Chapter 3: Secrets

You enter the portal and begin a systematic sweep of the place. You move carefully and quietly, but before long you find that it's just you, the ravens, and a strong the wind in this ruin.

After a bit of exploration, you find a the south wall of this old place has been mostly obliterated. Looking out from the ruin you see you are far above the city and just north of it. You surmise you must be on the Isle of Wine; a tall, rocky island that overlooks the city from the sea just a few hundred meters to the north.Laurent recalls that the island was once part of Iskandar's harbor defenses, but fiends destroyed the outpost built on its top during the infernal siege twenty years ago. Look around, you can see how this area might have been a garrison of sorts, or a watchtower. You find what must have been bedchambers and privies (probably officer quarters) as well as larger open areas (muster halls or a mess perhaps). The rooms contain a few relics from its military past - a chair here, a desk there, a shattered mirror. But for the most part, it resembles more of a construction site than a military fort. There are crates of unopened building supplies and some partially-erected scaffolds, but for whatever reason, it is obvious that reconstruction never went past the initial stages.

Very curiously, when Berry pass by the shattered mirror he notices that he has casts no reflection. Both Tilma and Laurent cast reflections in it as normal.

Standing at the edge facing the city, you can't help but survey the destruction caused by the earthquake. From this vantage point, you see a strange but unmistakable pattern of destruction that follows certain lines. These fault lines clearly form a pentagram:

Tilma stands on the edge of the fortress gazing upon the cityscape. The destruction that was caused by their meddling with the gate can clearly be seen. The doubt sneaks into her mind once again as she follows the lines of chaos. But when she realizes that they form a pentagram the thought vanishes. This is too big to be simply their doing.
"Berry! Call Laurent! He has to see this! There is a pentagram of destruction covering the city. Perhaps the points indicate the location of other seals? And the middle is the actual gate?" as if seeing the mark was a key, her interest in arcane, that had previously led her to learn necromancy, is waking.

Berry brings Laurent to where Tilma is standing and looks out at what she is indicating. Using his knowledge of the city, he tries to figure where the points are located and any historical significance.

"This is fascinating", Laurent said, flabbergasted as he observed the Iskandarian skyline from this improbable vantage point. He had been wearing his This-Is-Fascinating expression ever since first looking at the doorway under the bridge. But this was indeed a breath-taking vista.

"You're right, this pattern holds much significance," he stated with undisguised excitement. "We should certainly take note of the fault lines, and explore your hypothesis, Tilma. It might be that the center is an access point, or it might be that multiple access points exist, as with a web, with multiple strands connecting to a tightly knit core." As he conjectured, his hands spun patterns that replicated what his mind envisioned.

After a few moments of this, however, he calmed down and a subtle dread began creeping up his spine. The Tribunal would soon be here. They still hadn't figured out a way to communicate without being seen, perhaps there was none. "Say, you two think there's any spot we can hide here, while keeping an eye on whoever else this way comes?"

A couple of heartbeats later, his expression turned to one of concern. "Do we even know if we can get back the way we came?"

The portal is still there, presumably to give the black-cloaks access to this place. Whether it will remain for the duration of the meeting is anyone's guess. Will this mysterious Tribunal be using that portal as well? Or will they be arriving via a different route? Or are they already here, observing you from the shadows?

Looking at the city layout, the vertices of the pentagram's points do not seem to point to obvious locations. Most of them are at the city's edge, each one in a different district and near the city's walls. Interestingly, you note that not one point of the star is inside of the Templegate district. As for what's at each point, you recall that the vertex in Harbourside was a nondescript warehouse, so you reason that the buildings currently erected at these sites may not be anything in particular. Of course, the city looks very different now than in Astaroth's time.

The pentagram seems centered on eastern side of the Market Square district, not far from the Sanctuary Cove. This is the mercantile heart of Iskandar; it is the source of the city’s prosperity and the magnet that draws tens of thousands of visitors every year. This district is filled with shops, marketplaces, emporiums, and arcades.

"And That's why I'm saying that you are our leader in this endeavor. This thing is magic related and You, my dear friend are a freaking magic fanatic! In a good way, of course." She steps off from the ledge turning her eyes towards the ruins instead of the view.
Not seeing any immediate danger she puts away her bolt and crossbow.

She goes on exploring around, different nooks and crannies. "Btw do we stick together while spaying on these guys or do we spy from different angles? I think staying together would be a better idea. It would decrease the number of places where they could possibly find us and by that the chances that we are found. On the other hand it would also mean that we need a bigger hiding place, not that Berry takes much space, but still." She playfully puts our her tongue passing by Berry. "And if we get caught it would mean that we all get caught at the same time. No second chances. Still I think that we should stick together. After all even if the find only one of us. They would probably order their guards or members to search the tiniest corner of this place for other spays."

Once done looking around Tilma goes to the portal through which they came and sticks out her head to see if it still works.
She pulls back in her head"No problems, it still works. And in worst case scenario we can always swim back to the city. Or hitchhike a boat. Or build a raft. It's not like we are hundreds of miles from our starting location or on a different dimension." She vaguely gestures towards the city.

She looks at Berry, "By the way. Why do you have no reflection in that broken mirror?" She points towards the mirror, "Are ya a vampire or something?"

After this she tells her companions about all the possible hiding places that she thinks of based on her search.

"We should stick together, I agree," Berry continues to look around, scanning for good hiding spots that would accommodate all three, "Huh? Reflection? Where?" He looks around for the mirror Tilma is talking about.

Laurent too, looked about, despite being tremendously distracted by the awe-inspiring vista and all that this place suggested about Iskandarian history, and also about the path they were now trodding blindly in to. He tried to commit the architectural design of this place to memory, in case they had to flee or barricade themselves.

