Chapter Text
Once Amira and Erakax had been patched up, they joined the others in leaving the arena. Upon stepping outside, they found Bolin and Orina waiting for them.
“You guys have some serious skills.” Bolin said. “We were wondering if you’d like to join us for drinks. We have the northwest penthouse at the Seven Star Inn, and we’re leaving in the morning.”
Navi perked up. “We’re definitely in!”
“Actually, I already have plans.” Ali said. “Maybe another time.”
“Well, I’m in.” Bryrie said.
Karrus nodded. “Me too.”
“Think I’ll pass.” Erakax said.
“Me too.” Nox said. “Thanks, though.”
“When should we knock?” Amira asked.
“We have dinner plans, so let’s say any time after eight.” Orina replied.
“Sounds good.”
It was half past eight when Navi knocked on the penthouse door, and Bolin answered.
“Your timing is perfect.” He said. “Nadia and Bregar just started mixing drinks.”
Stepping inside, the four of them took in their surroundings. The penthouse’s main room was larger than the inn’s standard rooms, and there were multiple doors on the south wall and a balcony to the west. Three couches were arranged around a fireplace, and a large table was set up behind one of them. Sure enough, Nadia and Bregar were behind a modest bar along the north wall. Orina, Rosk, and Danorae were sitting by the fire and talking, while Krag, Brizura, Opal, and Tucker were engaged in a heated game of three-dragon ante on the balcony.
Seeing them, Nadia perked up and waved. Navi rushed over to her. As Bryrie stepped inside, she caught Bolin looked at her cleavage and winked. He simply grinned. Karrus took a seat by the fire, where he struck up a conversation with Orina.
After finishing her drink, Nadia took Navi by the hand and led her through one of the doors on the south wall and into a room with a single mid-sized bed. Amira watched them go, then went back to her drink. Navi stumbled and fell while trying to remove her pants, and after staring at each other for a moment, they both burst out laughing.
“Dude, peek your head under there.” Nadia giggled.
Navi moved her head and shoulders under the bed, where she saw a wolf spider skittering towards a hole in the wall.
“What?” She asked.
“Look for—” Nadia hiccuped. “—like, a piece of black cloth.”
Navi looked and saw nothing, then felt around with her hands and came up empty. “It’s not here.”
Nadia’s eyes widened. “Shit, that’s right! Bregar got, like, a bunch of one-off spell scrolls for Sequester, so we use it as an extra layer of protection.”
“Protection for what?” Navi sat up.
“We’ve got a Portable Hole where we keep some of our valuable shit.” Nadia explained. “The command word is…” Her voice trailed off. “…I don’t remember. The Draconic word for situation. Or maybe it’s Dwarvish?”
“Situation.” Navi said in Dwarvish. She looked under the bed, but nothing had appeared. “Nope. Must be Draconic.”
“Come on.” Nadia reached a hand down. “I prefer to do this on the bed.”
Snickering, Navi took her hand, then tackled her on the bed and kissed her.
Bryrie came to with a throbbing headache overpowering her sense of euphoria. Groaning, she sat up and rubbed her temples, keeping her eyes closed. Once the pain was manageable, she opened her eyes and immediately shrieked; the sheets were soaked with blood. Scrambling to her feet, she saw Bolin laying with his back to her, completely unmoving.
“WAKE UP!” She screamed. “I need help in here!”
Karrus was the first to burst in, clad only in a pair of boxers.
“Orina’s gone.” He said. “What’s going on?”
“He’s fucking dead!” Bryrie exclaimed.
“Holy fuck!” Navi shouted, her voice muffled by the wall. “Guys, Nadia’s dead!”
Stepping out of the room, Bryrie saw that the penthouse’s main room had been trashed, and Amira was staring down at the dead bodies of Bregar, Danorae, Orina, Brizura, Tucker, and Opal. Throwing open the door to the fourth bedroom, Karrus found Rosk lying face-up with dried blood on his neck and chest.
“What the fuck is going on?!” Bryrie exclaimed.
At that moment, the door burst open. Four knights in plate armor charged in, followed by half a dozen Undying Soldiers and four archers in studded leather.
“On your knees, now!” The lead knight barked.
Four hours later, Bryrie was chained to a chair on one side of a wooden table when the door opened and a Gnome woman walked on. She had fair skin, blue eyes, and long blond hair that was turning white. She wore golden plate armor and carried a mace and shield, though her hands were empty.
