Ravenous Lurkers
| MIN LEVEL | START LOCATION | START REQUIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|
| 961 | Karthak (Cathedral Gate) (2, 2) | SK IX Medallion (Complete The Rising of the Old) |
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DetailsThe Cathedral towers over you. You marvel at the finely crafted stone work and exquisite stained glass windows. As you enter the Cathedral Gate you are struck by the mixture of beauty and power demonstrated within the building. In a shaft of colored light you find a richly robed priest smiling at you. He looks at you quizzically, 'I'm sorry, but it seems unusual to see someone so heavily armored enter the Cathedral. Are you by any chance looking for someone?' You say that you were told to meet a Cardinal Byford here. The Priest folds his arms, 'I am Cardinal Byford, I am waiting for a Hunter from SK Acquisitions. If you are the Hunter I'm looking for, you will have proof of that.' The Cardinal takes it, 'I am relieved to see that you have had some experience in dealing with Commissions. I am afraid that I require someone who is good with a weapon and keeping a confidence. Brother Matthews has spoken highly of your organization on both counts. I trust we can do business.' He hands the medallion back to you. 'I understand you might have some repairs to do or something similar. When you are ready we can continue our conversation.' Cardinal Byford waits for you patiently, 'Are you ready to discuss the Commission?' You find a Priest standing in the Necropolis, he waves you over quickly. 'Hello, you are the Hunter sent by Cardinal Byford?' Father Quinn sighs, 'I take it you have been told little of what our difficulty actually is?' You shrug and say that Cardinal Byford thought it best if you told me what I needed as we went. You see the Priest flinch, 'Ummm, I shall accompany you as far as I can.' He then hands you a tightly sealed scroll. 'There have been reports of Undead walking the Streets of Karthak. We need to see if this is correct. I am hoping that they are false, but you can never know. If you do find Undead, I will need you to see if there are any magical energies imprinted on them. Please take this Karthak Ward Recipe and return if you find anything. Father Quinn hugs himself against the cold, 'Have you found any undead wandering around?' The small pyramid with the gently swirling purple smoke sits in your palm. The Priest stares at it as if your hand is on fire. 'But this can only be constructed if there is a large number of Undead wandering around. Are there really that many?' You nod, then tell him that you had dealings with Hollows in the Shambles recently. The Priest stares at you, 'Hollows? Not the stories of the Zombies that can only be destroyed by a holy dagger, they can't be real!' You stare at him, then tell him that you had to craft the Knife of Lindarsil to cope with the problem. They are very real indeed. The Mausoleum is truly huge inside. The dome is simply a stairway down into a sprawling underground crypt. Father Quinn eyes the gloom all around. 'I'm glad to see a friendly face down here I can tell you. This is a dreary place, don't you think? I would have thought that the Lancroft Family would have done a more attractive job of their ancestral resting place. They have nearly as much gold as Sahria after all. But then nobody comes past the upper dome normally I suppose.' The Priest straightens up and his face forms a determined expression, 'The Lancroft Family are the founders of the Magic Quarter here is Karthak. They have close ties with the Royal Court and work to better the People and City. They also make a lot of gold doing this. It is a Lancroft motto “Never spend without reason.” There is wisdom in that.' 'During their work, the Lancroft family set several Keystones in place. The location of these Stones is a Lancroft secret, lucky I have some insider information on that subject as i am the Eldest Son of the current Lancroft Duke. Much to my Fathers displeasure I went into the Church rather than the family business. I remember his last words to me were, “Son there is no coin in the Divine, Arcane will continue our family not good intentions!” But I have a worry that maybe my fathers trust in the Arcane is not as well founded as he hoped.' The cool air of the Mausoleum hangs in this forgotten nook. Within the darkness there is a slight shift of air. Something has been hidden here, you just need to find it. The large Ruby shines in the unnatural gloom. You hold it out toward the shifting haze, and the small stone pillar is suddenly revealed. The pillar has magical runes carved over its surface, these pulse with arcane energies, but what draws your eye is the shattered marble skull resting on its top. You search the Mausoleum for the Stone of the Hand. You end up near the stairs and feel a strange compulsion to escape into the light of the world. After taking a step you realize that this thought was not your own! You stop and turn. You have to almost wade through the air as if an unseen force is pushing you away. Deep within this invisible