Cladissa's mouth had suddenly gone dry under the intense scrutiny and stares. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Then her companions spoke ahead of her and she started breathing again.
Once Hrimnagel and Argor finished, she found her voice. Basically, that, she finally answers his earlier question.
She gets a strange glimmer in her eyes, and a small measure of confidence creeps into her demeanor. Trading information, it's a strange commodity, isn't it? Consider what we've just told you. You can use it to save yourself and that which you deem worth saving. That would be worth six thousand, at least.
Her golden eyes sparkle as a sly smile touches her lips. If you agree, consider then allowing us to purchase Nessian's location from you. Of course, if we succeed in stopping Nessian, the information you purchased from us may be rendered not as valuable, but you are out no coin, and spared the considerable expense of relocating your operation.
She smiles brightly, sweetly as that strange flush of excitement touches her again. She glances back at the fatter guard as her tail swishes back and forth.
Grandmaster Torch nods, "I can see that you're telling the truth. I’ve recently come into possession of a series of safes. Unfortunately, the safecracker I employed has turned out to be quite useless. If you can coax even three of the five safes open, I could be persuaded to disclose Nessian’s for the price of the poison you found in the granary. These chests are remarkably unique and I have the foreboding suspicion that, in this case, the receptacles just might be worth more than their contents, so I’d rather you didn’t smash them open. Oh! One more thing: if my diviner warns me you have crossed me and stolen the contents, there will be repercussions." The master information broker waits for the Freaks to respond to his offer.
Argor appears stunned when Grandmaster Torch asks them to perform a menial task after what he was just told. Sarcasm dripping from his voice, he replies, "By all means, let us have a seat and take a look at these chests. We have nothing but time!"
Torch just smirks and motions to his guards. They open the door back to the hallway and lead the Freaks to a side room. Inside is a table with five unique looking chests on it.
1) The lock of this iron cask contains a laughing devil’s head.
2) This red box has been inset with a trio of golden faces: the first appears stern, the second angry, and the third fumes with hatred.
3) The lid of this stone chest is covered with a relief of carved ivy.
4) This sealed stone chest has no visible lock or hinges. No decoration or writing of any kind can be found.
5) A strange stylized writing wraps around the whole of this rectangular chest. Stranger still are the ten small pores that run along the box’s lid.
Argor steps over to the table, at first frustration is his only emotion. However, the presence of an intellectual challenge soon distracts him from such thoughts. He examines each chest thoroughly, careful to only look at first.
Hrimnagel shrugs at the challenge and Argor's sarcasm. He examines the five chests without touching them. When he gets to the second box, he uncomfortably giggles to himself and says, "Hey Gromm, these gold faces on the red box look like you."
1) The devil’s head can be turned in both directions, like a combination lock, but without numbers to act as a guide.
[spoiler=DC 18 Disable Device]You open the lock and find a lost treatise entitled “The Inward Facing Circle” written by Coganaris the Wracker, a famed Chelish devil-binder, along with scrolls of protection from evil and protection from good inside.
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2) This box seems to react to intense negative emotion.
Use Magic Device check, or Perform (acting) check:
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3) Argor finds the individual letters of a riddle cleverly carved in between the leaves on the chest’s lid.
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4) This chest contains no lock or any other visible features. It's just a seamless stone block from what Argor can tell.
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5)Argor discovers a hidden panel on one side of the box, but no means to open it. The strange lettering on the box is actually the notes to an ancient forgotten tune.
1) "This appears to be a standard lock, any of you able to crack things like this open? Delicately..." He adds the last part with a stern look at Grommuk.
2) After his comment about delicacy earlier, Argor grins at the sudden use Grommuk has in the situation. "Grommuk, try and...convince...this chest how angry you can get."
3) The riddle on the third chest catches Argor's attention, and he smiles as the answer, given their earlier trials at the cliff edge, seems ironic.
"Indeed, Grommuk made a mighty leap, but now I wish I had summoned a different bird to make this just too perfect."
"The answer to the riddle is dove. Let's see if I can find a way to integrate that into opening this chest somehow..."
4) Argor, not convinced that this is just a rock, cautiously runs his hands along the surface, feeling for a hidden latch.
5)
Deciphering the song from the writing is easy enough, but Argor himself realizes he has never bothered to pursue any musical talents his entire life. He asks those gathered, "Anyone have experience with wind instruments?"
When Argor speaks the word "dove" aloud, the third chest opens. A collection of over 40 rare incenses along with a book of instruction rest inside.
Running his hands over the fourth chest he finds absolutely nothing.
Listening to Argor's instructions, Cladissa studies the chests in order.
I'm sorry. I don't have the skill to figure this one out, she says.
