Seriously Merry, pay attention, I already informed everyone that's not Dris. Now we're just messing with the aboleth pretending to be Dris. Illia- telepaths to just Meridian.
So, guys, here's a thought, we tell fake Dris we're going with his plan, and we pretend I'm going to be the single fighter. Once we confirm they're executing the plan, I teleport back here where you guys are and murder everyone! Illia, of course, leaves out fake Dris.
Meredian sends to just companions and not fake Dris
"ohh. Ok. I'm good with that. "
The Master of Souls? Sounds fearsome. All we need to know is what happened to the elephant ship. Perhaps they know? So far the Architect is not terribly cooperative. Dealing with him may be more trouble than it is worth of if we can get to the ship another way.
Why don't we go with your plan to meet with this Master of Souls, but just talk to them first. If they are cooperative, an ambush may be unnecessary.
Thought to Anaxian
"I have a force energy attack if you think that would break the goo. "
if possible I would like to leave it intact. We will hold that idea in reserve in case others fail. Anaxian replied to Meridian.
Ah, yes, replies the impostor. In my artful sneaking around the city, I saw the remains of Jiator's ancient ship. It was deconstructed completely; the massive bones and tusks he used to build it now stand as foundations, centerpieces, and decorative pillars throughout the beautiful architecture of this city. Jiator's massive cache of jewels was also taken by the Masters, but is almost certainly hidden in a place where we have no hope of ever finding them, and should not bother searching. I completely understand the Architect being non-cooperative; he has accepted his useful and prestigious role in rebuilding this city, and would almost certainly prefer to be left here and continue that work.
"I thought these guys were supposed to be smart... Shouldn't ancient loremasters at least know I can see through illusions?" Illia- seemed confused at simply how bad the ruse seemed to be, and expressed it to her fellows.
The bones are integrated into the city? Good. That should make finding the bones we are looking for easy. We would all be noticed if we go around inspecting the buildings. We will have to rely on you to find them for us. In the mean time, I suppose the best thing for us to do is simply wait and enjoy the wonders of the city.
"I thought these guys were supposed to be smart... Shouldn't ancient loremasters at least know I can see through illusions?" Illia- seemed confused at simply how bad the ruse seemed to be, and expressed it to her fellows.
Memory is not thought. They have the memories of their forbearers, but not necessarily the cognizance. It is entirely possible that this particular Aboleth simply... forgot that bit of information.
Aboleth aren't known for being terribly interested in any peoples other than their own. They like stores, but don't really care about accuracy.
Frankly, it amazes me that they ever had a successful empire. Other than their ability to enslave others, they are extremely limited creatures.
They have the tactical advantage of no one else really wanting their territory, save the gillmen they enslave.
Perhaps I should go back to sneaking around the city with my invisibility powers and observing its intelligent and impenetrable defenses the fake Drisquar suggests. You will see me again soon; let me know if you want to take a hostile action, though I do not recommend it.
Someone is repeatedly trying to invade your mind with some kind of control spell. This is normally undetectable, but you've started to notice after what must have been at least a dozen failed attempts.
Dris subtly peers around, still in wind form, trying to spot the mental assailant.
As the false Drisquar disappears, you see a few hidden aboleth tentacles retreat into a hole in the street, and hear the sound of something squelching through a tunnel, pausing for a minute beneath you before moving on, at which point the attack seems to cease.
Mm... Do we wanna bother with the fancy bits? He already ran off. Might just start the strike.
::"I've spotted the originator of that foul impostor masquerading as me. Such a terrible actor, no flair for the dramatic at all. Anyways, should I track him down and slay him? Unsure if he will actually help us, since that just seems *really* stupid."::
Yeah, take him out unless someone raises an objection. Let's start this.
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Dracoliches do not facepalm. Instead, the purple light in Anaxian's eyes dimmed to nonexistence for a few moments while he collected himself from the absurdity. Then he turned to the others.
Drisquar, we think it is relatively safe to say they can detect you. It is also clear that the can most likely read the minds of at least one of us. We are covered against dominations but not so well protected against thought detection as we would like to be.
