After pointing out the hole, T'chazzar shimmies down as well. He surveys the small nest impassively.
"Indeed," he says. "At least we can finally put to rest the concerns of one family - even if tragically."
He moves slowly about the room, taking in the various morbid shrines as if he's seen this sort of thing before.
Upon closer examination, Leora feels certain that the sinews used to bind the dead tiefling child came from an adult tiefling and were likely part of a dark ritual to summon the tooth fairies to the Devil's Nursery and set them about preying upon the tiefling populace. T'chazzar's willing to believe that as it seems most of the trophy teeth pounded into the walls are a bit larger and pointier than a human's or other humanoid's; they almost certainly came primarily from other slain tieflings. Alas, no one can figure out what the strange dark language inscribed on the bindings is.
You have an intuition that perhaps the perpetrator of these heinous crimes is another tiefling, for who would know better where to claim the sacrificial child and sinew-donor and where to set up the dark shrine than someone who lives in the neighborhood?
"Hmm. I've seen a little bit of demonology in my time, back down below. This... someone summoned the tooth fairies, to prey upon the tieflings. And... who would know the ins and outs of the tiefling parts of town better than another tiefling? Maybe someone trying to curry favor with the new regime?" says the dark elf carefully.
Dom frowns. Bad enough this happened at all, but for the fairies to have been brought to Kintargo...
"Who else do we know in the business of summoning assorted pains in the ass?" Dom rubs the spot where the hook fly bit him. "Sudarynya, may I hold sharp pieces of steel to Idiot Brassvane boy until he talks...?"
"Maybe we can ask around back at the Brimstone Hearth," Leoara suggests. She does what she can to start the gruesome task of helping take down the young tiefling's body.
The whole thing makes Leora furious. What sick, twisted person summoned monsters to kill people and take their teeth?! "I'm glad we killed those tooth fairies, what a twisted plot! I hope Baelgar knows more about it and about what happened to Jessi."
T'chazzar aids in the clean-up. "This is a particularly cruel and despicable plot for the surface world. I mean, it's par for the course in the Darklands, but not the sort of thing you see up here. People aren't prepared for this kind of viciousness. We definitely should alert your friends both that the tooth faeries are gone and that someone called on them to prey upon the tieflings of this neighborhood."
Davina shocked to her core at the cellar remained quiet for quite a while. She shakes her head and snaps out of her shock at Dom's words. "Dom I don't think that the boy had anything to do with this. He would have stood out like a beacon in this neighborhood."
She moves up to the gold tooth. "Leora can you detect magic on this, please? It seems to be a little to convenient."
Then she studies the words written on the walls. Hmm I wonder if this will give us any clues.
"As much as I hate leaving this poor child here. I think we need to ask if a tiefling child has gone missing recently before we bring him to the Brimstone Hearth. It could cause an uproar that will keep us from finding out any more information." Davina looks sad at this suggestion, and it doesn't look like it will take much to talk her out of the idea.
"Smart," says T'chazzar, pointing to Leora. "Always gather intel in advance."
"Mmm, good point," Dom grudgingly admits that Gavin would stand out in the Nursery. Domitius then considers the image of himself carrying the child into the Hearth and its attendant uproar; as he often does, he ends up yielding to Davina's common sense. "Very well, but I do not like the thought of leaving the boy here. Let us make our inquiries, and then bear the bad news."
"Good idea, Davina. " Leora casts detect magic at her friends request.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Leora's detect magic spells reveals no magical auras on the tooth or elsewhere in the creepy lair. Outside, both the tooth fairies' corpses and the tooth-yanking pliers they once carried have exploded or crumbled to dust.
You believe the language on the sinew wrappings is Aklo. Although you don't know how to read or speak that language, you recognize a few words here and there, enough to back the guesses that the dead tiefling child was indeed the focus of a dark summoning ritual that brought the tooth fairies to the Devil's Nursery.
When your group returns to the tiefling tavern and makes inquiries about any missing tiefling children, you see a lot of blank faces and shaking heads. Baelgar asks if you discovered another murder victim and adds that street children are not all that uncommon in the district.
"We are not exactly the most...nurturing of people to begin with," he admits. "Add poverty and high death and murder rates even before the latest troubles...and it adds up to a lot of orphans."
Domitius' face tightens into a grim scowl. "In the course of destroying them, we found the place the foul things came into this world. Someone took a child, and... did things to the body." Dom doesn't know who did it, what their face looks like, but he imagines what that face would look like with his hands wrapped around their throat.
