Whatever, We’re Still Standing in Shit!

We woke up later the same day yet none of us had rested well. Over a late lunch, Nal told us that the skirmishes had continued all day although the city watch managed to fight them back more effectively as time passed by. With no better idea on where to start looking, Nysqwen sat down with the captured rat once more, going through the same ritual as in the morning, yet she found no new information. However, we decided to use the animal as a guide to lead us where it should have delivered the salvaged food. Archie hunkered down to tinker a small collar with which we should be able to control the rat on our investigation while Nysqwen mused about a name for the rodent. She came up with the creative ‘Ratty McRatface’… I am still not entirely sure if it was meant as a joke or if it was meant as serious as it had been delivered. Much to the dismay of my poetic heart, the name stuck with the rest of our group. From this day forth, there shall be a rat roaming the dark sewers of the city of Neverwinter and her name shall be Ratty McRatface… No, I wouldn’t even pay myself to hear such a story.
We set out towards the nearest entry to the sewers. The dimly lit, damp and reeking tunnel consisted of canals of hideous waste streams, lined by small stone banks on either side to walk through the system. I opted to take the rear, taking poor Archie by the hand who barely was able to see anything. To make our time a little more comfortable, I willed two small pockets of fresh air into existence, covering at least his and my nose. The stream next to us had a steady flow to it, occasionally small objects drifted by. Somewhere in the distance, roaring as if from a small waterfall was audible. We realised quickly that clad in heavy armour, at least Archie and Nysqwen would not be able to keep quiet in the narrowed circumstances, hence Archie took out a lantern to help us on our way.
After a few minutes of travel, turning once to follow our animal guide, we entered a small room. The light of our lantern revealed a rather dirty alcove littered with small bones. In one corner a larger heap of filth marked the presumed nest of Ratty and her growing anxiousness showed that she was rather desperate to get back to her youths although her magically enhanced form hardly would be capable to fit in this heap. A rusted and bend shovel head was the only thing that remained of what must have been a room for canal workers. If I recall, there was talk of kobolds being employed to do this work at some point. Nysqwen’s renewed communications with our guide revealed that it was supposed to bring any stolen food to this very chamber, yet none was laying around at the moment. We were able to find some tracks of what might have been snakes in the mud but no further humanoid imprints. Archie put on his bronze goggles, adjusted a few tiny levers and wheels at the side and exhaled heavily as he described to see some purple traces of transmutation magic in the air. This might have been the same magic that altered Ratty’s size.
 
Heartlessly leaving Ratty to the pitiful job of finding her children in what seemed an empty and much to small nest, we continued our exploration of the sewers of Neverwinter. After a few more minutes of silent walking, we came upon a locked iron gate. Yet, between Archies nimble hands, his tools and my experience the lock was quickly picked. Archie mused, we must have traversed about half of the city and were closing in on the harbour district, when we were stopped by another gate, this one standing no more chance then the last to the young human. On the other side, a large basin opened up into which the stream we were following as well as three more were spilling with sickening splashing sounds of refuse as if four giants with horrible bowel movements were relieving themselves.
Despite this unappetising scenery, Grum volunteered to change into his giant toad form to look for any signs that might point to the leader of the rats. After several minutes of diving and searching in the murky liquid, all he could tell us was that there was a pipe leading away from the basin and along the walls faint scraping marks, as if from a sharp metal object, could be seen. When we took a closer inspection of our surroundings, Grum, Kyla and Archie found a small indentation in the wall next to us. Without a second thought, Teynos went ahead and pushed the button in. The rattling of chains was accompanied by a slow scraping sound from the tunnel behind us. And after a few heartbeats broke off. The water in the canal besides us ebbed away and left only a foul mud on the bottom of the gully. Alongside the other, still flowing, openings, Archies mechanical friend now spotted similar contraptions and with Grum’s help and a metallic glove that we had seen move on its own a few times now, Archie activated the shutters one by one. Soon, the continuous influx stopped and slowly the basin began to run dry, allowing us all a descent into the refuse that had collected at the bottom. With Voithos’ help, Archie investigated the pipe Grum had found earlier. At its end, light was visible and Voithos emerged on a cliff overlooking the Neverwinter River. Alongside the wall to its left and right, further such openings spewed forth more sewage. It became clear that we had found our way to a sediment basin within the sewers, nothing more, nothing less. And no traces of any inhabitation or magic anywhere. However, a brief rummaging through the sediment, a rather revolting job, we found a small clay container containing a pouch with some pinches of a dust of dryness, as Archie could explain, along with a bit of lost money.
 
