Our Family Treason

Thumbnail for Season 2 Chapter 12 featuring Jordan

## Synopsis

In Season 2, Chapter 12: Our Family Treason, Orba and Ka'imi dodged between the falling rocks to pull Graven away from the base of the cliff – unsure of what poison the Kobolds were using as projectiles as we descended on the lift.

Unable to wake him from unconsciousness but keenly aware of our need to keep moving, Ka'imi consulted the voice in her head and was able to locate a relatively concealed hiding spot: a booth for prayer within the crumbling remains of a Qelqian temple to Deyruku.

While struggling to move the goliath up the steps, rattling sounds of the lift resumed from up above – and we readied ourselves to mount a defense without a cleric or either of our two rangers, who seemed to have disappeared into the foggy ruin of Manasami.

Hands outstretched in anticipation, Orba breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was not a foe dropping down into the crater – but Erland, who had tracked us across Myriad Meadow and into the Ebbwoods.  Apologizing for failing to make the rendezvous before our battle with the Sunken King, it was obvious he had forwent rest in order to catch up – but now was not the time for delving into the details.

As we said a parting prayer for Graven's safety, Safira and Ravi were arriving at the entrance to a large building that we would later come to know as the Hanas Theater – one of the largest in the area prior to the city's collapse.  A clearing in the fog made it easy to spot Malyk, who was walking in a stilted manner across a gridded courtyard.

After reaching the door to the theater, Malyk was escorted inside by a pair of Kobolds – an unusual display of cordiality that seemed to have something to do with his headband of raven's feathers.  Now free to examine the courtyard, we found that the tiles were arranged in a similar way to the map that Ravi had looted from a pit trap back when we were first reunited.

Without following the correct path, one might go tumbling to the depths below – but with a bit of Mage Hand assistance to procure the other portion of the map that Malyk had left behind, we took the indicated route and landed safely on the other side.

What little noise we made must have attracted the attention of the Kobolds, however, because the door swung open just as Ravi was getting his feet on solid ground.  In a split-second decision, Ravi tossed a few raven's feathers into a makeshift headband – which was apparently enough to fool the guard, because he was ushered inside without a fuss.

The rest of us scrambled to come up with a plan and in doing so discovered a hidden entrance – something we might not have noticed if it wasn't for Theokis's translations.  The passage led to the second-floor balcony of the foyer – and while we were too late to catch Ravi before he disappeared into the next room, Mr. Curse returned to give Ka'imi one last set of instructions.

Guiding her into a nearby office, the spirit finally took a physical form and put together the last remaining pieces of this wretched puzzle.  He was the son of the couple that reported the caretaker for necromancy, and he had no idea what he was walking into when he returned to the Ebbwoods as an adult.  The spirits there cursed him because of his bloodline – and after filling his head with the screams of the innocent dead, he returned home to bring his parents to bloody justice.

As it turned out, Ka'imi's parents had been holding onto a similar dark secret: that a letter they'd sent long ago had inadvertently led to the halfling massacre in Trickster's Thicket – and it would be up to her whether to punish or forgive.  Having reached the end of this story, it was time for Ka'imi to part ways – but the rest of us were slowly working our way into the next chamber.

There in the ruined theater, Ravi confronted Malyk and demanded an explanation – though the two of them were forced to play nice, lest they be ambushed by agitated Kobolds.  Malyk revealed that he was here to purchase rats that had been nibbling on bits of the Ebbwoods Lodestone, which made other vermin compelled to follow – part of a greater scheme to declare a state of emergency and influence voters in Qotil.

Going out on a limb, Ravi offered to assist in exchange for his name being cleared – but a partnership was not to be, as Malyk lured Ravi into a trap where an enormous rat was chomping at the bit to taste his flesh.

Almost none of this was known to Erland, Orba and Safira – who lurked at the edge of the theater in one of the raised galleries.   Staring down at the Lodestone that was our primary reason for coming here, Erland leapt to the floor below and we crossed our fingers that the Kobolds were otherwise occupied.

## Trivia

* Natural one count: two natural ones were rolled in this Chapter, by John.