ftp.ee.pdx.edu/2014.02.ftp.ee.pdx.edu.tar/ftp.ee.pdx.edu/pub/frp/Archives/1069

Internet Message Format | 1995-08-21 | 34KB

Path: usenet.ee.pdx.edu!cs.uoregon.edu!news.uoregon.edu!newsfeed.internetmci.com!news.sprintlink.net!in1.uu.net!not-for-mail
From: [e-mail] (Fraser MacDonald MacKenzie)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives
Subject: STORY: Fate's Fellowship - Chapter 8:Visions from the Crypt
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc
Date: 20 Aug 1995 12:56:36 -0400
Organization: Achilles Internet Limited, Nepean, ON
Lines: 564
Sender: [e-mail]
Approved: [e-mail]
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <417pg4$[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net

Well all, here it is.

Enjoy!

--
Fraser MacKenzie
http://www.achilles.net:80/~fraserm

                                                          \|/
                   _____________________________         (o o)
__________________|       Fraser MacKenzie      |_____oo0_(_)_0oo____
\  Optimization   | [e-mail] |If only I could be  /
 \ hinders        |       Voice: 830-5807       |respected without /
 | evolution.     |       Fax  : none           |being respectable.|
 /                |_____________________________|                  \
/___________________)                         (______________________\




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   The characters contained in these writings and the writings themselves
   are copyright 1995 by Fraser MacKenzie.  Any resemblance to any persons
   or characters either real or fictional is utterly coincidental.  Copying
   and/or distribution of these tales is permissible only under the sole
   condition that no part of them will be used or sold for profit and that
   they not be altered in any way.

   I wish to thank Eric Lindsey, Seng Ann Mah, Ron Trimmer, Max
   Bullock, Charlotte Ashley, Tom DeSanctus, Bob Grob, Michael Clair
   Haflidi Jonsson, and Drew Lahaise for their immense input without
   which, there would be no story at all. ;)

   Enjoy!

                                  Fraser MacKenzie
                                  [e-mail]


   Note: You can FTP the chapters of Fate's Fellowship as they come
   out from ftp.achilles.net in the directory pub/users/fraserm or
   access them from my home page at http://www.achilles.net:80/~fraserm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Introducing the characters:

  Name      Race     Type
~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
Tenbar   Human      Warrior
E'tharn  Elven      Warrior
Kelemvor Human      Spellcaster
Ssylth   Human      Spellcaster
Ginafae  Elven      Spellcaster
Crowe    Half-Elven Thief




                             Fate's Fellowship
                 Chapter 8
               Visions from the Crypt


It takes some time to undo the barred secret door, but soon the party has it
open to reveal the set of stairs leading down into darkness.  A cool draft of
stale air wafts up from below.

The party decides that the best order for them to be in, should danger rear its
ugly head, is:

E'tharn scouting ahead
Tenbar
Kelemvor (with torch)
Ginafae
Ssylth (with torch)
Crowe following up behind

Once Kelemvor and Ssylth have a light source prepared and the party has arranged
themselves in the best positions to meet any danger they might face, everyone
descends the stairs.  After about 15ft, the stairs open up into a large
25x35x8ft high room.  The first thing the party members notice is that the room
is very dusty and dirty.  It appears that no one has been here for many years.
E'tharn reports that he can find no trace of the trail of blood that ended at
the secret door at the top of the stairs.

Next, they notice what appears to be a small fountain standing against the far
wall.  It is approximately 3ft high, 4ft in diameter and filled with dark green
water covered by scum.  A dragon's head with an open mouth is set in the wall
over it, apparently from which water once flowed.  There are runes engraved
around the lip of the fountain and dragons sculpted in relief around its sides.

The room also contains a pile of wood in the northest corner and a set of empty
shelves jutting out from the south wall.  There are two doors in the north wall
leading to other rooms.  A quick inspection reveals that the closest contains
eight wine barrels.  The second room is filled with a number of rotting crates,
casks and large sacks along with a terrible odor.  When E'tharn peeks in, he
hears a scrabbling noise and see several small dark shapes on the floor dart
behind the containers.  There appear to be no exits from the cellar apart from
the stairs the group came down.