Disappointed, frustrated, tired and reeking we searched for another couple of hours through the sewers, noticing more than one trace of gelatinous cubes, fortunately without any confrontations. But no further rats, nor their wanted master were anywhere to be seen. When we finally emerged at the surface again, it was already close to midnight. I quickly took care of our smell. The streets were completely empty thanks to the continuous skirmishes throughout the day, only a few guards were making their rounds in the distance. As we had left a message for the flutist the day before, we decided to head to that same bridge before turning in for the night.
When we approached there, a very dissonant, almost mocking melody was audible from the bridge head. As it had been my voice in the message, I was appointed to head forward and see what might be waiting for us. Filled with cold anxiety of what I might find, I slowly walked from shadow to shadow onto the ruined structure. And there, at the very end lay the small metallic box we had left a day ago, from it emerging the melody in an endless loop. The music stopped in the instant I picked up the contraption and my gaze fell on two enormous jet-black rats who were eyeing my every move. Behind them I thought to have seen another shadow moving. Overcome by a sudden gut feeling, I hissed in their direction that we were here to speak with their master. Hideous, shrill laughter filled my head, just as it had earlier in the morning. And a deep voice called out that we were no welcomed guests. If we were seeking to get the master’s approval, we must become carriers of the plague. And with that they turned and vanished into darkness. I felt a shudder, starting as a slow ripple between my horns, growing and creeping down my spine until it reached the point of my tail and I was shaking uncontrollably. The voice had not spoken in the common tongue. It was a language I had hoped to never hear again. The words sounded more like the hissing of snakes, occasionally broken with growling vowels. The infernal tongue of the nine hells had found its way into Neverwinter.
 
Once I made it back to my friends, I told them what had transpired, just leaving out the miniscule detail of the language spoken. I was not keen on explaining how I came to know that language. But I am fairly certain, judging by his curious look, that Grum knew something else had happened on that bridge although he was kind enough to not speak up on it. Thus, we headed back to Anataea’s homestead. On the way I told the others I would take a small detour and see them in the morning. Under astonished and maybe slightly worrying looks, I set off through the sleeping city.
The way over the roofs reminded me of another time, not necessarily more simple but definitely lonelier. And yet, strolling from chimney to chimney always had something calming, as if no one could touch me up here. The turmoil of the day left behind for but a brief moment of peace ‘ere the trouble and chaos that is life can catch up. Soon enough, I reached my destination, the narrow house I had only stared at just four nights ago. This time, I would not just watch. I unlocked and opened the kitchen window as silently as I could muster and climbed inside. The smell was still the same, the same, long dead plants on the table and an empty bottle in the corner. I placed the parchment roll with trembling hands next to the plant, weighing it down with three gold pieces. These verses might have been the hardest I have ever brought to paper. And they were destined to never be heard by anyone, they were only for her to read.
After a brief pause, I climbed out the window again, shut and locked it behind me, went back to my new room at Anataea’s and fell into a restless sleep filled with rats and horrible whispers.
 