Considering Argor's instructions, she tries to imagine the faces as Auronee's mocking visage. Before too long, the years-old bitterness rises to the surface, and the lid pops open.
Cladissa runs her hands over the stone box and lets Cole sniff at it. She casts detect magic and studies it. If allowed, she gets a small amount of water and pours it on the chest, to see if it reacts to the stone.
Aware of the eyes on her, she blushes a little as she leans forward and attempts to play the tune as written on the box.
Cladissa easily opens the rage boc to reveal its viking figurines. Then she touches the stone box and laughs. It's an illusion, the box is already open. Inside is a collection of material components for spells. As she plays the flute box, its side opens and reveals the scroll collection of a complete symphony written by a Taldan master, now lost to time.
The only box to remain unopened is the devil's head combination lock. They've satisfied Grandmaster Torch's minimum, but will the Freaks be able to truly impress him? No. None amongst their number is skilled enough to open the final box. The thought that one of them should learn to work with locks and traps crosses several of their minds as they file back into Torch's chamber, with the four open boxes.
"Well done! Four safes is more than I expected. Nessian is holed up in a place he calls the "Pyramid of the Dog". He carved it out of the ruin of half collapsed siege towers, just outside of Absalom." Torch reaches over behind the raised lip of his pool. He retrieves a purse and takes out a handful of platinum coins. "Here's a little tip for getting more than three of the safes open. I'm pleased we've been able to do business. Come again if you ever have need of more information." He hands the coins to one of his slaves. The girl, a dark skinned kelishite no older than twenty, slinks forward and hands the coins to Argor. Twenty in all. As the group turns to go at Yargos's urgent motioning, Grandmaster Torch interjects one last thing. "If anyone were to ever find out who told you were Nessian was, I would see that as most unprofessional and would be forced to spread word of your unworthiness around."
As the group makes their way back to ground level, and emerges from the Siphons, the sky is pinkish purple in the east. The Oathday sun will rise soon. Following Torch's directions, they head for the Pyramid of the Dog. They make it to the edge of the Puddles district and are about to leave the city.
All four of the Pathfinder's keen eyes see something on distant cliff. It's a series of flashes in green and orange light. It's definitely a signal of some kind, nothing natural would repeat a pattern like that. Yargos is oblivious, and continues walking towards their destination.
Argor gets extremely quiet as Cladissa was able to come to a conclusion in regards to the stone chest before he himself could learn it's secret. "How could one as...as simple as her figure that out when I could not? Luck, it must have been a freak stroke of luck...that's all."
As they return to present their findings to the con-man, save for one of the chests, Argor bows his head slightly in thanks for the coin and information in return for their trouble. He replies, "Thank you, Grandmaster. And of course, discretion in this matter is assumed. By the way, in regards to the remaining chest, the face appears to be some sort of combination lock. Perhaps with this information, and a more skilled safe cracker, you can obtain the prize within it as well."
Argor remains quiet and sullen, his mind racing over several thoughts at once, inevitably, all returning back to Cladissa.
"I can't believe that [b]she bested me at an intellectual quandary. The mere thought of it is preposterous, almost as if Grommuk were capable of such a feat. Perhaps the serum affected her mental capacities as well, and she is keeping that to herself? It would be a devious move on her part...one I think she is not truly capable. Although, she is showing much more confidence than when we were in our study groups back at the Lodge. Not that that is a bad thing, the self confidence...suits her well."
He sighs to himself at his own wandering thoughts. "I will have to inquire with her later in regards to the various affects the serum has had on her to get to the bottom of this. I have to know what this serum is capable of, external and internal alike."
It was then that the four of them note the new signals in the distance. As their "guide" continues bumbling forward oblivious, Argor holds his hand up to his mouth to signal everyone to keep this discovery quiet.
Hrimnagel picks the lint from his belly button while his player sleeps. While he is happy the team successfully met Grandmaster Torch's task, he would have like the intellectual stimulation and challenge to demonstrate his abilities and teamwork. Ah well. Next time.
The deep gnome takes point by a good 30 ft on route to the Pyramid of the Dog. He again carries his longbow and follows his shadow.
After seeing the flashes, he stops and then ignoring Argor stops Yargos pointing out the colors. "Yargos, what does that series of flashes in green and orange light mean?"
"Lights mean more bones; more breaking. Lights mean move fast." Grommuk picks up the pace, though not so much as to leave the slower among them in the dust. He remembers how poorly the last confrontation turned out. It is not a mistake he cares to repeat, if his own bloodlust permits.
Sighing when Hrimnagel ignores his request, he begins to speak when Grommuk speaks up first and starts to head off.
