"I only have 10," says Liam. "I could sign a contract to repay you. Or I have another idea. How many more times can you channel holy power to heal? We have these gems from the rat's lair. Worth around 100 each. Can you take a gem as payment, have a positive credit on our account, and then provide what remaining healing you can? Bernal is also badly wounded, and we must make haste for the Repository."
"I can channel five more times today. I can give you a positive credit, or a refund at a future date after exchanging the gem at the bank of Abadar."
Maya spits on Imistos’s unconscious form. The halfling deserves to die for what he’s done. And it seems Wyssilka ‘the Fantabulous’ might be the ringleader of it all. And to think Maya had once hoped the halfling performer survived the senate massacre. So many evil halflings… Maya glances at her companions. Hopefully none of them are suspicious of her.
“We need to decide what to do with this one before we move on,” Maya says, pointing at Imistos. “Based on what we know about the little devil, I’m in favor of executing him. A trial by some of his fellow Taldans seems about the best justice he’s going to get anytime soon. We know where Martella went, so we have no need of him… unless we think we can use him to bargain with his colleagues at the Repository.”
Maya also nods gratefully to Jowuan for her healing. Even if Maya doesn’t agree with the woman’s monetary requirements, it’s hard to deny they would all be long dead without her healing.
"Maya, it's your decision. You decided to save him and take him prisoner, so his life is now your responsibility. If you want to kill your prisoner, you can do that, but you must know that we don't have time for a proper fair trial.
I could carry him if we want to take him to the Repository, but that would slow me down.
In any event, I am ready to go."
"Maybe there'll be someone outside we could give him too? He might have some useful information if we can interrogate him later," Katria suggests.
Then she seizes on a moment of inspiration: [b]"Malphene, when we get out here, would you be willing to watch him for us for a little time?"[b/]
"Ugh, you want me to stay in a room with this little traitor?" Malphene says. She lets out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. Jowuan and I will hold him at my family's estate until you figure out what you want to do with him."
"Thank you!" Katria says, happily.
Once the group is ready, they head for the next door.
The door opens onto stairs leading up. The door at the top of the stairs was once plastered over, but it has been recently chipped away. It connects to the basement of the senate building.
As you return to the senate, you discover the grounds of a charnel house: the bodies of civilians, Lion Blades, military personnel, and even the Ulfen Guard still lie where they fell. A few combat-fatigued soldiers wander the halls taking records of the dead. When they notice you, they calmly direct you towards the exit, saying that the building is currently on lockdown due to the recent "political turmoil." Official reports remain unclear; some insist foreign assassins struck out at Taldor, while others claim the infamous Pathfinder Society attempted a coup, and still others claim the grand prince himself attempted to execute the entire senate.
You encounter no opposition as you leave the building and emerge onto the streets of Oppara. It is several hours past midnight, and the city seems eerily quiet.
"Thank you for escorting us to safety!" Lord Botoles says. "Please tell us at what address we can contact you, and we will send you a reward as soon as possible."
Once the trio of nobles depart, Malphene turns towards you. She shifts uncomfortably and scratches at her arm. "Thanks," she mutters. "We'll be at my family's estate if you need us. And... Sorry about the trouble I gave you earlier."
Maya's a bit relieved not to have to decide the fate of Imistos, at least not yet. The halfling deserves death, of course, but that doesn't make being his executioner much easier.
Seeing the massacre on the senate floor, Maya nearly loses what remains of her meal from the banquet. Who were the mercenaries? Rogue Lion Blades or military personnel? Agents from another nation? Something else?
Maya shakes her head. Whatever the answer to that question, it's unlikely to be a good one. How could it be? Whoever the men were, they had slaughtered indiscriminately at the behest of a madman. Either they are mad too, or maybe they are just paid really, really well. Whatever the case, they are evil. As morally ambiguous as Maya sometimes thinks herself, she's never gone that far.
Once outside, Maya takes several deep breaths. She hadn't breathed much inside for fear of the stench, and only now realizes how much she had been holding her breath.
When Lord Botoles speaks, Maya replies, "How about you give us your address and we'll come to you. I don't see things getting better in Taldor anytime soon, so we may not have a reliable place to be reached."
Once that matter is dealt with and Malphene speaks, Maya says, "For all the trouble you've been, Malphene, you've been quite helpful as well. And you aren't a backstabbing bastard like Imistos there, so you're alright in my book."
After everyone but the five have departed, Maya says, "We should make haste to the Repository."
She glances back and forth between her companions, then adds, "But given our current state, if it appears Lady Martella has been taken captive or that we face substantial resistance, I think we should rest before we face the threat. We won't do Lady Martella much good if we're all dead."
