Repairing the Well in Shadowdale

Incantationer Ignotius Vichard can be seen pacing about the well in the middle of Shadowdale, dressed in his usual red garb bearing symbols of the Zhentarim, he would be policing the perimeter of the well, keeping any of the townsfolk at bay stating that the well is undergoing construction to repair the damage done by time. Accompanying him is a group of Zhentarim Swordhands and recruits, one Skymage apprentice, and a mason from the Keep. Slaves wheel in cartloads of stone blocks and a cementing substance to fix the inlay of the well's walls. The slaves prepare a series of sturdy ropes and pulleys to safely guide the Swordhands, recruits, mason, and skymage apprentice into the well. The Incantationer, when not barking at the townsfolk trying to catch a glimpse of their work, would be directing the slaves in his usual harsh manner and command the Swordhands to prepare themselves for their mission into the well.

To any newcomers passing by, they would find such a heavily outfitted group of Swordhands and recruits to be a strange sight for a simple mission into the underbelly of the city, however, frequent visitors of the city would note that this heavily armored group may be necessary to defend against whatever sinister monstrosity lays dormant within the well.

Lucius Malvo, Trusted Servant of the Church of Bane walks past the well in his normal dark armor, green cloak of his rank in the church and his black and white mask. He sees all the troops and Incantationer Ignotius Vichard. A blond eyeberow goes up behind the mask and Lucius walks up to the Incantationer. Nodding his head in greetings as walks up.

"Good Day Incantationer. May I have a word with you?"

As Lucius waits for the Incantationer to come over to him, those looking will notice the shield that rest on his left arm that looks like dragon scales. His empty right hand rests on his leg, a mere hand's space away from the red rusted like mace at his side.

Ignotius would take note of Lucius and make his way over to him, stopping the group of no doubt nervous looking Swordhands from entering the well. He would casually stand before the Trusted Servant with his arms folded behind his back.

"Trusted Servant, is there something I can help you with?"

Ignotius' usual sly smirk would play over his expression as he looks over Lucius.

The masked man bows his head in greeting as Ignotius comes over to speak. Lucius's stance is neutral, in no way looking to provoke an attack.

"If I may ask... What is going on here?
As far as I know The Church was not aware of any plans to work on the well.
Let alone enter it. And from the looks of the personal you have here, your expecting trouble.
So I ask... what is going on here?"

Lucius had chosen his words carefully. Yes the church outranked the Zhentarim in the greater image of the Church of Bane and it's forces. But he was only a lone man at the moment. And his questions were simply wanting to what exactly was going on here.

Ignotius would take a moment to glance back at the nervous looking Swordhands awaiting his orders for a moment before turning back to face Lucius. His tone is calm, though a bit patronizing.

"It should be noted by both the Zhentarim forces and the Church that I was given permission to start reconstruction of the well by the Weavemaster. Perhaps it is just -you- that was unaware that this was taking place, which is strange considering I have filed three reports regarding this project. You see, the well is draining due to structural damages and is in need of repair. I do realize that such a heavily outfitted group for a simple job seems to be a strange sight indeed, however, due to the history of this well and its abnormal ability to produce all manner of oddities, I felt that a well protected mason is better than just a mason going down there."

"Have you any other questions? Time is short and I would rather not waste what precious daylight we still have."

The Incantationer's sly smile does not fade, his posture remaining the same as he awaits Lucius' response.

"Architect Smith walks up every now and he pulls out some building plans looks them over before he yells at the slaves"


No no no..what are you doing there? This horrible..put the stone in there..there i said!!! Ah much better.

*despite the irritating behavior he shows at times he apparently knows what he is talking about and the well seems much more sturdy with every passing day*

*Smith then turns to Ignotius"

I wish to be informed Incantationer, should something happen..nothing ruins building plans more then slime or..other monstrosities.

