Helkala's Hold
The Concord, Uldrath
A month later, the party has gathered the following information about Helkala, the owner of a small islet in the Concord of Uldrath, the last known destination of the Gate Compass:
- Older man, somewhere in his 60s.
- Descended from a high-status Rathi tribe that have had many Rathi High Seers and viziers among them. Never served the local rulers himself, but did go to the Collegium to become a trained magi.
- Inherited islet 42. An ancestor claimed and built it, and it used to be the seat of the wizardly advisor to the Rathi, but is now simply known as Helkala's Hold.
- Has been known for traveling the Islands and trips to the surface, but has reportedly not left Helkala's Hold for a year or more, and has hired a small squad of Habri mercenaries to keep the riff-raff out. Still hosts other high-status Uldrathi from time to time.
- Bought Placido Terra a little over two years ago, and a large box about the size of the Gate Compass was shipped from Placido Terra to Islet 42 about a year ago.
- Is reportedly behind on dues to the Collegium, and they are in a tizzy about it.
- Doesn't offer magical services generally, but makes items on commission for high paying clients.
The party also suspects that he is the "H" who signed the spellbook they took from Trask, and that he or someone he associates with may be using the Gate Compass to avoid the Gates and sneak powerful corrupt beings onto the Islands - like the one the party encountered at Placido Terra.
The party takes the Gate from Nade to Uldrath, and for some it is the first time navigating the walkways, gondolas, balloons, and small islets of the Concord. They find their Alshekal "safe" inn, but also rent rooms in an inn on the islet closest to Helkala's Hold. They have managed to obtain the drawing of the place, and Koros rents an Orn ride to confirm the features from the air.
Helkala's Hold is serviced by a single balloon gondola line, and the near side attaches at a small square and is guarded by a couple of Habri mercenaries. A small distance away, a small pavilion shades a few collegium magi, who freely say that they are keeping a watch on the gondola terminal in the even that Helkala decides to leave his hold. The back-dues owed to the Collegium are enough to warrant their presence, but not enough for the Collegium to send collectors over to the manse of a prepared magi. He has reportedly not left, at least by this route, on over a year, although he has had high-status Uldrathi visit him for social calls. The magi have others watching for Orn and "other kinds of egress".
The party plans for a few days, and then takes Aidra out for drinks, let's her get drunk, and leaves her behind. They take their gear and fly over the Hold in the middle of the night on rented Orn, dropping off and relying on Ramach's feather fall spells to land inside the walls and near the back tower. Ramach puts the single visible guard on the short tower to sleep, and the party rushes in the bottom door and up a set of stairs to find other guards asleep in the top room of the tower. Koros, in attempting to sneak in to detain them, kicks a bedpan and the clatter wakes the guards. A short fight ensures with the unprepared and groggy Habri guards, and one of them nearly gets to an alarm bell before being wrapped up and tied. The three guards tied and gagged, the party proceeds across the hanging bridge over thousands of feet of empty space to the small islet holding the main tower. Small iron faces tied into the bridge suddenly animate and speak as the party passes by, warning them not to go further and to turn back. The party ignores them and continues to the main door.
Ramach detects magic on the main door, finding an aura of abjuration and two of evocation. Failing to find any glyph or trap, the party lets Orosh touch the door. A bolt of lightning explodes from the door and across the bridge, lighting up the night and injuring most of the party. Atop the main tower, now alarmed guards begin raining crossbow bolts down at the party. Paetro and Ramach return fire, and Orosh climbs straight up the slanted side of the tower, braving bolts in a (n athletic) rage. The rest of the party follows, climbing carefully.
When Orosh reaches the top, rumors of it bring warded are proven true. The guards dive for a hatch just before the entire roof is engulfed in a 40ft ball of fire no doubt visible form the entire Concord. Orosh nonetheless pursues the guards down one level to a small orn hutch and incapacitates them while the rest of the party catches up.
The level under the roof is an orn hutch and lodgings for orn riders. Although Ramach and Koros are able to bypass some wards, a door to a stairway remains stubbornly shut. Keeping watch on the roof, Paetro sees more Habri guards crossing the bridge in the company of an older man dressed as if he was pulled form his bed. The older man waves a medallion at the front door, and it opens for them. Rather than meet them in the tower, the party decides to follow them in, and quickly descends the outside wall with ropes.
They enter the now-open door, surprising the old man who is standing just inside, and triggering the second evocation ward. A thunderous blast pushes the party out onto the bridge, knocking some unconscious. Only by the dexterous hands of those maintaining consciousness do the knocked-out not go tumbling off the bridge into the abyss below. The party quickly heals the concussed and enters the door. It opens midway up a three story chamber. The old man was blown inward and lays in a bloody heap on the floor below. Shouts come from just behind doors at the top of the chamber. The party descend and quickly grab the medallion from the dead old man. Another glyphed and closed door leads downward, and the party defeats the ward and finds that in the presence of the medallion the door opens easily. They enter, close the door behind them, and stop for a much needed rest. They can hear voices on the other side of the door, but no one enters.
After a uneventful hour, the party pushes on, finding and disarming wards along the way. The level has three rooms; one a comfortable sitting room, one a series of cells with pollen-transformed humans banging at the bars, and one with two pools of stagnant water and rotting vegetation with human parts floating inside. Ramach burns the infected humans, the party keeps the door locked on the pools. Something stirs insise, and squelches against thr door. Leaving these experiments in corruption behind, in the sitting room they find a secret door and disarm yet another ward. The door opens to a shaft leading upward and downward.
The party climbs down, and finds a large chamber that is clearly a magi's workshop. A forge, alchemical equipment, and half-finished projects are scattered around. An arcane circle is carved in the floor in one corner. In another is piled drawings and schematics of the Gate Compass. Three daggers are hung in a place of pride near the forge. Koros grabs them. Another secret door is found in the floor - opening it triggers a ward which creates a stone wall around the entrance from above. Green noxious gas begins to seep from the walls, and the party quickly drops down through the floor, falling 15 feet to a dirt-packed floor.
The cave-like chamber smells musty and has fungus-like growths on the walls. There are no apparent exits. A shuffling from around a corner alerts them to the presence of something large, and in moments a tree-creature shambles into view, its writing tongue whipping towards the party.
It captures people and whips them against the opposite wall, all while raking and clawing those nearby. A quick but bloody fight ensues, but when the creature is finally vanquished, yellow-green mist begins to pour from its body and take over the chamber. Ramach has noticed one wall with a bit of a glow, and discovers that it is an illusion. The party flees through, finding a small chamber with an arcane circle carved in the floor. Unlike the others that they have seen, the space above this circle is glowing.
With no other way out, badly hurt and with a noxious corrupting gas leaking closer, the party enters the circle, and one by one they vanish from Helkala's Hold....