Drisquar, I am concerned they can read the minds of at least one of us. I think it would be best if you gave each of us a piece of the plan to carry out ourselves, without coordination or discussion with the others. Anaxian said allowed. "That will force them to try to piece everything together from partial information. If all goes well we will have what we seek and be on our way before any of them are the wiser.
I have prepared a number of scrying focuses. They appear to be non-magical, and are identical to a number of baubles that have not yet been prepared as focuses. I would like you to hide them in any part of the city that appears to be made of bones. As you hide them, number them, but skip occasional numbers. Make sure a few, including the first, are somewhere that they can be found. The rest, hide skillfully. Once they discover them and figure out what they are, they will waste a great deal of resources and time searching out the rest.
Make them think you are searching for something. Do not make any contact with any of the rest of us. Simply return to the shark when I contact you.
I would like to test their responses and force them to mobilize. Teleport somewhere you should not be, but do not take up arms. Simply act confused, and say that you were not told anywhere was off limits. Make them think you are searching for something, but do not reveal what.
Talk to them for as long as possible before they remove you from the premise. Then repeat your intrusion in a new place. Make them tell you precisely where you are and are not allowed.
Ask the Architect to play along with a ruse, then begin by asking if he knows where the 'lost bones' are. He will not know what you are talking about, but that is not important. Pick a fight with him over it. Call him a thief for taking such a treasure and tell him that you are here to retrieve them. See how angry you can make him. Feel free to mix in actual grievances for effect. When the Aboleth take notice, ask for the mayor's aid in arbitrating the fight. If the mayor does not come, ask for someone skilled in negotiations. Try to be illusive about what the bones are when the Aboleth seek information. We want to tie up the attention of their organizers as much as possible.
We are going to use the nature of your people against the Aboleth. Meet with this Master of Souls and explain that you would like to turn against us. Come up with whatever reasons you like. The important thing is that they believe you are a traitor, and would prefer us all dead. Offer to sell them information about what we seek and what our weaknesses are if they promise to let you stay with them.
Explain that we are here to find ancient bones that are a powerful artifact which will be used to resurrect a powerful avatar of Rovagug, and that we are here to recover them.
Play up Drisquar as the mastermind behind this operation, and Illia as the one who knows how to correctly identify the right bones.
The goal is to see how much we can extort out of them in return for false information, waste their time, and send them attempting to observe or capture our most illusive companions.
As you wish, the impostor replies, and everyone in the group (save real Drisquar) finds themselves holding a button-sized stone made of something shiny, illusory, and covered in ant-sized magical runes. Those are your parts in my attack plan, to be used only if negotiation fails. They will not display their message until you are out of sight and earshot of each other. But we are being watched; I believe it is time to step into the shadows and re-activate my invisibility powers. And the impostor (which Illia- has previously identified as only an illusory copy of a transmuted aboleth) vanishes, its controller stealthily retreating below the street.
Meredian hovers the button-stone in front of her, but does not touch it. She waits patiently as she sees Anaxian scrutinizing the device.
Sir John also waits to see what the dracolich sees in the button before accepting it.
Illia- teleports to the only place she can think of that might be off limits, directly adjacent to the Mayor.
Anaxian detects the small stones to be a modified shadow spell—an illusion that is permanent until triggered, but just substantial enough to be carried, and unlikely to have any effect other than changing its shape and writing.
Illia- blinks out of existence for a split-second, then immediately reappears, blocked by some obstacle against teleporting to the Mayor.
Well, the answer to your question is that my mobilization is blocked.
Good to know. Try to find where the suppression field ends. I will be at the shark if you need me.
Anaxian made his way out of the well chamber and back to the monstrosity he called a boat.
My only other idea for a blocked location would be adjacent to Jiator.
Lets avoid that one. Too close to the actual plan. the dragon's telepathic voice trailed back to Illia. Go look for trouble. The false Drisquar did mention a vault full of riches...
"I'm bored."
Meridian states loudly both verbally and telepathically.