"Wait...wait! It matters not what that code is, unless it is the abort code. We haven't the resources to put out every fire in this city. And, as we saw before at the grain stores, the city guard are little threat to these undead. If we want to put an end to this, and save as many lives as possible, we need to remove the head from this snake as soon as possible. Wouldn't you agree, Cladissa?"
His look in her direction likely surprises her, as he is clearly hoping that she is on his side on this. It is perhaps the first time she has seen him appear concerned about anything.
"What? Orange and green? No! That's the one of the final and most important signals! The lights will send a team of Black Echelon operatives to attack the Metro-Cathedral, an old church of Abadar in the Puddles. Every Oathday morning, the priests of Abadar still play the ritual tune on the Metro-Cathedral’s giant pipe organ to remind all of Absalom to honor its pacts." Yargos wheezes. "According to the codebook, when Black Echelon shuts down the giant organ in midtune, the sudden disruption becomes the signal for Silent Tide; the awaiting Armada is to approach to the city and begin its attack run."
Yargos rubs his bald head, a despairing look on his face. "We should head for the Metro-Cathedral. If you can end the threat there, then we'd no longer be under time pressure to hunt down Nessian. If we go straight for Nessian, you'd all better be quick. If that song gets interrupted, we'll have less than an hour until an undead armada rises from the bay and kills us all!" He's nearly wailing at the end. The though of having done to him what was done to the guards at the granary is terrifying the old scholar.
Cladissa curtsies politely and then departs. She allows the flush feeling of excitement linger as she studies it, noting how predatory it made her feel. If she wants something, what could she do to take it? She shudders, and then releases the feeling, becoming plain old Cladissa again.
But is she, really?
Cladissa mulls over her few small triumphs there before Grandmaster Torch. She allows herself to feel buoyed by her success, even though she frets a bit about going to confront someone willing to unleash undead creatures against an unsuspecting population. What else is he capable of?
She gasps audibly whens she spies the flashing lights, but covers her mouth at Argor's insistence.
When Argor turns to her for support, her mouth drops open for a moment. Umm. You're probably right, she recovers, thinking. The signals were to order strikes to weaken the city? We probably should still find out what this new flashing means. In case it's really bad that would harm a lot of people, right? If it's like the bell tower one, I mean, the city can probably just rebuild them. But if it's something like poisoning the wells, then we ought to go stop that.
Turning to Targos, she asks, So, orange and green light. What does that mean?
Argor closes his eyes and hangs his head as Yargos begins his plea for the four of them to run off and save some other part of the city. When he mentions the target is a temple, Argor's head snaps back up, and he holds his arms out towards the man.
"Ah, there, you see? The target is the Metro-Cathedral. A church of Abadar. Who better to fight these things than servants of the faith? Priests and paladins are known to excel in fighting off undead monstrosities. If they are unable to defend themselves from this threat, what do we, who are already on the last legs of our stamina for the day, have to offer? Our time and energy is still best served eliminating the real problem, and that is Nessian!"
Yargos appears ready to protest further, but he's old enough to know that you can't always change people's minds. He opens his mouth, then shuts it and shrugs. "Fine, but you'd better be damned fast. All our lives depend on it. I don't know if I can run any more, but I'll follow you. You lot should run ahead to the Pyramid of the Dog and handle Nessian before its too late."
Maybe you should go directly to the Cathedral and warn them? We'll be on our way back after we've stopped Nessian, but some warning would help, Cladissa offers to Yargos.
She takes a deep breath and nods. Okay. I hope we can do this quickly.
Yargos laughs. "I'm no brave hero like you lot. I won't be going anywhere near the Black Echelon alone if I can help it. Besides, you'll need me to decipher the codebook quickly enough to send the abort signal in time." Yargos slows to a pace more comfortable for a man of his age. "Well? Get ye gone then!" he says, waving the in the direction of the Pyramid of the Dog.
Argor! Send your raven! At least he can try to warn them, then! she urges.
Argor rolls his eyes, then nods to Arctyryx. "Go warn the priests then immediately return to me. Also warn the other nearby temples if they are on your way during your return trip."
The raven flies off back into the puddles, heading for a tall building surmounted by a cracked and faded "golden" key.
Now that Argor's will has been thwarted enough, Hrimnagel asks, "Yargos, if we leave you too far behind, describe what Nessian looks like, in case it's not obvious."
After the answer, he quietly heads off toward the Pyramid of the Dog.
A grunt that's more indifference than anything else resounds in Grommuk's throat. He doesn't much care where they head for the time being, so long as it stops the deaders with ships from ransacking the city—not that he cares much about the city, but to be perfectly blunt: that's where he lives; that's where he keeps all his stuff. Becoming a Pathfinder and getting his own bedroom in an estate is nice. Grommuk doesn't want a bunch of sickle toting bags of bones to take that away from him the very day he earned it.
