Sargon tries to see if he can compare structure in the sentences.
Claudia makes an expression of unable to understand.
Though she points to each of the party, calling them by name.
Then pointing questioningly at the people....
"Ah," He realizes the slip up was his doing "I believe the word is 'oops?' Speaking of words, he tries some.
He says hello in... Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Giant, Goblin, Kelish, and Orc seeing if they understand any of those tongues. Even as he susses out what he can of their language
Sargon's studies into the Kaskkari language, assisted by Dargys's input, pays dividends, and the dragon is able to decipher much of what these three are trying to say. It is much harder to try and relate information back to these three, however, at least for the time being.
These three are, indeed, surviving citizens of ancient Kaskkari, making them undoubtedly some of the oldest living beings on Golarian.
The middle-aged man is called Hakimo. The term he uses to describe himself correlates to a station in Kaskkari culture that combines elements of a noble, judge, and soldier. The elderly woman is named Kipenzi, and she served the royalty as a court enchantress and advisor. Lastly, the girl - who gives her age, after you figure out the Kaskkari system of tracking time, as 10 years old - is named Hafsa. The others explain that Hafsa was blessed with a divine connection to the deities and spirits venerated by their people, so she was given a special station within the palace.
As Sargon and Dargys translate what Hakimo tells the party, Kipenzi casts some manner of spell.
Dargys grows cautious as the spell is cast, "Damn.. I was distracted. A spell has been cast, but I don't know what sort?"
Varr furrowed his brow, as he tried to decide whether the spellcaster was hostile or not.
Even without recognizing the spell itself, Varr deduces from the gestures and ancient vocalizations that this is not a hostile incantation. He guesses that it is some manner of utility magic meant to breach the communication barrier between your two groups.
With a little help from the rest of the party, Dargys eventually realizes - a bit after the fact - that the older woman, Kipenzi, has cast an archaic version of a spell meant to detect the thoughts of others. While you have been able to decipher the gist of their language, she likely hopes this magic will help her understand your meaning.
The child, Hafsa, looks around nervously. She tugs on Kipenzi's robes, once the enchantress has finished her spell, to get her attention. From what you can pick up of her words, she is trying to explain that one of the nature spirits in the area has become “wrong,” but it is hard for the young seer to describe.
"Seems like these living relics aren't necessarily hostile." Varr mused, out loud. "But if me gut is right, they be divining the meaning of our words, and probably our thoughts too." Looking at them, he said "That be right? Can ye understand us?" Looting a place was fine and good, but there was profit in trade. Already he was thinking of ways that they could turn this to their material benefit.
Dargys says "Ah, they are indeed seeking our thoughts. Bah. Have not been so clueless since my apprentice days." He grins and... opens his mind. Maybe images will be easier thoughts? He imagines the area they are in, what they've seen so far.
Kipenzi focuses upon Dargys for a few moments, which stretch into moments more.
Soon enough, it seems that Dargys' use of mental imagery has done the trick, for the enchantress is soon summarizing what she sees to her kinsmen in their ancient language. With help from Sargon, you then translate her words and confirm that she can understand your thoughts.
After confirming where you have been, Kipenzi explains that in the chamber beyond this one sits a worship hall for the lay staff of the palace - servants, soldiers, lesser nobles, and the like. Further still, past something she describes as a "spectral door," awaits an inner sanctum, a holy of holies, where only the priesthood and high nobility were allowed. Protected inside are heirloom statues of the Kaskkari pantheon.
Kipenzi chuckles, explaining that she finds it quite humorous that one of the previous rooms that you skipped over is something called the "Minting Chamber." In this room was stored the tools and materials the ruling class of their day used to mint new coinage as part of an ongoing effort to reverse the "dark age" that had fallen upon their land and people.
Dargys grins triumphantly, and is glad to use Sargon as a go between for what he hopes will become a pleasant chat. He wants to know everything that they are willing to share. "Amazing. A whole different pantheon? And this minting chamber, yes, ironic we skipped where the money is."
Hakimo attempts to explain the minting chamber. Based upon what you can gather through translation, it contained many bars of precious metal: gold, silver, copper, and bronze. It also stored presses and dies, used to stamp coins from these metal bars.
