The banker laughs with Appario.
"Well done! It's no easy feat to gain useful information at no expense and with no agreement to further dealings. It's good that you brokered no deal with this hag. Such creatures should not be trusted."
He rises from his chair to see Appario out, stopping as the question is asked.
"Yes. She borrowed a royal sum; 90,000 gold pieces. The sum was delivered to the Drovenge estate two days past."
His brow furrows as he thinks about the possible consequences of this loan and the Lady's potential involvement with the Council of Thieves.
"Surely a Lady of such fine upbringing would honor her agreement and pay the interest, regardless of her acquaintance with thieves?"
The beam of sunlight strikes the ogrekin's eyes, searing them into bloody, unseeing pulps. Kruthe screams in agony, all thoughts of crushing Derek replaced by terror.
***
Derek is not usually given to hatred, but the dumb brutality of the ogrekin sickens him, and he will not allow it to live so it can kill again.
With Livias help, he puts it out of its misery and then after a quick healing spell, hurries back to the house to confirm his dreadful suspicion.
Appario shrugs.
"I do not know if her house would be willing to take on the Church...the Holy Church, by faulting on a debt. You and I know that we would have right and cause to tear her nobility to the ground. No merchants would deal with her, her own contracts would be voided, her holdings would be unprotected from other liens and rightful claims of remuneration...and I would have cause to raise an army and tear her estates asunder." Appario smiles.
"We would leave her broken and penniless, destitute in spirit, social contract, and money. She would be a beggar, at best. And might even have to begin to work to earn money."
I wonder if she could bear the shame of work.
"No, I cannot imagine the depth of the folly to fault to the Holy Bank. Her house would cease to be. Of course," Appario ponders, "...that may be her goal. I doubt it, but it might be. However, if it was, I think she would have asked for more."
Appario smiles at the thought of raising the Abadarn paladinhood to enforce a rightful contract.
Derek finds the dead body of a one-eyed man behind the desk in the first room, his chest crushed by a blunt object. An ajar compartment in the desk reveals several jars, some containing leaves, some containing powder, and some containing liquids.
Derek's fears are confirmed when he opens the door into the second room. Jalki's body hangs spread-eagled against one wall, pinned in place by several long, wicked-looking daggers. Her lower jaw has been brutally torn away.
Appario's fellow Abadaran is visibly relaxed by his words.
"You are right, of course. Even voicing the concern could be considered folly. I hope you will forgive my blunder."
"Bastards, they even made it impossible to talk to her spirit."
Derek slowly walks over and gently closes Jalkis eyes.
"You did not deserve this...Jalki, I'm so sorry."
Derek stomps around in a circle, fuming with impotent rage for several moments.
"That's enough! I've had about all I can take of this!"
Derek slowly takes of his hat, and then slowly pulls the large feather out of it.
For a few seconds he looks at it, twirling it around between his fingers, lost in thoughts.
Then he slowly lets it fall from his hand.
"That Derek is dead now, he died with Jalki, and now it is time for the new Derek to help erase the mistakes of the past."
Taking a piece of cloth, Derek pries one of the daggers out, mindful of any poison on its blade, he then wraps it up, intending to see if it can provide any clues as to who is responsible.
He then takes Jalkis body down and wraps it gently, intending to transport it with him.
"I was going to spend that money on something trivial...but you deserved more, I'll see if I can have you raised."
As soon as Jalki is respectfully wrapped, Derek begins to look through the whole house for more clues, searching the bodies; looking for any place Jalki might have hidden some clues for him.
The big man reenters the room, hating what he's about to say.
Looking back to the others, "Let's keep moving. This place shames me."
Maddok moves on, skirting the pool and its bound elemental and goes to cross the walkway on the opposite side.
Zerath just silently shakes his head at the two bleeding hearts standing near him. He just continues to follow the pair around, not wanting to argue about the wasted time.
Giving a bow to the elemental for lack of any better form of communication, Yahirma follows Maddok to check on the rest of Delvehaven.
"A Well such as the one mentioned sounds similar to a potent magical focus owned by few. I doubt that we would stumble across one, but I might be able to build something similar," Yahirma muses aloud.