At seeing the small shapes, Kelemvor says, "I think all of us believe that there
must be a secret way out of here.  We just need to find it.  Since I don't like
rats too much, I think we ought to search the this room, the fountain, and the
room with the wine barrels first."

Moving toward the fountain, Tenbar asks if anyone can read the runes written
there.  Kelemvor follows and finds that he can identify the signals.  There are
six and he calls out their meaning to group: SHORT, TIME, SIGHT, WATER, FAR,
DANGER.  Tenbar then announces that he is going to try to move the scum on the
surface of the water to see what lies beneath.  E'tharn steps forward, drawing
his sword and raising his shield just in case anything should go wrong.  Using
his dagger with the skull, Tenbar stirs around the trash floating on top of the
water to reveal murky green water beneath.  Unfortunately, the torch light does
not penetrate the dark water so the group cannot see what might lie beneath the
surface.

For the moment, they turn their attention elsewhere.  E'tharn searches the
stairwell for secret doors and reports finding nothing when he finishes.  Going
back to the top of the stairs, he is puzzled by how the stains of blood seem to
stop just outside the secret door to the cellar.  He says he could have sworn
that the trail led down the stairs when he looked yesterday.  Now, there is no
blood, footprints or anything despite a heavy layer of dust on the floor.

Upon listening to E'tharn's bewilderment over the disappearance of the tracks,
Tenbar mutters, "I's reckons there's some magic been used here, which means that
there be someone, or some folk, here don't want anyone followin' them. We mun be
carefuly from hereon, my friends."

Still puzzled, E'tharn moves to examine the wood in the corner.  It appears to
be a neatly stacked pile of firewood.  There are about fifteen logs, all
somewhat old but still in fire worthy condition.  He carefully inspects the
pile, but they appear to be just normal logs.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group has moved to the wine closet.  The eight
barrels fill most of the far side of the room.  Upon examination, they discover
that only four do in fact contain liquid.  Tenbar suggests that the barrels be
moved out of the closet so that it can be easily searched.  Following, Tenbar's
suggestion, the party moves the barrels out to the fountain room so that the
closet can be more easily searched.  Of the four full barrels, they discover
that only one actually has an enticing bouquet.  The other barrels have been
compromised and the contents spoiled.

Once the barrels are out, Crowe and Tenbar search the small room.  After several
minutes, Crowe calls out that he has found a secret door.  Deciding to wait
before opening it, the two party members move back out to the fountain room to
finish their search there.  With the entire group making a complete search of
the walls, no other secret doors are found.

Crowe makes a complete search for traps around the secret door and finds none.
He then proceeds to give the first room a final inspection, spending extra time
searching around the wood pile and shelves, but again finds no hidden
compartments.  Satisfied, he moves with the rest of the group to inspect the
fountain.

As Kelemvor goes to get a piece of wood from the pile, Tenbar suggests that the
party look closer at the runes. "Don't look like this is a common fount'n t' me,
Kel, what wi' them old writings on it.  I's heard tales where I come from o'
them keepers o' forests as use pools o' water to work their magics, and to scry.
This place ent no forest, but I's reckon this fount'n might do 'bout the same
thing as the pools used by them droods. Lesse if ye, or someun' else, c'n read
the rune aloud... summat might happen. Or mebber we be meant to touch it or
summat while sayin' it out loud... What yer reckon, eh?"

E'tharn steps forward to oblige, reading the rune for danger.  Unfortunately,
nothing happens.  Undaunted, E'tharn continues, moving to read each rune in
turn.  It is only when he comes to the fifth rune that something happens.  Upon
his pronouncing the rune for water, everyone hears a gurgling sound from the
dragon's mouth on the wall, followed by a stream of fresh clear water pouring
out into the fountain.

Everyone stands transfixed, watching the fresh water splash into the stagnant
pool for several minutes before Ssylth remarks that the water level is not
rising.  Moreover, he points out that the water appears as dark and dirty as
before.  Everyone else realizes that he is correct.  As a test, E'tharn
pronounces the 'water' rune again causing the flow of water to stop.

As the group debates what to do next, Ginafae volunteers to lower her staff into
the water to test its depth.  The slimey water seems to swallow her staff as she
lowers it in, but proves to be only about 4ft deep.  At Crowe's suggestion, she
taps the bottom of the fountain, producing a peculiar thumping sound.  To their
surprise, when she removes her staff less than a foot of its length is wet.