The night was cut short once more as early on the next morning the noise of another attack shook us all awake. Luckily, the city guard were better prepared this time and handled the rodents. The same giant rat that had led the assault yesterday was standing at the back of her ranks once more but vanished as soon as we opened the door. We went back inside for breakfast, as we had had no chance to eat throughout our explorations on the day before. Kyla wondered how this creature was apparently able to cast spells while being in an animal shape, something that Grum for instance was unable to do. Archie chimed in and said he had read about shape changer who were said to work their magic in any form they chose. I added that I had heard some demons should be able to command certain powers so innately, they were not bound to the same laws of magic as other beings, to which Archie agreed and said that the same apparently would be true to a far lesser extend for certain races like tieflings. Indeed, I know that there are certain minor tricks I can conjure on occasion, but I try to use them as little as possible.
After the meal, when everyone was going about their own business of getting ready for the day, I took Grum to the side. Of all the people in this fellowship of ours, I knew him the longest. I am still not sure about the others, but I knew I had to say something, especially after that knowing look last night. However, all reasoning could not diminish the fear of what might evolve from this conversation. And thus, after a moment of silence I began to speak with a trembling voice. He did not interrupt once, did not flinch or recoil as I had dreaded, he just sat and listened. And when I finished, he smiled.
 
When we gathered again, Grum decided to go home to work on a ritual that might aid us in finding the alien entity behind the rat attacks, Nysqwen and Kyla wanted to head to the Lord’s alliance to search for assistance and Archie and I figured that the current events might justify visiting the Harpers earlier than agreed. With that thought, Archie finally got a chance to identify the clay disk we had found in the riddle box in Melissa’s house. After a brief inspection, he declared that this was a type of sending device, able to transmit messages over long distances. The counterpart, he mused, would most likely reside with whomever placed the disk in the box in the first place. However, we did not want our first interaction with our new allies to happen without any face behind the voice and made our way to the Twirling ally, accompanied by Teynos.
Upon revealing the symbol, sister Garaele had given to us, the guards at the entrance of the surprisingly subtle house granted us entry into a great, yet completely empty entry hall. Multiple doors branched off from here and Teynos immediately went through the one straight ahead of us without waiting for us, the door falling shut behind him. Worried, Archie and I quickly followed through the same door and came into a room that made Archie literally stop mid-pace and drop his jaw. Rows upon rows of bookshelves were bathed in a pleasant, yellowish light. Silence hung like a thick cloak over everything, only broken by the occasional turning of a page and the fire crackling in a nearby fireplace. A young, human male was browsing through books, not taking note of our arrival. An older human woman was sorting heavy tomes. And no trace of Teynos anywhere!
Silvery laughter emerged from a wing-backed chair next to the hearth and the female voice beckoned us to come closer. As we came around the chair, we faced a female gnome, clad in green traveller’s clothes. Her soft face was framed with laughter lines that perfectly matched her joyous attitude. She bade us take a seat in the accompanying chairs and introduced herself as Nissa Murnik. She told us the Harpers had been watching us from afar, yet she was curious what brought us in three days before the appointed meeting. We explained what we had witnessed over the last few days and nights, especially regarding our encounter with the flutist and stated our hypothesis that it might be a demon or fiend that was roaming the streets. Here, her former countenance shifted from generally curious and thoughtful to a keen look towards me and she asked what breed I personally thought our adversary belonged to. I couldn’t suppress a soft, humourless chuckle as I flashed the darkness of my eyes at her without Archie noticing and proclaimed, I was quite confident that we were dealing with denizens of the hells. Her smile returned as she nodded and leaned back in her chair.
Nissa said, she had heard about something similar a long time ago, maybe the library would serve us well in these matters. The library is at the disposal of any faction member who wishes to acquire knowledge that may serve the faction’s goals. Archie’s eyes which previously had been fixed wistfully at the shelves around lit up at this comment, immediately he stated his desire to help and read through the books. Nissa laughed again, a soft, very warm sound and said, Tia, the librarian would be of aid with any knowledge we sought. However, as we were appointed to meet with our friends again to discuss our further proceedings and at this point were wondering where Teynos might be, we bade farewell with the intention to return as soon as possible to start our research. Nissa said, Teynos was fine and at a safe place but it would be good if we could take care of him.
 
