The Forgotten God (Table 2) (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

Yes, the Mi-Go are gone.

For the moment, most people looked like they just wanted to stagger into a bed, fall asleep, and try to pretend that what had happened today was just a bad dream. Among the townsfolk, anyway - your followers were just tired (and, in some cases, wounded).

Even after all that had happened, though, the townsfolk seemed less than inclined to trust you. They weren't as actively hostile as before, but many bad things had happened in a row, and it was hard to quickly come to terms with that sort of thing.

Still, when all was said and done, Illmarsh would almost certainly be better off now that the darkness had been cleansed from it. The city's daughters could stay, they could choose a leader better able to lead them... and one day in the future, perhaps they would even accept you as worthy of worship.

For now, perhaps it would be best to find a place to rest, recover your energy... and plan your next moves in full.

If there's nothing else you'd like to do tonight, you can rest and heal up. ^^

Sevia stode out into the down, watching as the sun began to dip below the horizon, and gazed across the town. The collapsed church was the largest testament to the tumultuous few days Illmarsh had just been through, though by no means the only. Gathering herself up, she called her familiar to herself and instructed him to once more keep vigil over the village with her shadow, before leaving the town proper and sauntered back to the small camp her followers had made nearby.

Where she went, she gave her followers praise and bid them good night, finally finding where she was to sleep and doing the same.

The night was peaceful, and you awoke fully refreshed and energized.

At this point, may I suggest reviewing your recent adventures, then checking loot and such against what's in your profile to make sure you actually got everything noted down, and ready to investigate further in the case of unidentified things? It seems like a good time for a review. XD

Sevia was glad to not wake up with any further emergency. Hopefully today her following would finally be able to move on to their original goal. However, she did remember that there were a few loose ends to tie up here in Illmarsh. Starting with the artifacts she'd recovered. Initially casting Heroism and Identify, she pulled out the unknown items taken, a mace, a helmet, some sort of idol, and a broken axe.

I'll take 10 on spellcraft for them all. I suppose I'll also knowledge check them if possible?

Spellcraft: 10 + 24 = 34
Knowledge?: 1d20 ⇒ 14

There was also the note she had found from the caves. In fact she believed there'd been some further clues she had procured from the Undiomede house as well. Sevia immediately sought out Auguinare and asked for him to have everyone eat breakfast and prepare to leave, while she attended to one last detail in town.

Taking the time to look over the items eventually leads to understanding quite a bit more about what they're good for.

The helm seems to be a Helm of Underwater Action, rather good for helping people move around. ...And identified just a bit too late to be useful, sadly enough. Still, it could be rather helpful in the future.

The axe was a broken, Large +1 Defending Greataxe, powerful but hard to use for, well, basically anyone around. The tools of large creatures were often like that.

Both items were effectively mundane in comparison to the other two objects you'd recovered. The mace appeared as it had when you'd first grabbed it, four golden raven's heads surrounding the shaft, and the latent powers within it were impressive indeed. More concerning was how exactly it had been rededicated to Pharasma in the first place, given that you'd had a hand in creating the original item.

The last item? Almost as interesting, in its own way. Probably the Seasage Effigy the note had been talking about, it was more properly known as the Face of Dagon. (Incidentally, the goddess Yidhra is one of the deities it can reach.)

Your followers didn't seem to have any problems with eating early and moving out - they were used to such things, and would be ready to go when you were.

Sevia twisted the idol in her hands, musing as she looked at it. Were it not for the newest Outer God, she would not even have need of the item. Although its water breathing properties seemed more useful, if not redundant thanks to the Helm, which if she were honest she did not particularly fancy. The mace was another matter entirely. It was quite a powerful tool, powerful enough to consider using in place of her second sword. Though it would need to be re-attuned to her.

Putting away her thoughts for later, Sevia once again descended into the town of Illmarsh. This time asking around if anyone knew of a man named Lucas, or if anyone had the initials G.L. which she suspected were the same person. She also asked if anyone had seen someone come into town before she and her followers had shown up - though likely they had been the owner of the horse and had been kidnapped by the Mi Go.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (20) + 14 = 34

Well, his first name is Geor- pfft, nah, I'm kidding. XD

Given all that had happened in the last few days, people seemed to have significantly looser tongues when you were the one interrogating them - most seemed extraordinarily nervous about seeming reluctant to talk. Unfortunately, though, nobody in town seemed familiar with either the name or the initials - which wasn't quite as useless as it sounded, actually, since it did make it clear that Lucas had not come into town. Apparently, the rendezvous they'd been arranging hadn't happened at all, or whoever was involved had died shortly after and had their items retrieved - which explained why the two objects being traded had been close together.