It's not as comforting as he wanted it to be.
"Someone did this. Someone consciously brought these tooth fairies into Kintargo. To what end, we do not know. One more question wanting answers."
"Do you know who might want to cause issues here? We think it must be a local. Any strangers will stand out. Do you have any ideas?" Davina asks Baelgar.
"Where should we bring his body? I want to make sure he's buried properly." Davina looks upset.
When Dom mentions that the tooth fairies have been destroyed, the sparse tiefling crowd in the tavern stirs in excitement. When one asks for proof--maybe a dead body--and you have to explain the fey's death throes explosions into fairy dust, the locals give you an Are-You-Kidding-Me? rounds of stares and glares. Just when it seems things might get physical, Baelgar steps up to your defense.
"I've seen and heard of stranger things," he growls to his fellow hellspawn. "They claimed to have found the things' lair. Who among you will brave the night and go with me--and them--to see this place firsthand?" When no one volunteers, he scoffs, "I thought as much! Cowards!"
His peers cowed, Baelgar addresses Davina's questions and concerns. "Barzillai Thrune causes my people the most trouble," Baelgar nearly spits. "Beyond him...the Red Jills have been more active and more bold in recent weeks. They've been seen passing through the Nursery, but it's said their hideout and most of their muggings occur in Redroof and Temple Hill. Most of the Jills were born and grew up here in the Nursery; joining the gang and 'moving up' to Redroof proper is actually thought of as something of an accomplishment by some."
"Come--show me this place and the child's body," Baelgar says, throwing a cloak around his shoulders and pulling its hood over his head. "I'll have a look and decide what's to be done. We'll probably leave the body outside the Asmodeans' temple: They're in charge of burials in the city."
As the crowd turns ugly, before Baelgar intervenes, Dom glares out at the assorted tieflings. "Believe us, or don't, but don't give us the attitude. We killed eight of the malen'kiye ublyudki, and any if you think I'm lying, come here and say it to my face, if you dare."
After they leave with Baelgar, Dom, as discreetly as he can, asks, "Is there word of Zea? I did not like hearing that she paid for her bravery with such an illness."
Leora is about to buy a round of drinks for her friends and Baelgar, but since the tiefling is eager to go see the tooth fairy den, she decides she can wait if this will help them get to Jessi that much more quickly.
She is glad Dom kept count of how many tooth fairies they killed since she could barely tell what was going on between the darkness and sudden bursts of glitter.
"I hope Zea is alright! Those rats can have all kinds of nasty diseases."
Leora listens with concern when Baelgar more or less says he doesn't know who might have summoned the tooth fairies. "Maybe seeing the place will give you a clue as to who it is," she suggests, knowning it is a long shot.
"Do you know anyone who speaks or reads Aklo?" Davina asks out of the blue as they return to the cellar.
"Zea will be fine," Baelgar informs you all on the way to the fairy den. "She contracted filth fever from the rat bite she got the other night. It hit her hard, though she still intended to play bait for you all. We nearly had to drag her to Songbird Hall to get treated. With a few days' rest she'll be good as new."
At Davina's question, the tiefling shakes his horned head. "Most of my people speak Common and/or Infernal. I don't believe I've ever heard anyone speaking a dark tongue that might be Aklo in all my years in this city. I am sorry I cannot be of help in this matter."
Once the group reaches the lair, Baelgar crawls inside. Upon seeing the gold tooth, he plucks it from the wall. "This constitutes proof: This tooth belonged to Farrzik, one of the murder victims. I will take it back to the tavern and show it to the others." He pockets the tooth, crawls out of the hole, and pauses. "Perhaps you should take it as payment for your efforts on behalf of the neighborhood. Or I can sell it and see that the proceeds go to the families of those killed and other needy tieflings. Your choice."
On the way back to the Brimstone Hearth, Baelgar confesses that he's already been asking his sources in the Devil's Nursery if they'd seen anyone matching Jessibel's description. Alas, none have.
"We'll keep digging," the tiefling growls. "Are you certain you have no idea who she might've been seeing in Redroof or any site she may have been visiting? Anything else you may have neglected to mention?"
At Baelgar's question about the disposition of the tooth, Domitius says, "I'd say sell it, and use the money to help the families of the victims."