“Sorry for the wait.” The Gnome woman said. “Some of your friends are more cooperative than others. I’m gonna cast Zone of Truth to make this easier. Do me a favor and don’t resist it, okay?”
Bryrie sighed. “Yeah, alright.”
She cast the spell, and Bryrie felt it take hold.
“What happened in that penthouse last night?” She asked.
“They invited us over.” Bryrie replied. “We have some drinks. I went to hook up with Bolin, but we fell asleep before we could actually fuck. Then I woke up and he was dead.”
“Anything in between?”
Bryrie shook her head. “Nothing. Like I said, I passed out.”
“Do you have any idea who might have killed them?” She asked. “Did they have any enemies that you know of?”
“Not really, no. We barely knew them.”
Once they were released, they met up with Ali, Nox, and Erakax, who were joined by Grena and Ira.
“Here’s what I think.” Nox said once everyone was up to speed. “I think we need to get into that penthouse.”
Amira gave him a surprised look. “You’re the last person I expected to say that.”
“I’m done waiting for Ajax to ask us to do things.” He explained. “Let’s just do it this time.”
“Well, we should wait until dark.” Ira pointed out.
Bryrie snapped and pointed at him. “You beat me to it.”
That night, Amira doffed her armor, then joined Bryrie, Karrus, Erakax, Navi, and Grena in approaching the inn. Grena cast Pass without Trace, and Erakax cast Spider Climb on himself, her, Navi, and Bryrie, then Amira led them up the side of the building while Karrus simply flew. Amira detected a protective enchantment, so Karrus cast Silence around the door, then cast Knock, silently suppressing the Arcane Lock. Bryrie took a minute to pick the lock, then Navi led the others inside. While the others started searching the main room, Navi led Erakax into Nadia’s room and laid down on her back.
“Situation.” He said in Draconic.
A folded piece of black cloth appeared on the floor, and Navi immediately snatched it, then they rejoined the others. The rest of the suite was bare of any clues or any of the Spiral Warriors’ belongings. After double checking the other bedrooms, they slipped back out the window and jumped over the side, where Karrus cast Feather Fall on the others.
Once they had reached the others at Ira and Grena’s inn a few blocks away, Navi unfolded the Portable Hole on the floor, and Amira drew her flail before reaching inside. Nothing happened, so she braced herself on the floor and slid inside. The hole was six feet in diameter and around ten feet deep. Several small wooden crates were stacked inside, most of which contained fresh food, though one contained personal journals belonging to each of the Spiral Warriors. A larger crate sat alone, and she opened it to find five of the Spiral Warriors’ weapons inside, along with Bolin’ Glamoured Studded Leather. She handed them up to Navi, did the same with the crate of journals, and climbed out of the hole.
The weapons included Nadia’s flail, Bolin’s longsword, Brizura’s heavy crossbow, one of Rosk’s daggers, and Danorae’s gauntets. Amira grabbed the flail, only to sense its immediate rejection. Karrus cast Identify.
“It’s called Agony.” He said. “It won’t attune with anyone who’s truly good at heart.”
“I’ve never been particularly good or bad.” Ira said. “I’ll take it.”
“Be my guest. It won’t corrupt you.”
“Now do the others.” Navi requested.
He complied, identifying the longsword as Mythcarver, the crossbow as Condemner, the gauntlets at Titanstone Knuckles, and the dagger as a Dagger of Denial.
“This one only works with Bards.” He said, taking the sword for himself. “The crossbow has poison bolts and lets you cast Silence or Fog Cloud when you hit something. The Knuckles increase strength and are extra effective against structures. The dagger seals any lock you stick it in.”
Ali immediately snatched the crossbow. “Mine.”
Bryrie snickered, then took the dagger. Navi glanced at Amira, then took the Titanstone Knuckles. Bryrie reached for the armor, then retracted her hand and looked at Grena.
“Go ahead.” Grena said.
“Well, here.” Bryrie slid her own armor across the floor. “It’s cast-off.”
“Thanks.”
“If you think you’re ready for a Vestige, I have one I think suits you.” Mystra’s voice suddenly said in Amira’s mind.
Caught off-guard, Amira flinched. “What? Oh. Well, yeah, if you think I’m worthy.”