When we left the library through the same door through which we entered, still excited by what we just had heard, instead of the foyer we entered a reading room where an old man sat in a chair similar to the ones in the library, reading and smoking a fragrant pipe. Next to him. Teynos was bent forward over a small table upon which a number of matches were strewn in wild disarray. The man hardly looked up from his reading when we entered while Teynos claimed he had been looking for us but only been able to enter this room and the hallway. Shaking our heads, we took him by the hand and left to the foyer.
There, Kyla and Nysqwen and Grum were already waiting for us. Unfortunately, the Lords’ Alliance had not been as forthcoming with their aid, but Kyla had heard about the library in the temple dedicated to Mystra and wanted to look for information there. I had never dared to enter this place. In the end, who would be comfortable with someone like me in a sacred place? Camp had been more accepting; she was always happy to speak with someone about the Mother of all Magic and I had enjoyed to listen to her teachings. Archie and I shared that we were convinced that by all the events that had transpired, the entity we were dealing with could only be a fiend. As we were the only ones with access to the Harpers’ library, we would continue searching through the books there while Nysqwen, Grum and Teynos wanted to go to the harbour to see if the help of a small adventuring troupe would be rewarded in coin and maybe to hear news regarding the Arielle.
 
Thus, my young friend and myself made our way back in the faction house. Nissa was gone from the library, only Tia remained and asked us for what we might be interested in. She told us to take a seat while she would select appropriate books. Before we were entirely settled in, the first tomes were brought by a spectral hand and a tea set along with a plate with biscuits appeared on the table in front of us. Archie could hardly control himself, so excited was he by the perspective of spending the majority of the day just browsing through thousands of pages. He read in astonishing speed and still seemed to be able to recall all he had learned. On one occasion, he said he had found a book that spoke about the view of the nine hells in other cultures and how they were not seen everywhere as being entirely evil while not every god was revered as being purely good. Especially along the Dragon Coast and in a place named Calimshan, people seemed to be somewhat more liberal in that regard. This made me curious. Being faced with constant prejudices, I could hardly imagine what such a society would look like. Half-jokingly I said that it might be worth exploring these places then with our small group. Archie’s eyes widened and excited he exclaimed he would enjoy seeing more of the world and travel around with us. The honest joy that this perspective of not only not abandoning our group but rather seek further adventures together warmed my heart for the second time this day.
Over the course of the following hours, we learned about Asmodeus as the prime ruler over the nine hells and lord of all devils. We found a book containing the names of the leaders of each individual layer, another talked about the types of devils inhabiting these. Amongst all the imps, spined devils, barbed devils, bone devils, pit fiends, chain devils, erinyes and lemurs, one began feeling small and insignificant. I had heard some stories of course of these fiends, mostly in relation to me being mistaken for one, but I never knew there were this many and that there was such structure amongst them. Knowing that there was an entire plane filled with entities that could eradicate Faerûn as we knew it if they set their mind to it was a horrifying thought. Furthermore, we learned that devils were able to summon one another, albeit only less powerful entities then themselves.
Finally, we found a book that almost was falling apart. It was handwritten by a tiefling who had travelled the hells multiple times and documented his observations in a diary of sorts. Upon reading it mesmerised for a while, I came across a chapter talking about a creature that seemed to be akin to what we were faced with. The author did not seem to know a lot about it but the name “Lystramon” occurred multiple times. He spoke about numerous stories and legends in different cultures and religions that dealt with this being which usually was described as being surrounded by swarms of rats.
As we could find no further details about this Lystramon, if that was its name, we thanked Tia for her help and made to leave the house of the Harpers. Initially we came back in the room where we had found Teynos previously. As we now tried to leave through one of the doors in the room, much to our surprise we entered the very same room from a different direction! It would have been too easy for an organisation like the Harpers to have a house built in a continuous space, I assume. It took us several minutes before we found that in thinking about an exit, we were finally able to leave into the foyer and from there were able to emerge back on the street.
At the harbour, we met up with our friends in a tavern. They told us about a small fight they had had with more of these rats. The giant leader had been there too yet vanished into thin air once again before they could attempt to deal with him. Kyla said, she had gotten to know two priests in the temple of Mystra who had promised her as a fellow cleric to search their library for any books about devils, to which Archie and I added what we had found thus far. Teynos chimed in, stating that he was fairly certain that in the stories he had heard about flutists luring children there was some talk of this name as well. It therefore became more and more clear that this indeed might be who we were faced off against and that Lystramon was at least one name for this creature.
At the harbour, Nysqwen, Grum and Teynos had found a notice board with several requests for aid. The items read:
1. Deal of a lifetime! I'm willing to trade a loveley tin pot, painted with cornflowers and lilies (and showing a few holes, true, but you can add a few and look at that, you have got a colander) for a cart. The cart needn't be big, can even be tiny, in fact, just so that two, or better four, people could fit in it, with ample room for bags and sacks, if possible. Could be old, long as it rides well and has new wheels, and strong axles, so actually probably nothing made longer than a year or two ago would do. Leave a message with Bohddie
2. Cleric needed - Daughter ill and dying.
3. Lyra our beloved mushrom forager, has not returned from the forest. Need help finding her.
4. MINIONS NEEDED - Local Lich looking for less than lawful Lackeys- References not required, no paladins. Full training and benefits given.
Especially the last item caused some laughter amongst us, there certainly wouldn’t be a lich in Neverwinter, much less one that openly was looking for subordinates via a notice board! Right?! Teynos showed special interest in the offered tin pot for some reason. Archie said, a cart would be easily acquired or made by him, so if we so chose, the trade should be possible without issue. Kyla quickly proclaimed she was very interested in helping the sick daughter. And after having experienced her healing capabilities first-hand, it was obvious she would be the right one for the task. Plus, knowing her rather altruistic and kind nature, I wouldn’t have expected otherwise. And all of us agreed that we would be delighted to look for Lyra, all yearning for a chance to get out of the city once again and be in the wilderness together.
 