Vexed by the lack of knowledge about Jess, Dom frowns. "I don't know, I was a guest of Old Man Sarini's when she disappeared. Redroof... I know Jessibel's been interested in the Red Jills, is there any chance she tried to track them down, and got in over her head?"
"Yeah, let's give the money from the tooth to the families of the victims," Leora agrees. She's glad to be out of that creepy, cramped fairy den.
Leora holds back a sigh of exasperation. Somehow, in her head, she'd hoped that as soon as the tooth fairies were dead, Baelgar would tell them exactly where to find Jessi. Of course, things were never that simple...
Leora runs through the missing Jessi story again aloud in case there was some detail the Silver Ravens had left out the first time they talked to Baelgar.
"Let's see, you know what Jessi looks like since you've seen her at the Three-legged Devil. The last time someone saw her, she was at Songbird Hall, supposedly heading towards the Opera Society, how many days ago was that? She'd heard about some missing teens in Redroof and Temple Hill and was supposed to meet with us and go look for them together. We found all the kids and undid all the... mischief... that they'd gotten into, but no sign of Jessi. She can also alter the colors of her hair and clothes, and she has a disguise she likes to use, that she, um, borrowed from some Queensmen. Anything I forgot?" She asks, looking to the rest of her friends for help.
Leora racks her brain, trying to remember if Jessi had been visiting any boys recently, and if that might provide some other clue or information source. Was she still going after that twin, or had Jessi moved on?
"I think she did run into someone she that was with the Red Jills. Why she would decide to go in search of them right now I don't know. That makes no sense. He was looking for missing teens, not a gang of thieves. They are thieves, correct?" Davina explains to Baelgar.
"Yes please give the money to the families of those who lost loved ones."
T'chazzar nods once in agreement. "Sounds like the Red Jills are the next lead."
Dom tells everyone that Jessibel had mentioned wanting to try to recruit the Red Jills into the rebellion at some point, if at all possible, figuring that tieflings suffer badly under his thumb and might oppose the new lord mayor if they were promised a better life in post-Thrune Kintargo. Turning to Davina, though, he adds that he agrees with the aasimar woman: The timing for Jessi to traipse off to recruit them makes no sense (especially alone), since she'd gotten the message about the missing teens AND he, Sabrina, and Nicolae were missing as well.
When Leora asks if there's anything she forgot, Dom smiles grimly and says, "Not our bet about the Firefly Man, I hope." He explains to Baelgar about the Queensman who bought out all the fireflies from the gnome alchemist Paqshari's stock. He adds that the group heard a rumor that a two-man Queensman patrol allegedly went missing recently as well.
This news causes Baelgar to raise an eyebrow. "Now that is interesting," he says. "It may be no more than a coincidence, but let me check on something briefly and I'll be right back."
He stands and moves to a pair of burly tieflings sitting at a corner table, conversing with them very briefly before returning to your table wearing a toothy grin.
"I may have a lead for you," he announces. "One of my men saw a Queensman emerge from a dilapidated building in Redroof, east of here. At first we thought maybe the Chelish Citizens Group was either searching for someone or something, or was up to no good. But that was the only unusual Queensman incident we had, so we'd chalked it up as nothing. If my math is right, though, this Queensman was seen the morning after your friend vanished, and the same day your Firefly Man visited the alchemist's shop. If you wish to follow up, the place he was seen was an abandoned stable called the Fair Fortune Livery. I can give you directions...."
"Any actionable information would be a great help. Thank you," says T'chazzar to Baelgar. "Time to go see a man about a horse."
Davina sighs at the memory of the last time the group was at the Livery.
"Back to the Livery then. Let's hope there aren't any more puking gremlins down there this time."
She explains to T'chazzar. "We found a hidden base of the Silver Ravens below the Livery. I wonder if the "guards" found those rooms."
"Teeth stealing fairies, puking gremlins, what'll be next?" Leora wonders, shaking her head when Davina brings up their previous trip to the Livery.
"That is very interesting, thanks B." Leora offers to buy Baelgar and his two burly tiefling friends a drink before they head to to the Livery.
Dom raises an eyebrow. "The Fair Fortune? Nature certainly abhors her vacuums."
At first glance, the stables of the Fair Fortune Livery appear identical to how you found them on your last visit a few weeks back: worn down, dust-covered, and in disrepair. The stench of dog feces and urine is gone, thankfully, but a faint, unpleasant smell still lingers in the cool air. Something’s a bit off, however: where you left the corpse of the large feral dog there lies only a canine skull stripped of all flesh and a few other bones scattered about.
