Elzix had one hand, one foot and was missing an eye but he kept a good board and had rooms for them when Talina and Geldar arrived. To Talina's surprise he didn't insist on putting her in another room away from the rest of the inn.
Griez the mercenary captain had retired for the evening but one of his men showed them the entrance to the sewer and gave them a few details on Radament. Apparently quite a few of them had been killed by the creature.
Cain was sitting by the fire in the main room at the Desert Rain Inn talking with Elzix. He smiled at them and called for one of the plump girls he kept to fetch a candle and show them to their rooms. Apparently he had been a bandit in his youth, Geldar wondered what mishap caused him to settle down but he knew better than to ask.
The Horadric sage was quite interested when Geldar mentioned that the Radament they were seeking was a Horadric mummy. He gave them a few particulars, saying that it was reflecting of the corruption of times that one would rise from the dead. Horadric Mages were preserved as such many ages ago, the higher ups had special rites after they died but such information was only possessed by the Horadric Funereal Priests.
Talina and Geldar stayed up a long time arguing how they were going to get out of the city. Yet there seemed no solution but to gain the trust of Jerryn, Geldar had the impression that he was hiding something and this was they key to the city's plight. They resolved in the morning to look at his palace in case this gave them any answers.
Talina was about to bid him goodnight when a thought occurred to her.
"Norleche, have you seen him at all?" She asked. "We have to stop avoiding him; I'm starting to think that Cain is right. We should base our trust on what he does, not what he is."
"I haven't seen him since we went to the Jewel," Geldar said. "But I'm too tired to look for him now. It can wait until the morning."
"At least we no longer have to post watches," Talina said and she said goodnight and closed the door behind her.
They found Norleche talking with Drognan the next morning; apparently he had been down to the sewers to investigate and needed some more information.
"We could have come with you," Talina said testily.
"It's very nice of you two to include me after all I have done," the Necromancer returned.
Geldar and Talina looked at each other rather sheepishly.
"Lets call it a truce," Geldar replied. "I know I have prejudices against you, and so does Talina. We're willing to put those aside if we can all work together."
"How touching," said Norleche. "But I know what's in the sewers and you don't. You are willing to help me?"
"We'll help each other," Talina replied. "I'm sure there are some things we can learn from you. Knowledge of poisons are particularly useful in these parts and you have already helped us in that area."
"And what does this mean?" The Necromancer asked. "I understand that trust is not something to be given lightly, it must be based upon who a person is and the deeds they do. But I feel that I have passed beyond that already."
"Forgive me," Geldar replied. "I was making excuses based on the lessons I was taught by the Zakarum when I should have based any judgements I made on my observations. Still," he almost smiled at the Necromancer. "We did not meet under the most auspicious of circumstances."
"Quite," Norleche replied, and he smiled.
"He hasn't apologised to me yet," Talina said with a smile. "Now, what can you tell us about Radament that we don't already know?"
Down by the docks they found the other door to the sewers, also there was Meshif, a sea captain from Kurast who greeted Talina quite warmly while Norleche and Geldar investigated the way in.
"I haven't seen your kind in many years," Meshif said, he was a portly man with a confident swagger and a voice that had the sound of the eastern kingdoms. "It is reassuring that warriors of your calibre are guarding this city."
"I am much obliged to your welcome, captain," Talina said. "Though I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the help of the Paladin Geldar and the Necromancer Norleche."
"I was wondering of you'd heard any news from Kurast?" He asked her suddenly. "I know you Amazons travel extensively. Have you been there recently?"
"No, I came from the west from Khanduras," Talina replied. "I was hoping to get passage back home."
"Hmm…" he looked thoughtful but his expression offered no concessions. "Well, I hope the port opens soon. I need to get back to Kurast and find out what's happening there."
"That all depends on how events turn out here," Talina said. "I must be going; we're after the one they called Radament."
"Good luck to you," Meshif said. "That is if you need it at all."
Talina smiled as she walked down the ramp that led to the entrance to the sewer. Geldar was waiting outside for her and she followed him inside. The dank smell made her wrinkle her nose but she was grateful for the light from Geldar's aura, there seemed little other light.
"It's a labyrinth under here," Norleche explained. "No worry about stepping in the murky water, but it's no easy journey."
"Since when is what we do easy?" Talina asked.
Norleche's skeleton mages proved useful when scouting ahead as the corridors were so meandering and there was no telling what was around the next corner. Several times they had to fall back and let Talina took a few out with her javelins while Norleche exploded the corpses beneath their feet. He explained to them that every living thing had a strong energy source within it before it died, this could be used for exploding to corpse or else reviving it. Though reviving was always quite precarious given the nature of various creatures.
Yet there were no shortage of skeletons, yet they were not the only undead they encountered. There were mummies, some emerging from sarcophagi and some wandering around aimlessly, moaning and groping the air. When they died a green cloud of poison escaped from their corpses and Talina had to stop and catch her breath when she got to close for it.
"I can try the Cleansing aura again," Geldar offered but Talina shook her head.
"They press so close that Thorns knocks most of them off," she said and looked ahead. "There's a stair up ahead, Radament must be down there."
But 'down there' there was no Radament but more undead, skeletons, mummies and zombies. And a tomb guardian.
"Talina," Norleche shouted over the clash of steel and bones. "Concentrate on the tomb guardian; we can bring down his minions."
Just as Talina readied a javelin to throw she noticed a skeleton she had just felled sprang to life again. As she threw the javelin at the tomb guardian she felled the skeleton with a sharp kick, skittering the bones across the ground. She then turned her attention to the tomb guardian; the javelin only nicked him on the arm.
Cursing, she focused her will and let loose a lighting bolt which struck the greater mummy square on the chest and brought him down to the ground. It took a few more minutes to mop up the remaining skeletons and a few more for Norleche to resurrect some to follow him.
"Is that what Radament is?" Talina asked. "We're in for some fun if he is of that kind."
"And you still rate what he does with me?" Norleche teased.
"Don't try me," Talina warned and they were off again.
