"An invisible stalker!" hissed Talivar in alarm!
Working quickly, Talivar upended a vial of urea and strained as he pushed with his mind sending a sudden jet of utter cold lancing towards the Invisible Stalker! The supernaturally cold water flash froze upon hitting the elemental encasing it in a lattice work of ice!
Talivar’s burning arc nearly finishes off the mysterious elemental. Kilarra’s machete strike, appropriately, deals the killing blow. As it dies, you see its form for a few seconds before it dissipates entirely.
For the moment, all is quiet.
Kilarra hacks at it again and again with her swords--looking more than a little angry.
Suddenly she calms, and wipes off her blades, before sheathing them.
Without another word she walks back up to Rix's corpse and begins checking his pockets for anything Bastien might have missed or left behind.
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Uruelleth lets the battle fury dissipate, his heavy breaths echoing in the silence that descends after the creature falls.
After a moment, Talivar's words catch up to him. "An invisible stalker? I could have told you that. It was invisible, and it stalked us." He rolls his eyes and starts to prowl about the room, looking for other clues or hidden foes.
Vorya rolls his eyes at Uruelleth. 'That's the formal name, I'd imagine."
Vorya pulls out the healing wand. 'Ok, who needs healing?"
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Uruelleth checks himself out and realizes for once he's not covered in wounds. Then he jerks his head in Kilarra's direction. "It attacked only her." He then gives her a fierce smile, seeing her still alive despite covered in wounds. "Still standing, I see. Good. Every breath you take is a spit in the eye of their god."
Kilarra examines Rix’s body, but doesn’t find anything in his tattered pockets or clothes. She does, however, notice an uneven spot on his cheek. Inside his mouth, on the other side of his cheek, she finds a plain bronze key. It’s covered in dried saliva and blood, but appears to still be serviceable, if you can find what it’s meant to open.
Uruelleth isn’t able to spot anything, but Vorya does notice that there appear to be a couple boards spaced unevenly on the warehouse’s wooden floor. The unevenly spaced boards are mostly obscured by the bedroll and pillow that cover them in the corner of the room.
Makori shakes her head at Uruelleth and says, “Vorya’s right. And there’s more information to be had than the creature’s literal name. I’m sure Talivar can attest to that.”
When Uruelleth mentions that their breaths are a spit in Achaekek’s eye, she says, “You’re serious, aren’t you? You really intend to kill Achaekek? After what you've endured to get here? After seeing what they did to this Rix? You would risk that fate or worse on some infinitesimal chance that you could actually slay him?”
Vorya moves toward the loose floorboards, moving carefully.
As he does so he calls back to Makori, "That's what we signed up for. I think Sheyln would be disspointed if I turned back because it seemed scary. The fact that the Red Mantis leave calling cards like Rix sort of makes me want to do this more, not less."
Baring his teeth in a mad grin, he meets Makori's eyes. "While I live, I fight. While I fight, I kill Mantises and their creatures. When I run out of Mantises, what's left to kill but their god?"
"I hope we don't have to kill all of them, Uruelleth." Vorya offers, crouching down on the floor. "That might take awhile."
Talia crouches next to Rix, attempting a Heal check to check to see if a Speak with Dead would be a possible options.
Makori considers Vorya and Uruelleth’s words. She seems conflicted about something, but eventually just shakes her head.
Talia is fairly confident Rix would be able to speak or at least respond were a Speak with Dead spell to be cast. His speech, however, could be broken due to his injuries.
Vorya doesn’t notice any traps so he removes the pillow and bedroll. Despite his age, he’s able to remove the floorboards easily enough. Three wooden boards pull away to reveal decent size hole beneath. In the hole, a shattered chest lies with the remainder of its lid still open. On its floor lies a note.
In the unlikely event that one of you Pact members survived my surprise or in the (much more likely) event that someone finds this much later, I thought I would point out the utter futility in opposing the Red Mantis. This shattered chest is all that remains of a pitiful man’s efforts to undermine Achaekek’s disciples.
