Journal #15 - The Chalice of Pylanthia

I dressed my wounds, and let others examine the intricate door atop the giant staircase from which the wizard had projected himself. It was an intricate puzzle lock, but a note on our chime of opening made quick work of it. The doorway unwound itself, and sunlight streamed into the room, as well as the bitter cold and snow.
 
We departed, the door sealed itself. When I happened to take a glance back, there was no sign of a door at all, simply undressed stone.
 
As the snow blew, we knew we had to find a safe place to recuperate and wait out the storm. In our condition, we were none too nimble. Or apparently, quiet. Before long, wolves could be heard howling in the distance. We tried to give them the slip, and made progress. We led them on a chase and then hid, the two wolf packs passing us by. What we didn’t count on was a stampede coming the opposite direction of herd animals that the wolves had spooked, and behind that a near-avalanche of falling rocks from an eroding hillside. But finally, in the end, we could breathe.
 
The truth could be kept from Arlo no longer, and he was apprised of what befell Tybeerian. We held a wake of sorts, though did not lay the body to rest. We felt we needed it as proof to the dwarves. Korrigash, the wizard who fell in with us at Aldandun, introduced himself more thoroughly. He was apparently an old acquaintance of Tybeerian’s, which seemed strange as he was a high elf, and most dwarves held no love for their kind.
 
The next day, we pressed on. Our goblin guide led us to a secret entrance into the Chalice of Pylanthia. Upon reaching a gateway, he spoke a password - “The way in is the way out,” and the doors opened. He departed then, to rejoin his reptilian friends before the dwarves might spot him.
 
We knew our greeting brought ill news, and expected a confrontation. We debated, and pledged to yield ourselves upon first contact, deliver Tybeerian’s body, and our warning. We pressed onwards.
 
It came as a surprise to us when we reached a giant underground lake. A boat was fastened there, but I did not wish to take it without permission. Instead, I summoned a water elemental with my song, which bore us like a ship. It was a good thing, as I had no need to guide it. I bid it follow the light markers afloat in the water, though shortly I disagreed with myself…
 
There was a heavy illusion enchantment out in the water. Three of us heard a ghostly tune, truly entrancing, and I wished to follow it. So did Firefly and Ghiravont. Perhaps our superior musical tastes made us vulnerable - but as I came to understand later, it was a defense of the dwarves. Our friends were not so easily misled, and managed to break us out of it thankfully, and I corrected our course to follow the lights once more instead of the music. It was after this that I finally put the name together. The Chalice of Pylanthia, a gigantic underground lake in a cavern, the Chalice was the very lake we then traversed like a fly in a wine goblet. It is apparently the largest known underground body of water in Hy’dera. It was lit by glow stones spanning the entire roof of the cavern, the roots of the twin mountain peaks high above.
 
We passed the rest of the distance uneventfully. In the distance, we saw a city rising. Half the bowl of the chalice, rising vertically - a huge city. We became trapped in a net at the harbor mouth following my use of Thaumaturgy to announce our presence, and were greeted by an armed guard. They noticed the body of Tybeerian, and we proclaimed the need for a warning.
 
A dwarf with many braids heard us out briefly, and told us to proceed to the docks - lowering the net and letting us proceed.
 
We disembarked, and were greeted by guards again. After an explanation, Domino launched into deceptions and got us in trouble. She tried to convince them that Tybeerian had told us how to get in here as we were his friends, and she didn’t know when to stop spinning yarn. She then exclaimed orcs had killed him, instead of telling the truth of the Black Quartz. Their perception of that was that orcs had killed him, after he let us in, and then looked at me accusingly. They tried to take us into custody.
 
Despite Domino’s resistance, the rest of us yielded. We were marched down quite aways before being brought before a woman who claimed to be Tybeerian’s cousin. I grasped for a way to prove our innocence and loyalty to Tybeerian, and recalled some time ago that he had explained a ring of his to me. All Pylanthian Quikhands wear a single obsidian thumb ring on their left hand. It is the custom of the Quikhands to shake with their left hand - they claim it is an intimidation of their foes, that their left hand is as dangerous as their right. If they don’t like you, they’ll shake hands with their main hand. Supposedly, the rings were hollow and could be used to hide small valuables; a skilled thief could pocket an item while their other hand was shaking. The story I was told then, was that shaking with the hand bearing the ring was a sign of respect, not being able to so easily steal from you.
 
Anyhow, recalling that I asked the woman to remove the gauntlet on her left hand, and made a meaningful glance with my eye. I said, to let me know I can trust you.
 
She had an obsidian ring. I told her the full tale in truth, and argued we had no reason to lie, nor to even come here but for our truthful and noble intentions. She was swayed, and she unlocked my manacles, and offered me her left hand to shake (a sign of respect).
 
Domino was monitoring thoughts, and told me that she didn’t seem surprised, and also felt the delivery of this news gave her the biggest bargaining chip in all of Pylanthia, and that a power struggle would now ensue. She asked us to leave and that we’d be rewarded. Ghiravont asked us to be exited to the north. She responded…
 
“Take them to the Deep Blue,” she said in Dwarvish.
 
Our dwarvish guide gave us ship directions, and said when we hit land he’d dig out a cache here that would be our reward.
 
On the voyage, I had some misgivings about the information Domino gleaned. But ultimately, this political environment was not our issue nor our strong suit. I felt some closure, my duty to Tybeerian was done, aside from ensuring the safety of Arlo. We warned the dwarves, we could now leave with a clean conscience. It was not to be.
 
We made it to the aforementioned cache and our guide dug out a chest. Inside were about 200 miniature scrolls. We opened one and it was a Quikhand invoice in the Underground. It lists a name, job, and where to collect. Receipts/invoices of uncollected jobs, that we’ll have to collect to get money. It was only later that I understood, the writs were no reward. They were evidence of sorts, and we were a handy method of clearing it.
 
We proceeded on to the exit the guide had mentioned, prior to walking off, with his last words saying the tunnel led to the Deep Blue. We poured out a toast to Tybeerian and headed out to the tunnel, and came to a dead end. We motioned and wrote on the wall “The way out is in” and instead of doors opening, a hole opened beneath us, we free fell, into darkness, a distance unfathomable from our position…We were betrayed.