Shattered Star

"Hmm? Oh, yes, my father says it's got something to do with my mother. Maybe it runs in her family or something," Naomi replies, with a smile over a plate of sausages spiced so strong as to be barely edible. Of a sudden a look comes over her face as if she'd just thought of something. "How come a gnoll like yourself fights homesickness with Dwarven food?"

"Oh, I was raised by dwarves. I don't really know the details on how I came to be in their care but they cared for me all the same. I'm eternally thankful as most would just kill a defenseless gnoll from what I'm aware of," Ali shrugs as they happily chomp down another sausage, "Not as good as my ma's, but nothing beats that kind of cooking, eh?"

"That good, huh?" Naomi asks. "I've not had much Dwarven cuisine myself, it's stronger than I can typically handle."

"Mostly simple stuff. Pies, breads, and soups of all sorts, though mostly seafood. My family does own a fishery after all, there really wasn't much avoiding it," Naomi replies. "Typically not too much on the seasoning though, things to bring out the intricacies of the fish and shellfish, rather than the seasoning itself being the focus like some of the food here," She adds with a giggle as she takes another bite of sausage.

"Sounds kind of boring to me. My family was more farmers, so we had our fair share of pie and bread. Lots of tubers as well. But they always made sure to have lots of meat for me too....Dammit I came here to avoid home sickness not make it worse!" Ali rubs their eyes with the back of their hands.

"A-are you okay?" Naomi asks, concerned. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Nah, I just...just need to get in touch with my parents soon," Ali insists, "Guess I'm not as strong as I thought if I'm missing em this bad."

"No, no, there is nothing to feel bad about in missing your family," Naomi says firmly. "And it sounds like yours was much better than mine, so it's perfectly alright to want to remain in touch with them," She adds, before looking back at her now empty plate. "And it's been a pleasure chatting and eating with you. So sorry to dine and run, but I'm afraid I do have some other things I need to get done before we return to the Crow," She finishes sheepishly.

Ali nods and pays for their food before leaving and heading their separate ways. They also make a note to write their parents when they get back to the inn.

The next day the party gathers and enters the crow. The upper levels seem to be cleared of the Tower Girls entirely. Who knows what waits below. When they make it back down to the lower levels, they head west at the statue of Alaznist toward a chamber where a thirty-foot-diameter, softly glowing circle of runes shimmers on the floor. What appears to be a single flickering flame burns with no apparent source of fuel in the middle of the room.

The party investigates the rest of the floor. The pass mostly looted rooms and dead devils. A ruined alchemy lab does still hold some dried potions, which Cade decides to grab to identify later. The party fights a few devils that seem to be hiding out in an arena of sorts. After defeating most of them, though one imp flees with invisbility, the party continues through the floor. Of the notable rooms they pass is one filled with the trappings of its former glory. Remarkably well-preserved tapestries hang at the back of alcoves above stone benches. Both depict a mountain with a woman's face carved into the peak above an immense bridge that crosses the ocean below, while at the mountain's base rises a strange city. A single stone pillar stands in the middle of the room, the image of a seven-pointed star with a hole in its center carved into its north face.

The group also passes a room where pillars stand at either end. The northern pillar is carved with the image of a beautiful woman wielding a ranseur. The southern pillar depicts seven robed men and women, their features eroded with the years. Each of them holds one segment of the seven-pointed star. Strange runes are carved into the floor.

Despite Cade's interest in both rooms, the party decides it best to find Flynt as soon as possible and heads down into the sewer level below. Down there they quickly make it back to the large room with multiple exits. There they find the corpse of a kobold surrounded by broken vials. His leather armor lined lab coat seems to be riddled with acid holes. Anything of value has been stripped from him. When they advance toward where one of the Derro ran they see her speaking some strange language at a tiefling man who is locked by metal to the wall. The tiefling looks a bit out of it. When the Derro sees the party it turns to them. "You return! You blasted fools! Why must interlopers keep interrupting my work? New minion, kill them!"

The Derro presses a button on a device in her hand and the tiefling is released from the wall. He moans listlessly before drawing a sword and turning toward the party.

Anastasia leaps to the tiefling and hits him. Meanwhile, Ali saunters over to the Derro and lops her with their greatsword. Cade gets the kill with an excellent ray of frost.

When the derro falls, the tiefling's eyes suddenly clear up. Anastasia levels her sword directly at his throat. "Alright, spill. What are you doing here. Are you with Flynt?"

"Uh, no definitely not with Flynt. Who's Flynt? I don't know anyone named Flynt," the tiefling sputters out, clearly lying. He looks between those assembled. "Fuck."

"M'kay, here's how this goes," Anastasia says. "You can spill the details on your crew, who appear to have abandoned you to be a derro's slave if they didn't sell you to it in the first place, in which case we knock you out, tie you up, and take you back to the mainland with us, where we let you go to live however you like. Or you can stay loyal to a group that isn't loyal to you, and the same thing happens but you probably don't get to go home at the end."

"Oh fuck off. We got knocked out by a group of Derro after getting battered by taking down a floor of devils," the tiefling replies. "Nobody left me behind."

"If your just sending me back to a jail cell then go right on ahead," the tiefling says. "I'm not a rat."

"I respect that," Anastasia nods before the fight resumes. Though he nearly clips her with his sword, a clip that would've done considerable damage with its size, his strength and the considerable vigor with which he swings it, they're able to take him down without injury.

After gathering the tieflings's things the party walks forward into a room lined with stone cells. A woman sits on one cell, a large hat sitting in her lap. Her eyes are blank and white, her skin pale, and her hair dark. A small black cat sits in the hat and she seems to be whispering to it. As the party approaches she speaks without looking at them. "You're the ones Flynt said we'd be fighting. He made a miscalculation I suppose. In a sea of unclear futures he took the wrong steps and fell on his face. Now you're here to take the shard and clean up the mess."

"In truth, I would prefer avoiding any confrontation," Cade pipes as he moves forward.  "Our goal is simply to retrieve the shard in Flynt's possession, and hopefully bring the man himself to stand trial.  Given that we have no qualms with you, Miss, I would much rather ask for your cooperation so that we all may return to the mainlands posthaste.  ...Would a momentary truce be amenable for you?"

"We are aligned on different paths," the woman replies. "Given the situation I may accept momentary peace, but we are enemies. It would be unwise to let me, or any of us, live. Situations reversed, I would not be helping you."

Cade pauses, unsure how to proceed.  "...While I disagree with your claim for dealing with you and yours," he eventually replies, "your cooperation would be most appreciated, however temporary.  May I ask you some questions pertaining to your associates and the shard Flynt carries?"

"Knowledge I can provide, but you must agree to my terms for it," the woman replies. "My bargaining power is limited seeing as I am where I am, but I want freedom. For my removal from this cell you have my cooperation. For a promise of freedom you may have information."