We took the documents back to the Citadel for review, but I’m certain nothing useful will be found. I mean, did the man really think the fact that we have a bridge named Yardarm or the fact that we’re renowned for our brothels and pirates would actually be helpful in undermining our operations? I hope his employers didn’t pay him much.
In any event, it should be abundantly clear now that the Red Mantis cannot be stopped. All who oppose us shall die or suffer an even worse fate in the Citadel.
On behalf of Those Who Walk In Blood,
Bastien
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"I hope we don't have to kill all of them, Uruelleth." Vorya offers, crouching down on the floor. "That might take awhile."
Uruelleth throws his arms open wide. "I'm an elf. I've got time."
Talivar glanced at Uruelleth with a retort on the tip of his tongue but he decided he didn't care and simply shrugged.
"You’re serious, aren’t you? You really intend to kill Achaekek? After what you've endured to get here? After seeing what they did to this Rix? You would risk that fate or worse on some infinitesimal chance that you could actually slay him?”
It was Talivar's turn to sigh at somebody, "Makori we haven't really been through anything yet. No this just getting started, and the gloves are still on..."
He then assists Vorya with looking for anything Rix might have hidden.
Talia points to the corpse on the floor, bringing everyone's attention back to the matter at hand.
"I can cast Speak with Dead tomorrow if we wish, and learn more about what Rix knew and the information he had. This Bastien likes to grandstand and I suspect he might have gloated to Rix before killing him, information I'd like to know. Of course, we would need to safeguard the body for the remainder of the day, and his answers might be limited due to his injuries, but nevertheless, its an option."
Talia pauses for a moment, glancing at the sunken chest for a moment.
Ignoring everyone, she bends down and tries to lift the chest upwards in a slow and steady motion.
The chest turned out to be quite a bit heavier than it looked and required Vorya’s assistance to lift out of the hole. Though the top half was indeed shattered, the bottom part, the section that was in the ground, is completely intact.
With Talia’s keen perception, she can tell that the apparent bottom of the chest is actually a false bottom. She’s able to remove a thin layer of wood after some prying to reveal a metal panel with a small keyhole near one edge. The key from Rix’s mouth easily turns in the keyhole and the metal panel clicks open.
Inside, a plain white envelope rests on top of a small hill of documents of various shapes and sizes. It appears many of them contain copious notes and annotations.
Written on the envelope are the words, For the Quintumvirate’s Chosen.
Inside the envelope is a hastily scrawled, but still quite legible, two-sided letter.
They are coming. I’ve known for some time now that I’ve been followed, but for the longest I was able to lose them before returning to my hideout. It seems my luck finally ran out. They’ve been circling the warehouse for a couple hours now, no doubt planning the best angle of attack. I’ve studied the Red Mantis long enough to know I have little chance of surviving.
Nevertheless, I will fight to the end. Please tell Queen Galfrey that I did my best. I hope Iomedae and posterity will look kindly upon my actions. Operating under the assumption that I won't survive, I’ve included some of my observations about Ilizmagorti below. I hope they will prove useful to you in your efforts.
If the Red Mantis have one weakness, it's their arrogance. Many of them think they are incapable of mistakes, that Achaekek has blessed them with perfection. We must use their arrogance against them. Make their pride their downfall.
Several individuals throughout the city could prove to be allies. One such pair, known as the Jungle Runners, could aid in locating the Crimson Citadel. They are wilderness outfitters and guides located in the Westergreen, outside Ilizmagorti’s walls. Consisting of a male half-elf named Erandlon and a female human named Asheda Timmera, the Jungle Runners offer guided hunting trips and wilderness expeditions into the jungles. I understand that they do good business with treasure hunters and wealthy nobles. They likely have unparalleled expertise when it comes to many of the dangers of Mediogalti’s jungles.
