House of Worms, Session 209

Nebússa and Srüna,
as drawn by Zhu Bajiee

Faced with a dozen Dlaqó-beetles, the characters nevertheless proceeded to engage them, with Grujúng leaping first into battle, followed by Nebússa. The duo were supported by the remaining Tsolyáni soldiers who accompanied them, wielding spears from the back rank, while Shén mercenaries pelted the giant arthropods with their crossbows. Znayáshu, meanwhile, employed his nature control spell to command one of the Dlaqó to turn on its fellows. Kirktá, on the other hand, fled the scene, heading in the direction of the division of Naqsái who had accompanied them, hoping he could bring them back to the scene before his comrades were overwhelmed. As it turned out, the battle, though hard fought, turned, within a few minutes, to the favor of the House of Worms clan. Thanks to the use of an eye of hastening destiny, which tripled the characters' attacks, the beetles were dispatched and injuries healed by Keléno's magic.

Znayáshu immediately took an interest in the human corpses on which the Dlaqó were feasting. Only two of the three bodies were intact, the other two having been torn apart by the ravenous beasts. Even a cursory examination of the bodies revealed that they were Tsolyáni and in some way associated with the Temple of Ksárul. This came as no surprise to anyone, as it had been clear from months that the temple and its servants had been deeply involved in events in and around the ruins of Pashkírigo. Znayáshu is a gifted medium and regularly communes with the dead in an effort to obtain information. He prepared his ritual accoutrements and conjured up the spirit of the intact body. In doing so, he identified himself as vice-governor of Linyaró and a loyal servant of the Petal Throne, hoping that this might coax the spirit to cooperating more fully.

As it turned out, Znayáshu's gambit worked and the spirit, who identified himself as Arúken hiSesmúga of the Black Stone clan, seemed quiescent and helpful. When asked, he explained that he and other members of "the Society" had come here to deal with the maelstrom at the center of the ruins. Znayáshu suspected and later confirmed that the Society in question was the Society of the Blue Light, one of the innumerable secret societies within the Temple of Ksárul. The Society of the Blue Light, unlike most of its rivals, has no political ambitions and seeks only to acquire knowledge for its own sake. Previously, Lady Srüna, herself an adept within the temple, albeit a low-ranking one, had indicated that there was a three-way (at least) struggle within Linyaró's Temple of Ksárul over, among other things, the ruins of Pashkírigo and the treasures it contained. 

Arúken further explained that he and his compatriots were to be aided in their endeavor by "a sorcerer named Kétem." At this, Znayáshu asked, "Do you mean Getúkmetèk?," referencing a crazed sorcerer they had encountered previously and whose magic had turned Znayáshu to stone for a time. Arúken reiterated that the sorcerer with whom he was working was named Kétem and that he "possessed the ability to seal the breach forever." He added that Kétem was to be met "below," which suggested the network of artificial tunnels the characters already knew existed beneath the Pashkírigo. Znayáshu then commended the spirit of Arúken for his service to the Petal Throne and promised that the bodies of himself and his companions would be buried according to the appropriate rites of his faith. The spirit thanked him and departed.

With that, the characters set about searching the large building in which they found themselves for an entrance to the tunnels beneath. Past experience in the ruins had taught them that most civic structures included some means to journeying below. Given the large size and importance of this building, odds were good that it too possessed a means of traveling into the tunnels. After some time, one of the Naqsái soldiers, whose division had rejoined the characters, found a narrow shaft descending some distance below. The shaft had no obvious means of descent, though there was evidence that there had once been a ladder, long since removed or destroyed. Experimentation suggested the shaft was somewhere between 150 and 200 feet deep.

Nebússa volunteered to be lowered down into the shaft, eventually reaching its bottom. With the use of a light spell, he could see a half-dozen passages heading off in two directions: east and west. Nebússa decided to go west, eventually settling on a slightly larger tunnel in which he felt a faint, rhythmic vibration. He informed his companions above of what he had discovered and they descended to join him, one by one. The Naqsái soldiers were told to keep watch above; Znayáshu feared the return of the Vorodlá. However, he informed the Naqsái captain, Chára Khurgó, to abandon the area in the event they were in danger of being overwhelmed. 

Below, the characters continued down the tunnel, which grew wider as they advanced. Likewise, the vibrations grew stronger and a strobing light could be seen ahead. Znayáshu made use of his clairvoyance spell to see ahead, into the source of the light. There, he saw three bright lights revolving around one another at a fixed rate. This reminded him of a trio of nexus points located elsewhere in the ruins, suggesting that this might have been where Arúken was supposed to meet Kétem. Cautiously, the group prepared to move ahead.