"What's this about your reflection, Timbers?" the absent-minded scholar stated, snapping out of his state of mesmerization. He looked at the shattered mirror Tilma had been pointing at. He knelt by it, trying to confirm the elf's observation by direct trial. He then began humming the atonal psalm that had become synonymous with deliberately focused analysis.

Berry confirms he has no reflection anymore, which is definitely news. Laurent examines the mirror and finds that is not special, but thinking back on the last twenty-four hours he does recall Berry exposed himself to intense arcane energies when he grabbed the green crystal. That could have some side effects for sure. Whether this is temporary or permanent, and whether this is the whole deal or just the sign of a larger side effect Laurent cannot tell without more study.

Regarding the building:
- The roof is in shambles but still intact. Lots of holes and crows' nests, but sturdy enough to hold.
- There are no locked doors, everything is accessible
- All the furniture is old. The only new things are crates of building supplies and scaffolding that is helping to hold up crumbling walls and the remains of the roof. These are also pretty old and weather-worn, indicating a repair job had begun at some point in the past but was abaondoned.

"How about the roof? It has holes that we could look through and seems solid enough to hold us." She directs towards the scaffolding. "I'll go try it out." She starts to climb the scaffolding to reach a spot where she can climb atop the roof.

After his manipulation of the mirror shard, and confirmation of Berry's invisibility in reflection, Laurent relayed what appeared to be his best hypothesis : this must be an odd and unpredictable effect of the gnome's handling of the green stone. "I'll try to investigate the matter further, once we are away from this place. Though this handicap might be advantageous..." he mused looking at the roof around them.

"Do you think you can find a place that would be large enough for us to hide in, while getting a decent view of the main area? I will help you find it, if I can." Unexperienced as he was in the way of adventuring, the young man was persuaded that Timbers and Tilma would be in a better position to find a decent hiding place among the rafters and crumbling roofing. "Of course, if this goes badly, we won't have much hope of fleeing."

At first disturbed by this apparent change in his person, Berry immediately considers the benefits when it comes to his profession.

It’s not often a mark might spy you in a mirror, but it’s certainly an advantage.’

‘Now if only I could be invisible all the time.’

Tilma climbs up to the roof where the winds whip at her clothes. Ravens caw loudly at her but scatter without a fight as she moves around, testing the roof. She finds she can stick to the rafters easily enough and not fall through.

The large mirror is split into many fragments of varying sizes. It is quite feasible (and most clever) to place them strategically to cover additional angles.

Tilma looks around for a spot for around 10 minutes. Laying down next to most holes to see how much she can see through each one and also inquires of her friends, who are still below, to tell her how well it can be heard when she moves across the roof.

She eventually decides on a big hole through which she can see most of the main hall, or rather what used to be the main hall. Then she lays down on her back while her friends are preparing looking in the sky and talks. And talks, and talks, and talks... About the Crows on the roof, describing in detail the appearance of one... About their first adventure in the cave with the gate... About her future pet cockatrice... About who is the most handsome guy in the town, putting Norran in first place by a mile, followed by Laurent and Berry. Adding that gnomes simply aren't her cup of tea... About her first impressions on Iskandar... About the damage done by their last meddling with the gate and how although it is tragic what happened it is better that they get their hands on that power rather than some criminal organization... About how it has been some time since she last helped Berry with his work... How she exterminated hundreds of rats between their previous adventures. Describing in detail how she gutted one particularly fat rat... and so on and on.

Laurent assists Tilma as he can, initially interested in all her descriptions, but gradually losing his concentration as her meticulous descriptions of crows and conjectures about the comparative aesthetic qualities of male acquaintances. He makes sure that whatever place they find will allow them to see most exposed areas of this ruined fortification, and considers how he should open eventual talks with these mysterious and potentially dangerous people. Would they become allies or adversaries? Could they be trusted?

Turning to his companions, he eventually shared his questions about the eventual parley. "I was hoping to talk to the Tribunal delegates, not the dangerous looking thugs we saw in the warehouse; I assume the latter were agents of the Tribunal, but not members in the proper sense. Hired hands, so to say. I wondered if we should not tell them what we saw at the warehouse, explaining why we accepted this summons not originally meant for us... what say you?"

"Don't know..." Tilma elongates her words. "Can we really trust them? They are a criminal organization, aren't they? And not some small thieves like Berry. No offense." She turns around on her stomach and looks at Laurent through the hole. "How about we listen in on them at first? To see what are they intentions. Then if you decide that they are worth trusting I will back you up and help our escape if things go worse way. Speaking of which, have we a plan for escape? What if the portal door disappears, closes, once they arrive?"

"That might be best indeed, Tilma. If you are ready to trust me with that decision. As far as I can tell, te Tribunal is not a syndicate, nothing like the criminal bands we all are familiar with, like Bartoz'. What I am able to recall is that they're more like a secret society that employs highly skilled agents..."

The sun continues to climb. The note set the meeting at "the cursed sun's zenith." What sort of person shuns daylight but sets a meeting at high noon? Couldn't they have met at underground? Or at midnight? As the appointed time approaches, Tilma pokes her head out the portal one last time, and spots the mercenaries clambering over the bridge rail: the half-elf leader and two henchmen. You all scramble to your hiding places to watch and listen.

The half-elf enters the portal alone. The henchmen are probably standing sentry in the tool shed on other side. The man seems nervous at first, but he sets his feathered hat at a jaunty angle, schools his features, and swaggers into the courtyard. He walks to the edge and gazes out at the city across the water. Rolling his shoulders and drawing his rapier, he makes a few practice lunges and thrusts. He seems like an excellent fencer.