If you’re still in need of a place to stay on a more permanent basis, I would recommend you consider the Murdered Manticore. It’s a quiet, unassuming pub off a tiny courtyard in the Medina. The Murdered Manticore is the place to go for people looking to hire mercenaries or adventurers. It’s run by a man who goes by the name Shark. Rumor has it that he’s a retired Andoran adventurer. The Manticore isn’t too fancy, and you don’t have to check your weapons at the door, but Shark brooks no fights in his establishment and is said to be a respectable fighter himself.
Some claim he shares a name with jigsaw sharks he keeps in his flooded basement. “Going down to Shark’s basement” is euphemistic in Ilizmagorti for meeting one’s demise early. Why do I think this is a place to stay? He will almost certainly want something in return, as do most in Ilizmagorti, but how many evil Andorans do you know? The man is highly unlikely to be a Red Mantis assassin. Anyway, like I said, at least consider it.
If you’re needing equipment, you might want to consider Obari Imports. It’s in the heart of Mainmast and is run by a human man named Sanjeet Ralama Pakhesh. He’s from the Isle of Jalmeray and supposedly has connections in Absalom, Katapesh, Nex, and even far-off Vudra and Tian Xia. He’ll likely be willing to buy and sell with you, but he’s not likely to put up with any shady dealings. He’s always accompanied by his two female bodyguards, twin Vudrani monks.
While I hope you’re able to fend for yourselves, if you find you’re in need of healing, you would do well to endear yourselves with Priest-Captain Rannos Blackarm. He’s the head priest at Besmara’s House, the only other large church in Ilizmagorti besides the Pagoda of the Mantis. While I doubt he would ever be an ally in the proper sense, he could still prove useful to your mission.
Another location that you might consider investigating is the Hospice of Serenity in the Bilges. While it’s considered a refuge for Ilizmagorti’s rejected, I hold serious doubts about its nobility. It’s nearly impossible to get information from people in this city, but the few whispers I’ve heard suggest the Hospice’s kindness may only be a means to an end. If true, the people of the Bilges deserve to know it. They suffer enough as it is.
There’s also the Songbird Preserve. It’s located on the three islands in the center of Ilizmagorti’s lagoon which are collectively known as the Three Sisters. The Songbird Preserve is a collection of parks and gardens of rare and vibrant jungle flowers. It might be one of the few truly beautiful places in Ilizmagorti. It’s said to be carefully tended by Jaxira Daralamir, a female half-elf druid of some sort.
The Three Sisters also house the Nymphaleum, Ilizmagorti’s open-air amphitheater that puts on regular performances along with those of visiting bards. Origent Gamaron is its artistic director. Some say Origent was once invited to perform at the Crimson Citadel, perhaps the only person outside of the Red Mantis organization to do so. I have been unable to verify these claims. Others, of course, claim he is a member of the Red Mantis himself.
There are many, many more people and places that I could detail, if only I had the time. The rest of my notes and observations, which you’ll find in the documents below this letter, should aid you in your journeys through the city and in your dealings with its peoples. I only wish I could have helped more and been able to meet you.
I pray the Red Mantis do not discover this information before you arrive. I have taken measures to ensure that is not the case, but you can never be certain with these assassins. Now I just have to figure out where to hide this key. They are coming.
Rix
Besides the letter and the documents, you also find some items that Rix apparently stowed in the chest. You find two wands, a ring, a cloak, a pair of boots, a mithral shirt, and 5,000 gp.
As a student of Lore, Talia is rather upset that Rix had provided them with such a wealth of information as his last act, successfully hiding it from the Red Mantis. She isn't sure if she should take a part of his body for someone to cast Resurrection on in the future, as a sort of reward for his efforts but doesn't know if the man would prefer to be left at rest instead.
"We should be moving on, quickly. From a safe house, I could cast many spells in order to increase our knowledge before planning further moves, but it appears our current residence isn't quite as safe as the alternatives."