A true connection to another world? It sounds dangerous, but it also sounds...wonderful.
Maddok growls in frustration, "It pains me to leave a creature trapped like that. No one should live in chains. Perhaps Xerath has the right of it. A clean death might be a mercy compared to the existence it has now."
"Once we leave here, let me know what your research yields. If the Well is beyond our reach, I will return to Delvehaven again and give that spirit peace."
Shu-Ak’eh-Di, is our connection a similar torment?
"As fair a deal as any, Maddok. I suppose we should not linger too long, for we have left Derek and Appario unattended for some time already. What words would I have if they had founded a brewery that doubles as a tax collection station in our absence?"
"I was wondering if anyone was listening. Just let me tag along if you decide to do that, would you? Where to next?"
Maddok nods, "Let's hurry. Such a business would only hasten Westcrown's crumbling foundation", the Shoanti says once again channeling some of his little brother's humor.
"Past this walkway we should be in the upper levels of the main building again", the big man says while pointing ahead.
Through his long and careful search of the building and the dead bodies therein, Derek unfortunately doesn't find clues to what Jalki wanted to tell him. The building appears to have been used as a dealership for various tobaccos, exotic substances, and drugs, and several jars of various substances remain within the compartments of the desk.
Both Jalki and the one-eyed man have been dead for two or three days, and signs in the building point to Kruthe having been there since; perhaps to keep watch or to stage an ambush in case someone came looking for one of the dead.
While searching Jalki's body, Derek finds small puncture holes near her heart. Derek remembers stories of Westcrown assassins using something they call "quieting needles"; a set of thin needles inserted into a victim's heart. The primary purpose of these needles is cruelty; if a victim with such needles is attempted raised from the dead, the needles will cause immense pain and suffering until the heart once again collapses.
The dead ogrekin's warhammer and banded mail are both magical, and a pouch made from a shrunken head is attached to his belt. The pouch contains two potions, 13 gp, and a large ruby.
The elemental gives no response to Maddok's final statement, merely reflecting the appearance of each of the three as they walk past it.
The first 50 or so feet of the 160 ft long walkway runs along the roof of the room with the large aquarium, while the rest hangs free in the air above the inner courtyard. The second building contains little of interest; another six guest bedrooms are on the top floor, while the large chamber below looks unchanged since the last time the group visited. The bust and urn of the dead pathfinders still remain where Yahirma left them.
"I can't bring you back Jalki, it would be monstrously cruel, but I'll see you buried properly."
Derek realises that they money that could be gained from selling the contents of the store might help further the gardeners cause, but he cannot carry it all with him, as he ponders what to do, he realises something.
"The one eyed man is probably the proprietor of this place, and his jaw was not removed, it is a long shot, but maybe HIS spirit can be contacted and asked a few questions. Jalki MIGHT have confided something to him, they must have had at least a cordial relationship for her to seek refuge here, and for him to take her in, especially considering the state she was in."
Suddenly Derek remembers Livia, his little companion having slipped from his mind during his introspective considerations and the search of the place.
"So Livia, how was your first fight as an armed adventuress?"
"It appears that's all there is to see up here", Maddok says. "There's a magical disk in the courtyard. I'd like to take a good quantity of the metal from it before we descend into the basement areas."
Leading the way back the direction they came from, Maddok heads back towards the first level kitchen and out into the courtyard, being wary for the traps Appario disarmed last time.
"Be on your guard. Last time we were here there were some tiny but very passionate guardians out here."
"I'm always on my guard. What kind of guardians were here last time?"
"Tiny ones", Maddok repeats while casting Yahirma a glance.
As Maddok prepares to disassemble party of the disk, Yahirma settles down about ten feet away and pulls out some more paper and charcoal. She begins sketching out a few images of the Mwangi expanse, in case her little dancing partner feels the need to investigate.
"They were animated statuettes, but they bore considerably more sentience than a golem might. They were chased off the last time, but it seemed that each had at least buries memories related to its apparent origins. A doll fashioned like a Mwangi warrior, for example, seemed to recognize dance steps from my home region." She shrugs and adds, "Beyond that, I know little of their work or workings. They seemed to desire stimulation as much as actual blood when they attacked us last."
