1.6 Demise of the Faithful - Secret Tunnel

General Summary

The party decides to investigate Lord Torix further by first trying to go to the City Hall meeting and then later going to Lord Torix's estate.

The Golden District

After learning about the city hall meeting concerning the missing persons case the party decided that they should go to the meeting. However when they got there they found the place crawling with guards. Azarik spoke with one such guard and learned that extra security measures were placed due to the meeting, this alongside the extra guards also included a magical barrier surrounding the City Hall building preventing anyone from entering or exiting. Simultaneously Rexis had a small confrontation with another set of guards after he was caught following one into an alleyway. After diffusing the situation the party decided to take another course of action. Paathio pointed out that if Lord Torix would be unable to leave the meeting all day it meant that he wouldn't be at hus estate, as such the party decided to break into his estate.

The Sapphire District

Upon traveling to the Emerald District they found a pair of guards stationed at the entryway to the Emerald Estate. There was some deliberation as to how to proceed until Gorky quite literally walked right past the guards. Strangely the guards did not react and so the party, though suspicious of the lack of reaction, followed suite.

The Emerald Estate - First Floor

After the odd interaction, the group then entered onto the grounds of Lord Torix's home. There they were met by no one. There were no guards patrolling the grounds, and upon entry of the building they found no guards within either. Weary that they were walking into a trap they proceeded carefully. First they discovered a room that appeared to be akin to a throne room. Within they found nothing notable, though the condition of the furniture was not quite as pristeen as one would expect. Next the party stumbled upon a library. Within they found a history book that appeared to have some sort of enchantment on it. Azarik, calling upon the blessing of Tritherion, was able to momentarily see through the enchantment which was illusionary in nature. In this brief moment he saw that it wasn't a history book at all, and instead the cover displayed an image of a skull upon a purple symbol. The group then connected this symbol to the ones found by Dart in Torix's old belongings left at the Van'Til mines. To ensure they missed nothing Gorky did another sweep of the library and found a hidden passageway. The party decided to venture in but after walking for ten minutes the tunnel didn't seem to have an end in sight. As such the party decided to split up. Azarik and Paathio would follow the tunnel while Gorky, Rexis, and Dart would continue to search Torix's estate.

The Emerald Estate - Second Floor

After parting ways with the pair going into the tunnels, Dart, Gorky, and Rexis made their way to the second floor of the estate. Once again no guards or servants were to be found. Still they continued and first found what appeared to be a common room. Nothing notable was found within but much like throne room preciously the furniture was showing sings of wear. The next door they checked was locked, but Dart was able to pick it without issue. Inside they found Torix's office. Within was a desk, two walls lined with bookshelves, and two chests. Gorky attempted to open one chest and discovered that it was actually a Mimic. After a quick bout of combat the three party members were able to kill it, with Gorky landing the finishing blow. Afterwards Rexis carefully opened the other chest, which thankfully was in fact just a chest. Inside he found a potion of greater healing. After checking Torix's desk they found a list that contained not only the names of all the missing people, but the party's names as well. Additionally the names of all the missing people were crossed out. Gorky also did another thorough sweep of the office and found quite a few items including a whistle that when blown made no noise. However a moment afterwards a dog came out of nowhere and snuggled up against Gorky for a moment before disappearing.

The Tunnel

Meanwhile after 40ish minutes of walking Azarik and Paathio found a ladder at the end of the tunnel, at the top was a small stone room with a single door leading out. Upon exiting the "room" the discovered it was actually a large boulder, and that they were now outside of the borders of Orinn. After a bit of experimenting Paathio discerned that the door in and out was enchanted to blend in with the boulder completely when closed, but could still be opened if you knew where to look for the doorknob. Satisfied that they could return to the tunnel Azarik and Paathio decided to see if they could find the reason for the passage. They split off diagonally from the doorway agreeing to return after 10 minutes of walking. Neither found anything, however upon returning to the boulder Paathio noticed tracks heading straight forward from the boulder's doorway. After pointing it out to Azarik the pair decided to follow these tracks.

Azarik O
Dart X
Gorky O
Paathio O
Rexis O

Report Date

12 Dec 2022

The odd symbol