When Uruelleth makes his joke the old inquisitor, despite the blood, corpse and violence actually laughs. It is deep throated, and he realizes it has been quite awhile since he has done so.
When Talia mentions Speak with Dead Vorya shrugged. he had killed lots of people but never tried to speak to any of them afterword.
'Could we, um, stitch him up or something to help him talk?"
When they find the chest, he has second thoughts. 'Well, everything is right here. Maybe we should leave him be. Shame they killed him, he seemed an all right sort. Sad."
It was a short epitaph but few got that many.
"We should at least see he is buried properly."
Uruelleth rubs his chin while thinking about their next move. "You know, they'll eventually come back to see how well their 'invisible stalker' did. I'm still in the mood to kill more Mantises. Maybe that Bastien would even be fool enough to return."
Vorya turns to Talivar, "Any idea if the Invisible Stalker would have left bodies and if so, in what condition? Maybe we could fake our deaths and give us some lead time to investigate without the Mantis breathing down our necks."
It was an old trick, but a good one. Tough to pull off with a group however.
Uruelleth shrugs. "It shouldn't be hard to find corpses in this town. Or to make some."
Talia’s unable to identify the wand from Lupi. She also doesn’t recognize either of Rix’s wands. The ring is a ring of protection +2. The cloak is an Eagle Cape. The boots are Boots of Striding and Springing.
Uruelleth checks himself out and realizes for once he's not covered in wounds. Then he jerks his head in Kilarra's direction. "It attacked only her." He then gives her a fierce smile, seeing her still alive despite covered in wounds. "Still standing, I see. Good. Every breath you take is a spit in the eye of their god."
Kilarra spares Ruel a smirk, then admits to Vorya, "I've got plenty of wounds."
She pulls the key off of Rix and examines it.
"I hope we don't have to kill all of them, Uruelleth." Vorya offers, crouching down on the floor. "That might take awhile."Uruelleth throws his arms open wide. "I'm an elf. I've got time."
Kilarra laughs aloud. But as she reads the second note from Bastien she frowns again before passing it on to someone else.
When Talia mentions casting speak with dead, Kilarra raises an eyebrow. "Well, that's a handy spell. I'd love to hear what Rix has to say."
When Talia pulls up the false bottom of the chest, Kilarra passes her the key. She watches curiously as the contents are unveiled. After reading the note, she smiles. Looking at Rix's body she remarks: "You did good, Rix..."
While Talia fiddles with the gear, Kilarra sets to work on getting Rix's corpse down.
"What do you plan on doing with his body if you can't speak with him until tomorrow? I doubt we can haul a corpse through the streets unseen."
Talia had been wrestling with that problem for the last few minutes, before trying to answer Kilarra as best as she could.
"I'd check to see if Makori's friends that we met earlier know a place to hide a body, or alternatively keep an eye on. Even if we don't /intend/ to use Speak with Dead, I want appearances kept. Right now Bastien thinks we know nothing, so I would like an attempt made to keep up appearances that we dont know anything."
"Personally though, I want to move on, quickly if we can. I don't really want to spend time here, its isolated, poorly defendable, and the Mantis already successfully carried out an assassination at this location. If we could check on the Hospice first, that would be preferential, I want to make sure that the crew are ok. Word of warning, I'm a little low on offensive magic today, so I'd prefer not provoking a fight unless we think we can do so without my health. Once we have checked if the crew are fine, we should change locations and stay at the Murdered Manticore as per Rix's information. Any objections?"
When talia was finished examining the wands, Talivar asked to see the three remaining ones she wasn't able to identify. After a few moments he said, "Ah I think I know what these are..."
Talivar listened to Talia's plan and nodded, "Yeah sounds good. I'm actually not too impressed with them. I'm sure individually they're deadly, but ask yourself this: That Vernai knows our names, why doesn't Bastien? Correct me if I'm wrong Kilarra, but that's the kind of knowledge he'd flaunt right? The fact we're alive, that Rix's note wasn't found and that Bastien doesn't know us suggests they are are truly dysfunctional. I bet there's more internal politics than anyone realizes and this Bastien is effectively on his own and out of his depth. Eventually he'll find out what the Vernai knows but for now the ball's in our court, lets try not to draw undue attention..."