It seemed any trail left in Illmarsh had either gone cold or was dead, which meant there was nothing left to find here. Though there was still a huge monster stalking the coast as she recalled. After several days of crisis here and no activity from it though, it seemed reasonable to assume it wouldn't be hurting the town. Leaving the town, she tracked down her cleric.

"It seems the crisis in Illmarsh is passed. We should return to our original mission and move on toward Carrion Hill." Sevia told her, giving the order for her followers to move out. With any luck they could reach the city in a few days without any other interruption.

Travel in Ustalav is rarely uneventful - but it was nothing your church couldn't handle (right up to and including the time when a small army of skeletons rose out of the ground when you camped in a particularly large field - later, you overheard several of the church's members cheerfully referring to the incident as 'target practice').

Finally, though, Carrion Hill itself comes into sight late on the afternoon of a cloudy, drizzly sort of day. The town seems weirdly squashed - and after a few moments of examination, it's clear that the entire city is just... dense. Buildings are build far closer together than usual, and the entire place has a hunched, fortified sort of look.

That, and you need to decide how much of your church to bring into town with you...

Just yourself? You and Fhanys? The whole group? In general, larger groups get more attention and are questioned/watched to a greater degree.

Despite a few momentary setbacks, which her followers seemed to enjoy more than anything, Sevia at last had a chance to look at her destination. The city seemed...odd, she supposed though that was to be expected. Part of her wondered just what might be beneath a city that old and packed in, perhaps it might be Cassomir all over again. Although it would be perfect for a group like hers which preferred stealth and subterfuge.

Looking back to her followers and remembering the last few times Sevia led them into a town, she motioned for a stop. Fhanys and her, with perhaps one or two others, would proceed into the city and find somewhere for them to occupy. Everyone else would get off the road and find somewhere nearby to rest and hide - if possible she'd prefer they enter the city discreetly.

As her group made for the city, she made sure to cast Heroism and Heightened Awareness.

Knowledge Nobility: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15
Knowledge Local: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28 Anything I know about the place or who's in charge?

While you have no first-hand experience of the place - not until now, at least - you are able to talk with a few people and gather some basic information about the place. Carrion Hill has been here for a long time... since well before the Whispering Tyrant rampaged through Ustalav, in fact. It's a city that's been conquered quite literally dozens of times by different groups, each of which built their own city on top of the ruins of the previous one. The end result? The hill has grown in size over time, though the name has remained largely constant.

At the moment, it's a city of a little over nine-thousand people, with roughly ten percent of them serving as part of the city guard and keeping order. The city itself is largely neutral, with no particular affiliations or aspirations towards any particular type of behavior. Mostly, its residents seem like they just want to quietly live their lives. It's ruled by a mayor (Vanton Heggry, according to one of the guards as you enter), but does have a number of nobles living in the Crown District at the top of the hill. They mostly seem to stay up there, and since they don't actively rule the town themselves, it seems like people aren't bothered too much by their presence.

Below that is the bulk of the city - the Tangle District - followed by the Filth District at the bottom of the hill, near the waterline. The moment you step into the city, your vision wobbles slightly - not because of anything physically wrong with you, but because you can sense the presence of almost two hundred shrines and holy places within the town's walls. Most of them aren't very big, it's just... they're practically everywhere.

The good news? The city does see a fair amount of travelers - mostly by ship, but visiting from the road isn't unknown - so there are enough beds across several inns to accommodate everyone.

Though the town seemed quiet, Sevia imagined there was quite a deal of unrest and crime going on behind the scenes if the city required an army of guards to keep order. Of more immediate concern though was finding a place for her followers to stay. Although they'd located several open inns, Sevia was highly adverse to the idea; it separated them and made them more vulnerable, not to mentioned inhibited their ability to function as a whole.

As a last, and temporary resort, she'd fall back on that idea, but decided to continue searching for somewhere else. An abandoned or unused church would be the best. She wondered if that would be possible considering the degree of shrines she felt around her.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (4) + 14 = 18 Time: 1d4 ⇒ 1

If Fhanys uses aid another that could go up to 20

She does. ^^

While there are plenty of spaces for a small band of people to bunker down, your group is, quite frankly, too large to do so without drawing undue attention. A side-effect of having the buildings so close together - even the alleys barely exist, and what few places haven't been built up are used for other things. It's very unusual for a town to be built this way, and pretty much all the space around seems used for one purpose or another. However, there are some flophouses down by the docks - not pretty or comfortable, but they do have a lot of beds in close proximity to each other.

While less than ideal, Sevia supposed she would have to work with what they could find. Although she wanted to avoid unwanted attention too soon, she was certain it would be something they would have to deal with. Likely sooner than later. Task complete, she and Fhanys took their leave, heading back out the gates and to her followers.