river you see a slight shifting in the blackness. The small alcove is bathed in green light as you hold the gently pulsing emerald in front of you. The force pushing you away evaporates and in the corner is another small rune covered pillar. Again the runes pulse with innate power, but the top of the pillar the fingers of an exquisitely carved hand have been broken off. You wander the murky depths of the Lancroft ancestral crypt. You know that the final Keystone is around here somewhere, but the feeling that you won't find it builds deep within you. The darkness of your surroundings seems to seep into your bones and you find it hard to breath. You rise the Sapphire high above your head. The effort to lift the shining Gem is tremendous. But as the blue light hits the small runed pillar the oppressive feeling lifts. As with the other two pillars the runes along it pulse with innate power. But on the top, the marble heart has be savagely cut in two. Father Quinn stands in the blackness of the quiet Crypt, you see him shiver under his robes. 'Have you checked out the Keystones Hunter?' You describe the small pillars with their soft pulsing runes. When you mention the destroyed cravings on top of the small pillars, Father Quinn goes very quiet. 'I'm sorry... The carvings of the Skull, Hand and Heart were all destroyed, but the Runes were left intact and functional?' You nod. Father Quinn stares up at the vaulted ceiling, 'But the carvings are innate to the incantation cast into the Keystones. They symbolize the three hungers of the Undead. The Keystones cannot work without the two elements. The carvings and the runes. Their connection to the Undead. That’s the point of them! Also the Gemstones can only be made from powerful undead. That was part of the security of the Keystones. For someone to actually see them there has to be potent walking undead wandering the Karthak. The City Guard and Mages Guild would never allow such an occurrence to take place.' You return to the Cathedral Gate to find Cardinal Byford talking pleasantly to Klines. You see that Klines is on edge but is trying to hide it. The Cardinal smiles pleasantly at you, 'Have you any news about our possible problems in the Necropolis?' Klines visibly relaxes at your words. You describe meeting Father Quinn in the Necropolis, then building the Ward and Father Quinn's concern about what the Ward showed. When you mention the Lancroft Mausoleum you see both Klines and the Cardinal give you startled looks. A weariness starts to creep into your mind at their reaction. There might be something here you are not aware of. You continue that Father Quinn was not satisfied with what you found within the Mausoleum and went to see Duke Lancroft and he asked you to report back that the Undead are indeed rising within the City. The Cardinal frowns, 'Well, at least we now know. What did you do in the Lancroft Mausoleum?' You see Klines stiffen and looks at his feet. Carefully you say, 'As a Hunter for SK Acquisitions I feel I must protect the concerns of the Lancroft family. They are important to the safety of Karthak. If you wish to know what I did, you will have to ask Duke Lancroft himself.' The Cardinal looks at you for a long moment, 'I see that your company is indeed capable of keeping a confidence. I am pleased. Brother Matthews was correct in recommending your services.' Turning to Klines he says imperiously, 'I am more than pleased that the Commission has been fulfilled. We can now seek to face the challenges that we face. I now ask your indulgence as I must leave and inform certain individuals of the perils within our midst.' He bows, turns and leaves with a slow purposeful walk into the depths of the Cathedral. Klines looks pale and stressed beside you, 'Right, now give me your Medallion, I need to notch it for the successful completion of the Contract.' He takes the Medallion and notches it with his enchanted knife. 'I can't believe you refused the Cardinal at the gates of his own Cathedral. That is a very powerful man Hunter. A Templar is a Warrior of the Light. Do you know how powerful a Templar actually is? It was a Templar Champion that was the last wielder of the Fallen Sword! They are that powerful! You never, ever, want to go against a Templar of Light and there’s a whole legion of Templars stationed here in the Temple Quarter. They obey the words of the Cardinal without question. Nobody refuses the Cardinal anything.' His eyes lock onto you for an instant. 'Apart from you!' His voice is a little too shrill and you hear the edge of hysteria to his words. Klines hands you back your Medallion. 'You can go get a reward for efforts in Vault 4 in our Hall of Vaults. After that you need too meet Miss Page again in the Magic Quarter. I need to go get a drink I think.' You step through the iron bound door and see a Hulking Statue staring back at you. You have to fight the impulse you shut the door. The massive Golem blinks at you, 'I guess you want your reward?' He reaches out a course stone fist towards you. The Golem closes its eyes and looks like it goes to sleep. |