Kilarra’s able to get Rix’s body down, though in the process she recognizes how terrible his death must have been. The wire noose the Red Mantis used was intended to make its victim suffer as much as possible before the end. He died a martyr’s death.
Talivar’s able to identify all three wands. The first is a wand of Freedom of Movement with two charges, the second is a wand of Greater Invisibility with seven charges, and the third is a wand of Cure Serious Wounds with ten charges.
Makori shakes her head a Talia, “I am not friends with them and I wouldn’t trust them farther than I could throw them. They may fear me, but they wouldn’t work for me.”
She looks at Talivar next and says, “You’ve clearly not known the Red Mantis long enough. Sure, they have some hotheads like this Bastien, but the majority are far more cunning. The fact that they sent him to take care of this probably indicates they still consider all of you beneath them. They’re probably not concerned at all by your efforts.”
'That is a lot of supposition Talivar. I never liked building sandcastles." he nods to Makori, "I prefer her reading of it. Besides, I prefer to overestimate my foes then underestimate them."
He turns to the body, "What do you think of me slipping out and buying a cart? We can load it up and hustle to the Manticore with everything covered up. Maybe even Talia. I can disguise myself to do the purchase."
Uruelleth sighs, shaking his head. "How about we throw a cloak over him and I'll walk him out like he's passed-out drunk? It'll take less time and will be a lot more believable than a logger needing a cart in the city."
Talivar getting a little irritated retorts, "Makori I'm counting on being beneath them. Pretty sure there's a long line of arrogant idiots like Bastien, all the way up to the top of their ivory tower."
Turning to the inquisitor Talivar demands, "Tell me Vorya, why you do you think we're still alive?"
Uruelleth sighs, shaking his head. "How about we throw a cloak over him and I'll walk him out like he's passed-out drunk? It'll take less time and will be a lot more believable than a logger needing a cart in the city."
The idea was pretty distasteful but Talivar couldn't help but agree, "Yeah that might just work Uruelleth."
"Because look at him, he has been damn near strangled by the neck and has his throat cut. He is also dead. I have no idea how you plan on "walking" a dead man out and then convincing everyone you are not holding a corpse unless you wrap the entire body from top to bottom in a cloak which looks suspicious. Even a comatose drunk has more signs of life than a corpse. Talia responds, rolling her eyes at the suggestion.
"I think a cart is best, or simply hide this body somewhere else and come back to it later. A Speak with Dead spell isn't a dealbreaker for me."
Kilarra starts to stuff the papers into her backpack, which clearly holds more than it appears.
"Anyone have some cord and a hooded cloak?" Kilarra asks from her place by the papers. "If Ruel and Vorya hold Rix between them, with him arms over their shoulders, we could tie each of his ankles to one of their ankles. He'd look sort of like he's walking then. Of course his head would loll around like an unconscious drunk..." With a smirk she adds, "Though I'd pay good money to see you two try to fight like that."
Uruelleth shrugs, not really caring one way or the other about how they'll inconspicuously transport a dead body around. "Do you need the whole body to ask your questions? Or will just the head be enough?"
"His throat was cut, so we would also need to explain why our drunk isn't bleeding from the obvious gash in his neck. Also if it does come to a fight, I'm useless without my offensive magic, Ruel and Vorya are inconvenienced, leaving the rest to handle the situation. The riskiest option is of course, the quickest, but that doesn't necessarily make it the best." Talia responds shortly, before turning to Kilarra, her hands glowing.
"This reminds me" she remarks, before hurling a wave of positive energy into the slayer.