After we finished our drinks, we made our way back to Anataea’s. Nysqwen and Kyla suddenly asked me if I was alright and that if there was anything, I wanted to speak up about they would gladly hear it. They said, and Archie nodded affirmative at this point, that they would not condemn me for anything, that we had grown to be friends and that there should be no trepidation over sharing anything. Kyla was still wondering what was going on with Anataea and the drow she had seen in her vision and the context of the scene. If the Raven Queen had sent her all this as a warning, she was concerned that Anataea would be hiding something vital or shady from all of us, something that ultimately could cause great harm and destruction. My thoughts were racing. After all that we had experienced and shared together, I was overjoyed that they shared my notion of friendship, but I feared they did not know what they were asking for. Especially with Kyla’s comment the other night I did not know what might happen if they knew, the last thing I wanted was for this blossoming friendship to wilt so soon in its infancy. Grum darted me a knowing look and said nothing. If they would be as understanding as he had been, this might be a chance but that was a big if. Thus, I faltered. I could not speak my mind, not without minutely planning my words. The fear overshadowed everything else. I explained what our current host meant to me, that she was my family. If I couldn’t have faith in her, there was no one else deserving that trust. I tried to answer all their questions as best I could whilst dodging the things, I was unable to speak about in my current state of mind. Still, I understood where Kyla was coming from and how important this was to her. Therefore, I promised to talk to Anataea once more and possibly see who this drow was and what her intentions were. This seemed to satisfy them for this evening and when I glanced at Grum I thought to recognise a slight nod in approval. But this was not the end of it. I will have to come clean with them, sooner rather than later. I just need to find the right words… I call myself a Bard, for heaven’s sake, and now my words are eluding me? I recognise the cruel irony…
 