"I see. Do you think they're still here?"
Maddok looks away from his work for a moment, "This place is their home. I don't think they would ever leave it."
"Then I'll be on the look out for these tiny guardians."
Livia, still invisible, replies in a shaky voice.
"It was fun at first, but then I missed all the time and the fat man kept hitting you. It was no fun then. And then when you found the woman, your mood changed. I thought it was best to give you some time.."
She becomes visible, and her voice steadies. With a small laugh, she muses "I think I should be invisible all the time when I fight! That seemed to make it easier."
The blue disk in the courtyard still causes Maddok's hands to become invisible while he works to extract some of the metal. After some time spent working with his smith's tools, he's able to gather a good amount of it.
There's no sign of the five dolls.
***
Satisfied he has enough material to experiment with Maddok packs up his tools and brings the group downstairs.
At the hallway between the room with Bisby's remains and the azlanti-alphabet room Maddok pauses.
"Bisby's remains and spirit linger in there", he says pointing to the right. "Be careful, he was hostile last time we came through here. We were able calm him but I don't know if he'll remember us."
With that, the smith leads the group into the room with the large summoning circle.
"It'll take me a few minutes to tear some of this up", he says as he goes to work on the strange red metal.
"You two should stand back a ways. Appario wasn't able to disarm the trap in this room and there's no telling what will happen once I start cutting at this metal."
Before going to work, Maddok invokes a few blessings from the spirits.
With his already rugged skin hardened to near-bark and layers of magical protection, the Shoanti brings his hammer and pick down on the circle.
"Blackest steel from the shadows, bluish iron of an invisible disk, radiant mithral from unknown mines, and now ruddy gilt from a summoning circle. Do you have a particular project in mind, Maddok?" Yahirma asks, somewhat bemused as Maddok casts his protective invocations. She bestows her own protection (remove fear) upon the three delvers before stepping back to N15 and performing a separate abjuration (sanctuary).
Appario thanks the Head Bankers for their time and thoughts, vowing to continue his and their work towards making Westcrown safe and civilized.
Appario will finish selling the loot from the forest, do some shopping, and return to the Safehouse.
Cold Iron Battleaxe +1
Breastplate +1
Scroll of Slay Living
MW Comp Longbow (+3)
Cold Iron Arrows
Gold from Sales 4248
Plus 10% Fame Bonus 4672.8
Party Split 934.56
Appario will, as usual, create 5 piles of loot for Derek, Maddok, Yahirma, and Semenya and give them equal access to the ledgers of his transactions.
Of Semenya's monies, he will invest them into Derek's and Appario's business venture: Semenya now owns one share.
Maddok continues sizing up the project, looking for the best place to strike the first blow.
"My master once said 'a man that stops learning, stops living'", Maddok replies. "These metals are unlike anything I've seen before. If they even half as unique as the material I used for Shadowbinder, they could be a great aid in the fight against the shadows."
The big man ponders for a moment. "Now that you mention it, perhaps I should forge a weapon sized for Shu-Ak’eh-Di", the Shoanti says as he weighs his enchanted smithing hammer in hand.
"You know, you may have untapped potential Livia. Might be that you can learn how to cast a few more spells, or to aim for the weakspots each time. We'll have to find out later, you might find it useful."
Taking the key from the dead man, he locks up the place and begins to head back.
Hmmm, I don't want to bother the others...so what are my options? Ah yes, Apparios name might open some doors with the church, that might allow me to give them a decent burial, claim the goods AND keep the Dottari out of this.
After pocketing the loot from the Ogrekin, Derek will head towards the church of Abbadar.
"Who is this Shu-Ak'eh-Di you speak of? Is he another member of your group I haven't met?" Xerath asks. Seeing them cast defensive spells, he will cast one of his own.
Maddok hesitates but opens up regardless, "Shu-Ak'eh-Di is powerful spirit that walks with me. He is... it is complicated.", the big man finishes.
"He is the one you saw battle the champion at the Devildrome, the large bull-man made of smoke and shadows."