Dividing her following up into smaller subgroups led by the more experienced members, she directed them to enter the city at different times and from multiple directions. They would all congregate to the locations Fhanys and her had scouted out earlier. It wouldn't do to draw too much attention too soon, and preferably after they were set up. And, just to be certain none of them would get in too much trouble without her knowing, she asked her familiar to fly around between each group to check on them.

One of the bright sides of working with professional assassins was that they took instruction well and had essentially no difficulty with splitting into groups of various sizes to maneuver independently - and it wasn't long before they'd filtered into the city, quickly and carefully going to their destinations while doing their utmost to avoid sticking out.

Sevia was content to let them get a good night's rest in their first proper bed in weeks before getting into action. As for tomorrow, they were going to need to get started making a name for themselves - and securing some form of revenue to keep them supplied. Which would probably begin with getting more information. There was only so much she could do on her own.

"Get some rest Fhanys, we will likely be having a busy day tomorrow setting up. The Order will be looking to you and Auguinare for leadership as well." Sevia told her Cleric as they finally finished up.

Fhanys was asleep in minutes - when your goddess told you to get some rest, it was usually a good idea to listen to them. Meanwhile, the weather outside was slowly getting worse as a storm came in off of the lake - but old though the buildings were, they were built for the weather, and remained dry enough through the night.

The next day dawned cloudy and dreary, with a thick fog coming off of the lake. The real question, though, was how you were going to establish yourselves... and what sort of view you wanted people to have. If it was being seen as a faith, obtaining an actual church (and dedicating it to yourself) would help. Alternatively, you could look for getting a building of your own to occupy as a base of operations for the surrounding area. There were a lot of options here... and as usual, what mattered most was the course you wanted to take.

While some places might have been able to provide better subterfuge or security, Sevia felt that an actual church would provide more credibility to her followers. It would also be important to ensure they were properly identified as a religious organization. There were still other issues to settle, the doctrine of the Keeper of Souls would likely need to be censored from the public considering it could be considered heretical and blasphemous. Striking a balance between secrecy and publicity would likely be important.

In the morning, Sevia instructed several groups of her followers to begin searching for a suitable locale to claim, and left Auguinaire in charge of the effort. A few others she ordered to begin building contacts in the city, identifying places in need of assistance and getting information, Fhanys heading up that front. Information was important, and the city was likely troubled if there was so many guards. As for herself there were several items that would be nice to get rid of, as well as components to buy for several magic items she was interested in crafting.

Sell
500gp Page of Spell Knowledge (Anticipate Peril)
300gp 2x Potion Cat's Grace
2000gp Belt of Strength +2
9000gp +1 Wounding Sickle
4000gp +1 Defending Greataxe, Large
3125gp Shadowed Mistmail
5215gp Trident of Warning

+24140gp
+7727gp:Current
31867gp:Total

Buy
-1000gp x2 Pearl of Power I*
-1500gp Lesser Rod of Silent*
-1875 Shadow Armor Enchantment*
-2500gp Jingasa of the Fortunate Soldier*
-2000gp Ring of Spell Knowledge II
-10000gp Belt of Dexterity +6*
-10000gp Luckstone*

-28875gp
31867gp:Current
2992gp:Total

The asterisks are the amounts you want to buy crafting materials in? Let's see... selling items is no trouble, ingredients are no trouble, Belt's being upgraded instead of crafted on its own... gonna take a bit to craft all of that, but it's entirely doable.

You may want to leave one or two items off, though - an ordinary cathedral costs 4,960 GP, and that doesn't include things like excavating some bigger basements, building up bigger and better rooms for people to sleep in, etc. The basic place, er, wouldn't have nearly enough space for all of your people within the church itself - they'd have to obtain permanent residences elsewhere.

If you want a custom building, though, you CAN use the Ultimate Campaign rules and tell me how many of each room you want in a building, and I can tally all that up to see what it would cost and how long it would take to get everything done. We'll assume the basic cathedral is already done - this town has a lot of those. XD

A few hours later, Sevia was pleased to learn Auguinare had found a place they could set up in. After inspecting the premises of the abandoned building, she thought it would do nicely to start off. Albeit it was much too small and limited for their organization, they would need to expand it. First though would come purchasing the lot, adjoining space, and materials. After negotiations with the land owner, she paid the cost of the property and associated taxes and left the deed with Auguinare, instructing him to see to the transportation of the building materials to the locale - which she was pleased was located in the Tangle district, but close enough at least to the Filth district below to be somewhat accessible.

One unfortunate drawback though was the inordinately long estimate the owner had given her for the additional construction. Half a year was a long time to normalize her follower's situation, even the basic necessities would take weeks. Luckily Sevia knew a short cut on that end, and saw to repurposing some of her crafting supplies.

