Lucrezia gently picks the lock, knowing that whatever their original intentions were, they just can't leave the poor girl like this. "I'll have it off in a minute, but there's no way to hide the fact that she will be gone."
We can turn her invisible. We aren't leaving her here, understood? I'm gonna stay back an take her place and then this place can burn for all I care.
"Calm down Duncan. I'm not suggesting we leave her, just saying that we're going to need to plan what to do when her absence is noticed. Someone's going to get blamed for it. Also, I though it was Andrea and I that wanted to burn down things...
"Anyway, I think I got the locks off now. Let's take her up to my room first, put her in some clothes and my old cloak. She can't go anywhere in this outfit she's wearing."
Addressing the young girl directly, Lucrezia asks: "What's you name miss?"
Andrea nods. We could try to figure out which way Alphonse will be returning here from whereever he went and ambush his carriage. We still have our masks and if we drive him into the night, the Shadowbeasts will dispose of him.
Also..what of his family? Just how much do they know about what has happened here?
We can turn her invisible. We aren't leaving her here, understood? I'm gonna stay back an take her place and then this place can burn for all I care.
Duncan. Can you disguise yourself with your magic like you did last time? Maybe as someone who takes this one as 'payment for debts'. You haul the girl out and warn the others that Alphonse is on 'the list'. No one here is too blame then.
We can turn her invisible. We aren't leaving her here, understood? I'm gonna stay back an take her place and then this place can burn for all I care.Duncan. Can you disguise yourself with your magic like you did last time? Maybe as someone who takes this one as 'payment for debts'. You haul the girl out and warn the others that Alphonse is on 'the list'. No one here is too blame then.
I ain't trying to frame anyone. Ye get the girl out now, quietly. I can make her invisible fer a few minutes. I'm waiting fer Alphonse to come an play. He likely does this alone. Then he's gonna die an I leave him fer the Maggots an walk out.
Andrea sighs. Very well. Don't get yourself killed or I'll only have John left to relate to.
After you are done we can dispose of the body at night. Believe me when I say that leaving a body is perfect for some ironic situation where he rises as undead.
Andrea will help Lucrezia get the girl out and close up the area. Lucrezia, can you tidy up so it looks like nobody was here?
Andrea then heads back upstairs.
Lucrezia nods. "I'll do my best."
John will double move to the nearest weapon rack.
RD 7:
John there are plenty of weapons neatly stored for your use.
The creature doesn't do anything.
The girl will mumble that her name is Leeanna Gudsmith of Oregent in Andoran She trembles, "Our merchant ship was taken by pirates they were trying to ransom me, I think." The group is able to get the her upstairs and stowed away in Lucrezia's room.
Dunan is left behind with his anger stewing.
Fluer you see the two girls come back into the room, their eyes a bit shifty as they scan the area. Lucrezia's hand is no her sword, the dwarf is not with the girls. They move quickly past the large half-orc as they head up the stairs towards the entertainment rooms.
Orsin the pathfinder says, "I'm sure there are quite a few mysteries in Delvehaven both magical and not. Those five names are all missing pathfinders it would be nice to bring closure to this chapter." She grins, "The missing pathfinders would bring a nice reward for proof of their fate, and that cipher poem sounds promising." Her eyes widen some, "It seems like it would behoove us to look into the missing pathfinders and the cipher poem before undertaking an entry into the Delvehaven."
"You know the grave candles would be useful to interrogate the remains to learn what actually happened. That Ghaelfin the venture captain"
FLuer wanders over to Tracy,
"So...what are the prices for actually, y'know, renting a room to stay in?" (^_^) She asks, while keeping as much of an eye upon the antics of the other two woman.
Faelyn after several hours of searching devil tomes, mysteries, and history Melissaa stumbles across of reference to Khazrae Kuelata.
Khazrae was an exceptional assassin, whose patron was the archdevil Moloch. She as often seen with the archdevil and it is believed she was his lover and favorite weapon. She failed her patron in a single political assassination, while operating in Dis. Moloch made her an example out of her by having her wings slowly sheered off, and her body was destroyed, leaving an undead head, so she could endure perpetual humiliation at the hands of her successors. She served in this capacity for over 500 years until she was won by a mortal spellcaster in 4661.
