As Mouse struggles up the rope, the floor suddenly rises to meet her. That alone would have been confusing enough - rising back into the seugathi influence is too much, and again her eyes begin to dart confusedly around the chaotic scene.
No Yaz. Those eggs belong here! Kynes moves at her, intent on retrieving eggs, and unleashes his scarf.
Garvid appears poised to slaughter another worm, but inexplicably punches himself. Mouse takes hold of Trinia’s rope and begins to haul herself, burned but determined, out of the pit. Li flees south, back down the Half Light Path.
Talfryn draws upon the tunnel’s shadows to conjure a fiery simulacrum whose flames consume both worms. One seems to fare far worse than the other.
Crawling from the pit, Yazi barks out a command and ushers the spirits to guide Garvid’s blade. Kynes summarily lashes her for her efforts.
The seugathi focus their attacks on the most dangerous threat, using their wands to pellet Garvid with magic missiles .
Trinia’s eyes grow wide and vacant. Without explanation, she releases the rope on which Mouse hangs. She steps closer to Garvid, drawing her dagger as she turns. Igniting the blade with an arcane spark, she stabs him in the back!
__________________________
Garvid:
Kynes: mind fog (-10 Will saves)
Li:
Mouse:
Talfryn:
Trinia: 48 NL; mind fog (-10 Will saves)
Yazi:
pass
fail
pass → ⅕ dmg
fail → full dmg → 39
pass → ½ x ⅕ dmg → 4
Briefly, Kynes realizes this is all wrong, and he attempts to narrow his thoughts against the haze threatening to descend again. Alas, Kynes intellect and training cannot match this cracked version of reality.
Kynes wrenches his boydy violently as the cloud of confusion once again descends. Yaz points finger, but its not really Yaz is it? There is only one way to be sure. He roars terrifyingly.
The barrage of missiles seems to be taking a toll to Garvid, as he shakes his head, blood trickling from his nose and ears. The voice of Yazi echoing in his head, he tries instinctively to shake it aside, but there's little that stops Yazi's words. For the first time, his mind is clear. Ignoring Trinia's attack, he spits out a glob of blood.
Seeing the beast's hide charred by Talfryn's shadows, the bloodied mouth of Garvid snarls as he steps onto the first seugathi's mangled body. "Out of tricks, aren't you?", he hisses to the monster, as he reaches to grab its fanged jaw, bringing it down to bear unto the halberd's tip.
Knowledge (arcana) +18
Knowledge (geography) +12
Knowledge (history) +17
Knowledge (local) +17
Knowledge (nature) +13
Knowledge (nobility) +15
Knowledge (planes) +16
Knowledge (religion) +18
As Mouse struggles up the rope, it suddenly goes slack, and she tries desperately to grab hold of the remarkably smooth wall flying past her. But Talfryn's spellwork is too skillful - her fingertips can't gain any purchase, and she lands back in the acid with a soft plop, although she manages to push off the wall at the last moment and absorb some of the pain of the fall into a roll. She attempts to scale the stones again, but her fingers can gain no purchase and she doesn't even leave the ground.
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It was difficult to tell which of her companions were under the influence of the monstrous creatures, what with everyone turning on everyone else. Gritting her teeth against Kynes's attack, she turns on him. "Take a nap, you idiot."
Arghh don't....hurrrt....thuuuh eeeeeeggggs Kynes slumps mercifully to the ground.
The area closest to the monsters is filled with madness; twirling scarves, daggers flashing, friends turning upon friends.
Eager to remove himself from the fray, Taflryn backs down the corridor, all the while ransacking his mind for a means to help turn the tide against the seugathis.
Even as he tries to think of a more effective means, he can't help but notice how his fireball hurt one of the monsters; perhaps another could help.
The oppressive and desperate feeling of fear begins to lift from Li's mind. She realizes that there are no sounds of pursuit as there were in her dream. Her steps begin to slow as reason returns.
She spins on her heel and takes off back in the direction of the others. She had left them in the midst of trouble. How could she have been so weak? Zellara had to have been wrong, Ya ain't no beast, ya be a chicken
As the sounds of the fight get louder, Li slows her approach so that she can do so quietly.
Li’s footsteps echo from behind, almost imperceptibly, as she runs back toward the fray.
Gritting her teeth against Kynes's attack, Yazi turns on him. "Take a nap, you idiot." Kynes’s eyes roll up in his head and he slumps mercifully to the ground.
Garvid breaks free from the compulsion, forcing a seugathi’s head onto the blade of his weapon. It’s antennae and front arms tremble uselessly as it collapses.
Mouse crashes back into the acid pool. She attempts to scale the stones again, but her fingers can gain no purchase and she doesn't even leave the ground.
Talfryn hurls another fiery orb of shadowstuff behind the last seugathi. It appears to have learned the wizard’s tricks, and resists most of the damage.
The last seugathi backs away from Garvid’s deadly blade. It focuses its oculi on him in a final, desperate attempt at domination.
