyes, Zalatha wished the companions luck, eventually turning her gaze from Cassandra to the rest of the party. She stepped back and the priests began a rhythmic, arcane chant. There was some hesitation but Ualraig, ever one of few words and terse goodbyes, simply growled, hefted his greatsword upon his shoulder and stepped through the portal without a backward glance. The others followed in his stead.
