We return to Mantor Library. Mary offers to bring Cassra to escort us into the archives.Cassra leads us through some big doors into the archives. Apparently they are very deep and have not even been fully mapped. Some areas lost to ages, creatures sometimes make it their homes? As we descend through the sub basement, rooms are darker and books dustier.
Every archivist is responsible for knowing their own section to catalogue and reference.Garda was last in a section that covered a wide range of topics, among which mystical/magic elements, realms, magical creatures, history, religion. Magical mysticism was Garda’s specialty.
Cassra opens a door and we get a whiff of age and old books. We see a 45’ room with bookshelves lining the walls and tables with books. All Cassra knows is that Garda wanted to speak to her and she was unable at the time.
We investigate. One door East, West, North. The north door is ajar. Kiya find some books carelessly thrown on the floor, and they look like more of the books of Ren’s memoirs, like one of the missing books. It looks like two of them are missing from this group.
We open the North door and notice a dark shape slumped over a table. He shouts, “We come in peace!” We approach the table and notice that it is Garda, slumped as if praying, in a puddle of blood. Cassra screams and runs over, sees he is dead, and runs into a corner and throws up.
Kiya investigate: Garda’s wrists are tied with rope and his throat was slit, then his head allowed to drop. We discover all four missing books (three lost + 1 additional memoir missing). Kiya notices a second chair pulled out, opposite Garda. The memoir is another of Ren’s memoirs describing his fights with dragons. It has some pages torn out of a section describing Ren’s defeat of the dragon Tyranophraxis, a bronze dragon possessed by an entity. The entity then fled into a pool of radiance. Kiya recalls that a Pool of Radiance is a phenomenon caused by a breach in the Weave. When the weave is broken, unexpected things happen.
We are interrupted by an earthquake associating by a screeching noise. Bookshelves fall. Cassra leaves for the authorities. Vistra sees a gaping hole in the wall, about 5’ around and we go through into a secret room. There is another hole in the opposite wall that looks fresher (there is dust settling around it). There is an open chest and lots of debris and fallen books.
Chest is well-made and has been opened. Lock has been broken open and Kiya notices a needle sticking out of the lock, possibly an already sprung trap. Kiya finds a secret compartment containing a Potion of Healing, a diamond, and a large pearl. (to sell later)
We move to the second hole and Kiya finds the pieces of the Horn of Blasting on the floor, broken. Whoever blew it was right ahead of us and created this new hole. It opens with a 15 foot drop into the sewers.
Tyener tries to jump the distance (nat 1), his foot gets caught and he slams against the wall and slides down the wall onto the platform and rolls into the channel of sewage. Vistra and Kiya climb down and help him out.
Vistra hears the sound of something eating something squelchily in the distance.
We see some pale yellow creatures with legs and tentacles on the sides of their heads, eating another of their number which is lying dead. There is a scorch mark on the ground and a spent scroll, and a backpack lying nearby. They are carrion crawlers, aberrations that exist in dark caverns and sewers. They can climb ceilings and walls and have poisonous tentacles.
We kill the carrion creatures and Kiya picks up the blank parchment, which looks like the remnants of a used spell. Tyener picks up the small bag. It contains 35g, a piece of paper with book titles, with check marks next to the ones we found and others crossed out, a rough map of Neverwinter with a noted area outside it saying Rythnax. Last, there is a note instructing Ellison to meet with Rythnax once he has secured things to help them.
Ellison
Once you have secured what you can to aid us in our search, meet with Rythnax in the marsh east of the city, near Neverwinter woods. Slay any that discover your work. Do not fail us again.