That night she was pleased to inform her followers that they had secured a location and that it would soon be usable for them. She informed Fhanys and Auguinare that they need not bother organizing much labor and that she would see to taking care of it magically - and spent quite some time on crafting the Lyre as quickly as possible. Of course, she'd also had Fhanys track down a Bard. On the sixth day, Sevia led the two of them back to their newly acquired temple, a few followers around to provide any extra help as she handed the Lyre over to the Bard, instructing him on its operation and requesting he begin using it according to her instructions.

Seven or so grueling hours of non stop performance and direction finally saw the first church of The Raven Queen completed.

"Fhanys, please go gather up everyone. I am sure they will be happy to settle down for once." Sevia said, looking around the building with a smile.

Ah, magic - a good way to cheat in many ways, and there'd been quite a few onlookers over the course of the day.

(Most people didn't stay longer than five or ten minutes. It was cool, sure, but it was also kind of the same thing over and over...)

Finally, though, everyone had been rounded up, and moved into the building to look around. It was still a bit bare - they needed to obtain and move in some furniture, and a few of them were already starting on that - but on the whole, it was looking quite nice. After a moment's pause, though, Fhanys did hurry over with a drink and a chair for the bard, and he gratefully collapsed into the latter before downing the former.

"Nice place." he said cheerfully, raising the cup in a toasting gesture. "Think I prefer the magic of normal music, though. Wouldn't want to do this one every day. ...Who's this place being set up for, anyway?"

"The Raven Queen, she who strikes from the shadows. A new minor goddess. Her opposition to Urgathoa's favored has brought her faithful here." Sevia explained with a bare smile, taking back the lyre loaned to the bard. "Our mission is to lay to rest all undead we can. Thank you for your assistance with the temple, it will allow us to begin performing our service to the community. Should you be aware of any such disturbances we would appreciate knowing." Sevia said, content to make idle chit chat now that the task had been completed. She was counting on him spreading the word about their church now that they'd hired him. Obviously nothing she said had been untrue, but was just minorly misleading. Much of their church's teachings would likely need to be omitted from public meetings or sermons. In fact, Sevia wondered how many people would come to them for help, or just curious enough.

"Never heard of her, but I'll take your word for it." the bard answered, chuckling slightly and handing over the lyre when you reached for it. "Seems like a nice creed, anyway - the dead ought to stay in the ground, and it's probably not bad to have someone who likes enforcing that. I'm a Shelynite myself, but maybe I'll drop by sometime. I don't think she'd mind, especially because fewer troubles means more time for art."

After a few more minutes of resting and catching his breath, he gave a cheerful wave and headed off. The chair was moved inside a moment later, and you could already see several of the ranking members of your group having a completely serious discussion about which shade of black would be most appropriate for parts of the decor. This was your first true church, and they were trying quite hard to get it decorated correctly.

That only went on for about two minutes, though, as Fhanys thwapped them upside their heads, picked out a color, and moved on. ...Definitely getting more confidence, that one.

With the church built, you have a bit of free time. ^^ You can focus on crafting, preaching, meeting people... anything you'd like to do. Alternately, we can move forward to a new adventure.

I'd like to keep crafting for awhile and get a feel for the locale

"That is wonderful to hear. The followers of Shelyn are always welcome, it is always important to celebrate the beauty of life. My underlings could use some help in that respect." Sevia said with a slightly wider smile, before watching him leave. It felt like fortunate happenstance to once again be receiving some small form of aid from Sheyln. Looking over to her followers, she nodded appreciatively at their efforts, though too much black would be a bit counter productive.

For now though, it would be nice to settle in and get a feel for the city. A sense of normalcy for her followers would be important as well, and getting their name out in a positive manner. There were also the items she needed to start working on.

The next day she once again threw herself into her crafting, spending half the day on that. Her routine developed into waking up to take breakfast with her faithful, help coordinate their activities that day, return to her room to craft, then at the end of the day held short sermons - limiting her content of course to what would be publicly acceptable. Once a week she took the day off to walk around the city and get a feel for the locale.

During her excursions she made sure to track down shrines or temples to Sheyln, Gorum, Irori, Sarenrae, and Pharasma. Given the sheer number in the city, it seemed like a good time to offer some prayers to her former godly friends and see what their followers were like in this day and age.

It will take 3 weeks to craft what I currently have. I plan on selling some of my other gear and buying more items to craft too.

Just to be clear here, do you actually want to pray pray, or are you simply sending well-wishes? As a mythic character with divine abilities, you're... definitely going to be noticed if you send a prayer to any deity. Functionally, it's revealing yourself to the pantheon, and when that happens the cloak of ignorance ends. They still won't remember the past, but you won't be overlooked, either.

Just well wishes. Not an actual prayer. Sorry for confusion.

All right. XD I'm extra cautious on that particular plot point, because it's... well, "big" is a little too mild of a word. Personally, I recommend holding off until about when you get your third divine ability, at which point you'll have enough power of your own to make others take you seriously, and even believe some of what you might say. By the time you obtain the fourth, other powers recognize a genuine ascension-in-progress... and getting all five is what restores you to full divinity as the endgame.