Releasing her telekinetic grip on the coin she allows it to fall to the ground. Her disinterest in the object utter and complete.
She skims through the water on the power of her mind towards the nearest signs of activity.
She intends to ask the whereabouts of the master of souls and make her way to him. When she's well out of earshot/telepathy shot of her companions she finds the nearest alboleth to inquire. Short of that she finds a group of slaves to question about where their master is.
Illia- aimlessly wanders around.
Sir John hears no telepathic response; given Jiator's penchant for complaining, this may be an acknowledgement of the plan.
Meredian doesn't have to travel far to meet an aboleth; while the zombies and skeletons in the street growl at her in suspicion, they stick to their work, and after a few minutes she meets an ordinary aboleth overseeing the construction. Next to the strange fish the party has seen earlier in the day, the creature seems almost comical in its floppy, tentacled bulk, and somewhat sad in its inability to acrobatically coil itself or speak telepathically. Instead, it responds to her query out loud in Undercommon, nearly incomprehensible through layers of flaps and mucus.
"The master of souls will reside in the tower of bones at this cycle. He is busy, but will possibly appreciate assistance."
Following the aboleth's direction, Meredian finds her way to the tower; a twisting, bulbous that ends irregularly but begins as a neat hexagon jutting from the ground, with every corner displaying rows of elephant tusks. Outside the tower's base, piles of skulls large and small seem strewn almost haphazardly, though the stone has seemingly melted to hold them in place.
The Master of Souls is a massive aboleth, one whom Meredian saw earlier at the city hall. His nearly sixty feet of muscle coil around the tower, tracing all the way around the room, and nine red eyes stare unblinkingly from the forehead. He turns to look at the drow as she approaches, but says nothing.
The invisible aboleth disappears into a passageway in the ground, nearly filled in by rubble; it's unclear how it moves forward, though Drisquar is able to follow in wind form. The path branches and twists, and it quickly becomes clear that the Bralani is moving through a network of collapsed tunnels below the city, that may have once been a part of it before being partially filled in by earthquakes.
Passing underground close to the Architect's well leads to a brush against what appears to be a large, underground metal box of unknown size; with his knowledge of weaponry, Drisquar determines this to be most likely mithral as he passes, though he does not have time to gauge its size well.
Suddenly, the path veers sharply to the right, and opens up into a tunnel filled with fresh debris, through which a crunching noise comes. The creature Drisquar follows appears to be tunneling into the solid bedrock somehow, leaving claw-marked shavings of stone behind it; at a closer look, it appears to be no larger than he is, tunneling with some sort of metallic claws, though he can still not get a good look at the invisible creature.
Looking at the master unflinchingly
"If I wanted to make a deal to stay here in the city, are you the entity with sufficient authority to allow it? I'd like to make sure I'm not wasting my time before I get too much into detail. "
"ONE OF YOUR... MANY OF TALENTS WAS TRULY WELCOME TO HAVE STAYED IN THE CITY, AND WILL FOR THE REST OF YOUR DAYS..." growls the gigantic aboleth, in a bubbling rumble that nearly shakes the tower. "BUT WHY WILL YOU ASK SPECIAL ASSISTANCE, AND WHAT HAVE YOU COME TO THE MASTER OF SOULS, WHO NEEDED NEITHER SCHEMES NOR ILLUSIONS BUT WILL MAKE WAR IN THE DARKNESS?"
And the Master of Souls turns its head, slightly, tentacles quivering.
There is a certain... coldness in Jiator's voice, and it gives Sir John a brief vision of Jiator's past theatricality—the haughty tone he took when they argued previously, but turned up by an order of magnitude.
That is of no concern. They were mine by birthright, and you will never find them in this city while the stars still turn. If you've truly come here for the bones, I know what you seek, and YOU WILL NEVER GET IT YOU WILL NEVER GET IT
And Sir John collapses to the ground from the force of the telepathic assault, realizing that he has unwittingly shouted "YOU WILL NEVER GET IT" out loud. The Keeper looks on silently, but with more interest than before.