There is nothing else written in the tome.
"Its a gold piece per night without company"
Once they get her up to Lucrezia room, she pulls out some clothes and her old cloak. "Here lass, go ahead and put these on. You must still feel half-frozen from being so ill-dressed to spend time in a cold cellar."
Turning back to Andrea: "Any ideas on where to take her for now? We can avoid the main room by taking the servants stairway down and taking the back exit out. Not uncommon for some of our patrons to be a bit shy about being here, so another one sneaking out is no big deal."
Well we could take her to our special place but I don't know if that is a good thing. Hmm..Fiosa does have connections with the Bellflower Network so we can ask them if they can get her home. We can take her to my place or to Orsin's since I believe he has plent of space. We could also ask the Grulios if they could put her up.
Andrea will spend a little time praying when she can, thinking of the tenents of Calistria and if this is appropriate vengeance.
"Lass, can you tell us your name and homeland?"
The girl, Leeanna, is shivering but she gratefully accepts the cloak. The invisibility spells eventually wears off. "T..t...thank you, who are you? T..th...they are...are...are going to fffffind me here." Her blue eyes are wide.
She hears Lucrezia's question, "I'm Leeanna Gudsmith of Oregent in Andoran."
Melissaa picks up another book enitled, The Joys of Hell:
The nine layers of Hell form a structured labyrinth of calculated evil where torment goes hand in hand with purification. A plane of iron cities, burning wastelands, frozen glaciers, and endless volcanic peaks, Hell is divided into nine nesting layers, each under the malevolent rule of an archdevil. Torture, anguish, and agony are inevitable in Hell, but they are methodical, not spiteful or capricious, and serve a deliberate master plan under the watchful eyes of the disciplined ranks of Hells' lesser devils. The nine layers of Hell, from first to last, are Avernus, Dis, Erebus, Phlegethon, Stygia, Malebolge, Cocytus, Caina, and Nessus.
"It would appears she operated on the second layer of Hell for this archdevil, Moloch. A power struggle between archdevils, perhaps?"
She flips through a few more books that evening to find information out on Moloch. She discovers the following:
Moloch rules the sixth plane of Hell, a flat, stinking plane of acrid smoke and soot. He is nothing more than a lieutenant in Baalzebul’s infernal army or seneschal to Baalzebul’s court. Baalzebul is the true ruler of the sixth plane. He and Geryon, the great serpent are rivals. Geryon and Moloch hate each other; their infernal armies are constantly warring with each other either openly or through subterfuge.
Moloch stands 14 feet tall and his massive, barrel-chested hairless humanoid stands nearly as tall as three humans. His head is squat and large and he has an oversized mouth is filled with rows of wickedly-sharp teeth. His eyes are sapphire blue and his large, curving horns are black. His flesh is dark brown. He wields a long black metal rod with 6 long pliable metal tails.
Fealyn that is all the research you will be able to do in a single night.
The girl, Leeanna, is shivering but she gratefully accepts the cloak. The invisibility spells eventually wears off. "T..t...thank you, who are you? T..th...they are...are...are going to fffffind me here." Her blue eyes are wide.
We will try to get you out of here safely and hopefully we can get you home again. Perhaps you can tell us where you were traveling to? Any relatives we can try to get in contact with?
"I was travelling home on one of my father's ships, I had been on a trade mission."
Well we can try to check out the guilds to see if we can get more information, but I am rather stumped on how to go about that. Perhaps Gerald can help since he deals with them heavily.
Duncan as you wait in the sub-cellar there is no activity down there, so far. You don't even hear footsteps from above from people restocking the club.
Faelyn leans back in his chair and rubs his eyes. Well at least we found some dates. Most of the rest I already knew. So you think I should hold off on searching about Delvehaven and Vheed? He whispers the last two names.