To do some further testing, Tenbar uses his axe to split the log Kelemvor
retrieved from the wood pile.  Kelemvor then drops a small splinter of it into
the water.  The wood immediately sinks out of sight.  He repeats the test with
a few more pieces of wood, but each and every one sinks upon touching the water.

E'tharn asks, "Does someone have a container that we could put some water from
the fountain in?  We can then see if it turns murky and slimey like the water
in the fountain or if it is ok.  If you want, I will take a drink of the water
from the container.  I would also like to try scooping the water out of the
fountain to see what it looks like in the container."

As E'tharn looks for a container to scoop out some of the water and Crowe
begins examining the base of the fountain, Tenbar Tenbar suddenly exclaims. "Eh
up!  I's reckons there's some tricksy sorcery gaun' on here. Let me try summat."
He then rolls up his sleeve, closes his eyes and thrusts his arm into the murky
water up to his elbow.  He swirls his arm about in the pool and everyone
grimaces as the slime on top clings to his skin.  A few minutes later, however,
he reports that he feels no water at all and his arm is dry when he takes it
out.

As Tenbar pulls his hand from the water, Kelemvor exclaims "It's as though the
water is there, but isn't.  I think it's an illusion."  Ginafae nods at Kelemvor
" I agree, I also think it's an illusion, probably the water from the dragon's
head is good, and is being protected by the illusionary scum."

Kelemvor, Ginafae and Ssyth begin talking about illusions and magic which plays
tricks on the mind.  Following their instructions, everybody stares at the water
telling themselves that it isn't real.  To their surprise, the scummy water
begins to fade until it becomes like a reflection in a sheet of glass through
which they can see into the bottom of the fountain.  Revealed is a 4ft
depression filled with about half a foot of clear sparkling water, obviously
what came from the dragon's mouth earlier.  On the bottom, underwater, is a
metal ring that appears to be the handle of a trap door.

As they debate what to do next, Crowe suggests, "Perhaps if we could block the
stream of water from the dragon's mouth, we could see some reaction.  Like a
door opening or a trap going off.  I suggest someone hold their shield up to the
dragon's mouth as the rune is said.  How's that sound?"  E'tharn steps forward
with his shield and manages to lean over the fountain to cover the dragon's
mouth while Kelemvor says the rune for water.  Again there is a gurgling sound
and a small spray of water shoots out around E'tharn's shield as he applies
pressure to hold it back.  After a few minutes the force of the water becomes
too much for him and he has to remove his shield.  Kelemvor quickly says the
rune again and the water stops.  Nothing appears to have changed as a result of
this experiment.

Kelemvor next suggests that the other runes be said again in case they turned on
something they weren't aware of the first time E'tharn said them.  Starting with
the one after water, he goes around the circle FAR, DANGER, SHORT, TIME, SIGHT.
As he pronounces this last one there is a bright flash from within the fountain.
As everyone looks inside, they see that the surface of the 'real' water inside
the fountain has changed.  The bottom can no longer be seen, but an image
appears to float on top of the water.  They see a room with six people gathered
in a circle around some object.  From what they can tell there is a scruffy
looking man standing beside a short, skinny boy holding a torch, who is beside a
tall silvered haired man, who is next to a dainty female form, and finally two
figures who look like they are on their way to a funeral, dressed all in black.

All of a sudden they realize that it's an image of the group looking down into
the fountain in this very room!  They seem to be viewing themselves from
somewhere behind and above them, from an area beyond the height of the ceiling.

E'tharn says, "Why don't we all concentrate on something to see if we can
make the scene in the pool change.  I would suggest something that we all
know...such as the gate of the house.  Also, maybe we should examine around
here before we go through the trap door....as the water coming down may alert
someone."

Following E'tharn's suggestion, everybody peers into the water of the fountain,
picturing an image of the gate to the mansion in their mind.  Nothing happens.
After a few minutes, Ssylth recommends that the other runes be said.  Ginafae
sits back and watches the further experiments with the fountain, saying "I'm
sure this is quite amusing, but I suggest against trying all the runes...  we
have no idea what half of them will do.  Water makes water, what if Danger makes
danger?" but Kelemvor decides to go ahead and pronounces 'FAR'.

