15 Ready'reat continued.
After the incident with the baboons, we arrived at the black malachite gates of Cauldron. I flashed my badge, indicating my status as a Cauldron citizen, but the other members of my newfound party had to pay the gate tax. It's only a silver piece, and it helps pay the salaries of the city guard, thereby keeping taxes low for citizens.
Kyrin lagged behind to chat with the guard. Apparently, Adrian had paid the gate tax, despite his status as a citizen, and this agitated his existing mistrust of the man. At the time, I just assumed Adrian was trying to smooth his bumpy relationship with the city guard. Indeed, the guards at the gate informed Kyrin that Adrian is considered somewhat of a crackpot, and has been since his son Deven went missing. Understandable, says I.
Still, Adrian was in far too agitated a state. He wanted to bring us along to confront Terseon Skellerang, the captain of the guard. He called the man sub-human, a slur of which I do ‘not' approve. Kyrin wondered if Adrian was trying to say that Skellerang was a hobgoblin. That or he was trying to make a point about using such inappropriate language.
I was again worried that his plan involved using us to try to intimidate the Guard into listening to him, a plan with which I would not like to associate myself. Rassi and Megan strongly indicated a desire to go to a pub beforehand, and I concurred. It would not do to follow Adrian without knowing or consenting to his exact plan of action, and if he had no plan, that would do even less.
Finally, Tarik had to use a bit of mind-affecting magic to calm Adrian and force him to listen to our concerns. Kyrin informed me that the spell would cause Adrian to trust Tarik implicitly. The Telemmaite Sisters seemed eager to assure that Adrian had the money he had promised to pay us. I was glad to see that Tarik did not take advantage of Adrian by taking his offered gold. Restraint from abuse of power is a virtue indeed.
On the other hand, it was somewhat disgusting to see Adrian fawn over Tarik.
I asked Adrian what his plan was. He told us that he had lied about how long the abductions had been going on. It had only been 2 months, not twelve as he had originally stated. Tarik points out that this was a strange decision, as 25 disappearances over two months is the more alarming scenario. Well, it's easier to trust a bad liar, I suppose. At any rate, Adrian informed us that his plan was to offer our services as adventurers to investigate the disappearances. We agreed that this was a good idea, and berated Adrian for not telling us his exact plan sooner. I also suggested to Adrian that Tarik do the talking when we meet Skellerang, as the Captain's opinion of Adrian was not good. Adrian agreed, saying that Tarik had a "silver tongue". Disgusting. I can see why Great Grandfather always said that arcane magic was unnatural. Rassi made an even more disgusting aside to Kyrin about the benefits of a silver tongue, but I've come to expect that kind of behavior from Amedio's natives. Mother tells stories that would make your beard curl. I think she would like this Gnomish Barbarianne.
On the way to city hall, we conversed with Adrian, trying to find any clues he may be able to offer. He told us he had been studying at the Church of the Righteous Cudgel, under Sarcem and Jenya Urikas, to be a priest. He also told us that he was getting nowhere in the training, and that his son had been his whole world since his wife left him, and now he had nothing. Again, understandable. Family is very important.
I had heard legends of monsters that sometimes posed as human females, wed unsuspecting men, disappeared, and later returned to claim their half-breed children. I asked Adrian if his wife had been a harpy, or a lamia.
"What's a lamia?" said he.
"About five pounds." said I.
I do not think I told the joke correctly.
We entered City Hall. My companions seemed impressed by the stained-glass window depicting Spellmason conquering the mountain. This city's deification of Spellmason infuriates me, but to show him as being more powerful than the volcano? That is so foolish it borders on the humorous. At least that is what I tell myself. Anger breeds anger breeds fiery eruptions.
The clerk seemed unhappy to see Adrian, but asked him if he was invoking his right of meeting. A lesser government would deny the rights of one so meddlesome as Adrian. Cauldron is a good city, after all, despite its foolish placement.
Skellerang was genuinely happy to speak with Tarik. He seemed to love the idea of chartering us as adventurers. It seemed everyone involved was surprised that Adrian was capable of a good and rational plan! We get special "Adventurer's Badges", but the rest of the transaction would have to wait until the next day, as the clerks had all left for the evening. Skellerang read us the information his guards had gathered on the case.
People have been disappearing for the last two and half months.
People are missing from every district of the citizen, no seeming pattern.
Reasonably representative of area races have been taken.
Most victims were lower class, no nobles.
All kidnappings happened at night, usually overcast or new moons.
21 people missing total.