Visiting the temples of other deities was always an... interesting... experience. Most deities were extraordinarily prideful, or at least self-confident - being in a temple, though, meant having to confront areas where people genuinely believed in and supported something else. Most gods (and mortals, for that matter) ultimately got used to that kind of thing, but your natural penchant for stealthiness served you well and helped you avoid getting too much notice as you slipped in and out of each church. The brief prayer in each was little more than a formality - one acknowledged, but vaguely, in the way a gladiator could acknowledge cheers from a crowd without really paying attention to any of them.

(Even gods usually didn't give personal attention to EVERYTHING. Just what was important. As for how they knew the difference? That was one of the tricks of divinity...)

As the days went on, however, a number of people stopped by - largely out of curiosity. In a town so filled with churches, most people already belonged to one (or more), but the sermons about things being in their "proper place" (i.e. dead things staying in the ground) seemed to go over quite well. There weren't too many true worshipers just yet, but people believed.

And belief, quite literally, was power. Fhanys was in the middle of praying for her spells when she let out a surprised squeak, and you could feel more power than ever before flowing to your faithful.

Congratulations on reaching Tier 4. You may update immediately.
(As an unofficial recommendation, I suggest slotting your ability upgrade into a non-primary stat. ^^ You've got a very good chance of succeeding on any challenge based around Dexterity or Charisma, and may get a bigger benefit from shoring up weaknesses instead of further increasing your strengths. Of course, the choice is yours, and I don't plan to change anything based on what you decide. XD It's just something to consider.)

Sevia was more accustomed to staying in the shadows anyways, so it didn't bother her too badly to give such small prayers to her former companions. She was getting stronger though, so the time when she might come forward and reach out to them was drawing closer. In fact, over the past few weeks she could feel a slow build up within her, until she was watching Fhanys pray one morning when the gathering power crossed an immaterial threshold. She took a moment to revel over the sensation before looking down to Fhanys.

"I see you have felt it as well, the newfound power you can access. Once again I find myself closer ever still to my previous self; you have my thanks." Sevia said with a small smile, laying a hand appreciatively on Fhany's shoulder. With this, her followers would be able to access more powerful divine spells. And, now that Sevia thought of it, there was one spell in particular that would be useful to one of their charges.

"Fhanys, please memorize the Restoration spell, you should be able now. The girl we recovered from Illmarsh is in need of one." Sevia said, gesturing back to the lodging area they'd put her up in.

"Y-yes!" Fhanys said, focusing even harder. Once the instructions were given, though, there was little to do except wait - very few people could speed along the process of obtaining divine spells. The girl from Illmarsh had been put in one of the back rooms, kept away from noise and disturbances. As soon as Fhanys was done praying, she darted into the chamber, gathering the restorative power and sending it out to fill the poor woman's body.

The woman's jaw opened wider and wider as the energy infused her - and color started returning to her body as the lingering effects of the monster dissipated. Unfortunately, even with the alien influence removed, she was not completely healed - and she simply looked right at the wall, smiling widely. "What's that, you say? Well, of course we must take care of the children - that's what we're here for." she said.

Fhanys looked at her for a moment, then shrugged and quietly slipped out of the room. "I got some of it, but... I don't think it was enough." she said, a bit downcast. Even if it was outside of her control, she seemed genuinely bothered by any occasion where she couldn't do enough to help. She took a deep breath a moment later. "I... I'm not sure what to do now." she admitted. "I want to help her, but as things stand, the only way to do that would be getting someone else to do it... a high priest or something, from one of the other churches here." she balled her hands into fists. "But if we ask for help, they might not think we're a real religion, and that could make things harder for us in the future. What are we supposed to do when we're just not capable of following your teachings?"

I believe there was a baby left in her care too right?

"Patience Fhanys." Sevia said, patting the girl on the head. Really, though her desire to help was admirable, she was practically beating herself up over her inability to do even more. "You have already cured the physical trauma, that alone is good enough. With time, I shall be able to provide you with power enough to heal the mental scars plaguing her. For now, we will continue to help her as we have." Sevia said, looking back into the room with the girl. She looked a far sight removed from the frail, sickly looking woman they'd liberated from Illmarash, which was a good start.

"So cease your fretting, I do not ask for the impossible. Though normally I would not begrudge anyone from seeking help, in these early days it is important to demonstrate our self sufficiency and legitimacy. For now, simply do the best you can." Sevia finished with smile, hoping to give Fhanys a little more cheer. "Hmm, speaking of the church, how are the other members doing now that they have had time to settle in?"

Not solely in her care. That would have been... irresponsible. The baby is being taken care of, though - no worries there.

