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Loud and raucous conversation flters through the door from the common room of the Uscalin Lodge, which doubles as the Ace of Dreams gambling house. “I know it’s here. I had it just a moment ago.” Venture-Captain Shevar Besnik lifts piles of papers and numerous boxes off of his desk, stacking them on various side tables and chairs in his clean but overly cluttered offce. The tall, Varisian man’s face parts in a toothy grin as he lifts up a solid oak box. “Found it!” As if to punctuate his discovery, a crowd of players in the gambling hall erupts in cheers. Distracted for a moment, Besnik stares at the closed office door that leads to the common room. “Desna laughs. Well, she laughs at me, but she smiles on them.” The venture captain shrugs. “All they have is gold what I have in here is far more valuable.”
Besnik opens the box’s lid painstakingly slowly, careful to keep the contents out of sight. With reverence, he lifts a large tome from the box and gently sets it on the table. “Careful, the binding hasn’t held up well. This is one of the few Tomes of Righteous Repose left in the world. I’m pretty sure there’s one in the library of the Sancta Iomedaea in Vigil, but I’m—well, let’s just say I’m no longer welcome there. That’s a story for another time. Up until today, I’ve only skimmed the pages. I didn’t want to damage it, but now that you’re here, I can’t wait any longer. Care to plumb the depths of this most ancient and wonderful storybook? Oh, the marvelous adventures we will soon read! This tome is a collection of tales describing how various crusaders died gloriously and honorably. I’m hoping to find some clues in the text that will lead us to an as-of-yet undiscovered site or relic. Maybe we can trade a bit of what we find with the Knights of Ozem and earn ourselves some goodwill. After what happened last time, we need it. Care to peruse the pages with me?"
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Matsu Anfial is a rather average sized young man with a small frame, hiding his strong muscles. He has white skin and very long hair in the colour of freshly fallen snow, and usually wears blue kimonos and a white obi. This gives him a very androgynous look.
In battle he wears a full plate armor stylished a Tian-Xa style, completed by a fearsome halfmask, showing a raging demon.
His voice is a very deep, yet smooth pearly tone.
He will only in the most dire instances leave his trusted Katana and rarely does his hand not touch it. Often just absentmindly stroking the hilt.
He bow to Shevar and speaks up."Matsu Anfial, reporting for duty Sir!"
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Bait tries to look at the book from the side of the desk, but he's just too short. Without even asking, he walks over to Shevar and while the fellow is beginning to read from the book, climbs up into his lap and looks at the book from there. He looks like a typical child in a grown up's lap during story time, a rather incongruous sight in this place. If the VC reacts badly to this, he'll slip off again, nor will he complain if he's pushed off... He'll just shrug and sigh if that happens and say "I couldn't see."
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The dwarf, aptly named Sickly, stands against one of the walls, far from the door leading back out to the gambling hall. He seems to be sweating profusely and has a rather pronounced twitch in one eye that gets worse every time the noise outside rises.
You wonder if he might be ill, as he can't seem to stop coughing, and keeps sniffling, like his nose is running. He wears armor and bristles with weapons of all sorts, though it looks less threatening than overcompensating.
He scratches distractedly at a rash on his neck while the Venture-Captain talks about the book, and makes no effort to approach it when offered. Instead, he eyes the old dusty tomb like it might try to kill him, an unhappy frown on his pock-marked face.
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The doors to the office fly wide-open, and a short human girl appears in the doorway. She grins from ear to ear, her facial expression accentuated by her shoulder length brown hair and the black socks hanging from her large bronze earrings. In her arms she holds a massive amount of casino chips. Barely able to hold onto all of them, frequently dropping one on the floor, the girl exclaims, "I won big time!"
The girl walks up to the table and dumps her chips on it, luckily at a safe distance from the tome. She takes her handy haversack off of her back, opens it, and shoves the chips inside. By pointing her finger and flicking her wrist the chips on the floor all jump up and into her bag as well. A dismissive gesture causes the doors to close themselves.
When the handy haversack's back on the girl's back, she takes a look around and notices Sickly in the corner. "Sickly!!"
The girl runs up to the snotty dwarf and gives him a big hug. "Oh my gosh, it's been a while! How are you? Oh, never mind, I can see that. Anyway, great to see you again!"
She turns to the others. "Hi, I'm Miyako! Pleased to meet you! Sorry I'm late, but I had such a good run! I couldn't just leave the table."
"Oh, a storybook!" Miyako grabs Sickly's arm and drags him over to the table with her. "Neat! Let's read some stories."