Trinia glares at Garvid as he moves away and grunts in exasperation. She uses her free hand to gesture as she utters a command word. A cloud of golden particles roils around him, coating him completely in a golden luminescence.
__________________________
Garvid:
Kynes: mind fog (-10 Will saves), slumber
Li:
Mouse:
Talfryn:
Trinia: 48 NL; mind fog (-10 Will saves)
Yazi:
pass - ⅕ dmg
fail → full dmg → 6 dmg
Gamely, Mouse again attempts to scale the pit walls - and once again, the attempt is punctuated with a scream as she splashes once again into the acid seething in the pit.
The seugathi's maddening emanation does little to stop Garvid's relentless onslaught. Waving his hand to throw away Trinia's glitterdust, he slowly removes the seugathi's head from his halberd. Casting aside the corpse, there's little emotion in his face as he menacingly steps towards. Without a word, he lifts the axe blade in the air, and brings it down onto its head.
Mouse was having trouble down there! Snatching Kynes's scarf from his now limp fingers, Yaziyah throws it into the pit for the half-elf to grab. "Someone help me get her out of there! I can't hoist her out on my own!"
Kynes wrinkles his nose but does not move otherwise.
As Mouse stares desperately toward the top of the pit, she sees a scarf float over the pit's edge - but it dangles uselessly, too far away to provide Mouse the lifeline she needs. "Somethin' longer!" she calls out, searching desperately for the rope Trinia had dropped.
Seeing Garvid savage the remaining foe, Talfryn focuses on the pit, and allows the spell to evaporate from this realm, bringing Mouse back up to the tunnel floor.
As Mouse panics, she suddenly feels the floor rushing up beneath her as the acid soaks into the dirt of the floor and disappears. Despite the confusion of the situation, she keeps her head and rushes toward the remaining creature, unleashing a barrage of blows.
Garvid stalks forward, slamming the blade of his halberd into the seugathi’s head. As Talfryn dismisses his acid pit, Yazi kneels down to help Mouse crawl up from vestige of the bubbling pool. She keeps her head and immediately rushes toward the remaining creature, unleashing a barrage of blows. Her fourth strike, a vicious uppercut, removes what is left of the creature’s head and sends it slamming into the tunnel wall with a disgusting splatter.
Mwk shortsword x3
wand of magic missile ( charges)
wand of magic missile ( charges)
wand of magic missile ( charges)
Abra and the Grumms soon regain their faculties. Abra argues vehemently against exploring the tunnel, citing the need to reach the end of the Halflight Path and warn the rest of the Duskwardens so that the tunnel can be closed and a full team can be sent to investigate it. The Grumms beg you to accompany them to the surface immediately.
Breathing heavily, Garvid slides away the muck and gore from his face with disdain. "That was a whole mess.", he spits out. "You deal with that sort of horror daily?", he raises an eyebrow at Abra, as he casts a glance at his friends, the aftermath of the seugathi's mental assault thrice as awful as their physical abilities. I'm half convinced these days I'd much rather face an army than the things we do.
As Abra warns against exploring the tunnel, an idea that hadn't even appeared in Garvid's mind, his frown breaks into a deep laughter. "And here I was about to go playing in there. We're crazy, Abra, we're not suicidal." Tilting his head at the Grumms, he frowns. "Get a damn hold of yourself! We're already halfway there, the Duskwardens need to get up to town, and sure as an owlbear s&@$ting in the woods, we're not turning back. We've made it so far, we'll keep you safe the rest of the way."
ZZZZZZZZZZZZ
As the seugathi falls to the ground, so does Mouse, breathing heavily and trying to move as little as possible to avoid disturbing the acid burns that cover every inch of bare skin. And it's significantly more skin than she would have liked - the acid has even started to eat away at the edges of her clothing, although her magical shawl and boots remain intact. "Garvid's got th' right 'f it," she adds from the floor, adjusting her shawl to make sure everything stays covered. "Mebbe if we was by ourselves we'd go lookin' into wha's back there, but we ain't leavin' you t' whatever else migh' burst out o' nowhere. We got any magic way t' keep it stopped up for a while, keep anything else from comin' out o' there?" she asks, looking to Talfryn and Yazi.
Li arrives back with the others just in time to see Garvid and Mouse finish off the last creature. Unsure if everyone was back in their right mind, Li continues to observe the others from the shadows, unwilling to make herself known until she was sure of everyone.
She readies her crossbow and waits from where she hides in the darkness.
Yaziyah climbs to her feet awkwardly, still keeping hold of Kynes's scarf. She hobbles over to Garvid to clasp a hand on his arm. "Well done." She reaches for Mouse as well, but then stops at the sight of her burns. "You did well, too. Here, let me see to those."
She then turns to glare at Kynes and Talfryn, opening her mouth to no doubt deliver a scathing critique of their behaviour, but Mouse's question brings her up short. "There might be a way, a spell that I've heard of... it would create a wall of stone, which may hold things back for a little while. I'm... not exactly sure how to cast it though. So I can do the next best thing."