A little foreshadowing from the introduction of Book 3:
By the light of day, the city streets of Westcrown are like any other,
bustling with commerce and the sounds and smells of a prosperous Chelish city. Yet at night they transform, doors locking and shutters closing tight against the ominous darkness—for once the sun sets, Westcrown becomes the hunting grounds of shadowy monsters. The Wiscrani took this development in stride, for they had already seen their god die, their nobility executed or shamed, and their government turn to diabolism. Yet unlike a dead god or a powerful regime, the horrors that haunt Westcrown’s nights may not be as permanent a plague as the city’s citizens fear, for the source of these shadows lies within the vaults of
one of Westcrown’s most notorious buildings—the abandoned Pathfinder
lodge known as Delvehaven.
"Would Fiosa be okay with us hiding her at your place? I don't know that we want to involve the Grulios or the Missepe's in hiding her. I don't know that they would be willing to take the risk and with all the unrest going on I don't that it would be safe for her there. Though would the smithy also be a possible place? to hide her?"
The information on Moloch may prove useful. Thank you for your time. I have somewhere to be tonight. May I visit you again?
Ailyn would pull out her journal and begin to confide to Orsin the following information:
“In late 4605 ar, a Pathfinder named Donatalus Bisby returned to Westcrown from a mission to the Mwangi Expanse—a mission previously believed to have been lost. Bisby’s unexpected return brought much celebration, despite the fact that of the dozens who traveled with him to the southern jungles, only he and his chronicler had returned. Word soon spread that Bisby’s journals would revolutionize what was known about certain lost tribes of the Mwangi, and that he brought back with him a potent artifact. Yet before his journals could be published, Aroden died."
“Upon Aroden’s death, panic seized Cheliax. Details of what happened in Delvehaven are sparse, but it seems that the majority of the Pathfinders stationed in Westcrown—Bisby included—perished in the riots and mayhem. Worse, his journal and all of Delvehaven’s artifacts were cut off from the Society for over thirty years. In 4674 ar, many years after the House of Thrune seized control of Cheliax, they made a great show of reopening Delvehaven and inviting a select few Pathfinders back to run the lodge—but those choices were not the Grand Lodge’s to make.
The House of Thrune only agreed to Delvehaven’s reopening if Chelish Pathfinders of their choosing were to manage the site, and the Society reluctantly agreed to the conditions. Securing an accurate list of what had and hadn’t survived in Delvehaven’s vaults was a political nightmare—the House of Thrune and their pet Pathfinders reported that nothing of value remained, but they were resistant to letting anyone from outside make their own inventory and exploration of the ruins. To the public, the lodge seemed to be run by the Society, but in truth we have very little idea exactly what was going on in Delvehaven during those years. The whole situation seemed to be coming to a head, with a full-on clash between the House of Thrune and the Society imminent, but as things worked out, Delvehaven didn’t remain active under Thrune’s
control for long."
“In 4676 AR, something happened in Delvehaven that caused the deaths of all the Thrune Pathfinders and its subsequent sealing by the government itself. The House of Thrune has to this date refused to open Delvehaven or allow the Society access to the lodge, and various conflicts with the Aspis Consortium and the House of Thrune in other parts of Cheliax since then have effectively distracted us from Delvehaven’s legacy. General consensus in the Society today is that Thrune looted Delvehaven to the root and that nothing of value remains within."
“But I’m not so sure. Over the past several months, I’ve grown more and more intrigued by the unexplained mysteries of exactly what happened in Delvehaven. Of perhaps more interest to you as Westcrown natives, I’ve learned a bit about the artifact Bisby returned with, an artifact that was in Delvehaven at the time of Aroden’s death and that hasn’t been seen since. Notes on this artifact are vague, alas, but from an initial report sent from Delvehaven just before Aroden’s death, it would appear that the artifact had ties to a dualistic religion of light and shadow. The fact that it was only a few weeks after the House of Thrune closed up Delvehaven that the shadow beasts first appeared in Westcrown can’t be a coincidence. I suspect that they found this artifact in Delvehaven, but in so doing triggered the lodge’s defenses and caused something. I’m not saying that the source of the shadow beasts is hidden in Delvehaven, or even that the artifact is involved—but in my experience, there are no coincidences.”
Well I belive that it would be okay for at least a few days for her to stay at my place. I think what we should do is learn the name of the ship, what buisness Leeanna was traveling to and from and what guild they were involved with. With that information, it will be much easier to figure out how to get her home and to her father. Can you help with that? Andrea looks at the ex-slave.