This hallway—once a killing floor for slaughtering cattle—appears identical to how it looked a few weeks back…with one significant exception: the open door that dangled from its hinges in the southwest wall has been closed and apparently repaired. If you weren’t previously aware of its existence, it would be challenging to even notice the door without a close inspection of the wall.
for
"Well someone has been here recently. The door is repaired and that poor puppies body has been stripped of anything but bone." Davina looks thoughtful at that statement. "Probably more blood sucking things like the golem. I hope the Livery isn't covered in blood like the house was."
As the group approaches the livery, Dom is hit with several thoughts, churning inside his mind a bit.
The first time they'd come here, he was a stranger to everyone here. Even to Jessibel, who he'd known before, he'd had little more connection than “his owner's friend”. It was here that he'd started to come into his own.
Yeah, and then you screwed it up, he admonished himself. You figured you'd just run off and rescue Sabrina, no plan, no idea where she was, no word to the others what you intended to do.
If you're going to start setting things right, it's only fitting that you start here.
Looking the building over, Dom turns to Davina. ”Sudarynya, I think our entrance could stand to be a bit more, uh, coordinated than last time, nyet? Maybe all in through the front door?”
T'chazzar's eyes narrow. "Why, what happened last time?"
He focuses and tries to sense the presence of any supernatural evil that might be lurking in the stables.
"Umm, we came here awhile ago and found a bunch of stray dogs guarding the entrance. There were some puking fairies inside, and some nasty goop in the basement that turned into demons. Am I remembering it right, guys?" Leora asks Davina, Dom, and Kiri. "It's been a couple weeks, and I was pretty eager to forget this place."
"And yeah, last time, we all went in different ways and it didn't go so well. We learned a lot about planning and coordinating from that..." Leora says, remembering how she'd gone in one way while the others had gone in a different way.
Leora looks around outside to see if there are any traces of footprints or signs of who might be inhabiting the livery now.
Dom nods, agreeing with Leora's assessment. "The day will come, I'm sure, that we successfully make a forced entry from multiple points. We just didn't get it on our first try," he says to T'chazzar.
Waving first to a point on his right, then his left, he says, "Kiri and I, with some effort, broke through a spot on the south wall, while the others went in through the main gate." Looking at the doors, he turns to Davina, reaching for the crowbar in his pack. "That lock looks new. Your key, or mine?"
Leora's search for footprints outside the livery yields a few older prints, but it appears no one has approached or exited the two possible entrances in the last couple of days. The chain and padlock on the front doors are indeed newish, and of average quality.
Detect evil yields nothing. You might be the first paladin I've ever GMed for, though, and I want to make sure I'm reading the spell correctly. If there were 100 NE 3rd-level rogues inside eating a buffet lunch, they wouldn't 'ping' because they don't have 4 HD or more, correct? Definitely no evil clerics, antipaladins, undead, or evil outsiders in range, though.
Also, I estimated the spell's cone from where your token is on the map.
Domitius holds up one finger in a "hold that thought" motion, then takes a quick trot over to the spot on the south wall where he and Kiri broke in the first time. Has the wall been repaired in any way?
Domitius holds up one finger in a "hold that thought" motion, then takes a quick trot over to the spot on the south wall where he and Kiri broke in the first time. Has the wall been repaired in any way?
Dom comes back and relays that information to the others. "I don't recall, did we ever find how that secret door triggered?"
Let me give the lock a try." She puts down her backpack, and fiddles with the lock. "There we go."
She stands up grabs her pack, and lets Dom lead the way into the building.
Davina makes short work of the padlock's defenses and removes it and the accompanying length of chain from the twin door handles. As the doors open and your group prepares to enter, a worrisome scurrying sound echoes within the abandoned building. From the shadows of the stalls to the north and south step 4 cockroaches around 3 feet in length. Apparently their sharp senses warned them that something crunchable was tinkering with the doors; now they begin to scuttle forward to attack. The familiar purplish ooze of demon's bile can be seen around their eyes and mandibles, and some dangles from the edges of the vermins' carapaces.
As he so often does, Dom is left shaking his head in admiration of Davina's skill. "You have the touch, Sudarynya."
Upon seeing the giant roaches, he frowns in disgust. "Is anyone else really tired of bugs? I mean, it's not like I was a huge fan before, but im quite ready to see nothing bigger than the aphids in Davina's south garden."