"The spell indicates that we need an "intact" body so I'd probably need the majority of the corpse. Even if I didn't, I'd feel bad mutilating his body, then contacting his soul, asking for its assistance in answer my questions to be a poor reward for his efforts. "
Kilarra only knows about the market in the Medina you would have skirted around to get here as well as Obari Imports which you learned about from Rix's letter.
Talia believes there are quite a few places someone could hide a body in Ilizmagorti, but probably a lot less places a body would stay hidden for long. The Greens are less often patrolled by the Mantis, so a body hidden there is less likely to be discovered by them. There are quite a few unused buildings on the city’s outskirts. A body hidden there, however, is more likely to attract creatures from Mediogalti’s jungles.
As for places to hide bodies in the city, some less reputable establishments have a no-questions-asked policy for those who pay a fee. At the same time, it’s almost impossible know which of these places are also on the Red Mantis’s payroll.
Besides illicit establishments, there’s also the city’s unofficial morgue. Located in Jawbone, it’s a place where bodies are allowed to be stored for a couple weeks to give families time to claim them. It’s also used to store bodies till families from elsewhere in the Inner Sea Region can come to collect their departed. It’s not unreasonable to think another body could blend in for a bit, but only for a time. It is, however, run by the Red Mantis. Like most things on the island and in the city, they carefully oversee operations to ensure any that they’ve killed don’t slip out of the city to potentially be later resurrected.
As Talia thinks on the problem, she also notes that it won't be long before the body begins to smell, making concealing its location even more difficult.
"How much cash do we have?" Kilarra asks as she puts the rest of the papers into her backpack. "My backpack's pretty much full, but I bet you can buy a bag of holding from the market in Medina. Maybe even that imports place Rix's letter mentions. Obari Imports! At least a bag like that's useful."
"I've heard of those. Magic bags that are bigger on the inside, right? That makes sense. Why don't you go and take someone with you and buy one? Maybe take Makori too, in case you get hassled passing through the district."
"Sounds like a plan." replied Talivar. He caught Vorya's eye, "Do you want to escort the Ladies or shall I?"
'I'll go. The rest of you can stay here." he looks around, "Or at maybe move one warehouse over, in case the Mantis come back to collect."
Vorya reaches into his gear and pulls out his Sleeves of Many Garments and changes into clothes befitting that of a First mate from a well-off pirate captain.
'I'll be back in a flash."
Kilarra, Vorya, and Makori leave the rest of you to head to Obari Imports in search of a bag of holding. As you leave the winding streets of the Medina, you go unaccosted by the Shadow Stalkers or any other gang.
You cross over the Old Bridge over the Silt River into the Mainmast district. To get to Obari Imports, you have to pass by the Blood Circus. It’s nearly midday by now, but there’s no significant activity coming from the arena. Its busy hours begin at night when its various forms of entertainment are put on display for all in Ilizmagorti to see.
You find Obari Imports situated in the heart of Mainmast. The store’s building is a massive affair. With ceilings stretching thirty feet into the air, tall shelves line the walls with a large variety of rare and wondrous items from across the Inner Sea and beyond.
You’re only inside for a couple minutes before a middle-aged man, flanked by a woman on each side, walks over. His skin tone indicates he has an eastern ancestry. This corresponds with what Rix had said, the man is from the Isle of Jalmeray.
The man is rather tall and thin, but doesn’t appear frail. He looks at the three of you and says, “I am Sanjeet Pakhesh, this store’s proprietor. Many people think they can come to Obari Imports to look around, but I do not approve of window shopping. If you’re looking for something in particular, I can advise you as to whether or not we carry it and how much it will cost. Otherwise, be on your way.”
The man taps his foot as he speaks and as he waits for your answer. He doesn’t seem to be a patient person. The two bodyguards flanking him match the description of Vudrani monks. Though they are unarmored, they look ready to strike at a moment’s notice should Pakhesh tell them to.
-----
Back at the warehouse, the rest of you wait for Kilarra, Vorya, and Makori’s return.