Orsin listens thoughtfully to all of Ailyn's reports, theories, and suspicions with attentive ear. He nods gravely as she finishes.
"I agree. And with everything that we learned from the mad imp in the Knot, there are just too many pieces of the puzzle floating about at the moment that it's far too unlikely that they're unrelated. With time and luck we'll be able to put it all together, of that I have no doubt."
Orsin fails to conceal a yawn after speaking. "I think I should get some rest. I won't be any good to the Pathfinders or the Children of Westcrown if I'm half-asleep. Thank you again...'Captain'?"
The last remark sounds more like a question as he doesn't exactly know how to address Ailyn as his superior.
Orsin the sun is beginning to come up by the time you finish your conversation. "Simply call me Ailyn for now. Pathfinders are not welcomed in Westcrown ...at this moment ...no need risking discovery. This is also why I have been in the background, so far."
Duncan hours pass and nobody comes to the sub-cellar, you figure its the next morning.
Faelyn takes a carriage to the safe house and sleeps the morning away.
Andrea rubs her eyes as morning comes. I can turn her invisible and we can head out the back way and get back to my place. Lucrezia, I really think you should stay here in case Alphonse comes back. Duncan needs someone to watch his back.
Upon waking, Faelyn heads into the room with Kuelata. I am interested in working together. You once worked for a powerful wizard. I need information and access to power. You need to be restored. What do you say?
Lucrezia nods at Andrea's suggestion. "Just keep her hood up on the way out. She can keep my cloak and my spare boots."
After seeing Andrea and the girl out, Lucrezia heads back to the main room too keep an eye on things.
Orsin will bunk at the safehouse for a few hours, not wanting to return to the solitude of his apartment in the early morning.
It was a long night but the fires in Duncan's belly warmed him. He wasn't worried about staying awake as fatigue finally took him. Alphonse was a fat lecherous wrench but he was also a coward. This place was for his private, sick desires. Probably no one in the tavern knew about it. But Lucrezia and Andrea did. If Alphonse came back and ran and locked Duncan in his allies would come. And so when he could stand no more he slept. He slept and dreamt of West crown. Of slaves and night beasts and young girls raped and tortured under the whims of evil men. He awoke and prayed with so much rage the next day. And he felt Ragathiel's will stronger than ever. Duncan's anger in this place of pain, we Alphonse would strip the innocence from his young toys, would be the guillotine that would end him. He shouldn't have delayed the other day. That girls suffering was on him. It would end today.
Andrea guides Leeanna out the back and through the streets of Westcrown. I'll be taking you to my place for now, and hopefully we can get you back to your family soon.
As the two of them exit onto a main street, Andrea gives out a small sigh. Just walk casual. Right now we are just two woman out and about. Andrea reassures as they head to where Andrea lives. You'll meet a wonderful lady named Fiosa who might be a bit grumpy at having to share space for a bit but she is a very forgiving person and a wonderful cook. Just be careful of leaving since I have placed a prayer on my door to protect the place from thieves.
"So...." Fluer grins and slides her arms around Tracy's waist. "Want to show me how good the room's hospitality is?" (^_^)
Again, trying to discern where Andrea and the others have gone too...
Fluer the next morning when you are down in the common room you see a human lady with a cloaked figure leaving through a back exit. Shortly thereafter you see the half-elf girl enter the common room.
Upon waking, Faelyn heads into the room with Kuelata. I am interested in working together. You once worked for a powerful wizard. I need information and access to power. You need to be restored. What do you say?
"Good morning to you to." She grins, "finally someone with good sense." She focuses her attention, "What 'Great Wizard' would you be interested that I worked for, or so you claim? feigning ignorance. "And what type of information and power?"
"You claim you will restore me...is that your offer?'
Andrea if feels like there are eyes everywhere but it could be you paranoia kicking in. You dart in and out of the various streets, alleys and shops trying to look busy. You happen to be near the morgue and thought of Nathaniel cross your mind, Haven't seen Nathaniel in while, wonder how he is doing?