There is a flash and the image in the pool changes to show an older man standing
over what looks to be a corpse, performing some sort of ritual.  He is dressed
in black robes with a belt of silver skulls around his waist and the emblem of a
red eyed skull on his chest.  When the rest of the party express alarm, Kelemvor
informs them that the man they see is the high priest of his order back in the
city of Lamyth.  He goes on to explain that the party is watching the last rites
being given to someone who has been claimed by Valeska.  After watching a few
more minutes of the ritual, Kelemvor pronounces the rune 'danger'.

Again there is a flash and the image changes.  Now they are looking at the
inside of a temple, like none they have seen before.  A black alter stretches
across the floor of the chamber near the far wall.  Behind it stands an massive
statue of some grotesque demonic figure.  Vast bat wings sprout from its back
and a long snaky tail, tipped with a sharp spike, coils around its legs.  Its
huge fat body is supported by great goat-like legs.  Its head is also goat-like
with rams horns, but the arms are human.  It appears to have been damaged in the
past, with slash marks crossing the torso and one of the hands broken off.  Also
in the room, six bronze braziers line the walls, providing light.  Against the
right wall is an ornate table of black wood upon which stands a 3ft tall silver
candelabra in the shape of a human skeleton.  Drawn on the floor in the center
of the room is an intricate circle filled with glyphs and strange runes.  It is
difficult to make out the details from the image and there seems to be no one in
the room.  Everybody looks on for several minutes but the image does not change.
Finally, Kelmvor says the rune 'short'.

Again the image changes with a flash.  Now they are looking down at the gate
outside the mansion and a portion of the street in front of it.  It appears to
still be raining and overcast.  As they watch a wagon rolls by, but otherwise
all is quiet.  Kelemvor says the rune 'time'.

There is a flash and the image changes.  Now the party is looking down at two
figures in a small room.  After a few seconds, they recognize the figures as
E'tharn and Tenbar.  Tenbar is standing behind E'tharn holding a torch and they
appear to be looking about the contents of the room; mainly broken crates and
boxes, rotten sacks and piles of trash.  As everyone looks on, a small dark
shape darts out from behind some trash at E'tharn's leg.  He manages to dance
aside, but a second shape moves toward Tenbar and latches on to his leg.
Reacting quickly, Tenbar turns and knocks the creature away with a deft swing
from his sword.  More of the large rats begin to emerge from the surrounding
trash, but Tenbar lowers his torch, swinging it, and they scurry away.  The
party watches as the two men follow them to the far wall.  After moving some,
crates they reveal a small hole through which the creatures disappeared.  Then
the image fades and everyone is looking into clear water.

After they have all finished with the fountain, E'tharn suggests that somebody
finds something to take out the water before opening the trap door.  E'tharn
also requests Tenbar's assistance in examining the rat room.  At this Tenbar
agrees but Ssylth questions the action and asks why they are doing this.

"Don' reckon we got owt to fear if it be only rats, but ye c'n never tell
wi' these ol' places, 'specially if it once belonged to a whee-zard," he
says with a glance at Ssylth and Ginafae. "No offense, lad and lassie. I
warn't referrin' to ye."

Finding nothing to empty the fountain in the cellar, Ssylth and Ginafae head
back up stairs to get some basins from one the bathrooms.  Meanwhile, E'tharn
and Tenbar move into the room where they heard the scurrying sounds.

As the rest of the party moves the wine barrels back into the closet they came
from, placing the one with the good wine somewhere to find it later, they hear
a commotion from the room E'tharn and Tenbar went into.  A few minutes later
they emerge from the room to report that some giant rats jumped out at them,
similar to the scene that everybody saw in the fountain.  However, when he
recognized what was happening, Tenbar was able to turn and dispatch the rat that
came at him before it bit him, unlike what they saw in the fountain.  The other
rats ran away when Tenbar waved his torch through a hole in the wall, similar to
what was seen in the fountain previously.  They searched the room, but found
nothing else of interest.

Ginafae and Ssylth return with the basins and they manage to scoop out most of
the water from the fountain.  Crowe then searches the bottom carefully for traps
and listens for sounds coming from below.  He gives the all clear and allows
E'tharn to jump into the fountain to open the door.  It takes some effort, but
E'tharn manages to pull it up to reveal a narrow circular tunnel, with a ladder,
leading down to a passageway 15ft below.