When we gathered for breakfast this morning, Grum had already left. He did not leave any note, and no one had seen him actually leave the house thus I was a bit worried for him. However, he knew how to take care of himself and it probably was just some job at his brewery. Firstly, we wanted to check at the temple of Mystra for the books that were promised to Kyla, before turning our attention to some of the requests we had come across yesterday. Although I was dreading what might wait at the temple, I also was excited to perhaps get a chance to visit this holy place. At least this time I wouldn’t be alone. Although I would have hoped that Camp was there when I went there for the first time.
On our way through the city we noticed an increase in the skirmishes on all streets. The air was filed with thousands of squeaking voices, angry and painful shouts and the smell of blood. When we arrived at the temple, no one seemed to take notice of us at first as it was filled to the brim with wounded people of varying severity, many of them unconscious. Kyla immediately started to check on them, making sure they were stable, and their wounds were tended to. She noticed that all were injured and some of them carried a sickness, spreading from their bite and scratch wounds. Was that the plague, the rats had talked about? Regardless of its source, Kyla’s skill did not fail and minutely she drove out all infections, leaving us watching in awe. During her treatment, one of the priests she had talked to yesterday approached, a man named Bran. He confessed that among the growing stream of new patients, they had not been able to search for the requested books yet, but he greatly appreciated the help. He led Kyla to a small boy who had been more effected than most and it seemed to take her more effort than previously to calm his trembling body. Yet, she prevailed.
Teynos and Nysqwen in the meantime started to help wherever their strength was needed, and Archie took it on himself to construct crutches and contraptions to help in the treatment. I did not know anything better, took a cross-legged seat on the ground in the centre of the forecourt and began playing what I hoped was a soothing tune. The soft melody slowly spread from the centre to fill the entire court, through open doors and windows and into the temple itself. Quiet as it was, while keeping my eyes closed, I noticed it driving out the all-encompassing painful moans, coughs and occasional cries and brought what little peace I was capable of to the place. After a while, Bran tapped me on the shoulder, a thankful look in his eyes. He asked if I was following my friend Kyla in her pledge to the Raven Queen and he should thank her to which I confessed of being closer to Mystra myself. He seemed pleasantly surprised by this revelation and offered to sit down and talk together once all the wounded were tended to and the situation on the city was calm again. I gladly accepted this invitation. Overall, this was very different from what I would have imagined my first encounter with a priest of this temple, far more pleasant. Should I take this as a sign for other things to come?
 
Any further thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a screaming man, clutching his eyes. Streams of blood were welling between his fingers as he shouted, he could not see anymore. Kyla sharply exhaled, identifying the disease as sight rot, a condition where the patient would bleed from his eyes until going completely blind. And if untreated, there was no hope for this man’s vision. Bran said, he knew of just one herb, eye bright, that could be used to cure this disease with natural means. Other than that, only certain magic could stop the progress of the rot. Despite her feeling not entirely comfortable in calling upon her goddess in a foreign temple, Kyla gathered her strength once more and covered the man’s eyes with her hands. The symbol she was wearing around her neck emitted a faint glow as a bit of sweat gathered on her brow. When she took her palms away, the agonising screams had subsided, and the man opened his eyes. Framed in still wet blood, smudged by the hands, his eyes looked perfectly healthy. He began thanking her effusively which she acknowledged with a tired but satisfied smile.
Bran said that if cases of this disease would be more frequent and Kyla was not around, he would be very grateful if we were able to bring him some of the mentioned herbs. Unfortunately, it is pretty rare and only grows in remote swamps and similar areas. Nevertheless, we quickly agreed to helping him with that. Conveniently for us, the search for Lyra would lead us in a similar direction anyway. Delighted he asked, if we would be willing to be on the lookout for a few other herbs as well, as we were already heading out, to which we had no objection. I must admit, I am really looking forward to this small adventure with my friends. And maybe all the walking will grant me some time to find the words I am looking for. Mystra, give me strength…