The Venture Captain simply laughs as Bait tries to get a better look at the tome. He then positions a few chairs next to the table for the more vertically challenged party members. As you peruse the book you come across a significant piece of art next to a poem in the tome. The piece depicts three samurai in a Minkai art style. The Venture-Captain jolts upright. “Minkai art! Let’s see, the Minkai Empire was founded in 3619, and the empire’s first explorers didn’t reach the west coast of the continent until at least 3691 ar, which leaves only sixty years before the beginning of the Shining Crusade itself. These women could have been among the first Minkai citizens to reach the Inner Sea! Let’s see, what secrets does the poem on this page hold?”
Stranglegut are legion, forces of death, Soldiers of the lich who were promised might. A bold samurai struck forth; in a breath. A thousand orcs struck down before her sight. From tow’ring giant green, a challenge thrown; The chieftain Slarg upon the bloody field That she would stand in front of him alone And not for less than death would either yield. With cries of faith cast to the rising sun The brave samurai charged and met his steel. Her blade she shoved beneath his ribs, she spun A scratch from poisoned blade forced her to keel In Torag’s house the elf was last interred. With view of Kala’s Tears, her peace insured.
"So she died in battle, victim to orcs’ treachery. If we can locate this ruin and retrieve the samurai’s remains and her blade, we can present them to the Knights of Ozem for proper burial. Any ideas on where this might be? Looks like there are some clues in the poem."
Hordes of orcs live in the Hold of Belkzen, most of which is a barren wasteland with terrifying creatures and very few resources.
Fresh water is one of the most important commodities when traveling in Belkzen, as there are very few natural sources available.
Most major orc settlements and fortresses are in the ruins of castles and keeps built by the Shining Crusade or the dwarves before them.
A shining crusader charged into battle alone against a horde of orcs. Before dying, the crusader fought through the ranks and slew the chieftain, sending his clan running. This story is often used to teach faith in the face of impossible odds.
The vast Stranglegut Clan was under the control of Tar-Baphon.
When the sonnet’s hero died, the crusaders buried her and her sword, which had shattered against the orc’s bones, in a dwarven ruin. After the orc chief perished, his hordes fled. Without this victory, the Shining Crusade would have suffered major losses.
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Sickly smiles weekly, as Miyako shows up, pleased to see someone he knows, and is actually happy to see him.
As she grabs his arm, he tries to protest, but lets himself get dragged closer to the table by the much smaller girl. As he stands near, his nose starts to run a little more, and one eye starts to swell shut.
"Wayd..." He mutters, a note of panic (and congestion) in his voice. "Id dere a cat in here?" He looks around mournfully, trying to find the source of his sudden allergens.
"Or ah dog? Ah squirrel? Rabbit? Mongoose?.." He goes on listing a litany of furry creatures, all of which he apparently has previously discovered himself allergic to.
He quickly gives up, and instead produces a well-used medical kit from which he pulls a few tinctures and salves, and starts apply and snorting a few of them until the symptoms seem to get under control.
Although he vaguely recalls the story behind the picture the Venture-Captain shows them, he keeps silent for now... not wanting to draw any more attention, or show how little he actually knows about it.
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Bait's large st. bernard companion pants heavily from his spot at Bait's side... "Just Buddy, he's harmless... unleas you try to hurt me, of course... and Deedl.." he indicates the diminutive fey creature sitting on the dog braiding it's fur in complex patterns, which the dog seems to put up with patiently. "She used to be a cat, but she's not anymore..."
A thorough analysis of the poem reveals the following information, which is sufficient to pinpoint the location: the Stranglegut clan was a prominent horde of orcs allied with the Whispering Tyrant; in their day, they controlled the orc’s largest settlement, Urgir. Kala’s Rage was the name of a massive waterfall in Belkzen, 40 miles east of Urgir. Over time, the mountains became dry and the waterfall slowed to a trickle, earning the waterfall the name Kala’s Tears.
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Standing as far from Bait and his menagerie of allergens as possible, Sickly seems to have gotten the worst of his symptoms under control, though a new rash seems to have sprung up along the back of one hand.
"Its east of Koldukar." He offers quietly as he scratches at it, after everyone has had a chance to look over the poem.
"Urgir, I mean." he corrects himself, a moment later, frowning unhappily.
When folks look at him, he shrinks back a little, his voice getting even quiet if it at all possible.
"Kala's Tears." He explains. "Where they buried her. Its east of one of our sky citadels... that's now Urgir. About forty miles..." His voice trails off, and he lapses in to uncomfortable silence.
"Ah, excellent deduction sir. You have a destination. But before you go I do have a few things that may help you in your mission." Besnik starts digging through his office and in a few minutes he finds a few items and hands them to the party.