Fhanys nodded slightly, and managed a small smile at your reassuring words. This was one of the limits mortals had to live with - an inability to do all they wanted, no matter how much they might have wanted to. Still, having a path forward definitely helped, especially given the way she could literally feel your power growing and had no reason to believe it would stop anytime soon.

"Um... most of them have settled in pretty well. A few of the older ones have been out looking for jobs - I know at least some of them are trying to live here and give most of their pay to the church to help support us as we establish ourselves, and the more talkative ones are trying to learn how to be priests. We haven't made any inroads with the local guards yet, but if we can accomplish a few notable deeds, I think they'll be willing to call for us whenever undead are involved..."

"I am glad to hear that, I really do appreciate their efforts. Yours too of course. Hmm...the situation with the guards while disheartening is merely a temporary state of affairs. Be sure everyone keeps an eye out for an opportunity to prove ourselves. I certainly will as well." Sevia said, again wondering where this city's troubles were, she was sure there must be something sinister going on. Of course, there was also the conspiracy she'd uncovered in Ilmarsh, but she was reluctant to head out to Caliphas just yet while they were still establishing themselves.

Pulling the Face of Dagon from her pocket, she inspected the magical item before deciding it might be time to consult Yidhra. "Perhaps asking for some advice from a friend might help? Well, I will leave you to your duties." Sevia chuckled, returning to her room.

Sevia stared at the magical item for a bit, aware there was at least some risk in using it. Finally huffing, she reached out and activated it, trying to reach out to Yidhra, the only other god in the Pantheon who knew of her.

Will: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (18) + 17 = 35

After a few moments, light erupted out of the eyes of the figure, forming a picture on the wall of the one you'd chosen to contact. Yidhra appeared to be eating dinner at the moment, and slurped a few noodles out of her bowl as she looked at you and waved cheerfully with the hand holding her utensils. The Face of Dagon had limited power when it came to contacting deities, but you ought to be able to get at least thirteen answers (at most) before the Commune spell would no longer hold.

Some of my questions will only be asked based on the answer of previous questions.

Sevia waved back, almost flummoxed why Yidhra was doing such, and then remembering which god she'd just contacted. "Yidra, it is nice to speak again, even limited like this...

Has the pantheon settled down since groteus almost fell?
(If no) Has your ascension been contested?
Have you established any churches in Ustalav since your ascension?
Is the pantheon still unaware of me?
Do you know if Ragatheil is aware of my soul fragments?
(If yes) Is he aware of what they are? Is he trying to acquire more of them?
Are any of my soul fragments in Ustalav?
Are there agents of the Whispering Way in Caliphas?
Are there agents of the Whispering Way in Carrion Hill?
Are there anyone creating undead in Carrion Hill?
Are any of these groups trying to free Tar Baphon currently with a specific plan of action?
(If yes) Do they require the Raven's Head in my possession?
Is the Carrion Crown a weapon?
Is the Carrion Crown a tool to free Tar Baphon?"

The replies came from one of the... mouths... apparently formed out of her hair - she was too busy eating with her main mouth and apparently didn't want to talk with food in it, so the answers were occasionally punctuated with slurping sounds. "Yes. No. Yes. No. Unclear. Yes. No. No. Yes. Yes. No. Almost - it's complicated." she snickered after that last question (a sound that didn't technically violate the limits of the spell being used).

And I count... twelve answers thus far, giving you one more question.

"Interesting. Is that group trying to free Tar Baphon close to their objective?" Sevia asked finally, allowing the magic to collapse once Yidhra had given her answer. Sevia would've preferred more direct communication, but that would have to wait it would seem. Briefly she considered possibly consulting Dagon or the other outer world gods but dismissed the idea. In the meantime, she felt it would be prudent to entrust the Raven's Head with Fhanys and explain its importance.

That could wait though, for now she placed the Face of Dagon back into her gear. Her first order of business was to sell off some more of her junk magic items and find acquire new items.

Sell:
8250gp Ring of Force Shield
12000gp Helm of Underwater Action

Buy:
-625gp Dark Life Ring
(something else - not sure what - maybe +6 belt)

624gp - 625 + 20250gp
=20249gp

When she returned to the church, she immediately sought out Fhanys and asked her to come back to the privacy of her room. There she produced the Raven's Head for the girl. "Fhanys, I learned some disturbing news from Yidhra earlier..." She began, showing the mace to her and explaining how she'd gotten it. Then how she'd learned it was apparently part of a plot by the Whispering Way to free Tar Baphon from his prison.

"Yes." Yidhra stretched widely. "By the way, I'm only talking to myself now." she added a moment later. "I'm not giving more of an answer than I'm supposed to because no questions were asked, so it's not outside the bounds of mortal magic that I'm supposed to respect because reasons. But if I were really curious about this Carrion Crown thing, I'd probably have my high priestess perform a Divination." she slurped down another few noodles. "Not that I need to, of course, since I already know about it." The spell went dead a moment later as the magic holding it together finally failed.