Deven was taken on the 5th.
Jasper Drundlesput was the last person taken. That was two nights ago (13th of Ready'reat).
The guards didn't realize a problem until a month after they started. The first people taken were indigents and the like.
Gryffon Malek (barkeep) was the first person reported, about 45 days ago. He was 33 and was reported as he was supposed to get married to Imelie, a bar wench. They both worked at the Tip Tankard.
Some people taken from homes.
The Last Laugh and Alleybashers (two local gangs) were looked into seriously.
It is believed that locks were picked to gain entry to some places, but it is odd that the doors were always locked afterwards.
Small valuables were frequently taken.
Footprints indicate 2-6 people seem to be involved. Some of them are smaller (perhaps gnomes or halflings).
We asked him to elaborate on the footprints, apparently they were all prints of bare feet. He wasn't able to identify what species of humanoid made them. He also didn't seem to think it was unusual for people to go barefoot in Cauldron. I may spend most of my time underground, but I can't think of a time I've ever seen a grown humanoid go barefoot in this city. Perhaps they do so down by the shore of the lake. I do not like to go there. At any rate, he seemed to be hiding something. In light of later events, I think it was a case of not wanting to accept the possibility of something more dangerous than a gang of Humans and Halflings. Much like the town of Cauldron ignores the fact that dormant volcanoes have been known to awaken!
Indeed, I asked him if he'd had time to review the evacuation plan that my father had presented him. He told me the Lord Mayor was reviewing it. A brush-off, no doubt.
After our meeting, we went to the Drunken Morkoth Inn to have a drink, socialize, and discuss our plans. Despite being in one of the poorer neighborhoods, the Drunken Morkoth is respectable and popular. I like the paintings mocking the Morkoth that supposedly lives in the lake. I explained to Kyrin that Morkoths are ugly, hateful aquatic creatures.
Adrian paid us our promised gold. 25 each, and bought drinks for us, and rooms for the non-locals. The effects of Tarik's charm were quickly replaced by the barkeep's ale. He was being remarkably generous, but at the time, I attributed it to being happy to have finally found his information. In fact, he seemed to think we had pulled a "fast one" on the guard just to get him his information. We informed him that we intended to honor the charter agreement, and what would he do with the information anyway?
We did the traditional round table introductions before deciding on the name under which we wished to incorporate. Adrian opted to head back to his home in a drunken stupor. We briefly considered escorting him to prevent him from being accosted in his weakened state, but decided he had no money now anyway. In hindsight, I think it would have been better to escort him home. Luckily, he was not attacked that night.
The "silver tongued" wizardly fellow, Tarik, is from Hollowsky, he told us. He was the apprentice of a Hedgemage, but decided that he wanted to "make a name for himself". I've come to accept that Humans are just like that. I thought at the time; "Let's hope it isn't Tarik the Silver-Tongued". "Tarik, the man who doesn't take financial advantage of the magically enthralled", perhaps?
Megan, the Elven Warrior, merely told us that she was from the edge of the edge of the jungle, the sea, and the Hellfurnace Mountains. I'm no Gnome. I have little patience for inconsequential riddles. Megan also seemed to be agitated with me. I did not find out until talking to her sister that it was because Megan was a male! I was confused because among my people, only the women shave their beards, and have such delicate features. Verana explained to me that elf men didn't grow beards at all! That explained why I'd thought I'd never seen an Elf male! I did not ask her if elf women grew beards or not, but I assume they don't. Actually, beards or no, I would have had a hard time telling these two siblings apart if they did not dress so differently. Nevertheless, I was somewhat embarrassed at my faux pas. (See? I speak a little elvish!)
I also learned that Megan actually spells her name "Maeglin". And also pronounces it that way.
Kyrin Brightglade of Keoland told us that after ten years of studying as a War-Mage in Sasserine, there was a mix up in his assignment. The province that he had been assigned to was divided in thrain, and none had him registered as being assigned there! His advisors told him they would send him his instructions if they ever came. I'm not sure if Kyrin is happy about this or not. As I see it, he feels either that he was given an education without needing to pledge his service in payment, or that fate has cheated him out of a job. I'll try to ask him about this before my next entry.
Rassi comes from Amedio, like my mother. She was in the region looking for her cousin Oddfrey. Apparently Oddfrey was unusually intelligent for their tribe, and he had been sent off to school. He must have been studying some kind of magic, because it seems Kyrin remembered him. Rassi said Oddfrey could do an amazing trick with his fingers. (Is that legal among cousins in Amedio?) She said that an evil sorceress had polymorphed Oddfrey into a pixie! She is looking for him in order to free him before a dangerous experiment is used to turn him back.