Gesturing, she starts an incantation and a barrier of tough brambles with finger-long thorns begins to emerge from the floor of the tunnel and expand across the breach, engulfing it completely.
"This won't last very long, but it may deter anything looking to crawl out of there and come after us." She then turns to the rest of the group, clapping her hands. "Alright, on your feet, let's move!"
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"You deal with that sort of horror daily?"
”They ain’t usually that big…” Abra rubs his head, wincing. ”And if there’s a breach, we send a band. It were lucky we had you lot with us. I knew you’d handle yourselves!”
Abra nudges Kynes with his knee to rouse him while Yazi conjures a wall of brambles to block the tunnel.
---------------------------------------
The Half light Path terminates in a stone bunker just outside the city walls, near the district called the Warren. Upon your arrival, Abra immediately informs the other Duskwardens of the encounter with the seugathis, then recovers your half light charms. Grumm and his sons, now adding anger to their terror, take off for the city at a run, shouting insults over their shoulder regarding the Duskwardens’ competence.
Before you can leave, however, Abra takes you aside and thanks you again for your assistance in fighting the seugathis, praising your skills. To Garvid he hands a greater half light charm, instructing him in its use.
He also notes that you would be well served to find a local guide in the Gap, and if you should ever need him during your stay in the city, you can contact him either here or at the Duskwarden Guildhouse in Bis. With this small speech finished, he turns and disappears back down the Half light Path.
From the exit of the Half light Path, the most obvious entrance to Kaer Maga is through the Gap, a massive break in the ring of Kaer Maga’s walls where, it appears, some ancient explosion must have torn away thousands of pounds of stone. This carnage has been mostly filled in by the district called the Warren, a many-storied shantytown of rickety scaffolding and makeshift shacks, yet a wide corridor still runs through the center and plays host to a constant stream of traffic in and out of the city.
The Gap is also the best place in the city to find local guides. As soon as you enter the Gap, you’re swarmed by mobs of local children offering themselves as guides (and doing their best to quietly pick your pockets while you’re distracted.). One, however, immediately distinguishes himself by locking eyes with Mouse and hailing you as adventurers. Perhaps 16 years old, the boy is skinny and wears ragged clothes, yet carries himself with a confidence his compatriots recognize, getting out of his way and leaving you to him. ”Well met! I’m Gav, Gav Nahli, the best guide in the city! I wish to congratulate you on having the perspicacity to engage my services for the laughably low price of 5 gold coins per day.” He bows, then takes his place walking beside Mouse.
”Those who pass through the madness of the Warren quickly realize the true strangeness of our great city. Rather than being bordered externally by stout defensive walls, most of Kaer Maga lies literally inside its walls.” He gestures to the enormous outcropping of gleaming, white stone extending straight up from the cliff ’s edge, its 80-foot-high walls forming a seamless, six-sided ring and its squared-off skyline broken only by a cluster of towers and minarets at the south end. ”Hundreds of feet thick, the walls are mostly hollow, riddled through with chambers large and small and housing most of the city’s population. In places the chambers are large enough that structures rise up the sides or stand free like those of a conventional city, while in others its interior is split into distinct floors, with entire neighborhoods stacked one on top of each other. These areas are collectively known as the Ring and are generally avoided by outside merchant caravans, which instead move swiftly into the bustling open-air commercial districts, the Core.”
”The Core is the only part of the city to receive natural light and is the source of our water, the Core is safest, considered neutral ground by most of the gangs. I you’ve ready coin and strong stomachs, you’ll find anything your hearts desire, from obscure magical items and exotic pleasures to occult knowledge and even human chattel.”
”I can help you find anything you need. For magic trinkets, The Wheel Unbroken is good for custom work, but if you want cheap, it’s Gadka down at the corner of Fever Street and Half-a-Chicken Walk. If you’re looking for brothels, well you have the luxury of choice. If you want them cold, it’s the White Lady up in Ankar-Te—there’s some things you just can’t do with a live boy or girl, neh?”
"Well met, Gav. Five gold coins... is that five sails?" Yaziyah shows the boy the Korvosan gold coin between two of her fingers, while her other hand is closely guarding her purse. "If so, that is rather a steep price for a day's work, but if your information is good you will not find us stingy. Tell me, this "Wheel Unbroken", do they also purchase items?"
The blood drains from her face as their guide rattles off the last bit. If she wasn't mistaking his meaning - and she was fairly certain that she was not - he was speaking of a... a place where people could desecrate the dead in carnal acts. An abomination in the eyes of Pharasma and those of the spirits of her tribe! Still, if this place truly did have everything...
"We are not looking for brothels, but what of places of worship? Especially those of deities less... popular in places like Korvosa or Magnimar."
Li feels oddly comforted being back inside a city even if it wasn't Korvosa. She snags Lord Talfryn's coin purse back from a local girl who wasn't much older than she had been when she started as one of Lamm's Lambs. She shakes her head and gives the girl a warning look before replacing the wizard's coin purse without him being the wiser. Seeing herself in the girl, Li presses two gold coins into the girl's hand before she changed her mind. "Be keepin' yerself outta trouble fer awhile."