"after this he heads back to the twisted tower*

Haas2 wrote:

Ignotius would take a moment to glance back at the nervous looking Swordhands awaiting his orders for a moment before turning back to face Lucius. His tone is calm, though a bit patronizing.

"It should be noted by both the Zhentarim forces and the Church that I was given permission to start reconstruction of the well by the Weavemaster. Perhaps it is just -you- that was unaware that this was taking place, which is strange considering I have filed three reports regarding this project. You see, the well is draining due to structural damages and is in need of repair. I do realize that such a heavily outfitted group for a simple job seems to be a strange sight indeed, however, due to the history of this well and its abnormal ability to produce all manner of oddities, I felt that a well protected mason is better than just a mason going down there."

"Have you any other questions? Time is short and I would rather not waste what precious daylight we still have."

The Incantationer's sly smile does not fade, his posture remaining the same as he awaits Lucius' response.

Lucius listens to exactly what Ignotius says, making mental notes to look for said reports once he got back to the Temple.
Once the Incantationer is done speaking, Lucius takes what could be a very unusual tack to take.

"Oh I agree completely, a mason alone in that well... not a good thing. Nor am I surprised that I had not seen the reports. I have been away from Shadowdale for some time now. And I do have a stack of parchments and scrolls on my desk back in the Temple to go through. But do not let me hold you up.. in fact here, allow me to grant you the Blessings of Bane."

Lucius begins to focus inward and reaches into the dark energy that is the spells granted to him by Bane. Speaking an arcane word that triggers the spell and spreading his hands out over all those near the well. Soon a bright light begins to bath over the Incantationer first then his allies. As he and all his allies begin to feel there is nothing they can not counter in the well. (Per the spell on pg 180 of the PHB)

"The Blessing will only last a short time... but it should help you and your crew should something attack you right out of the hole... so to speak. Walk in Fear Incantationer Ignotius. Bane is watching over you and your crew."

With that Lucius bows his head again to the Incantationer and waits for his reply before he turns to head back to the Temple.

Ignotius would give his regards to the Architect and let him know if anything changes with the state of the well.

If Jeyanna persists in obviously walking near the well to sneak a peek inside she would find that on her second try one of the Swordhands would threaten to fine her 500 gold for interfering with a Zhentarim project. He would then warn her that if she continues she would be spending the night in a cell.

As Ignotius continues to speak with Lucius the Skymage apprentice would be seen casting the same spell over each of the Swordhands, recruits, and mason as they prepare to enter the well. ((Spellcraft DC: 15))

Ignotius would bow his head.

"You have my thanks, Trusted Servant. I'll be sure to file a report quickly for the Church to let them know of our progress with the well. Walk in Fear."

(( First level Clerical spell... Bless. Found on pg 180 in PHB. He did exactly what he said.. gave you the blessings of Bane!))

"I look forward to reading it. You had best move quickly before the Blessings fade."

Having already said Walk in Fear.. Lucius turns and heads for the Temple.
He did have paperwork to do and a report to file to the Black Fang. She would want to know about this.

Once Lucius turns to leave, Ignotius would do the same, heading back over to the Skymage apprentice to inspect his work. Seeing that all the Swordhands and mason have been affected by the spell he would then instruct them to ensure that their harnesses attached to the pulley system rigged over the well are secure. He would command two of the Swordhands to remain and watch the slaves that operate the pulley system, making sure that their whips are at the ready should any of the slaves tire or slip up in any manner. With that Ignotius would issue the command for them to begin their descent into the well.....

The pulleys creak and groan under the weight of the three Swordhands being sent down first, followed shortly by the mason. Once down there, he would motion for the slaves to begin lowering down the cementing substance and the carefully designed stones to aid in the repair of the interior of the well. As the slaves lower each of the items and people down, any witnesses would note that the well appears to go deep beneath the city, taking nearly 20 seconds to be lowered. Once all the necessary materials and personnel have entered the well and successfully made it to the bottom, the Incantationer would strap a harness onto himself and command that he be lowered as well.....