Once you complete your preparations, you depart for the ruin. The journey takes roughly 17 days. All but the last three pass through Lastwall. The last settlement you pass is Castle Firrine, a fortified town on the border between Lastwall and the Hold of Belkzen. Within Belkzen itself, while you occasionally hear the echoes of orc war
drums in the distance, but you do not run in to any significant danger.
After climbing halfway up a rocky mountain to a wide ledge, you reach an obvious entrance carved into the rock. Unless otherwise stated, the walls and ceilings within are made of hewn stone, 10 feet high, and all rooms are completely dark.
Hot winds blow ash through the air; it collects against the rocky wall of this ancient structure. Four stone columns mark the entrance, where a fifteen-foot-wide stair descends into darkness. Descending a few feet, your light source reveals the room immediately to your left with stonework that suggests a dwarven architect, but the floors and walls are of obvious Tien design. Up ahead are a pair of stone doors and you see pair of hallways on both sides a few feet ahead of you.
Bait peers down the hallway and sees a room that looks like a shrine to some Tien deity. There are carvings of swimming carp and a depiction of a katana over the sun.
This is a shrine for Shizuru, the goddess of honor, the sun, and swordplay.
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Sickly moves along with the others, going where he's told to.
He too recognizes the religious iconography, though as per usual doesn't say anything, more then happy to let Jaware inform the others.
He does look around in case there are any unseen dangers they're not spotting.
(+2 more with Stonecunning)
Moving into the room, you now notice that on the northern wall there is a carving of two minkai elven women standing before a funerary pyre. Also, the floor boasts a carving of an imperial sky dragon. Further east is a closed door while the south leads down a hallway with alcove off to side, ending in another door.
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Miyako's casts a light spell on her buckler before entering. She also casts ant haul on herself, so she's no longer carrying a medium load and can therefor move around faster for the next 14 hours.
The carving of a katana over the sun is a familiar sight for Miyako. When she moves into the room with the others and sees more carvings, Miyako studies the floor and northern wall from up close.
Opening the un-trapped door, you are greeted by a charred orc corpse hanging over a pool of blood that accentuates the grisly atmosphere in this befouled shrine.
Whenever you score a critical hit with a slashing or piercing weapon, your opponent takes 2d6 points of bleed damage each round on his turn, in addition to the damage dealt by the critical hit. Bleed damage can be stopped by a DC 15 Heal skill check or through any magical healing. The effects of this feat stack.
A creature resembling a flawless, perfect example of an elf waits inside. When it moves, parts of its body dissolve into golden, crystalline dust, swirling without wind, condensing into winding, artistic coils of symbols and equations before reforming into flesh a moment later. The only exception is the madness in its eyes as it moves to attack.
The creature takes a moment and her movements quicken rapidly.
This creature seems to be under the benefits of haste, despite not going through the motions of casting.
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Sickly looks at the room with a sense of dread as he mentally calculates the diseases and bacteria that would run rampant in such a place! The beautific elf throws him for a moment, until he sees the crazed look in her eyes as she moves to attack. Combined with the room, he realizes something must be horribly wrong!
His face starts to go red, and blotchy, as he moves forward to keep the thing from getting to his new friends! You realize he appears to be holding his breath.
He brings his longhammer around in a mighty side to side swing!
, for damage. (blunt, magic, adamantium)
, for an additional damage.
It is called an Axiomite, a creature of pure law. It has DR that is only overcome by chaotically aligned weapons. It also has regeneration that is only suppressed by the same type of weapons.
Sickly scores an incredible blow though it doesn't do quite as much damage as it should. Matsu moves closer to the fray.
In addition to being very threatening in melee, it has a number of spell-like abilities. These include Dispel Chaos, Haste, Hold Monster, Lightning Bolt, Empowered Order's Wrath, Telekinesis, and True Strike.
The creature steps forward to exact revenge on Sickly after healing a few of its wounds.
After unleashing a flurry of attacks, it shifts its form into one made of golden crystalline dust that looks like a shifting mass of glowing mathematical symbols and equations.
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Sickly lets out a series of low moans as the axiomite lays into him with its weapon. As the blood flows from his wounds, and starts to get drawn along the floor towards the pit, he almost panics. He looks back with hint of desperation on his face, but sees nowhere to go, as Miyako and Bait have closed ranks behind him.
He steps back, and takes two more desperate swings, his weapon now brimming with chaotic energy from Miyako's spell.
, for damage (blunt, magic, chaotic, adamantine)
, for damage (blunt, magic, chaotic, adamantine)