She listens to their would-be guide share information about his city as she takes in her surroundings. She knows that she'll probably be needing supplies for the next leg of their journey but as someone who has never spent time in the wilderness, she has no idea what those items may be.
Lord Talfryn drinks it all in, clearly delighted to be visiting such a wondrous locale. He walks, hands linked behind his back, not caring for the throngs of urchins that surround him, gazing up at the Gap and its attendant Warren with fascination.
"Long have I yearned to visit this place! And to finally be here, so far from my old home, to visit it in the flesh instead of merely the imagination - ah! Such wonders, such horrors! Be wary, good friends! This place is a veritable rogue's gallery, yet also a model for true democracy, for herein all may reside, whether civilized or not. Kaer Maga! I wonder what adventures shall befall us as we pass through!"
Curious about some element of the architecture, he rises up into the air, hands yet linked behind his back, to study the carvings up close, and from there on out remains hovering a good couple of yards above the road, enjoying the view and not having to walk upon the filthy cobbles.
If only I'd'a been so bold, Mouse thinks with a half-smile as Gav steps in beside her. For a while, she lets him rattle off his knowledge of the city - but it's all she can do to keep from choking as he mentions the White Lady. You're tellin' me they let - they let - I guess this really i'n't Korvosa no more...
Still, he was forthcoming with information. She's not so naive as to reach into the magic bag she'd retrieved from the Arkona mansion for her coin - I'd pro'ly win' up shoulder deep in 't jus' tryin' t' find anythin' anyway. As she walks, though, she unfastens the silvered gauntlet from her fist and discreetly flashes it to Gav. "A good inn's what I'd like t' see'," she adds. "As good as the city's got. An' if I was t' sen' ya after a couple o' thin's for me, y' think y' could find 'em? Y' bring those t' hand, y'll have somethin' else t' your hand."
The pickpocket is surprised to see her own trick so well countered, but as Li presses the coins into her hand she grins mischievously and disappears into the crowd.
"Well met, Gav. Five gold coins... is that five sails? If so, that is rather a steep price for a day's work, but if your information is good you will not find us stingy. Tell me, this "Wheel Unbroken", do they also purchase items?"
”Five Korvosa Sails, yes Madam. Gold is gold, whatever picture is stamped onto it, neh? But you aren’t like to find better help in all the city. That's the guildhall of the Arcanists' Circle, in Tarheel Promenade. The scholars meet to share expensive equipment. The first floor of their establishment sells enough mass-produced charms and potions to fund whatever research its members carry on upstairs.” Gav shrugs. ”Wizards. What’s more, those seeking unique or untested magical items can often commission them directly from the Circle, provided you can offer enough sails to draw the members away from their individual research. And yes, they do purchase items, especially those of a magic nature.”
"We are not looking for brothels, but what of places of worship? Especially those of deities less... popular in places like Korvosa or Magnimar."
”Pilgrims! Well, each gets their jollies in their own way. Religion here is as varied as our populace. For every god big enough to warrant a temple, half a dozen are quietly recognized within individual homes, entreated with prayers or served their meager offerings of spice or blood. From the enigmatic child-goddess of Ankar-Te to the myriad deities of the Impossible Kingdoms and the heroic ancestor spirits of the frozen north, Kaer Maga is open to all sects and cults willing to live and let live. Did you have one in mind?" He considers Yazi’s tattoos. "The Godsmouth Ossuary of Pharasma is located in the Bottoms."
"A good inn's what I'd like t' see. As good as the city's got.
”’N here is where your investment in Gav rewards you, for most guides would send you to the Sorry Excuse. But what you’d find there is a rat hole, with actual rats. The poshest inn is the Canary House in Hospice, run by Alaeh A’kaan.”
An' if I was t' sen' ya after a couple o' thin's for me, y' think y' could find 'em? Y' bring those t' hand, y'll have somethin' else t' your hand."
”My lady. I am bound to your service.”
It strikes Talfryn that one of the most beautiful structures he has ever seen rises from the tangled and filthy mass of the Warren, but such is indisputably the case. Here, in a small circular clearing that extends all the way up to the sky, stand two twin crescents of an unknown black metal, rising from the hard-packed earth thirty feet apart and curving together until their points almost touch, twenty feet in the air. Covering both are exquisite raised designs that seem more grown than carved, their edges liquid-smooth and reflecting less light than they ought to. The pictures inscribed on the sides never seem to repeat, and clearly represent stars and the swirls of nebulae and galaxies, though upon inspection he would find that the sky depicted is not visible from Kaer Maga—and perhaps not from Golarion at all. The pillars are not identical; where the northernmost blade bears a sun as its largest design, its rays seeming to shelter the nearby stars, the patterns of the southern blade fade away toward the bottom, apparently absorbed by an ominous blank patch. Perhaps most unnerving about the pillars is the fact that the blank patch appears to be slowly growing, but at second glance it returns to its former size.