I informed my new friends of my rich paraelemental heritage. Kyrin seemed to have some knowledge of the plains, as he guessed Magma might have been the name of the place. I told Rassi about how the city needed to perform a yearly ceremony to remove floodwater from the city.
I was very happy to see that many of these newcomers agreed that building a city in a dormant caldera seemed unwise.
Verana especially seemed the think it was stupid, though she tends to throw that word around quite a bit. Luckily she doesn't talk like a pirate or curse like a sailor, despite her garb. Verana told us that she came looking for her brother Maeglin. This is where I realized my earlier error of gender identification.
We had a lively session of brainstorming party name ideas. It was all a bit silly, but in good fun, especially with our minds lubricated by the Morkoth's ale. We eventually settled on Tarik's Company. A bit of flattery was perhaps necessary to get Tarik to drop his awful suggestion of "Spellmason's Heirs"! Spellmason's Heirs? I'd get kicked out of being a Dwarf! It looks like Tarik is on his way to making a name, and it will not be "Tarik Spellmason". I left my new friends to their Inn, and went home to the shrine to deliver the salted pork and cakes I had purchased in Redgorge, and tell my family about my new position as chartered adventurer! Father and Grandfather agreed that this was an excellent opportunity to protect the people of Cauldron, and perhaps gain the divine favor of Obad-Hai. They said I could be excused from Shrine duty for as long as I needed. Mother suggested I take her old leather armor to sleep in, just in case we needed to make camp somewhere and were attacked in our sleep. She calls it "Pajamas". May Obad-Hai bless her. I borrow one of Father's blank journals in which to record the events of the day, and my adventures to come. (That's this book you're reading now, O reader!) I also took a few torches and some food. I have no idea where tomorrow will take me!
After morning prayers, I returned to the Drunken Morkoth for breakfast, and to meet with Tarik's Company before we left to officially incorporate. Before I could get a bite in, a young newsie burst in waiving about The Cauldron City Broadsheet and screaming that there had been more abductions last night. My first thought was confusion. I hadn't realized the common man knew about the abductions. Adrian had made it sound like there was an extreme government cover-up. More lies, but remember, he was desperate. Verana doesn't seem surprised. She said last night was a new moon. To tell the truth, I hadn't noticed!
Rassi scrutinized the broadsheet for a minute before she realized she didn't know how to read. Maeglin read it aloud. Four children had been taken from the Lantern Street Orphanage; three humans and a dwarf; two boys and two girls! This was the first time children were taken.
We made up our minds to go straight to the orphanage after meeting with Skellerang to incorporate. Tarik held onto the ledger, while Kyrin obtained a copy of the city's laws on adventuring. He said he had a good head for bureaucracy and this proved useful later in the day.
The orphanage is on Lantern Street, between Lava and Ash. It was locked when we arrived, but an elderly Halfling woman named Gretchen answered our knocking. She was assured we were not, in fact, merely "looky loos", when we showed her our Adventurer's Badge's. She let us in, which was good because it was beginning to rain. I could tell it wasn't a magical rain, because I was not vomiting in the streets. Still, rain is a discomfort, and it makes it difficult to investigate a "crime scene".
Gretchen told us that the guards had moved things around, and had taken the missing children's records. The watch, some elves form the Lord Mayor's office, and another adventuring group called the "Stormblades" had already come through. I thought there was little chance we would be able to find many clues after so many disturbances, but really, what do I know about detective work anyway?
The missing children were Terram, age nine, human. Lucinda, age eight, human. Evelyn, age nine, human. Deakon, age twenty, dwarf. Some of my companions did not seem to realize how young twenty years is to a dwarf.
Verana inspected the locks. She said it would have been to hard for her to pick them. I should hope so! We learned from Gretchen that all the locks were supplied by a Gnomish locksmith named Keygan Ghelve. I had seen his shop "Ghelve's Locks", though never gone inside. Gretchen told us that Keygan makes his own locks, and also imports more expensive ones from Sasserine. Pay attention to that point, because it reveals its importance later in this journal!