After Crowe searches the ladder for traps and pronounces if safe, E'tharn
descends to scout the area below.  He is gone for about 10 minutes, but then
returns with a report.  The passage leads west about 40ft before coming to a
30x30 room.  The room appears to be empty, but there are two passages leading
out of it, one to the north and one to the south.  He says he could find no
tracks or clues to give an indication of which way to go.

After E'tharn's exploration beyond the trapdoor, Kelemvor suggests, "We should
investigate this fountain further.  I just thought of another thing.  The images
could be different for each of us.  The vision for FAR seemed personal.  Lets
all take turns saying the different runes.  It might take some time, but the
information we might gain could really help us."

Crow agrees, saying he would like to see if the time rune might show something
different now.  Tenbar also offers to try it out saying that he agrees with
Kelemvor that this fountain might work differently for different users.  "Don'
know 'bout the res' o' yers, but I's reckons that is yon 'SHORT' rune gis us a
look at summat that's 'bout to happen in a _short_ while, that 'FAR' rune might
gis a picture o' summat that's gaunna happ'n _far_ in't future."

Making sure the trap door is securely closed, Kelemvor pronounces the WATER rune
to refill the fountain.  That done, he prounouces the TIME rune, but nothing
happens.  Shortly, he remembers the sequence from last time and pronounces the
SIGHT rune, upon which there is a flash from the pool.  Then, he pronounces TIME
again, but still nothing happens.  Puzzled he moves to the next rune, FAR, to
see if it works.  There is a flash and everybody sees an image of the same older
man dressed in black robes as the last time Kelemvor said the rune.  Now,
however, the man is in the lead of a long procession headed down a narrow path
carrying a coffin.

Next, Kelemvor says the DANGER rune again, and again they see an image of the
forbidding temple room, still without occupants.  He moves quickly to the SHORT
rune, and again everybody sees an image of the gate outside the mansion.
Finally, to check again, he says the TIME rune once more.

With a flash, the image changes.  The party now see themselves standing in a
long room with a low ceiling.  The walls are covered with faded drawings of
figures engaged in combat, people on horseback, and scenes of forests and
mountains.  In the center of the room, forming a line between the east and west
walls, are four sarcophagi.  Each have been carved with intricate designs, with
lids worked in an effigy of a reclining knight.  It appears that the group is
examining one of these coffins when suddenly a cloud of yellow gas billows out,
encompassing the immediate area.  The image then fades.

After pondering this last image for a while, Tenbar steps forward and pronounces
the FAR rune as Kelemvor did.  An image appears in the fountain of a pretty
young woman kneeling beside a stream washing clothes.  A few feet away, a young
boy, who resembles the woman, can be seen splashing about in the shallow water.
With a surprised grunt, Tenbar quickly says the rune for SHORT.

The scene in the pool changes to show a room containing a round table around
which are seated seven men.  The image seems to focus on a large balding man in
rich robes seated in a prominent chair at the table.  Tenbar informs the party
that the man is Imreaell the merchant, who he met a couple of days ago.  The men
at the table talk for a while, passing papers around to each other.  Abruptly,
some doors in the background burst open and a troop of what looks like Burkden
city guardsmen enter the room.  They move quickly to the large man, who stands
and says something.  There is a brief animated exchange of words and gestures
before the lead guard takes out a pair of shakles and puts them around the man's
wrists.  The guards then lead him from the room.  The image follows the man and
the guards to a street outside.  The guards place him on a horse and the group
then begins to ride throught the city.  Eventually, they arrive at what appears
to the city jail.  As the group watches, the man has his possessions removed and
is thrown into a cell.  The scene fades with him seated on a cot in the cell.

Ssylth asks, "I would like to know  more about the merchant who was shakled.
Why was this done?  Does anyone have any ideas?"

"Ay, I reckons I know what that was all 'bout," Tenbar rumbles angrily.
The party members notice that he is frowning, as if deeply disturbed by the two
images he has just seen. "Yon Imreaell's been suspected o' 'sassinatin' one a
the Duke's high placed officers, but 'e tells me that 'twas the Death Cult as
done the killin' and put the blame on 'im. He's got no love fer the Death Cult,
same as me, and I got no cause to not believe 'im. He's tryin' to get to the
truth, which is why he got me to help 'im, and meself, out here. The Cult's got
it's bloody fingers everywhere -- even 'mong the Duke' men, and I reckons they's
wise up t' what 'e was doin'.  We gotta help him soon as we done with this."