Both pillars emit a subtle hum.
Gav notes Talfryn’s interest. ”Ah, the Pillars of Dream. Numerous theories on the pillars hold sway in the city: the pillars are the horns of a great helmet, the crown of a warrior as tall as the Storval Rise itself. Or they’re the sails of a strange vessel propelled by starlight in ages when our cliff was still a coastline. Or else the pillars are somehow related to the catastrophe that broke the city walls. Yet the one thing everyone knows for truth is the quality that gives the pillars their name—anyone passing between them falls instantly asleep and is subjected to all manner of strange and colorful dreams, details of which can never be remembered afterward. Since the pillars also seem to negate any need for food or water on the sleeper’s part, only the district’s most paranoid members worry about potential side effects, and children, drunks, and ne’erdo-wells are regularly found unconscious here, sleeping contentedly until more practical locals shove them out of the affected area with brooms and long sticks.”
"Canary House'll soun's like it'll work for me. Point th' way. An' firs' thing I'll 'ave y' do for me is look for somethin'." Mouse considers for several moments. She knew it'd been fabulous wealth they'd drawn from the Arkona mansion...but split six ways, was it enough? All she knew was, she was never going to feel as useless as she had against the creatures on the Dusklight Path again. "Miss Yazi...there's magic as can make y' fly, like Lord Talfryn righ' now. An' I know y' can make things magic, like my boots an' shawl is. Is there a way y' can enchant a thing t' wear t' make y' fly? It ain't gotta be all the time, jus' enough t' get outta scrapes if I gotta. Bottles o' potion'd work too, I s'pose, but is there somethin' I c'n keep wit' me all o' the time?"
Even if the boy was spinning nothing but fanciful tales, such persistence and creativity should be rewarded, Yaziyah felt. Tossing the gold sail to Gav, she asks. "Is there a temple or shrine to Zon-Kuthon?"
At Mouse's questions, she frowns in thought. "I know nothing of enchanting, my dear, Lord Talfryn is who you want for that topic. But there are many ways to fly." She casts about until she spots a fallen feather from one of the birds circling above Kaer Maga. Picking it up, she smooths it and then blows gently on it. As she does, she rises into the air, her body turning to be parallel to the ground, her arms opening as if in flight. "One way is to make use of the innate abilities of flighted creatures, like so." She makes a few lazy circles around the group, banking on one side. "Another is to commune with spirits of the air, or to grow wings yourself." She alights on the cobblestones, rolling her shoulders. "Whatever enchanted items you seek, they will need to have one of those properties." She eyes Gav. "Perhaps we should make use of the information offered to us and pay a visit to this Unbroken Wheel."
Clasping the Deepwarden's hand with a firm grip, Garvid takes the offered pendant, hanging it around his neck. "Don't worry about it. Should've warned you about our rotten luck, too.", he gives the man a dry grin, before seeing the brambles and roots rise at Yazi's beck and call, blocking the passage. "You stay safe now."
In Kaer Maga, Garvid stares up at the seemingly endless cavern with a mixture of displeasure and interest. Never really understood how they do things here. Then again, they don't understand Korvosa either. The city guide, however, dispells a little of his anxiety with a time-tested pitch for money. The offer of the brothels has Garvid muttering, "Damn mainlanders." under his breath, shaking his head in amused disbelief. Mostly staring at Gav's mouth and fingers, he looks up as Talfryn begins floating in the air, the man's overt curiousity unable to contain him on the ground. The local said gangs and the sort going around the Ring. Flying's either going to attract them or make them avoid us. Either might save me some time.
"I agree.", Garvid nods at Yazi. "Whatever's coming, we oughta be prepared."
Mouse watches in wonder as Yazi floats into the air, as gracefully and nonchalantly as Talfryn had. An' tha's why I wanna get somethin' magicked like that, she wonders to herself, only slightly jealously. "Sure," she answers the older woman, "we c'n go after it. Gav c'n ask 'round 'n see if there's anythin' else o' the like as can be foun' too, righ'?"
"Is there a temple or shrine to Zon-Kuthon?"
”There’s a shrine to everything, Madam. Somewhere.” Gav considers, rubbing his half-beard. ”Zon-Kuthon is a peculiar one. There’s not a dedicated temple, but then again, some of our ‘temples’ are little more than glorified residences housing a few faithful worshipers and a modest shrine. Kaer Magans aren’t afraid of the darker gods. Asmodeus is one of the most popular, next to Abadar. And for those gods without a devoted congregation there’s always the Street of Little Gods. There you’ll find all manner of shrines and proselytizers, many for deities you’ve never even heard of--including, I’d wager, the Midnight Lord.”
”Gav c'n ask 'round 'n see if there's anythin' else o' the like as can be foun' too, righ'?"
”Gav shall not fail you. I will direct you first to the Arcanists’ Circle’s Wheel Unbroken, and to the Therassic Spire, our glorious library. No doubt your journey has been long, and so we will visit upon the Canary House to taste the delights on offer by Alaeh.”
