Previously, the heroes visited the Baths of Sedna on their way back from the wine shop, where they took Muirgheal into custody, making good on their promise to Emma. They decided to go and find their way back to the Newport Vault in the afternoon and found that Falka was using an entrance to the ancient waterways at the Silver Cross, a house of pleasure in the Lace. From there, they gained access to the waterways and followed Falka’s until they reached a landing at the dead end of a canal.
Sixth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262
(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is in low sanction, Darkmoon is waxing)
Just after fourth bell, the heroes found a small rowboat moored at the landing at the top of the canal which belonged to the Silver Cross. Falka had used it to keep her feet dry, and her boots clean. The landing ended at a large, bricked-up archway. Some of the veteran members of the Heroes of the White Eye were convinced that this archway could be turned into a portal if they could only find the keyhole. Finding miniscule lyrian crystals all over the wall strengthened their conviction and it did not take long before a subtle keyhole could be found which accepted one of the crystals that Luca had brought with him for just that occasion.
While the other sought for a sign of a keyhole, Neamhan reverted back to her trueshape and asked how thick the walls would be. When nobody could give her a satisfying answer, she attempted a connection to the wall in order to open it up so she could pass through. To her surprise the connection was rather rudely rejected, as if the wall itself was an unwilling partner.
The number of the original one hundred lyrium crystals the heroes had found in the Senhadrim halls underneath Lynnecombe were dwindling; through loss, trade, or by using the magic stored inside of them to power spells… or to open the gates to the Senhadrim vaults. This lead Luca to speculate and consider whether there was a way to recharge the crystals. He stored that idea away for later consideration.
Once inserted, the lyrium crystal was drained of its magic and turned dull. At the same time a dark gate opened in the archway; a perfect, black void whose pull was so irresistible that air audibly rushed in, and even light was sucked in around the edges, causing a fiery corona. Knowing that Emrys would collapse the gate behind him, it was decided he would go through last.
Before stepping through, Chakuq made sure that this void portal would not take him directly to hell. He had seen into that desolate wasteland and the very thought of it filled him with despair. Quentin took comfort in the people he had surrounded himself with and stepped through while joking to Chakuq that if it did take him to hell, he could always sacrifice Luca to generate the power to get back. Following Chakuq, Neamhan stepped into the portal while every instinct told her not to. Luca went next, and as agreed, Emrys went last, predictably closing the portal behind him.
In a blink, the heroes woke up at the entrance to the vault; a large circular room with a dome so high they could barely make it out in the gloom. The only light came from a handful of small lanterns, as well as from three crystals atop pillars set in alcoves. There were five other crystal-topped pillars, each in an alcove of their own, which seemed to be dormant. Quentin, Emrys, and Luca recognised this to be the entrance to Xarrombus’ hideout, and also remembered that the three pillars that were lit were by their doing.
Both Neamhan and Chakuq instinctively ducked their heads as they came to terms with being deep underground. Neamhan’s instinct told her that there were tons of rocks and earth above her head, only kept from crushing her by the virtue of the vaulted dome. That thought unnerved her, and she wondered how the dwarves of Ard Thoradun could live inside their mountain kingdom.
In the centre of the room was a circular shaft leading down. Chakuq took a look and found that there were ropes leading down to a landing far below. From that landing other ropes lead to an even deeper landing, and so forth. Emrys offered to provide flight to everyone through his magic, but Chakuq decided to climb down instead. As he did so, he found that the landings were the tops of large, stone faces set into the wall of the shaft. As Emrys descended and past the faces he was reminded of Jan the Custodian reciting the names of the faces;
“Raphael; Elohim.
Michael; Malakim.
Uriel; Seraphim.
Gabriel; Cherubim.”
– Jan
Neamhan took to the magical flight very naturally, and as she descended deeper the pressure on her ears increased and she was reminded of the first time she shaped into a bird and got overconfident and flew too high, too fast, and almost lost consciousness due to a lack of oxygen. For Chakuq, the memory was of a treeless, rocky landscape, sitting around a campfire with other boys. An old man came up and barked a command, and the boys began to run up the slope, racing to the top. The higher the boys climbed, the thinner the air, and the test was to see at what point he would pass out. The others shared in their memories, the same way that Chakuq and Neamhan shared in theirs.
As Quentin descended he was surprised to find that he recognised the style of armour that one of the stone celestials was wearing, as it matched some of the magical pieces of armour the heroes had recovered and he had in his possession. He concluded that there are different types of celestials, each with their own distinct styles.
At the bottom of the shaft the heroes found themselves on a crossroads with a corridor leading to each of the cardinal directions. With the exception of Chakuq and Neamhan, the heroes knew that the corridors lead to the armoury, the reliquary, the gallery, and the library. The heroes headed to the library where they found Falka standing at a book wheel doing research. It took her a moment to realise the heroes had come in because she had stuffed her ears with wax. It was to keep the noise of the excavation out; Garvan, one of the Steady Hand, and Brandomiir, an acquaintance of the heroes, were in another room performing work.
Falka explained that her research had not made a lot of progress due to a confusing filing system. She felt as if the library had been maintained by different librarians over the centuries, and that each had insisted on changing the filing system without ever being able to finish the task, leaving the library in disarray and unnecessarily complex to navigate.
The goal was to find the Liber Bubonicus, and so Chakuq and Neamhan started sifting through the rows and rows of books, hoping to find it. In the meantime, Luca drew a magic circle which would help him perform a ritual that would allow him to sense the presence of magic. Neamhan looked for anything that was written in Sylvan, or druidic. While Chakuq looked for leatherbound books.
Much to Neamhan’s surprise, she found a piece of old bark which was inscribed with burnt symbols that was an even more archaic version of druidic. It was not immediately clear to hear what it said, but she sensed that the text held within it a connection, but one that she had not yet established.
Chakuq’s attention was caught by a book of white leather which he reckoned was fashioned from horse hide. The pages were of a thin velum whose edges were painted in gold. Even though Chakuq could not read the text, there was something about the book which told him that it was important to his people, despite his people favouring the oral tradition over writing. When Chakuq asked Emrys if he recognised the language, the sorcerer could tell him that it was similar to Primordial, but that he did not immediately recognise it.
In the meantime, Quentin went to the armoury in order to store Muirgheal only to find it completely empty.
When Luca finalised his ritual he could see the weave of magic all around him, and he quickly identified twelve books that were magical in nature. He also recognised that the book wheel that Falka was using was imbued with divination magic, that the piece of bark which Neamhan had retrieved held necromantic magic, and that the white, leather book that Chakuq had found was mundane.
