Details left by Selmius Foster indicate the location of Arkath’s burial site: a plot of land in Eastgate operated by one of the more popular faiths. Buried in a mausoleum on the church’s property, Arkath paid a substantial sum to have his remains guarded. A fence surrounds the necropolis grounds, and although members of the faith and city guards routinely patrol the property, it is still legal to enter the grounds to respect the departed.
Arkath’s crypt is the northernmost structure on
the map.
While the gates into the necropolis are left open to those paying their respects, the doors of the mausoleums are sealed with sturdy stone slabs.
As you guys approach the graveyard you realize the iron wrought fences are emblazoned with the symbols of Asmodeous. Arkath must have been devout to be buried in such a place.
The lone caretaker on site looks to be some reformed street thug, he has a badly broken nose, missing several fingers and part of an ear with scars criss crossing his face from numerous lost fights. "Ai dun like ta look o' you mangy folks, wut 'er you 'er for?
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Durlo keeps quiet as Bartimaeus converses with the Asmodean. Though he has no love for the devil God, at least the threat is known, unlike the patrons witches serve.
He would rather a bottle of wine not lead to another's death.
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Waving a dirt-ridden shovel around, "Nahh, Ai dun think tha's a gud idear" Shaking his head, "Nuh uh, I don't see why I'd let ya in there, ya nut even family,"
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Seeing things aren't going well, Grigor flies to a mausoleum a ways to the southwest, hiding where it shields him from the priest. He lands, transforming to his half bat form and looking for anything to make noise. Knocking over tools, hitting the mausoleum with a stick, whatever tools he finds available. Once he's found a way to make a loud crash, he changes back into a bat and flies away from the mausoleum to watch the priest's reaction.
While you guys aren't able to really convince the care taker otherwise, a large crash on the far side does buy you guys some valuable time to at least inspect the mausoleum.
He grumbles as he walks away, "Mus' be dem damn kids again. . . "
Inspecting the doors, you find they unlocked but quite ponderous and the stone doors more than likely take quite an effort to open. It'd be hard to sneak in without attracting attention.
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"Aye, I'll remain here as well." he grabs the handle of his greatsword and pulls it loose. "In case things go badly."
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Hannah slips in side completely unnoticed. Inside she finds, the lone sarcophagus of the stone mason. Pushing it aside the long decayed skeleton rests in now decrepit finery. Inside the skeleton's mouth is a gleaming silver coin with the glyph of the open road printed on it.
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Circling the cemetery before finding a location for his next distraction, Grigor sees Hannah exiting the mausoleum. Seems I have bought enough time. Now to find out if this has paid off.
Grigor lands just outside the cemetery gate, taking human form and meeting back up with the party. He seems out of breath, "I trust this venture proved fruitful?"
This apparently simple coin, usually styled to resemble ancient currency, hides intricate gold and platinum wires within. This matrix,carefully modeled after fragmentary Azlanti coins, causes the Pathfinder’s coin to rise an inch into the air and slowly spin in place if placed atop a wayfinder.
It speaks in a haunting ghostly voice "The path and chamber are complete, hidden behind the nameplate of the requested aspirant and guarded by the word you requested. Fimbrik will add more."
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"Aye, Fimbrik it is. Well done friend Hannah!"
Durlo strides down the streets of Absalom with a renewed vigor, the situation having resolved itself peacefully.
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A brick step leads to Fimbrik’s front entrance, which is locked with a rusty simple lock.
Numerous stacks of newspapers—roughly 2 years’ worth of monthly copies are piled around the door and crammed into a thin slot at its base. Each rounded corner of the building has a large window, allowing creatures to look into the structure without difficulty. A creature can also smash a window with relative ease.
As Bartimaeus peers in through windows he sees several flickering images of a peculiar gnome going about daily business.
Grigor is able to establish that its about 2 years worth of papers but for some reason they are delivered every week despite being a large moldy pile at this point.
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"It looks like there are some illusions with the purpose of leading you to believe he is home... Look there! One just walked through a chair," he points out to his companions.
"I normally would be against such an act, however it does not appear that anyone is home. Given that Fimbrik holds the key to a secret that belongs to the Society by rights, we should enter," he suggests, the choice clearly weighing on his conscience.
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Once the door is open, Durlo will peer in to see if there are any dangers ahead.
"We should be careful. Magic is not to be trusted."
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A large sofa sits awkwardly near the entrance, facing toward the center of the room. Sets of chairs and tables are arranged throughout, and statues of grandiose gnomes occupy the corners of the room. A set of stairs at the northern edge of the chamber leads to an unused basement filled with stacked newspapers. A second set of stairs leads up to an unfinished second floor.
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Grigor looks at the gnome statues in the corner. "This fellow certainly thought highly of himself, didn't he? " Taking his attention off the statues and to the rest of the room, he pauses a moment. "Where is the dust? The papers were stacked for the past two years, but there isn't a speck of dust in this place? Something isn't right here...what have we here? Don't step near the sofa, some kind of magic circle is underneath it. See the edge of it sticking out slightly? We often used similar circles at the university for summoning temporary specimens for study."