Liam looks at the carnage. A revolution of sorts, but a reactionary one led by the Grand Prince himself. I think this is not what you seek, My Lady. And the soldiers who did this? 'Just following orders' they will say? The price of loyalty.
"Farewell," says Liam to the nobles. He shows his holy symbol of Milani. "We aren't all crazy anarchists," he says gently, "I seek a more just future. And it seems I am needed here and now in Taldor. I would welcome the aid of any, high-born or low, who seek to achieve that. May the Everbloom protect you on your journey home."
To Maya, he says, "I have a few more tricks up my sleeve before I am exhausted. Let's see what we find. If we can in any way fight, talk, or trick our way to saving Lady Martella, we should do so, but even a Milanite recognizes the need for caution from time to time."
Katria looks around at the scores of dead.
"So many of them," she breathes. "Stavian must have killed most of the Senate it looks like. How could he do such a thing? This has to be worse than when Grand Prince Jalrune was assassinated. A crisis like this ... "
She shakes her head.
"And we probably would have been dead too, if it weren't for those badges. Sometimes luck makes all the difference..."
Outside, after thanking the others they escorted to safety, she frowns at Maya's words.
"Do we have time to rest? If Lady Martella is in trouble, I don't know that we do," she says. "I guess we can wait and see. Hopefully she was able to repel the Brotherhood of Silence."
"Excuse me for a few moments, if you would. I need to retrive some of my possessions before we continue onwards."
Doritan slips off into night, returning a few minutes later wearing blue and black armor, bearing a short sword, and with a generally more serious disposition.
As you take a few moments to catch your breath, you reflect on your experiences beneath the senate building. You have survived many dangers, and you feel like you have become stronger and more capable of facing the challenges to come.
Oppara seems to be in a state of shock. Where only hours before the city was jubilantly celebrating the Grand Day of Exaltation, the streets now stand empty. Instead of riots and chaos, an uncertain silence fills the air—citizens of Taldor are accustomed to pushing forward in times of crisis. Only the occasional pedestrian meanders about, many of them servants or attendants to nobles slain in the short-lived violence and unsure of where to go or what to do.
As you near the Crownsgate district, a woman in a hooded cloak beckons for you to step into a nearby alley. She pulls back her hood to reveal the concerned face of Lady Gloriana Morilla!
"One of my agents spotted you leaving the senate building a short time ago. I'm glad to see you survived the massacre. I've not heard from Martella Lotheed since we escaped the senate building together. I am quite worried about her. Have you spoken to her?"
With a renewed resolve to see this catastrophe through, Maya heads for the Repository only to be stopped by none other than Lady Morilla.
Maya listens intently to Morilla's words. Why isn't Lady Morilla with Lady Martella? Wouldn't they have gone to the Repository together? And who was this 'agent' who spotted them leaving? Between that and Imistos's betrayal, Maya's not quite ready to blindly trust Lady Morilla.
She searches the noblewoman's words and body language for evidence of deception or double-talk.
Meanwhile, Maya whispers a Message to her companions with her recently gained spell, "We can't just trust people at face value anymore. Not after Imistos. We need to try to ensure Lady Morilla is trustworthy before revealing Lady Martella's location to her."
Lady Morilla smirks. "I understand your desire for caution," she says quietly. "I assure you my intentions are noble. Lady Lotheed is a friend and ally. With the aid of some of my Pathfinder Society agents, we escaped the senate floor together, but we ran afoul of the treacherous Earl Vernisant, who took advantage of the chaos to try to enact revenge for previous humiliations. Martella escorted several servants to safety while my agents and I fought Vernisant. We managed to prevail, but I've been unable to make contact with Martella since then."
Maya does not sense any deception from the noble lady.
Liam doesn't bother whispering back, since Lady Morilla can clearly hear.
"Lady Morilla, I received a mental message from Lady Martella, through this badge. She said that your allies had secured her escape from the Senate building. She trusts you."
"Yet, she told us those allies were bringing her to a safe house at the Dignified Repository. And the orders from the assassins were to bring other prisoners there, where it is implied she is for interrogation. So what she thought was a safe house is currently a base for the Brotherhood of Silence."
He looks at Lady Morilla.
"So was she right to trust you? Or did your 'allies' lead her into a trap? You must understand my concern. It's possible that one of your 'allies' deceived you and her, as they deceived us. But I must know."
Morilla's surprise to Liam's revelation seems genuine. "None of my agents went with Martella. She didn't tell me where she was going. It was only her and several servants--unless those 'servants' were disguised members of the Brotherhood of Silence as well! If they had already compromised her safe house, then they might have had allies waiting there for her... The whole thing is just dreadful!