”The Arcanists’ Circle is an elite group of wizards and sorcerers who band together in support of a common idea: that shared knowledge benefits all involved. Within their guildhall here in Tarheel Promenade, a multistory affair dubbed the Wheel Unbroken, the scholars meet to debate, compare notes, and share expensive equipment. The results are twofold: in addition to vastly accelerating their individual research projects, this approach has made them a formidable mercantile power. By sharing duties and workspaces, the wizards have been able to streamline and standardize many time-consuming aspects of item creation, and the first floor of their establishment sells enough of these mass-produced charms and potions to fund whatever research its members can imagine. What’s more, the vast amounts of experience represented by the guild as a whole means that those seeking unique or untested magical items can often commission them directly from the Circle, provided the would-be customer can offer enough cash to draw the members away from their individual research.”
”Though all members meet at the guildhall to resolve problems or confirm new members, and though they may also make use of the assorted group-owned equipment and texts found in the shared libraries and laboratories upstairs, for the most part the members of the Arcanists’ Circle maintain their own residences elsewhere, some not necessarily within the city walls. The day-to-day business of potion-making and staffing the storefront is delegated to the members’ apprentices, often young but sometimes respectable magic users in their own right, hoping to earn their entry into the guild. While not expressly limited to arcane spellcasters, membership in the guild tends not to favor clerics or mystic theurges, as each member’s first priority, after themselves, of course, must be the advancement of the guild, something few church hierarchies are willing to condone. Instead, the Arcanists’ Circle has numerous friendly contacts within the city’s major churches and contracts with them when needed for their mutual benefit.”
”Please note the narrow, perfectly circular tower six stories tall, yet the Therassic Spire also extends at least that far underground, and perhaps farther. Care of the books is left to a nameless and monastic sect of librarians. Most of these nominally worship Irori and Nethys, but it’s whispered that after closing on certain nights the strangely stunted sages perform rites honoring another master, a mysterious being known only as the Peacock Spirit. Whatever the truth, the librarians’ primary allegiance is clearly to the library itself. These ancient men and women live somewhere in the bottom of the tower, and rumor has it that the wizened and withered figures have used the knowledge contained in their collection to greatly extend their life spans, though new recruits are still occasionally admitted.”
”The library constantly acquires texts without bias or scruples—no knowledge is forbidden, no matter how powerful or profane, though locating it within the maddening maze of tomes is another matter entirely. Wizards often come here to learn new spells, as do cultists seeking dark rituals or righteous paladins seeking the secrets of apotheosis. Thieves, too, frequently visit the Therassic Spire, for it’s widely known that the monks have no qualms about purchasing stolen spellbooks or holy texts.” Gav considers you, perhaps wondering which you are.
Inside Canary House, the smell of succulent roasted pheasant wafts from the famed kitchen. The walls are elegantly decorated in avian themes representing the birds of A’kaan’s native Garund, yet these are not what give the inn its name. Rather, the moniker comes from his famed Songbirds—slave girls chosen for their talent and trained from the time they could speak to sing in unbelievable harmonies, each word a chord with a dozen voices spanning several octaves. These girls, while carefully cared for as the investment they are, swing from trapeze perches in gilded cages, and lest the audience be fooled by their elegance, thin chains around their ankles provide a constant reminder that the golden bars are still very real.
The Cinderlands rest on the southern Storval Plateau, bounded by the banks of the Kazaron River and the Kodar Mountains in the north, the Storval Deep and Wyvern Mountains in the west, the Mindspin Mountains in the east, and the Storval Rise in the south. The Kazaron flows from the Kodars following the southwest tilt of the plateau, meanders through the broken foothills and grasslands, and eventually empties into the Storval Deep. The Yondabakari flows south from the Mindspins and cuts a stubborn path right through the heart of the Cinderlands, providing the lands just enough water to prevent desertification.
These badlands are rugged, inhospitable terrain formed by long periods of drought and heavy wind erosion. Odd rock formations, canyons, gullies, and hoodoos fill the landscape, separated by twisting valleys and crags. Deep gorges create natural wind tunnels; the sound of the wind howling through them can carry for miles. Many of the rock formations have alternating tiers of sandstone and ash rock, creating a stark, contrasting ambience of red and black layers. The wind’s effect is everywhere—the geological formations are smooth and curving, mimicking the sand dunes of a desert. Large areas are solid rock, but other areas have stretches of leached soil and silt. A short, weedy scrub grows in patches throughout the badlands, offset by succulent plants.