Kelemvor motions everybody to silence and says, "Wait a second guys.  Lets think
about this fountain.  These images obviously mean something.  If only we could
figure out exactly how to work this fountain."

"The images that were brought up the first time seem to be things related to
us that are going on now.  'FAR' gives us an image that is far away and
'SHORT' gives us an image that is close.  I believe that 'DANGER' shows a
place where we will eventually come and we will face some kind of danger.
If we come into a room like that, be very careful.  I don't know of any
staues that have wounds, but maybe the statue can be brought to life or
something.  I've heard of stranger things.  When I said 'TIME' it showed
a danger in the near future.  The rats were a danger and I said 'SHORT'
right before danger.  Hmmmm.  I don't know.  Rats aren't much of a danger."

"Then Tenbar said some runes and they were personal to him.  You know that
woman don't you Tenbar ... and the boy?  You also know the merchant.  These
things might happen in the future or are they happening right now?.  Note
the time.  When we get out of here, and we find out that merchant is indeed
captured, we must find out when he was captured. - if it matches this time
or not."

"Tenbar, you say danger.  I don't know.  Damn! .... Well, we can always come
back to it later.  Lets move on.  We might learn something along the way."

After Kelemvor has finished, Ginafae states, "I agree heartily with Kelemvor, we
should somehow be keeping track of what we see. Could someone possible write it
down? I don't seem to have brought any paper with me... " Ginafae looks annoyed
with herself.  " Perhaps Ssyth, E'tharn or Kelemvor?"

Kelemvor smacks his fist into his palm and replies, "That's a good idea.  I'll
write the sequences of words that makes the fountain conjure up images.  Also, I
will write a little bit about each image to help me remember it for later."

Following Ginafae's suggestion, Kelemvor takes out some paper and begins
taking notes about the images they have seen and sequence of words use to
activate them.  As he is writing, Ssylth steps forward and pronounces 'FAR'.

With a flash, the surface of the water shifts to reveal an image of a dark room.
>From somewhere outside the range of the picture, a flickering light is cast upon
the contents of a cramped cell.  There is a cot, a water basin, and a chamber
pot.  A figure lies on the cot wearing tattered blue garments which everyone
notices is similar in color to Ssylth's cloak.  As everyone watches, the figure
stirs and sits up on the cot.  To their surprise, it is a woman, quite beautiful
despite her disheveled appearance.  Ssylth gasps upon seeing her face.  Long
black hair frames the graceful lines of her noble features.  Despite the dim
lighting, everyone can see the sparkle of her sky-blue eyes as they cast about
the room as if looking for something.  Abruptly she stands and moves to the far
wall, picking something up off the floor.  With her back to the party, she
begins drawing on the wall, forming two words.  HALDANE ZELGMAN.  That is
all she is able to write before something outside the picture calls her
attention.  She turns with a frightened expression and suddenly the image fades.

After getting over his initial shock, Sslyth tells the rest of the party that
the woman was Lycira Modrake, the Mistress of his school who has been missing
for some time.  He tries pronouncing the 'FAR' rune again to get the image to
reappear, but nothing happens.  Eventually, he moves on to DANGER, and again the
image of the temple room appears, unchanged.

When he pronounces the rune 'SHORT', an image of the upstairs Labratory appears
in the fountain.  Everything looks the way it was left, with one of cabinates
lying on the floor, the door hacked off, debris scatterred across the floor from
the fight with the poltergists, and the small chest that the party retrieved
from the room through the hole in the ceiling, lying open near the center of the
room.  From that same hole, water now comes flowing down, idicating it is still
raining outside.  The six companions watch for a while but nothing changes.
Finally, Ssylth pronounces 'TIME' and again they see the image of the long room
room with the coffins.  As everybody watches, the events that they saw
previously play themselves out again ending just after the group is enveloped by
a cloud of yellow gas.

Ssylth then steps back and takes out his own sheet of paper to write down what
he has seen, allowing Ginafae to step forward and have her turn.  She follows
everyone's elses pattern and says 'FAR' first.  Unfortunately, nothing happens.
She trys several times with no results and eventually moves to 'DANGER'.  Again
the image of the temple room appears, unchanged.