The smug smile vanishes from the nobleman's face when Kipenzi also warns you about a curse on the room. The mosaics on the walls of that room are enchanted, creating an effect on the minting room that causes all precious metals taken out of the room to be transformed into something less valuable - gold into silver, silver into copper, etc. Even modern coins in your purses will be thus transmuted.
This curse is a safeguard against thieves trying to make off with the trade bars, as only metals that are minted in the presses will be unaffected. The enchantress mentions that there are ways to temporarily disable the curse, though.
.....
When you are ready to move on, your new, ancient friends guide you down the snaking corridor westward. The briefly comment on how you've already opened the barriers, pointing to another door that has sunken into a recess in the floor. Kipenzi and Hafsa seem impressed, while Hakimo makes a noise that sounds like a scoff; you suspect that he believes it was merely luck on your part.
The walls of this room are covered with mosaics of strange beings with human bodies and animal heads. The room appears to be empty, save for thick dust on the floor, and a door in the southwest wall.
The seer child, Hafsa, begins to shiver. She clearly doesn't want to get any closer to the door on the opposite side of the room.
Claudia takes in the strange interior of this last chamber.
"Well, putting a curse on your treasury, a pretty good measure.
How many would be thieves would have been disappointed by now, you'd wonder."
But with Hafsa trapped in anxiety, she steps over to the girl, and places a hand on her shoulder. When the girl looks up, she will kneel to the child's level of eyesight.
"I know you can't understand me, but we will protect you.", she takes the girl's hand as she speaks to her, hoping her intent somehow does come across.
Dargys listens to this as best he can, and nods. "I would love to hear more in detail about how to remove the curse when we can. It's brillaint really."
As they get to the next chamber and the child shivers at the door, he looks to the others questioningly "I believe the girl doesn't fear that without reason?"
The child, heartened by Claudia's handhold, explains in ancient Kaskkari - doing her best to describe the situation with her youthfully limited vocabulary - that an angry, hungry nature spirit lurks in the sanctum beyond the next door. She describes it as "sick."
This brings to mind all the warnings that the surrounding forest and its creatures have been delivering to you about "Cho-Oda."
Kipenzi reminds you that the door is just an illusion, but a very powerful one. Your mind will need to overcome the spell to get past it.
"Wish me luck" The wizard says and pits his will against the illusion, armed by Kipenzi's truth.
He sighs "I am not strong willed today."
Although Dargys has difficulty with the illusion, when the party puts its efforts together, at least one of you defeats the spell. To Dargys' eyes, they seem to open the door, only for it to vanish and reveal the passageway behind, leading southwards to the inner sanctum.
The floor of this room is paved in smooth marble. On one side of the room are five statues of different heights. The largest is carved from stone, the next largest is wood, the next largest is made of clay, the next is bronze, and the smallest is of some dark, volcanic rock. A skeleton dressed in ornate robes lies prostrate before the smallest statue, which has gemstone eyes and is studded with smaller precious stones.
As you enter the chamber, a thunderous, horridly bubbling voice calls out to you. However, the way it echoes through the room makes it hard to determine from whence it comes.
“I am Cho-Oda, protector of the forest; begone from my presence, mortal vermin, carriers of plague and madness. You have cursed me, and I shall take my revenge upon you and all your filthy kind.”
The voice, even though it is thunderous, sounds vaguely hesitant about what it is saying.
The half orc gives a glance to their resident druidess
Dragons being able to live over millennia, Sargon speaks up.
"Greetings, elder spirit Cho-Oda. I am a dragon, not simply a short lived mortal.", he looks apologetically at the team,
"A great many years have passed, since the last mortal you've met was here. Those who have cursed you, as you say, would be but ashes and dust since times long passed. Would you know of a way to lift your curse, to release you of your current grim fate?"
As Sargon speaks, you look among the statues, trying to find one that might be the source of Cho-Oda's voice.
A shuddering movement draws your attention to the fifth statue. Carved from stone, this statue is 8 ft. tall, representing a four-armed human figure with the head of a gazelle. The figure is seated, holding a bolt of lightning in one hand, what appears to be a cloud in one hand, and a large, ornate black basin in its lap, supported by the other two hands. The basin appears to be a different substance than the rest of the statue.