The Cinderlands are spotted with cinder cones—hills of volcanic fragments built up around volcanic vents. The larger ones near natural gas seeps are capable of lava flows and extreme explosive eruptions. Seismic activity accompanies these magma fountains, and the small volcanoes vent incredible amounts of ash through their flanks and summit craters. Large cinder cones can produce deadly debris known locally as Sarenrae’s Tears— buckler-sized globs of half-cooled molten basalt and trapped volcanic gases—that eject with enormous force, potentially shooting great distances. Cooling as they fly through the air, the volatile rock solidifies into elongated tear-shaped rocks, making them aerodynamic enough to travel up to a mile. The impact of one of Sarenrae’s Tears often causes it to shatter explosively. Hundreds of these natural powder kegs litter the grounds surrounding cinder cones. If damaged or disturbed, these deadly rocks can still explode, blowing glass shrapnel in all directions just as the airborne variety. Sarenrae’s Tears the size of wagons with proportionately scaled destructive capabilities have been recorded, but are fortunately rare.
During the peak of summer, when the wind is at its driest, an emberstorm can form in the aftermath of a particularly large wildfire. Because the generated heat is so great, the surrounding oxygen burns instantly, creating inward-facing wind currents. Once this occurs, a perpetual cycle of oxygen, ash, and embers feeds the fire and intensifies its heat, giving it its own renewable source of fuel. The winds produced by this phenomenon can reach hurricane-force gales that cause the emberstorm to grow to devastating sizes. With a good wind behind it, the storm can travel hundreds of miles, appearing from afar like a black blizzard that flickers with fire. Emberstorms are massive areas of moving, deadly weather, easily measured in miles.
Gas seeps emit odorless, volatile organic compounds that the naked eye cannot perceive. While these vapors are non-toxic, they are composed of a highly flammable compound that combusts in the presence of any heat source. These methane seeps fuel the Cinderlands’ natural wildfires and keep them burning even in areas of sparse vegetation. A methane seep might take the form of an isolated gas vent or an entire gas field hundreds of feet in diameter. Some of the larger geysers have depleted their gas stores, leaving sprawling caverns deep below the surface. What creatures inhabit these murky cavities is unknown, but extensive veins of raw diamond and underground lakes of crude petroleum draw prospectors from all over. Attempts at mining are fraught with peril, however, as the underground passages interconnect, comprising a vast network of tunnels, tubes, oil reservoirs, and gas chambers that permeate the entire shelf. If a combustive chain reaction were set off, it is unlikely that anything would survive. When the rare summer thunderstorm travels into the central areas of the Cinderlands, lightning can combust an entire gas field and set it ablaze, producing what is known as rockfire—large sheets of blue flame that whoosh through gas fields in the blink of an eye.
"And for those gods without a devoted congregation there’s always the Street of Little Gods. There you’ll find all manner of shrines and proselytizers, many for deities you’ve never even heard of--including, I’d wager, the Midnight Lord."
"Then I shall visit this street of Little Gods." Yaziyah proclaims. She had little hope of finding anything useful, but she had to try.
Li takes a step back from the Pillars of Dream. The thought of unknowingly stepping between them, falling unconscious, and gods know what happens to you while vulnerable makes her want to put as much distance between her and them as possible.
Li's eyes glaze over as Gav rattles off non-stop about the different areas of the city. So much more information about the Arcanist's Circle than the rogue will ever need to know. She holds onto the information about item creation but allows the rest to flow in one ear and out the other. She begins to mentally take stock of her gear and comes up with a list of additions that she'd like to discuss in order to bring them to frutition.
Thankfully the rogue is able to find those eager enough to help her fulfill her ideas and take her coin. She is a little hesitant about the four day wait period but agrees when no one else in the group objects. Although she does wonder what she'll busy herself with. Maybe she'll just eat and sleep for the next four days.
Li eagerly follows into their place of residence for the next few days being very aware of the rumblings of hunger in her stomach. All of that is forgotten as she takes in the singing girls swinging in the cages. She is both horrified by their imprisonment and transfixed by their song. But she understands what it is like to have to do whatever necessary to survive and so is able to see past the thin chains.
Mouse wanders into the Canary House behind Yazi and Li, still distracted by the coolness and whisper-light touch of the mail armor she'd found at the Unbroken Wheel. It would let her fly like the angels, the wizened man who sold it to her had said, and not even an angel could find any better protection pound for pound. After all, he told her, he'd asked themself to confirm it.
What a wonder, she marvels, jus' like - But the gilded cages, wondrous as they were, immediately lose their charm when she sees what they contain. For a moment, she desperately tries to believe they're performers, hired help, here of their own free will...but the chains at wrists and ankles dispel that illusion, too. One night, she promises herself as she follows behind Yazi. One night, an' we fin' another inn. An' we ain't askin' Gav this time.
Garvid follows the tourguide, listening to the young man's words with guarded interest, while his eyes track the people around him. The darkness, while an all too familiar sight to him, always did its best to hide those with less than noble intentions. He scribbles a note or two about the magical lodges, though it's clear that his interest in them is small. Mages, hoarding knowledge. What else is new., he sighs at the Therassic Spire, though Yazi's thoughts make him audiably hum. "That's... a great idea. We're bound to have things that they want. Or money. Everyone wants money.", he nods. "And I'd much rather have someone else digging through the shelves than me. I'd say we go in and ask."
