Session 13 - Truth Beneath the Kael Estate
The night under the Lady Serina Kael’s Residence f did not begin with agreement.
It began with anger.
Lady Serina Kael was furious—controlled, measured, but unmistakably so. Whatever had been uncovered aboveground had clearly gone further than she intended. Mol Potts], quietly scanning the party for injuries and resolve, took the hint and armed himself before anyone could object.
A bookcase slid aside.
Behind it, stone.
The Hidden Way
A concealed passage led downward into cold, damp stone. The air changed immediately—older, heavier. The tunnel sloped into a cavern partially collapsed by age and neglect. Rubble choked the path ahead.
Torvold Alric stepped forward without comment, bracing his shield and forcing a way through.
That was when the rats came.
Not normal rats.
Dog-sized, slick-furred, red-eyed things that burst from the rubble in a sudden shriek of claws and teeth.
Combat -Rodents of Unusual Size
The fight was brief and brutal.
Leda Gebhart surged forward and unleashed Electric Arc, lightning ripping through the cavern and dropping the first creature instantly.
Torvold followed with a practiced Double Slice, both strikes landing clean and final.
The remaining rat did not survive long enough to flee.
Silence returned—uneasy, but intact.
The Wheel of Houses
Beyond the rubble lay a chamber dominated by a stone wheel set into the floor. Five symbols were carved around its circumference:
- A lion
- A serpent
- A snake
- A knotted sigil like a Celtic weave
- A bare branch
Torvold did not recognize them.
Leda did.
At least two were The Five Merchant Families of Gax - rivals locked in a quiet, generational cold war.
Mol examined the mechanism and the doorway it controlled. The solution wasn’t heraldry—it was ownership.
O’Malley.
The door responded.
As it opened, something else shifted.
The party grew stronger.
(The Blades of Strangeways leveled.)
The Lake and the Bridge
The passage descended again, opening into a vast cavern dominated by a dark underground lake. A broken stone bridge spanned the water, pillars rising like ribs from the surface. Two extinguished torches lay discarded near the edge.
Torvold leapt first.
Something moved above him.
Combat - The Bat
A massive bat dropped from the darkness, shrieking as it struck.
It never landed a blow.
Leda called on Untamed Form, her body surging and reshaping into a massive bear, fur bristling with primal energy.
Mol hurled acid—wide.
Zel stepped forward, slipped, and vanished into the water with a splash.
Torvold struck once.
Critically.
The bat fell dead before it could retreat.
Leda—still a bear—waded into the water and hauled Zel safely across the lake.
No one laughed.
The Warehouse Below
Beyond the bridge, the passage widened into something unmistakable:
A warehouse.
Crates stacked high. Trade goods. Weapons. Pottery. And people.
Draco was there.
Along with armed thugs moving crates with practiced efficiency.
There was no chance for stealth.
Combat - Beneath the Estate
The fight exploded into motion.
Corwin Thorne lunged first.
Leda shifted back into her bear form mid-charge.
Draco flanked Corwin and struck him with a club, drawing blood.
Zel lashed out with dark magic. Mol pressed forward. Thugs swarmed.
Steel rang.
Torvold entered the fray like a wall given purpose.
Draco fought viciously, using his own allies as shields when pressed. But the Blades did not relent.
Zel’s magic cut deep.
Mol’s blade found its mark.
And finally, Zel’s Harm ended Draco’s life.
The remaining thugs tried to flee.
They did not succeed.
Aftermath
The dead were elves.
Each bore the same tattoo:
A circle enclosing a tree.
The crates contained weapons, trade goods, and pottery—but only half the jewels expected were present.
Corwin found the reason why.
A letter.
“Draco—
I don’t care for your politics or your ‘allies.’ However, I will agree to take only half the take in return for my assistance. Let your ‘allies’ know that we helped them, in case they ever actually accomplish something.
— G.C.”
This is later determined to be Geoffrey Chandler.
The party returned what jewels they recovered.
Lady Kael listened.
Carefully.
Too carefully.
Lady Serina Kael
Tensions lingered as guards secured the area. Lady Kael offered to speak privately.
Corwin refused.
Leda did not.
Away from the others, truths emerged in pieces:
- Lady Kael wanted High Seeker Oliver Veylin charged with high treason
- She sought the return of magic to Valin
- She wanted intelligence—quietly
- She hinted at her own lineage: O’Malley, though never outright confirming it
- Draco had been working with
- Torvold was someone she wanted recruited
A party would be held in two weeks.
It would matter.
Before they parted, Lady Kael gave Leda a name for the path ahead.
The Case Is Open
“The Man on Top of the Blacktower.”
Leda Gebhart accepted it.
The truth beneath the estate was only the beginning.