A black, amorphous blob rises from the basin. The quivering mound of midnight sludge glistens darkly as it emerges and pours out onto the floor. It's hard to discern exactly how large this thing truly is, but it looks large enough to envelop an entire horse.
The booming voice issues forth again, more clearly emanating from this sludge. However, its words are now harder to understand. It sounds as though the spirit's voice simultaneously begs for help while also promising a new generation of blight.
"Can any of you remove curse or remove a disease with magic? That might revert him from this... black pudding situation he is in. It's like a sucking acid..thing."
"Alas, i don't know any magics potent as that."
Claudia remains cautious, now having her bow at the ready just in case.
"maybe we can find a container for it... until we can find someone who can?"
"Aye...but it has sat here all this time, aye? I think that we've found enough loot to carry back for the day. We can bring back what we've found thus far, have it safely put away, and come back with a scroll that we can purchase from today's findings. It seems to be the most economical way of handling this situation."
"Ah, boring, but practical and right" A chuckle
Mia is startled from her stupor at the shout, and at Dargys' words she quietly pulls out a flask of viscous brown liquid.
I have a remedy here that can remove disease. If we desire.
"Well, that is wonderful! Please, use the remedy on the pudding!" The wizard looks intrigued and delighted.
The immense black pudding rears up and lunges forward. It spreads its form out, aiming to engulf and swallow Mia - but she instead hurls her poultice flask into its "mouth." The flask quickly dissolves under the ooze's acidic touch, releasing the magic essence into its amorphous body.
It shudders and convulses wildly as Mia's magic begins to purge centuries of corruption from the spirit. Finally, it collapses upon the tiled floor and spreads out like a mere puddle. For a few moments it remains inert, but then it begins to rise again.
This time, however, its form lightens and it takes a defined shape. The spirit grows into the form of a translucent gazelle. It stares impassively at you for the span of a few breaths before it leaps upward, passing through the stone of the palace like a ghost, returning to the forest.
The enchantress among your new Kaskkari friends mutters something in their language, and you suspect it's along the lines of "Cho-Oda has been healed."
"Good. Day is saved! our hero accreditation renewed." Despite his flippant tone, the half orc is truly touched by the restoration.
Sargon seems puzzled, tapping his chin with a claw.
"Curious. An ancient condition cured, just like that? I would have expected some more drastic conditions to have been met to accomplish that."
"It is cured, what is important.", Claudia casually adds.
"Anyway, does this mean this place is restored? With its guardian spirit now being a deer, instead of a slime."
"More importantly, what about our loot?" The dwarf asked. "We'd best get out of here with what we can carry before any defenses wake up."
Mia smiles as the spirit hops away.
Well, hopefully, this time, it truly was that easy. She says in reply to Sargon.
And perhaps. I'm sure I could find out the answer if I spent enough time here, but I think that would take far longer than any of you would like. And yes, perhaps it would be best to take what we have found, and the leave rest in peace.
Within the inner sanctum where you confronted Cho-Oda, the statues of the Kaskkari pantheon - constructed from a variety of materials - might be valuable to historians or collectors, but your revived Kaskkari friends ask that you leave the statues be. After some discussion, however, Kipenzi and Hafsa direct you towards the statue made from black volcanic rock.
This statue depicts an sinister-looking human-like creature with six arms with a tusked mouth. It is carved to hold a skeleton in two of its arms, a corpse in two of its arms, and its last two hands are empty. The Kaskkari survivors explain that this represents Ojala, a god of disease and famine.
It has gemstone eyes and is studded with smaller precious stones, and the Kaskkari allow you to remove these stones from the statue.
The Kaskkari also allow you to claim the contents of the armory, and they lead you to the minting chamber, showing you how to safely access its contents without triggering the safeguard enchantment upon the chamber.
In the center of this minting chamber is a large, gear-driven press with long bars all around it for people to push to turn the gears. Along the side walls, bars of bronze, copper, silver, and gold are arranged in piles. Mosaics on the walls just inside the entrance depict a soldier with shield, helmet, and spear at attention on either side.
"Amazing... this is all real history here"
Varr looked over the chamber with watering eyes. "It is so beautiful. Just...look at it. Look at it all! This will set us up, it will. Aye. I know some buyers for this..." A contented smile on his face he began taking inventory of what they found. "We get whatever is magical out now, and we come back with enough cheap labor to carry the rest. Oh, Torag be praised..."