The sight of the inn seems to surprise Garvid's mind pleasantly, and the smell from the kitchen tickles his hungring stomach. "I could really go for something war-", he starts saying, then his eyes glare up at the girls in the cages. His nostrils flare up, as his hand tightens around his halberd. The exotic gold, smells and music takes him back to the Arkonas' palace as his eyes glaze for a moment. Staring towards Gav, he takes a step towards the door. As he pries the door open, with almost enough force to shear it off the handles, he growls out grimly. "I'm off to the Sorry Excuse. Prefer the rats."
The spell of the music is broken as Li watches Yazi go in one direction and Garvid in another, panic appearing on her face. "Tha family ain't be splittin'!"
She marches over to Gav with a dangerous glint in her eye, "Ya need ta be doin' better if'n ya be expectin' our coin. I never be thinkin' I be ever havin' ta spell out such stuff but ya need ta be findin' us a place that be havin' okay food, okay beds, no brothels, no slaves, no undead, an' nothin' untoward! What kinda people ya normally be dealin' wit'?"
The rogue starts after Yazi as she shoots their would-be guide a glare, "Ya be thinkin' hard while I be fetchin' her. When we be gettin' back, ya better be havin' somewhere ta be takin' us that don't be makin' him," she motions at Garvid, "wantin' ta be rippin' doors off their hinges."
Yaziyah stops in her tracks as Li catches up to her. "Garvid has the right idea. Rats are vastly preferable to this." She nods her chin at the cages, and turns on her heel to leave the establishment. She hooks her arm through Li's as they walk towards the exit. "We're not splitting, dear girl, don't worry. We'll all go find another place to spend the night." Lowering her voice, she adds under her breath. "With the coin we made, we could even rent a whole house for ourselves for a week or two, I reckon."
Gav, can the monks assist us if there are specifics topics we are interested in?
”Indeed,” replies your guide. With a few whispered words, you are attended by a short, sallow librarian. He listens to your requests, nods wordlessly, and disappears into the labyrinthian shelves of the library’s collections.
”no brothels, no slaves, no undead, an' nothin' untoward!”
”But Madam,” Gav says, looking quite disappointed in himself, ”This is Kaer Maga!”
”Give me but an hour to make arrangements,” he assures, all but running out into the street.
Sure enough, within that time Gav returns. ”I called in some favors, and have negotiated a short-term rental in an apartment suite in Tarheel Promenade, and only a short walk from the lawful influence of both the Bank of Abadar and the Temple of Asmodeus. It includes laundry service and market delivery. A traveler’s dream, neh?”
Here on this promenade, dozens of small altars and shrines, some covered with elaborate awnings and others little more than crude statues propped up on packing crates, pay homage to lesser-known faiths from across the world. Forgotten godlings of the River Kingdoms, the Prophecies of Kalistrade, the masked god Razmir, totem creatures from the frozen and barbaric north, guiding dragon spirits of Tian Xia—all have a home in Kaer Maga, no matter how humble. All the priests who gather here to tend their shrines, from the pale and incestuous twins who staff the purple bower to Socothbenoth to the Keleshite mystic who balances on a spear-tip all day long to prove his piety, do so in the hope of attracting passersby to their cause, preaching constantly of the power of their lords. Some even conduct “miracles” for appreciative onlookers, though these individuals are sometimes revealed as con artists or occasionally as sorcerers who lack the self-confidence to acknowledge their own abilities (attributing them instead to the work of divine beings).
Yazi indeed finds what looks to be a shrine to Zon-Kuthon. A recent and temporary shrine, a human skull crafted with paper mache is wrapped in very real chains. Paradoxically, the skull is painted with a delighted grin and colored in vivid shades of blue and red. Above the skull is a hand painted sign that reads: “The Prince of Pain Wants YOU! Free cookies and refreshments!”
Kynes feels ill at-ease. Those of his order operated here in Kaer Maga, but they formed a sect of lamplighters not universally tolerated. Dark rumors were often whispered about Ren Skear, the Administrative Leagate here in Kaer Mar, rumors of dark pleasures and darker allegiances. And yet, investigations of these rumors had not revealed anything untoward, and he remained influential in Kaer Maga.
Kynes looks about in apathy. If Gods can be forgotten, what chance is there for mere mortals?
Li hugs Yazi's arm that is linked through hers, "That be a relief. City be strange enough wit'out being apart."
The rogue looks around at everyone as Gav shares the new plan for their short term living arrangements. Seeing no overt objections, she nods. "Thank ya, Gav. This be much better fer everyone."
Blissfully unaware of anything but her immediate surroundings, Li follows along looking at all the different altars and shrines. She catches up to Yazi and asks, "How many gods there be?" Her brow furrows, she had always been so busy trying to stay alive on the streets that she'd never contemplated gods much. How many gods do people be needin'?"
When they get to shrine to Zon-Kuthon, Li smiles, "I be likin' cookies." The dichotomy between who she was told Zon-Kuthon to be and the colorful skull reminded her of Laori. "Do we be goin' in?"