"If you're going to head to the Dignified Repository and look for Martella, I would like to offer my support. Many of my agents in the Pathfinder Society are already in the process of being smuggled out of the country in the wake of the chaos, but I have a few remaining. If enemies are holding the safe house, I can send my agents to perform a hit-and-run strike against them, either before you arrive or simultaneously with your own assault. They can weaken your opponents so that you can move in and finish the job."
"I believe you, Lady Morilla. I apologize for the bluntness of my question. These are trying times. I would welcome your support."
He turns to the party. "Should we have the Pathfinders hit the place simultaneously with us, so that we have a distraction and the Brotherhood doesn't have time to move Lady Martella someplace else?"
With some of her fears assuaged, even if her ego is also bruised a bit, Maya nods gratefully at Lady Morilla's offer of aid.
To Liam's query, Maya says, "Perhaps. But if our main concern is them moving Lady Martella elsewhere, we can probably spread out and observe the place while the Pathfinders strike, then go in to clean up afterwards. I don't know anything about this place, though... maybe it has an underground exit or something?"
Unfortunately, Maya doesn't know anything about the Dignified Repository.
"That could be helpful indeed," Katria notes, inclining her head in gratitude to the Pathfinder. "Is there somewhere we can contact you about what we think would be most helpful after we look this place over? Research is always a first step to success."
"It's a large, glorified warehouse," Katria tells Maya. "It's possible there's more than one way in. But I think we need to go find out first. Hopefully the fact that they haven't killed Lady Martella yet, as far as we know, bodes well."
Lady Morilla gives you the address to her townhouse where you can contact her when you are ready, For norm you head to the Crownsgate district.
Named for Oppara's smaller secondary gate at the northeast edge of the city, Crownsgate is a poor district choked with old industrial buildings and warehouses. The district was long ago pilfered for anything desirable by the rest of the city—even the cobblestones in the streets have been pulled up and used elsewhere. Cutthroats, petty thieves, and desperate beggars lurk in the narrow, dirty alleyways at night, and the constabulary rarely bothers to patrol the area, leaving any chance for justice in the hands of the district's residents.
Katria leads the way to the Dignified Repository, a fancy name for a drab location. A twenty-foot-wide driveway leads through several bushes to a large pair of receiving doors in a forty-foot-tall, L-shaped warehouse. Five service entries along its sides provide access, in addition to the receiving doors.
Four men in leather armor patrol the outer grounds of the warehouse, circling the building in pairs.
Seeing the two men, Katria starts silently counting, trying to determine how often they make their rounds.
It takes each pair of guards about a minute to circle the building. That leaves a brief window where any given spot is unguarded for a few seconds.
Maya joins Katria in scouting the Repository. Based on the guards alone, it seems Lady Morilla's fears were well founded. Now there's just the matter of deciding how to proceed...
"Perhaps we should take a lesson from the Even-Tongued Conquest," Katria suggests. "It only succeeded because Taldor was distracted by Qadira to the south. Maybe instead of having an open attack from the Pathfinders, we have them create some sort of diversion instead to draw the guards' attention elsewhere. Then we can slip in and effect a rescue for Lady Martella and any others who are being held in there, with them none the wiser?"
"I'm good at this sort of thing. If you want, I can take out a few of the guards, or just sneak inside and open the doors. We have some time between patrols, after all. Just slip inside and we should be fine." Doritan says, the fabric of his mask rustling as he breathes.
Katria nods as Maya suggests a plan of action.
"That makes sense," she agrees. "You seem to have a head for these things."
Hearing Katria's suggestion, Bernal smiles cynically. He'd have been fine with the plan even if it didn't have the added bonus of harking back to the Even-Tongued Conquest, and in the duelist's mind it only serves to show off Katria's knowledge or to sting the Taldan empire's history, of neither he approves.
"Well, if we indeed wish to learn from the Even-Tongued Conquest, we know that the best diversion is a good offensive. Could we simply use the chaos created by the Pathfinders' attack to get in and rendezvous with the Lady, without needless trickery and complications?"
"I think it fairly likely they will kill their prisoners at the first sign of a rescue attempt. That's why I worry about letting the Pathfinder attack happen first."
Maya nods in agreement with Liam. “While it would be nice if we could just go in after the Pathfinders attack, I don’t think it is likely to work. If the Brotherhood were clever enough to capture Lady Martella, I suspect they’ll be smart enough to keep a few people behind to watch the prisoners.”
I guess you're right. A stealthy approach it is, then? Given a good cover story, I can help with the distraction."