Next she says 'SHORT' and the image changes to reveal another cell.  This one is
different from the one Ssylth saw, but similar to the one in Tenbar's view of
the merchant Imreaell.  It is approximately 15x15x10 ft high with single barred
window.  The cell is somewhat cramped, holding about fourteen men and women of
various descriptions, though all are young looking.  Some are milling about,
others sitting down engaged in coversation and a few sleep on bunks.  Ginafae
lets out an "Uh oh" and explains that these are some friends she's made recently
from the wizard's guild.  She seems to have an idea of why they are there, but
hesitates to say more...........

Finally, she says 'TIME' and the same image appears as did Tenbar and Ssylth;
the party being caught in a cloud of yellow gas.

Despite his diverse knowledge in the areas of religion and heraldry, and his
opportunity to see them now three times, Kelemvor says he can identify nothing
from the scenes in the fountain.  There were many designs upon the coffins in
the 'TIME' scene, but image was too far way for him to make out clear details.
If he were closer he might could tell what they were.

Finally, E'tharn steps forward and pronounces 'SIGHT', 'TIME', 'FAR', one after
the other.  Unfortunately, nothing happens.  Next he says 'SIGHT', 'TIME',
'SHORT' and an image appears in the fountain of a middle aged man with dark
brown hair walking through a wooded area.  He is wearing dark green robes with
silver leaves embroidered around the neck and cuffs.  Occassionally he stops to
gather some plant or berry.  E'tharn tells the party that the man's name is
Father Tercell.  After watching him for a while E'tharn continues, saying
'SIGHT', 'DANGER', 'FAR', which produces no result.  He then says 'SIGHT',
'DANGER', 'SHORT' and agin the image of Father Tercell appears.  He is still
walking through the woods.

Everyone having taken a turn with the fountain, who wants to, they again drain
it to provide access to the trap door.  After E'tharn opens it, one by one they
descend, taking up their positions in the agreed upon marching order.  As
E'tharn described, the ladder comes down into a dead end passage that leads
west.  The air is stale and musty, and much cooler than above.  The passage they
are in is about 4ft wide and 5 ft high, except for the round tunnel leading up
the trap door.  Crowe secures the trapdoor and then joins everyone at the
bottom of the ladder.

Moving forward the party notices that after about 40ft the passage opens into
a 30x30x15ft high room.  Two passages exit the room; one in the southeast corner
of the south wall and one in the northwest corner of the north wall.  Both are
wider than the passage they entered the room by, being approximately 10ft wide
and 7ft high.  As E'tharn had described, the room is empty, but the light
reveals details his infravsion failed to pick up.

The walls are covered with faded pictures depicted a variety of scenes.  On the
west wall is the image of handsome beared man seated in a high-backed chair with
what everyone assumes to be his family around him.  They see a woman which they
assume to be his wife seated beside him and a young girl to his left playing
a harp.  Four young men stand about in various places with features similiar to
the bearded man.  On the south wall is a picture of the mansion and its' grounds
in a state of splendor that looks little like the structure today.  The north
wall depicts a fleet of merchant ships in the Burkden harbor all flying a
similar flag.  The picture seems to be from some time ago, as the city is
smaller and there is no wall around it.  On either side of the entrance are
scenes of bartering and trade with the bearded man featured promenently.

Finally, engraved into the floor is a large seal bearing a family crest.  It is
the emblem of a castle set upon a rock island surround by water with a pair of
crossed swords over it and six stars at the very top.  After studying it for a
while, Kelemvor informs the rest of the party that this is the crest of the
Trustworth Suppliers trading company, founded years ago by the Dalissar family.
Everyone has heard of Trustworth suppliers, as it is a major merchant company
with branches across the realm.  Kelemvor says that it is still operated by the
Dalissar family out of the city of Chaomonous.

E'tharn stops to examine the crest of the floor and after a few minutes, he
calls the others attention to the 6 stars at the top of the emblem.  As they
watch, he pushes down on the center of the 3rd star and it sinks about two
inches into the floor.  Everybody hears a grating sound of stone on stone and
turn to see a section of the south wall pivot to reveal a third passage.