“I think you’ve proven yourself.”
A battleaxe with black blades appeared on the ground in front of her.
“This is Midnight.” Mystra said. “The blades are obsidian, but I’ve enchanted them so they’re unaffected by wear-and-tear. The more you accomplish, the stronger it becomes.”
Amira picked the weapon up and immediately felt a connection form.
“What just happened?” Navi asked.
“A blessing from Mystra.” Amira replied, looking the axe over. “A Vestige of my own.”
Grena yawned. “Let’s hit the sack and check out those journals in the morning.”
Ira nodded. “I’ll take first watch.”
Karrus left the inn the next morning, heading for a magic shop he knew opened early. A bell rang as he stepped inside, and a Yuan-ti woman in green robes emerged from the back.
“Karrus.” She smiled, revealing her sharp teeth and forked tongue.
“Zalia.” He greeted her.
Zalia was just under 5’10” and had white skin, yellow eyes, and long black hair. She carried an ornate staff and had a pair of bracers peeking out of her sleeves. Four rings adorned her fingers, and a thick book hung from her right hip.
“I was hoping to have this weapon’s enchantment transferred to a scimitar.” He said, setting his Kinetic Longsword on the counter. “Would that be possible?”
She waved a hand over the weapon and muttered an incantation.
“Possible, yes.” She replied. “But costly and time-consuming. Perhaps you would simply trade it for the weapon you seek?”
“Certainly.” He said. “Do you have one?”
She smiled. “I believe I do. One moment.”
Zalia stepped into the back, and Karrus took a moment to study the shelves around him. She returned a moment later carrying a sheathed scimitar.
“Ten Gold is the difference.” She said.
“Done.” He placed a platinum coin on the counter. “That stone to your right. It looks like a Sending Stone, but it has no mate. What is it?”
“That would be an Echo Stone.” She replied. “It captures all sound within fifteen feet, then plays it back. Yours for eighty Platinum.”
Karrus removed his Ring of Obscuring and set it on the counter. “What if I throw this in?”
She spent a minute casting Identify. “Twenty Platinum.”
“Deal.”
She flashed him another smile. “Come back any time.”
Returning to the inn, Karrus found Bryrie, Nox, Erakax, and Ira pouring over the journals.
“Anything useful?” He inquired.
“Looks like these guys had dealings with two of the four Ashari tribes in the area.” Bryrie replied.
“Three.” Ira chimed in. “Looks like they gave the Fire Ashari 450 Gold in exchange for safe passage across the lava river.”
“That just leaves the Earth Ashari.” Amira remarked. “My money says they’ve dealt with them too.”
“Well, this says they double-crossed someone called the Clasp.” Nox said. “Anyone know who that is?”
“Shadowy organized crime.” Bryrie replied matter-of-factly. “Definitely the type to retaliate with violence.”
“Well, there you go!”
“I’d prefer to have confirmation.” Ali said. “We’ll have to find a way to contact them.”
Kneeling down, Navi started flipping through Nadia’s journal.
“No…no…no…” She muttered. “Wait. I’ve got two names here. Vladimir and Godfrey. It just says ‘Mercenaries’ above them and ‘Turtle’ below. Nothing else.”
Ali picked up Danorae’s journal and started flipping through it. Bryrie set down a journal she’d finished, then picked up Bregar’s. After a few minutes, Nox perked up.
“This says they stopped in a place called Settler’s Valley overnight.” He said. “It says, ‘CRAZY DOOMSDAY CULT’ in all caps.”
“Huh.” Karrus chuckled. “Good to know, I guess.”
“Don’t the Water Ashari live on the Zhonghai River?” Erakax asked.
“Yep.” Ali replied. “I don’t know where their village is, but I’ve crossed paths with their hunters once or twice.”
“Well, the other Ashari are either north or east of the river.” He pointed out. “If we’re seeing this through to the end, that seems like a good place to start.”
“There’s also a group called the Ravagers that go around attacking people in that same area.” She added. “They stay away from the Ashari and other settlements, but travelers are fair game.”
“Alright.” Amira said. “Who’s got transportation?”
“We have a cart we use.” Ira replied.
Navi raised her hand. “I know where we can get a two-horse wagon.”
“Great.” Bryrie stood up. “Pack the books and let’s get moving.”