Maya nods in thanks to Bernal for agreeing to the plan. The halfling turns to Doritan and says, "I think that just leaves you. You good with the plan? We can use that silver raven figurine to signal the Pathfinders when we're ready for them to attack."
I guess you're right. A stealthy approach it is, then? Given a good cover story, I can help with the distraction."
"A good lie hews closely to the truth. Our cover story could be that we were guests of Lady Martella at the Gala. When the chaos began, we got separated from her. Imistos here - Maya in disguise, or maybe she's another of the assassins - captured us and brought us here. We say as little as possible, I think."
Katria nods as the others come up with a plan.
I wonder if it's always been like this? In the histories, the writers make everyone seem as if they know the exact right thing to do, but I've got no idea...
"We probably need to find a way to hide our weapons and armor, then. As long as I have my implements -- my necklace, at least -- I can cast some spells and cloud their minds for a moment. I suppose I won't be able to have my shield ... Would a prisoner be allowed to keep a book?"
She hefts her very first implement, attached to the chatelain at her belt.
She thinks for a few moments.
"Maybe Maya plays 'Imistos' but Bernal or Doritan is another of Stavian's agents, who is helping her? He could carry much of our gear in ... Perhaps we wrap it in something -- I think we have a cloak -- so should a fight start, he can just drop it and anyone can grab what they need?"
"We probably need to find a way to hide our weapons and armor, then. As long as I have my implements -- my necklace, at least -- I can cast some spells and cloud their minds for a moment. I suppose I won't be able to have my shield ... Would a prisoner be allowed to keep a book?"
"I believe prisoners of war are usually relieved of their weapons but kept in their armor while in transit - it would take too much time to strip it off, and the armor is valuable but bulky. It's just easier to have the prisoners wear it."
"Maybe Maya plays 'Imistos' but Bernal or Doritan is another of Stavian's agents, who is helping her? He could carry much of our gear in ... Perhaps we wrap it in something -- I think we have a cloak -- so should a fight start, he can just drop it and anyone can grab what they need?"
"That is a very good idea. These assassins serve a god not only of murder, but of greed. They would not simply leave our gear behind. A cart might be helpful, but if not, one of us could just carry the weapons. And if anyone objects, 'Imistos' can say he has claimed our weapons for himself as loot."
Once per day, you can call upon your coconspirators to have “made arrangements” on your behalf, allowing you to attempt a Knowledge (local) check in place of a single Bluff, Disable Device, Intimidate, or Sleight of Hand check. The DC of this Knowledge (local) check is equal to the DC of the skill check it replaces. Whatever arrangements you make—for doors left unlocked, guards strong-armed out of your way, stolen keys left for you to find—must be reasonable to have anticipated and achieved beforehand; you could arrange to have a noble convinced you’re a very important diplomat traveling in disguise, for example, but if a fight breaks out you could not rely on your network of contacts to feint for you in combat.
Doritan nods, "I can do that. I'm a bit rusty on disguises, though." he says.
Maya wrinkles her nose at Katria's suggestion that she play Imistos. Despite her repulsion for the task, Maya knows Katria is right.
"I'll use this hat we found to aid in my disguise as Imistos. Hopefully I can imitate his voice close enough."
When Doritan mentions disguises, Maya says, "I've developed a decent acting ability as of late, so hopefully I can cover for any of your shortcomings. Some of us will need to act like prisoners anyway, so those less confident in their bluffing skills should probably fill that role."
Maya hurriedly prepares her disguise. Normally, she would prefer to have more time to carefully practice her looks and mannerisms, but they don't have that kind of time in this situation. She transforms the hat into a hood to hide her black hair and does her best to imitate Imistos's outward characteristics.
"How do I look?" Maya asks her companions while trying to use Imistos's voice.
Katria nods.
"Very good. So who's your guard? Or maybe both Doritan and Bernal should be? Then Liam and I can be your captives..."
She hands over her shield, crossbow and sword.
"I suppose my dress certainly supports our story," she adds, noting the rents in the once-fine clothing.
"Two bodyguards would make perfect sense, in the Senatorial turmoil's aftermath", Bernal says. "Plus, I'd... much rather not play the role of a prisoner."
Echoing Katria's statement, the duelist takes a look at what was just hours prior his most elegant Rondelero outfit, now torn in various places and patched with dirt and dried blood.
"I believe I am ready."
"As am I." Doritan says, throwing his hood back and trying to look more guard-like, sword and hatchet hanging at his belt.
"I am ready to play the part of one of Lady Martella's reformer allies, captured for daring to suggest a more fair legal system... I think I can play that role." Liam looks haggard and beat-up, but still defiant. Ready to face the axeman's blade for the cause of Freedom.