Rings of Force Shield are 8500 normally... and would sell for 4250, no?

Derp, yes.

After finishing explaining the magic item to Fhanys, Sevia recalled the advice Yidhra had imparted to her in the last moments of the spell. "I would like you to memorize and cast a Divination spell for this...Carrion Crown that is being created. What is it and what is its purpose? We can be lucky that they cannot complete it without this mace."

And the purchase limit here is 25,000, so no problems with the other sale. ^^

Fhanys nodded - that was the last of her free spell slots for the day, and after collecting the money from you for the offering (-25 GP), she sat down to meditate and gather the power necessary for the spell. It took fifteen minutes for that, and another ten to actually cast it - at which point her eyes turned completely blue, matching the color of the ocular organs in the Goddess of Paradox's hair. The priestess' mouth opened a moment later, and a long verse spilled forth:

"Upon the ashen pathways tread
Softly, as the whispered dead.
As mortal flesh doth rot and fail
To leech and maggot, ebbing frail.
Unhallowed words cannot be spoken,
With whispered oath, death lies broken.
Shed fear, shed life, shed pain, shed time,
Eternity seized shall soon be thine.
First spirit torn from Grave-Lady’s grasp
Be rent and sown as soured ash.
Soft the spiral song reverses,
Judgment lost, damnation surges.
Keeper of the damned’s soul take,
With packlord’s heart the beast shall wake
And flesh be wrought in disarray—
Stillborn cocoon, to blessed decay.
A hundred slain lie innocent,
Grind bone and marrow to cement.
Craft now a skull of splintered graves,
Unmake life, unmake the slave.
Where history churns dream to blister,
Necrophagous secrets whisper
Through chronicles of Raven’s tongue—
A legacy of fear unspun.
Blood spilt atop the Iron Thorn
Invokes that which cannot be born.
Arise the Tyrant now unbound,
Bearer of the Carrion Crown."

The priestess' eyes snapped back to their normal color as she finished speaking. Then she put a hand over her mouth, clearly a bit unnerved. "Um..."

Sevia watched with interested as Fhanys began to speak, listening intently until the girl finished. Divination was rarely forthwith but this seemed even more cryptic than usual, and as ominous to match. Sevia raised her hand, indicating for Fhanys to wait a moment while she mulled over what she'd just heard, closing her eyes to think. Some of it was more immediately obvious than other parts, what worried her was the ending, as it seemed to confirm her suspicion that the Carrion Crown was linked to Tar Baphon's rise.

Intelligence?: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16 Just kind of spit balling for help figuring this out - Religion check?

"Hmm...this divination is...troubling." Sevia finally said, eyes open once again. "The passages seem to speak of several future events tied to this crown. My reascension. A dark ritual. Tar Baphon's release. I expect that his agents already now are scouring Ustalav searching for that mace." Sevia said seriously, gesturing to the Raven's head before her.

Divinations are usually cryptic for good reasons (usually a mish-mash of the need to permit free will, an unwillingness to interfere too overtly lest the stakes be raised all around, and many other matters).

There were a few things to consider, at least. You had apparently come in at the tail end of things, with the mace almost definitely being the "Raven's tongue" cited.

Still, things like this tended to lay out events in chronological order. Following whatever was relevant about the Raven's tongue, and whatever that actually meant, there were at most two matters following before the Tyrant would be able to rise. Maybe just one. All matters prior to that sequence had likely been resolved already... and the Divination spell could only deal with matters that would in some way occur in the coming week. Those people on the other end of this matter would almost certainly be acting sooner, rather than later, especially given the acknowledgment that the Whispering Way's agents had an active plan.

There was a knock on the main door of the cathedral a moment later, distantly heard and probably being taken care of by your followers.

Hearing the knock on the door, and given the rather ominous prophecy she'd just heard...Sevia decided to mentally reach out to her familiar and have him check on the front door. "We shall likely be on the defensive. Everyone should be made aware that his agents are afoot. Though Yidrah told me none were here, it would be wise to be on guard." Even if the divination foretold his rise, it would not come to pass without the Raven's Head. "We are at least fortunate this is the Age of Lost Omens, divination is not as certain as it once was..."

It wasn't long at all before your Shadow reappeared, rising up from the floor by the door. "The witch-man... we met on the boat..." It rasped slowly. "No sign... of undead... with him. He wants to... talk to you."

"Hmm...him?" Sevia wrinkled her brows. "I shall receive him. Shadow, stay out of sight." Seiva stood up, casting Heightened Awareness on herself first. She motioned for Fhanys to follow, sweeping around and walking toward the front doors. She decided to forgo bringing her swords along, though she was by no means disarmed.