The Pathfinders hustle off the rest of the way to the beach outside the city where the Pyramid of the Dog supposedly stands. As they go, the sun crests the horizon, and the organ music that normally comes from the old Abadaran cathedral every Oathday morning is notably absent. The silent tide has been signaled. In maybe thirty minutes the undead fleet will rise to the surface and invade the city, killing them and everyone they know.
As they approach, they can see that Nessian’s decrepit lair is not a pyramid at all. Rather it consists of four ancient, battered siege towers, three of which have collapsed inward toward the largest, forming a giant, tepee-like wreck. Each leaning tower bears a makeshift guardhouse. There are four boulders large enough to block sight buried in the sand around the tower, and a large mean looking dog tied to a post with a rope out front.
As the site comes into view, Argor uses his various scrolls to renew his defenses. He points out the various potential guard posts, and says "We should position ourselves so only one gets a chance to spot us. Not that I expect them to miss Grommuk's approach, but the rest of us may remain an unknown factor until needed."
Just before moving in, he casts one final incantation, and looking to Grommuk, he smirks and says "Grommuk, smash." Anxious to end this, he moves in too closely behind the giant sized Grommuk...
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"We should kill that dog out front; it probably guards something. Grommuk should run to melee. There are probably guards up top with bows or slings, so we should pin them down if we can." Hrimnagel offers.
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Whispering, I could target that dog with a sleep spell, but I'd hate to use it against a single target. I'd much prefer to use my last major spell against a group, so I could affect more people.
She remembers her own crossbow when Hrimnagel readies his, so she pulls it out and gets it ready.
Everyone readies their weapons and then Argor casts two spells on himself, and lengthier one on Grommuk.
Grommuk, now the size of a giant, runs at the dog in front of the Pyramid, shouting at the top of his lungs and waving his fists. The guards in the western and eastern towers call out an alarm and move into their arrow slits. The other Pathfinders attempt to approach stealthily behind one of the rocks.
The two War Hounders raise their crossbows and fire at Grommuk. Both bolts are coming from an awkward angle, and appear to have been hastily fired. They completely miss the giant, raging orc.
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Initiative:
Nessian 21
War Hounders 19
Party 15
Marrow Chomper 9
Grommuk takes a small jump through the air, though it seems a great leap given his now gigantic proportions. As his feet clear the ground, he raises both arms into the air above his head, bringing both down onto the canine with a force tremendous enough to lightly crater the ground. A high pitched whimper from the dog speaks to the carnage the orc unleashes.
As he rises from the attack, his hand seeks one of the bundled javelins that dangle from his back.
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Hrimnagel decides this is the combat that he needs Count Renalc's aid. He changes his target from the dog to the tower guard and shoots. His arrow buries into the guard's shoulder.
If the first guard drops, Hrimnagel moves to the other side of the rock to target the other tower guard. If the first guard hasn't dropped, Hrimnagel His second arrow flies overhead.
Argor moves along the edge of the rubble, watching for someone who seems to be in charge.
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Cladissa tries to replicate the accurate shot of Hrimnagel in case the foe still stands.
She will double-move to stay behind Grommuk, to make sure he has support. She hopes that the enemies inside will be susceptible to her hexes.
The two War Hounders raise their crossbows and fire at Grommuk. Both bolts are coming from an awkward angle, and appear to have been hastily fired. They completely miss the giant, raging orc.
Grommuk takes a small jump through the air, though it seems a great leap given his now gigantic proportions. As his feet clear the ground, he raises both arms into the air above his head, bringing both down onto the canine with a force tremendous enough to lightly crater the ground. A high pitched whimper from the dog cuts off suddenly as Grommuk simultaneous crushes its spine and skull. As Grommuk rises from the attack, his hand seeks one of the bundled javelins that dangle from his back.
Hrimnagel decides this is the combat that he needs Count Renalc's aid. He changes his target from the dog to the tower guard and shoots. His aim is expert, and the arrow passes through the guardtower's slit and buries itself into the guard's shoulder. The man cries out in pain, but is still standing.
Argor moves along the edge of the rubble, watching for someone who seems to be in charge.
Cladissa tries to replicate the accurate shot of Hrimnagel, but her arrow shatters against the guard tower harmlessly.
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The guards fire at Grommuk again after seeing what the giant did to their beloved mascot Marrow Chomper. Hrimnagel is also a tempting target, but the boulder is providing him cover. Again, the panic setting in to the unprofessional War Hounders takes its toll. They both miss even the massive form of Grommuk, though he makes no attempt to conceal himself.
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Initiative:
Nessian 21
War Hounders 19
Party 15
Argor withdraws another scroll from the cases at his hip, and recites the magic from its surface. A bolt of red energy surges towards the same guard Hrimnagel fired upon.
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