CaseOfTheMissingMap part 4

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Just down the tunnel from the water fiend is another opening. Here lies a dagger just underwater on some steps. Volorn believes it to be Afalar's dagger. After much struggle and pain we find and force open a trapdoor in the ceiling. It was cunningly hidden and hard to move.

The room above the trapdoor appears to lie in the GM_TaharEstate. There is no real sign of Afalar here, but Volorn does smell some lingering traces of him.

We search the desk and see an agreement between Tahar and Sru'haro about sharing caravans. There are also many other Tahar documents. There are three sets of chains mounted on the wall. Suspicions mount in the minds of our rescuers. 'Those bastards' thinks Sjer. 'Woof', adds Volorn. 'The woods have less snakes in them', muses Ezra. 'These guys are a bad as L'talus', Zali'haro observes.

Obviously our new alliance with the Tahar has some negative aspects to them.

There is a chest in this room filled with torture implements and a jug which Zali'haro takes for future use.

We find a secret door which leads to a corridor of cells and storage rooms.

We hear someone approaching, so quickly slip through the other door. He does not follow. We find ourselves in a long corridor. Ezra and Zali decide that we should be in control of the outer room. They count down to three then Zali yanks the door open while Ezra races in to block the man's escape via the other door. The ploy works and Zali quickly subdues an older looking man.

Old man's name is IshmalTahar?. He is the man pulling the strings in the GM_TaharEstate. The head of security is named Hac'cam Pru'il.

Back in the corridor we find Afalar in one the cells. Sjer tends to him and we manage to get him up and moving. He confirms the identity of the old man. We then confront him about the map. Just then we hear another man enter the office area. Zali and Ezra, again race in to keep our control of it. This time it is a much younger man. He dies in the struggle and we bring his body and dump it in front of Ishmal.

Ishmal then admits to getting the map, but claims it was his son's idea. He says he counselled against it. When pressed for it's location he says it lies in his son's room.

We burn Ishmal's hand with acid and threaten his life, but he sticks to his story. Eventually we have him lead us upstairs to his son's room. In a large chest we find the map.

As we stand there, voices approach sounding angry. They stop just outside the door. Ezra and Zali'haro decide to open the door and grab whoever is there. As the door opens a man falls inwards, obviously listening at the door.

Ezra jumps over the prone individual and attacks the remaining three in the corridor. Afalar kills the man in the room, Ezra kills one in the hallway, and Volorn also jumps into the hallway. Then two more guys appear at the end of the hallway. They begin to run to get more troops, so Volorn and Ezra give chase. Soon 5 of their people are dead, all but Sjer and the old man are down the stairs engaged in a new encounter. We have killed one man upstairs who seems to be a noble of sorts.

Down below Volorn, Ezra, and Zali'haro have taken on an ever growing contingent of troops including an old tinkerer with some mechanical weapon and a very well-dressed member of the Tahar household.

The machine gets knocked over by Zali in a bull rush. Volorn and Ezra do for the noble. Then a hasty retreat is made. We take the old man with us back down through the trap door.