"Possessed by a spirit? Interesting. From the distance that I was watching, I assumed you had just transmuted yourself. Though it was no spell I had ever seen. You should explain it more when we aren't exploring some abandoned building."
***
Beyond, a large chamber is revealed, brightly lit by numerous glowing crystal lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The center of the chamber is dominated by a large summoning circle of inlaid silver, cold iron, and red metal.
A massive door of the same red metal, decorated with a devil's head and with strange runes along its borders, dominates the south wall. To the north-east, a large desk carved from a giant block of red stone is placed.
***
When Maddok takes his first strike of hammer against pick on the red metal, the metal on both circle and door briefly glow bright.
A few seconds later, something that feels like a big cat pounces on the Shoanti, its teeth and claws tearing into him, although nothing can be seen.
Three strong claws tear gouges into Maddok's flesh, dealing 27 damage.
***
The indications available (big, pouncing, invisible cat) point towards this being a Hellcat. Hellcats are intelligent predators native to the fiery pits of Hell. They're not themselves devils, although they often act as guardians or mounts for the devils residing there.
Like many other Large cats, hellcats can pounce when charging, letting loose upon their victims with a flurry of bite and claws. These claws are also dangerous if a victim should find itself locked in the hellcat's grasp.
A hellcat is invisible in bright light. It has partial concealment in normal light and in darkness, while it's entirely visible in dim light.
Outsider traits are also revealed.
As above, plus: Hellcats are resistant to fire and to spells, and only good-aligned weapons deal full damage against them.
Hellcats are incapable of speech, but they understand Infernal and can communicate via telepathy.
Hellcats are quick to lash out against openings in an opponent's defenses. They have a keen sense of smell, and they're faster than ordinary humans.
"Don't bother staying invisible when we get to the church Livia, they most likely have wards to prevent that sort of thing, and if my friend is not welcome there, then neither am I."
I have no idea if Jalki would aprove of Abadar's clergy tending to her burial...but it is a start. I should pay a visit to a church of Pharasma too, to pray for her soul.
Maddok grunts in pain as the claws tear into his flesh.
Growling in rising anger, he swings blindly in front of him.
"Something unseen attacks!"
Maddok hits something solid in front of him with one of his wild swings.
Oh my...
Yahirma waves for Maddok to fall back behind the doors, where there are fewer lights. She then calls the nearest light source - assuming a lantern or other glowing crystal - that is outside in the hallway (pilfering hand) and steps over to N10.
Xerath sees the shoanti develop wounds from the unseen attackers. He pulls out a scroll and reads the words very carefully. Suddenly dust appears out of nowhere and drops down onto where he thinks the attackers are. "Ssensellthgis."
The glittering dust settles upon the outlined form of a Large white cat, clearly showing its every move. The cat growls in anger at the dust covering its fur, and continues attacking Maddok.
The cat hits with a claw, dealing 10 damage, and attempts to grab hold of Maddok.
It gains a firm hold around Maddok with its large paws.
***
From her position in the northbound hallway, Yahirma hears something from further north that sounds eerily like a children's tea party.
***
Xerath steps to the side(to N15) and raises his hand. Dark electricity coming from out of nowhere envelops it and he directs it towards the cat.
The bolt of lightning crackles through the outer edge of the creature's skin as the cat somehow manages to twist out of the direct path of the electricity.
***
Maddok growls as the large luminescent beast latches onto his arm. Dropping his hammer, the big man wraps his other arm around the feline's neck and tightens his grip.
8 strength
1 greater magic fang
2 furious amulet of mighty fists
1 built for war
2 ioun stone
1 aid
Appario, on his way back to the safehouse, slowly peruses the mugs and kegtaps at Beer, Bars, & Beyond, pondering how to best outfit his new business and wondering where his business partner was.
Do I think Derek is a classy drink man or a cheap drink man?
Wondering why nobody is following her lead (and the cunning plan which she cannot communicate), Yahirma looks around the corner.
Oh! That shall do. Ghostly sounds shall have to wait for now. She thinks as she marches herself back to P15. "Outyche," she enunciates while crooking a finger towards the sparkly cat.