The Cultists Of Sel-kai: Part Five

General Summary

House Elgata can do little about the threat to Eidolon with something more substantive than the strange rock and the scant documents that the party recovered but Aldaran Elgata is sufficiently concerned that he has arranged a meeting with as many of the other large "merchant princes" as he can. A number of the Houses are allies or at least, not enemies. This meeting is to take place in two days time (the 58th) and Aldaran urges the party back into the cisterns to see if any more can be learned.
Finding out who the mysterious "minister" is would be a considerable achievement and perhaps reveal more about the plot to destroy Eidolon.
Re-entering the cisterns late in the evening as shadows begin to gather on the damp streets, the party head towards the southwestern-most passage that leads away from the main cistern. The tunnel has been used both recently and quite heavily. One branch to the west leads to a stout trapdoor that defeats both Cran and Cherry. A locked door however on the other branch leads to a stout staircase. Defeating both the locks and traps, the party discover that this trapdoor (and set of stairs) leads to a warehouse. The four heavily armored guards are quickly overwhelmed and questioned. Grateful to be let live and with their wounds tended to, the mercenaries tell the party that they have been in the employ of a masked man, "the Minister". The mask, so they have been told, hides his hideous burns and though secretive, they believe their employer to merely be a merchant, probably a front for a smuggling operation. They know he has had a number of meetings in his office with other men and that one of them refereed to him as "Koren".
Searching the office on the upper floor, the party recover a fortune in gems and gold coins and ledgers that link this "business venture" with the mighty "Black Rock" bank. The latter gave the merchant an eye watering loan with little collateral asked for. Handwritten cards among the coins and uncut gemstones also indicate this connection ("To our good friend with all due courtesy"). The chest that held the valuables also contained expensive clothes and a set of ceremonial robes belonging to a member of the Guild Of Shipbuilders. This guild has always been a pre-eminent part of the political fabric of Sel-kai from its simple maritime days up to the magnificent airships and dirigibles that ply the skies above the rivers and oceans. The guild is also responsible for maintaining the magics and technology that keep Eidolon in place; magics and technology that are some of the most guarded and protected secrets of all Emer.
The guards also tell the party that their employer went into the "basements" beneath the warehouse almost a day ago and is due to return in hours. Conferring quickly, the party release the four men with Ugnan telling them that he and his party work for Olvar One-thumb. The mercenaries seem impressed and limp of into the night. Cran and the companions then arrange a surprise party ….

Report Date

26 Jan 2019