We were unable to find any trace of any physical evidence, despite Kyrin hanging out the window. The children had been taken from their beds, on the second floor. Being on the second floor makes it unlikely the kidnappers tunneled their way in. We met an orcish janitor named Patch, who the children seemed to like. The children were playing imagination games outside. Verana questioned many of the children, including one wearing a dog's skull and pretending to be a troll. They had heard nothing in the night. I was suspicious of Patch, as he obviously had orcish blood. Kyrin pointed out that Patch was a half-orc, and should therefore be given the benefit of the doubt. I still don't know. Neither half of Patch is a dwarf. We investigated under a loose board that Patch had just patched. There was nothing under it. Again, it was not likely that there would be a tunnel there.
Acting on a hunch, we left the orphanage to investigate Adrian's home. Verana wanted to see if his locks had come from Ghelve's Locks as well.
On our way there, we heard someone cry out, and the sound of someone being beaten! Maeglin and I rushed into the side-street from whence the sound had come. Kyrin and Tarik followed close behind. The ladies circled round the block to cut off any escape, and to gain a tactical advantage. We found two humans in black and white facepaint beating a berobed man. As a approached, I saw the man being beaten was Adrian Whitebeard! Maeglin engaged one of the brigands, and I stepped over Adrian and dropped the other with a single swing of my Dwaraxe. Verana appeared from nowhere and decimated the first brigand with a blow from behind. Tarik called for the city guard, and as I lay hands on the brigands to keep them from dying, a shrill woman's laughter erupted from a rooftop above.
Kyrin told me that the woman had been painted like the brigands. She was screaming something about taking the priest and something else nihilistic and poorly-thought. Before I even got a look at her, an impressively powerful magical bolt from Kyrin, and a swiftly fired arrow from Maeglin, impacted the woman in the face. She ran off screaming, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Tarik tried to give chase, but the guards arrived, and we had to deal with the situation.
As the woman flew, I heard her intone a word of power that sounded something like "oompacka". Kyrin later told me this was a draconic word, but we didn't have time to discuss its meaning.
When the guards arrived they said that the brigands were wearing the makeup worn by one of the local thieves guilds. The Last Laugh. We were all shocked to learn, however, that these two guild members were City Guardsmen themselves! Tastus and Cunir, they were called. Thinking back to Tarik's magic, and the arcane word I'd heard the woman speak, I told the guard that it was possible their comrades had been under a magical compulsion. The guards took the Last-Laugh-Guards to city hall. Verna decided to trail them, to make sure that they would indeed do as they had promised. I do not suspect city-wide corruption. Would Skellerang be so eager to hire adventurers if his guards were all so vile? I made this point to my allies, and it seemed to allay their suspicions somewhat.
We carried Adrian to the Church of the Righteous Cudgel. Tarik informed the acolyte that ran up to us that Adrian had been attacked by brigands. I wondered why Tarik had not told the acolyte the whole truth? Perhaps he was just rushed, as when I asked him about this later he seemed to regret the omission.
I inspected Adrian's wounds while the acolyte left to get his Mistress, Jenya Urikas. Adrian had been severely beaten, but none of the wounds were life-threatening. Jenya arrived, and invoked her god's power to heal him. She is an attractive human. I'd say in her 60's (wait, no, 30's you have to divide in half for human years) She does appear to be going grey a bit prematurely. Perhaps having to care for Adrian is taking a toll on her health? Adrian began to struggle violently, as if he were still being attacked by "ruffians". Jenya led Adrian to another room to question him, while the acolyte brought us tea and towels.
Verana appeared shortly afterwards, and informed us that the guards had not acted suspiciously. Jenya came out and thanked us for rescuing Adrian, but that she needed to tell us a tale.
It seems Adrian has been acting extremely distressed and aimless ever since his wife left him about two years ago. Sarcem, the head Cleric at the church had taken him in. (He was out of town that day.) The loss of Deven had caused Adrian to snap. She told us that Adrian had stolen the money he'd used to pay us from the church coffers! No wonder he had been so generous! She didn't ask for it back, but Tarik and I agreed, and convinced most of the rest of the party that it was only right to return it. Rassi is the only one who refused, which was strange because earlier she had admitted that she really had no idea what she was going to do with the gold. Tarik paid for her. I am ashamed to admit I had to borrow a gold piece from Maeglin, as I had spent half of one on our adventuring charter, and the money from Adrian was all the money I had since buying groceries for my family. I will pay him back at my first opportunity.
That opportunity may come soon, because Jenya offered us 2,500gp and free healing services, if we could swiftly recover the missing children. She also gave us a prophecy, that had been spoken by a holy relic known as the Star of Justice, when it was asked where the children had been taken.