You gather up what you can from the ancient mint, whilst the surviving Kaskkari collect their belongings from the wooden chests in the stasis chamber where you revived them. They lead you to a secret escape route in the sanctum, which provides a quick exit from the lower levels of the palace.
Emerging back out into the Sogg, you find the surrounding swamps and woodlands to feel more serene - the air tastes fresher, and the birdsong is brighter. Now that you have restored Cho-Oda, the nature spirit has quickly set about likewise restoring his domain in the Sogg. This makes the trek northward back towards Haven a less harrowing experience than your original journey to the old ruins.
Once you cross the mighty river again, the people of Haven hail you as returning heroes. They are excited to see the treasures you have brought back, and they are bewildered to learn that the newcomers following you are actual, surviving Kaskkari. There will be some serious culture shock the ancient trio will need your help to face, but their help in understanding the small details and secrets of this land will prove invaluable in the coming years.
In the next few days, your scouts report seeing sails on the distant horizon, indicating that Keleshite ships will be arriving within the next week. Their broad hulls have the look of merchant vessels, so you will soon have the opportunity to spend your newfound wealth and procure the supplies you'll need to get Haven through the coming winter and the first few seasons beyond.
You have triumphed over the hazards, both natural and magical, found in the wide open expanse of the Castrovin coast. The settlement you have founded will survive and provide a home for humans, orcs, hobgoblins, dwarves, and other outcasts and dreamers looking for a second chance beyond Avistan.
Sargon continues his studies as he had before joining the adventurers.
His bond with Claudia lasted for many years to come. To the point where he'd be called 'great uncle Sargon', by her grandchildren.
He grew more even, as this bond lasted.
In the end, he became a pillar of protection to the settlement. Its own guardian dragon.
Claudia settled down in Haven. Like her mother trained her before, she took up duties as a training instructor for militia and town watch. Not the sole one, of course, but one respected.
She'd eventually bring over her mother, for her too to settle down
Claudia would still regularly go on adventures with the others, and she and Sargon would enjoy each other's company until old age would bring her passing. She married and had two kids. It may have been a joke she started, but she taught her kids to address Sargon as 'uncle Sargon'.
The pseudodragon she had around the house was a third kid to her, and it too enjoyed a home with people caring for it.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Every quirky settlement needs a resident wizard, preferably an eccentric one. Dargys fit the bill and makes the most of it. Using architectural techniques from Kaskkari ruins, over time he assembles a truly amazing tower complete with a honeycomb like pattern along the top walls ablaze with continual light spells.
This tower , perhaps fittingly, remains between "Little Orc Town" and what turns out to be a slowly growing educational neighborhood. Respecting his druidic allies, Dargys pushes for green belts and a park like atmosphere in many areas mixed with that architecture. He takes a wife, and has a few kids.
He gets an apprentice, of course, more than one, though rarely more than two at a time. His apprentices are often half orcs, but he takes all kinds if they have his a genuinely decent nature, a keen intellect, a love of evocation, and a sense of humor. The arcane college he dreamed of building takes allies, and time. Too much time. Half orcs age quickly after all.
Decades later, In the dimming twilight of his of life, the aged half orc would have the proudest moment of his life. The Official Opening of the Hungerflame Academy.. or as some locals referred to it "The Boomatorium".
Never one to be accepted in his own home, Varr found a new one in Haven. Settling into the role of a merchant, he gladly moved goods from Heaven to his birthplace of Stoneriver. A tidy profit was made bringing Dwarven made goods to market and bringing back foodstuffs and materials unavailable to the reclusive dwarves.
Life in Haven was not exactly exciting, for life is rarely one big adventure. But there was always plenty to do, with new people to meet and old friends to run into. In this, he was happy. Be it tagging along with Claudia in seeking small adventures to go on, bringing rare elixirs and materials to Dagrys’ tower, or sneaking food to Sargon, the dwarf was pleased with both home and company.
Some people found extreme wealth in life. Others, unimaginable power. A few adventurers would even save the world from evil queens or long dead runelords. Some even fought the world wound and gained mythical powers. But Varr? He found contentment and happiness, along with a life of peace. And in that, he was truly fortunate.