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"Brainwashed? This is even worse than I thought... That man has a lot to answer for! And I'll make him pay for these poor souls!"
"It means we break your chains" Ashara points at the manacles holding the slaves captive "And it means Zamir is a liar. We won't kill you. In fact we mean you no harm and no one here's is going to torture you. We will free you and let you go back home or wherever else you want to. You might be loyal to Zamir, but he's not loyal to you. He imprisoned you, he used you, and he most definitely doesn't care about you. But we do. We are here to save you and end Zamir. You might not remember what it feels like to be free. You might even be scared of freedom now. But you will remember when we bring taht man to justice!
The man glances at the others. "Zamir's quarters are behind the statue in the next room. He's probably waiting for you."
Aside from the six-armed statue, the next room contains only weapon racks along the northern wall. On the racks are various nonmagical quarterstaffs, nunchaku, siangams, sai-- the same weapons the statue is holding. Behind the statue is a single door.
Before Taklinn can reach the door, it opens. A man who can only be Zamir walks out, wearing fine but well-worn clothes and pointing the fake scepter at each of you in turn. "Stay back. I WILL use this if I have to. I can only assume you've killed all my men, so now I'll have to start all over." At his side is a large tiger, well-groomed and formidable.
Arngrim steps around Taklinn to get a clean shot and studies the man for a moment. Then he calls out to Zamir. "We can give you the same offer that your goons refused. We can talk or fight. Your choice. By the way, the scepter is what led us here.. it is not only a fake, but it has a tracking spell on it."
He glances at the scepter, still pointing it like a weapon. "You're wrong. My wizard slaves in the next room, they appraised it themselves. It's real. Jumra, attack!" With that, he flicks the rod like a wand at Arngrim.
Initiatives:
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Initiative order (BOLD is up!):
Shoris
Tusk
Menarul
Ashara
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Zamir
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Arngrim
Taklinn
Shoris begins casting another summoning spell.
Ashara and Tusk both hit with their attacks.
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On command and clearly well-trained, the tiger lunges forward at the dwarf. However, when Ashara lands a crossbow bolt in Zamir's side, Jumra switches targets and goes after her.
Meanwhile, Zamir flicks the scepter a second time. "Why isn't it working? Ugh, I'll deal with it later." He speaks a short chant, and his other hand is engulfed in flame. He makes a throwing motion, and a ball of fire flies through the air at Tusk.
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Initiative order (BOLD is up!):
Shoris
Tusk
Menarul
Ashara
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Zamir
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Arngrim
Taklinn
Arngrim hits the bandit leader with another arrow.
Taklinn charges the tiger, but in his zeal he overswings.
Shoris casts his spell and summons a third eagle, which claws at the tiger.
Tusk reloads.
Ashara brings her shield to bear, hoping to fend off the big cat.
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The tiger, seeing its prey cower behind a shield, turns to take on the newcomer.
Though the dwarf's armor is proof against her teeth, Jumra manages to find a gap with one of her claws and cuts into Taklinn's skin.
Badly injured, Zamir hurls another ball of flame, this time at Arngrim.
After hitting his target, Zamir retreats back through the door from which he emerged.
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Initiative order (BOLD is up!):
Shoris
Tusk
Menarul
Ashara
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Zamir
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Arngrim
Taklinn
Zamir: -20
Jumra: -6
Arngrim turns his bow against the tiger. An arrow flies straight toward the beast's right eye, but it jerks its head at the last moment and takes only a cut to one ear instead.
Taklinn is still unable to land a blow on the big cat.
Shoris's eagle continues clawing at the tiger before winking out of existence.
With a final roar of pain, the big cat hits the floor and loses consciousness.
Anyone who rushes into the next room after Zamir finds a nicely decorated and comfortably furnished area, unlike the rest of the complex. A large tapestry depicting a battle of a dozen dervishes in a bright yellow sandy desert adds color to the room. The air is scented with cinnamon, and trophy heads and animal skins decorate the walls and floor. To the south is a tunnel opening, which has collapsed; Zamir is nowhere to be seen. Strangely, the tunnel is blocked not by fallen rock but by large chunks of semi-hardened clay that seem to have fallen from the tunnel ceiling above.
Through gaps in the clay you can feel air flowing, suggesting that the other end of the tunnel opens to the outside and that, by the time you could clear it away enough to pursue Zamir, he'd be long gone.
A search of the office reveals a keyring that can easily be used to unlock the slaves' collars. Also in the office are a few components that the slaves tell you are disassembled pieces of the Pharaoh's Crook of Order, a magical morningstar. With this weapon and a few former captives, but no Zamir, you head back to Venture-Captain Mihir.
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"Well?" the venture-captain demands, without so much as a hello. "Did you find him?"
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Taklinn, already upset at his ineffectiveness of late, swears loudly and profusely at the realization that Zamir has escaped. Upon returning to town and facing the venture-captain, the dwarf holds his head high and gives a stern-faced report. "Aye, we did, sir. But the son-of-an-orc evaded capture! We killed his thugs, desroyed his base, an' deprived him of his slave work force, but the bastard escaped us..."
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Ashara confirms Taklinn's words"It is as Taklinn said sir. We injured the coward and he choose to run instead of facing us. Also, the Thakur forces were made aware of our plan and agreed we could try to deal with Zamir alone, but we failed and I believe they should be notified both for honor and for keeping good relations with the local authorities"
The venture-captain nods. "Can't say I'm surprised, Zamir does like his own skin. He'll do whatever it takes to be famous, but he wants it in his own lifetime. As for the Thakur's men, I'll make sure the message is relayed. He often says I'm quite a thorn in his side, and I'm sure he'd like nothing but for the entire Society presence to leave Jalmeray. That being the case, I'm impressed that his men gave you such leeway.
"Well I would've preferred you had brought Zamir with you, but you did accomplish two important goals. One, you've stopped his operations for now. It'll take him awhile to gather enough men to become a problem again. Two, you've proven that he can be baited, and that the wayfinder was effective. That information will be useful the next time he turns up."
Venture-captain Mihir gives a single nod, his closest approximation to a compliment. "Dismissed."