"The locks are key to finding them, look beyond the curtain, below the cauldron. Beware the doors with Teeth. Descend into the malachite hold, where precious life is bought with gold. Half a dwarf binds them, but not for long."
She had no idea what it meant, but we were quickly able to decipher at least part of it. The first sentence confirmed our hunch that we would need to confront Keygan Ghelve, and also that the children might be located in tunnels or caverns under the city. "Beware the doors with teeth", we figured we would know them when we saw them. "Where precious life is bought with gold" seems to me to be referring to a Slave Market of some sort. I remember hearing tales of underground cities notorious for engaging in slavery. I am still not sure what the rest of the paragraph means, even as I write this, but I'm sure we will find out soon. This is the extent of my patience with riddles.
The acolyte gave us each a relatively powerful healing potion to use in emergencies. These may make me need to be less conservative in the use of my divine magic.
Jenya and I briefly conversed about the need for the churches to get involved in investigating and preventing these disappearances. I had meant to ask her if she had reached out to the other churches. The Temple of Lordly Might, The Spire of the Stern Lady, and The Mirror of the Shining One all might pool resources to get to the bottom of this! I was distracted by Jenya mentioning that she had met Gerdan, and her attempts to veil her doubts in the validity of the Vesuvian sect, and so I forgot to ask her this question. I must remember the next time I see her!
Before we left, Tarik remembered to ask after Adrian. She told us that the brigands had told him; "Your kid's gone. Forget about it".
We left to investigate Ghelve's Locks. Before we entered the shop, I asked Tarik what his plan was, if any. He told us that he thought he might pretend to be interested in buying a lock, but then say "Why would I buy a lock from you, when all of the houses that were broken into were protected by your locks?" In hindsight, we only had circumstantial evidence to this effect. We never investigated the other homes of the missing persons. On the other hand, the events I am about to record seem to confirm Tarik's theory.
I suggested that Tarik prolong his chat with Keygan Ghelve, whilst Verana inspected the place for a curtain, and I looked for unusual stonework. Tarik expressed concern that we are not allowed to search or seize. Kyrin read the rules on adventuring and found that we have a lot of leeway, as long as the greater good is served. I told you, reader, that that would come in handy! Armed with this new plan, we entered the Locksmith's.
Our first sight of Keygan Ghelve is somewhat shocking. He appears to be the world's tallest Gnome. "Half a Dwarf binds them", I thought. But Keygan cannot be a half-human, half-dwarf. Dwarves do not breed with non-dwarves! No. Keygan was merely wearing stilts! Perhaps I need more sleep!
Keygan wears a goatee, as Gnomes are wont to do. He is old for gnome, we noticed. Tarik began to chat him up, pretending to be interested in buying a lock, as per the plan. We found that Keygan imports the best locks from Festus of Sasserine (No relation), and makes his own. He tells us that customers pick a key type for ornamentation, but all the keys on his walls are blank.
Verana whispered a verification that the locks he makes were the ones being opened in the break-ins. As she creeped towards the curtain that lead to the back room, Keygan got very agitated and asked her to step away. Verana was insulted at being accused of something she was "not trying to do" despite the fact that she was. Perhaps she was just embarrassed that she was so easily caught.
I had little luck finding unusual stonework, myself, and the curtain to the back rooms seemed our obvious goal anyway. All that was left was to scrutinize Keygan's expression when Tarik dropped the bomb.
An obvious blanche. Keygan sputtered that he had no idea that all the invaded homes bore his locks. A lie.
The scene then became somewhat chaotic. Rassi asked what would happen if someone lost their key. Keygan… Key… gan… Some parents can be so cruel. Keygan admitted that he kept records of the imprints of the keys. Tarik seemed to think this was a lead and wanted to go into the back room, but before he could question further, Keygan began signaling with his head. At first I thought he might be signaling to a comrade to fire upon us, but it became clear he was trying to tell us there was someone up in the loft. Someone he was afraid of. Verana stepped toward the front door, but suddenly a cloaked figure leapt from the loft and into our midst. Before anyone could react, Rassi burst into a fit of maniacal giggles and clove with figure in twain.