As they approached the doors, she narrowed her eyes at the sight of the man. "You have some nerve to approach me after our last encounter. State your business." Sevia stated neutrally.

"Yeah, that's one thing nobody's ever accused me of lacking." he said cheerfully. "Allow me to summarize, then - there's a mace in your possession, and it would be rather swell if you'd let me have it. I'm sure someone as resourceful as you has picked up on what's going on, and you have to admit, reincarnating the Whispering Tyrant is probably the best idea we're ever going to have for getting rid of him."

It was difficult for Sevia to keep both her surprise and disgust from her face, though not impossible, as her lips drew taught. "Is this some form of joke? You expect me to simply hand over one of the most sacred artifacts of my faith to you? Of all people. Were it not for the fact I know for certain you are not a member of the Whispering Way I would strike you down immediately. But perhaps you are merely madder than I suspected." Sevia let her facade break to momentarily smirk before regaining control of herself.

"Tar Baphon is locked away, I have no intention to aid his escape."

"Yeah, I told my employer you wouldn't go for it right away." he said, shrugging slightly. "Although I must confess to at least a little surprise. I've already heard your priests going on and on about stuff like 'get rid of all undead', but when it comes to actually doing it, you pull back. Guess it's easy to take people's money when you still have a threat to hold over their heads, eh?" He was clearly trying to poke at your pride (and appeared to be completely shameless about it, too). "The seals on that prison aren't going to last forever - one of them's already broken. And if there's a way to reincarnate him out through it, maybe next time they'll actually manage to keep it hidden and nobody will know before it's too late."

"I'm willing to bet the facts don't matter to you, but let's consider them anyway, shall we? You can't keep the lich down because nobody knows where his Phylactery is, and it's probably guarded as hell. If he gets a new body, though, there's gonna be a new Phylactery as part of the process, probably nearby - and that can be broken. He's also going to be weakened - new body without magical tools, his spellbook, and so on. Tar-Baphon is a blight on the world that just won't go away... but it's better to have a little bitter medicine now, and accept whatever pain getting rid of him causes, than wait for him to get free and infect the world all on his own."

"You say mad. I say practical - not fun, and dangerous as hell, but not as bad as it could be." He took a step backwards, keeping his eyes on you. "And I'm in this for me, by the way, because I want a safer world. Think about it, because sooner or later, they're going to make a move... better to take control of your own destiny than have a monster dictate what world you'll live in."

On the other side of the street, you could see a handful of guards. You were a new church, a new faith, and the city was keeping an eye on you for now.

Sevia allowed her frown to become more apparent. "We have barely been here three weeks. I have already determined nobody is creating undead, but perhaps I should have been more specific to look for necromancers...Regardless, I have no need of your approval. Myself and my own have already dispatched powerful undead outside of Ustalav, we shall continue to do so here." Sevia said coolly. "To hear his prison has already been weakened is troubling, though all three lesser seals would need to be broken before the great seal was even vulnerable. He is not going anywhere any time soon. Plenty time enough to track down his minions and the rest of their ilk residing here." Sevia said rather pointedly, implying just slightly she included him among that group. Though she wondered how he knew all of this though, and who his employer was.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (20) + 16 = 36 Is he lying or being deceptive about what he wants? By the way did I ever establish if he was evil?

"That is to say nothing of yourself. I have no reason to trust you, especially when you claim to be working for a third party I have no knowledge of nor can I be sure you intend what you say. That aside from the fact I find you personally distasteful. Even if you were sincere, you are counting on a great many uncertainties, least of which is that even weakened you and whomever you are working with can challenge him."

Sevia paused for a moment, looking back to Fhanys, then to the guards. "Even were I to trust you, I would be reluctant to give you that mace anyways. You see, Tar Baphon is a very personal enemy of mine. I cannot entrust his defeat to anyone else, least of all someone I do not know."

You did not establish his alignment, and would need to use an appropriate means of discovery to find out that information. Additionally, he is not being deceptive - while his opinions are clearly somewhat unusual, he genuinely believes he is supporting the most sensible course of action, and he is being honest about what he wants.

"I'd be happy to repeat myself under truth-telling magic cast by you or a mutually-accepted agent." he said, raising an eyebrow. "Unlike surprisingly many churches, I'm not afraid of speaking the truth. As for my employer, they're in town, but they prefer not to go out in public very often. They are willing to meet with you if that will help establish what we're trying to do - to wit, thwart the Whispering Way, kill the Whispering Tyrant, and try to turn the hellhole Ustalav's become into a reasonably decent place to live."

"Very well. I will speak with them tomorrow evening at a location of their choice. I am at least willing to...entertain the idea. Your sincerity aside, whether or not you even have the ability to challenge the tyrant remains to be seen." Sevia said, looking at him appraisingly.