Tarik identified the cloaked thing as a "skulk". An Underdark fiend with color-changing skin. Ghelve began to pour forth profuse thanks. He launched into a muddled explanation of these "Tall things" and other "short things" That had been holding him hostage. It seems that he had been dabbling in arcane magic, and had obtained a familiar, a rat named Starbrow, that was now being held hostage about a mile below ground. These skulks, and these "short things" (Pale skinned, large nosed, hoofed creatures that Tarik thinks might be "Dark Creepers") emerged from a hidden entrance to the lost Gnomish city of Jzadirune and took his rat. They said they would kill his familiar if he didn't make a master key and give it to one of the "tall things". He had done so, and the creature in the loft had stayed with Ghelve to make sure he didn't tell anyone. Tarik says that Skulks and Dark Creeper are sometimes known as Dark Ones, and will often form alliances. I wonder why he knows so much about Underdark? Underdark, though, That agitates my suspicion that these kidnapped people are being sold as slaves.
Keygan went on to tell us that Jzadirune had been a Gnomish stronghold used for magical research. His parents had lived there long ago, and his father had made built his out on the entrance when Spellmason built Cauldron. Jzadirune had been abandoned because of a magical illness known as "The Vanishing", which caused people to literally disappear, and not by the mundane means that was taking the citizens of Cauldron.
Keygan overhead Kyrin mention that now that we've slain this Skulk, his familiar is in even greater danger. Keygan panicked at this thought. We sent him to Skellerang with a note explaining all that we'd learned so far. Keygan gave us a Map of Jzadirune, saying that his father made it, but that there should be secret doors not shown on the map. In the confusion, we forgot to confiscate Keygan's spellbook. Though the general consensus was that he should not be dabbling in the arcane without proper training and supervision. The unspoken motivation for this being that Tarik and Kyrin might learn a new spell or two that would aide us in our quest. We should return for it when we have a chance.
The long spiral stairs to Jzadirune were hidden beneath a loose board in the back room. As we descended, we heard strange sounds, like chirping, the rustling of leaves, and some creatures giggling. The low light was beginning to make it difficult to see color, and so I knew my non-dwarf company would soon be blind. I gave a torch to Rassi. (I brought them not for light, but in case of insect swarms) Maeglin carried Verana's bullseye lantern. We quickly decided on a marching order. Verana in front, scanning for traps. Maeglin behind her. I walked near the middle of the party, despite my competence in battle, it is more important that I have fast access to administer my healing touch to anyone. The mages were near me, and Rassi brought up the rear. Woe to any that attempt an ambush!
When we came to level ground, we saw little but an empty iron sconce for a torch. It may not be important, and I didn't think of it at the time, but Keygan mentioned there may be secret doors, and I have heard stories where torch sconces are actually hidden levers that open doors. Another thing to inspect when we get the chance.
We came to an open passage lined with twelve copper masks of obvious gnomish design. It was these masks making the strange sounds we'd been hearing! One of them spoke a poem of warning.
"Welcome to Jzadirune - behold the wonder! But beware, ye who seek to plunder. Traps abound and guardians peer. Beyond every portal, behind every gear."
This seemed to click with what the Star of Justice had said, especially when we noticed that one of the two round doors to our left had was rimmed with gear-like teeth. Verana also explained that the glyphs on the round doors were magical traps, though the glyph on the ajar door (wedged open with a bit of steel) that bore its teeth for us to see, seemed to be inert.
Rassi attempted to converse in gnomish with one of the masks, but it ignored her.
We decided to explore the open space before taking our chances with the gear-door. In hindsight that may not have been the best idea. We did see light coming through the crack, and light often indicates inhabitants.
We came to an intersecting hallway. There were more glyphed doors. Tarik said that the glyphs were just gnomish runes, but I had thought that gnomes used dwarven runes in their language. Perhaps they have their own as well? At any rate, he began mapping the dungeon, and writing the common letters for the runes on each door. When we are safely back in Cauldron, I'll have to ask him to let me make a copy of his map for this journal.
Verana walked ahead, keeping her Elvish senses alert for secret doors and traps. Perhaps I should have tried to search the stonework instead, because before we knew it, she had fallen through a hidden trapdoor!
I rushed up to the edge of the trap, Verana threw a length of rope up to me and I braced myself as she climbed. She slipped, however and tumbled back down the pit. Before we could try again, the door of the pit slammed shut, and we heard a terrible crunching sound coming from below. I pried the door back open, and this time with Maeglin's help, we pulled Verana out of the pit. She was badly wounded, though still conscious. Apparently the pit had tilted and thrown her into a wall covered in wooden spikes. I'm sure this is what Gnomes consider a "practical joke". I let the stone door close, fearing it would snap shut again with me holding it, but I think this was a mistake. We heard the trap resetting below us.
I invoked the searing torch of healing to weld-closed Verana's wounds. She used a bit of chalk to mark the trap door with a large X.