Azarra reads what Ishta has to say, and as soon as she has gathered up anything valuable, she follows Ishta's advice and descends into the tunnels, wishing she could have alerted her parents, or the Harpers in general, but there was no use hoping now. She just needed to move forward and keep her mind off all of that so she didn't just collapse and give up immediately.
Ser Armithia follows.
Even though you know it's there, it takes a while to find the secret door in the pantry for the keyhole was cunningly hidden. Braccio's key fit perfectly and there was a soft glimmer of light as the door opened revealing a narrow staircase leading down. You followed this for a while and it eventually lead into the main city storm drains, which where infinitely preferable to the sewers although quite dangerous should there be a storm.
You explored these for a while and found a branch that headed north east, towards the old Cardona textile house which you assaulted in what felt like a lifetime ago. After forcing the grate open with some effort you clambered up and looked at the forbidding walls from the opposite side of the street. Nobody was about and no lights where lit anywhere, hardly surprising it was perhaps 5am although it would be dawn in an hour or so.
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Ishta looks at her friends and almost smiles when she remembers the last time they'd been there. Many things have happened since then.
"If I recall correctly, last time we used an underground tunnel, right?"
As you picked your way through the sewers where you fought the gnolls on your way onto the Cardona Textile house, you realised how far you'd come since then even though it had only been a few months.
The sun was just cresting over the horizon, setting the sky aflame as you hauled yourself back up the well shaft to stand in the heavily overgrown centre of the compound. The gnolls where gone along with most of their stench but the damage they caused was extensive and rather than attempt repairs the city simply boarded everything up on the outside at least. Inside everything was more or less as you left it.
Azarra says
I want to check out that room that the freaking servant disappeared into at some point, but let's clear the whole place first, and look for that book of fairy tales. I think we can only use it at midnight under a full moon anyway, so as long as we get it, we have time to see if there is anything else left in this horrible place.
Azarra picks a random door and motions to the others.
Coming?
Ishta doesn't really expect too find any actual treasure in the room, but she agrees there might be anything interesting, is only to give them a hint.
Kardas draws his sword and scans their surroundings. "Of course, Azarra. At least it's quiet here now ... "
Ser Armithia gathers his sword and shield, leading the way. Once the fullplate knight actually catches up to our impulsive bard, he smiles at her.
You do seem to be in a bit of a hurry. There may be looters or worse roaming these abandoned halls.
Then bash them, Ser. We need to save the city... or what is left of it. We should never have left. We've been manipulated and tricked the whole time, and have nothing to show for our efforts except a clear river, running through the domain of a lich. It has to die, or it was all for nothing.
Although, if we really ransacked this place and made it much, much worse than the gnolls left it, I wouldn't be sad about that either. I've served Lliira all my life and intellectually I still believe in hope and happiness, but emotionally I can't feel those things today. I just want to burn the Cardonas and everything they ever have been to ash, honestly, and if I die in the process, I don't really care. I've lost everything I cared about... again. So, you know... let's be thorough. Anything good we keep... everything else, we chop into toothpicks.
Kardas eyes the place that once belonged to the rotten Cadorna family. He sucks on his teeth in an attempt to drain the foul taste from his mouth and deposits it on the ground.
"Clearing rotten memories by burning them to the ground is one way in which nature revitalizes itself, so don't feel bad for feeling things that are completely normal. This city is full of weeds and worse that need to be pulled out from the ground with root and stem."
Choosing a door at random, Azarra finds herself in a dust filled hall with only broken furniture and mice for company. Every surface has been defaced, clawed, chewed or otherwise wrecked by the Gnolls. In places the gnolls had prized floorboards up or dug into the plaster work, apparently searching for something.
Heading clockwise and after searching for a good half an hour, a grizzly discovery is made in a dark storage room. Inside you find a dozen or more decomposed young and adolescent gnolls stacked on top of each other like so much firewood. You killed a good number of gnolls but you have no recollection of fighting these ones.
The next few rooms contain several deserted stables, various halls, kitchens and refectories. Without fail anything of value has either been wrecked or removed.
Further round brings you towards the north eastern corner were the Cardona's had their private quarters. And there you're met with a locked door. The door outside in the courtyard is also locked and seemingly barred from the inside.
Deciding the inside doors which should lead to Cardona's quarters might be easier to open, you take a closer look.
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"It seems someone has been here... And they expect visit." Ishta calls a simple charm to nullify the secret warning spell.
(the one Ishta missed)[/dice]
Yeah, looks like the locks have been changed since we were here last. Interesting. Maybe a safe place to sleep if we can get in without alerting anyone. Is it clear?
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"Odd. The place is picked clean and ransacked to the point it is better off being leveled, yet someone went through it, neatly stacked up those corpses, and then changed these locks and put protective magic on the door?" He shakes his head and wonders if it could've been their guide from way back. What had been his name? Tarasq? Something like that.
Ser Armithia stands guard as the others deal with the alarm.
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Ishta, not detecting anything beyond the silent alarm, decides to take some seconds to prepare a different charm. Using her energies, she casts it and...
As soon as Ishta says it is clear, then Azarra heads in, but not before.
"Give me your hands, guys. If it's clear, we're going in the flashy way."
"Is this much magic necessary? ... alright, let's do it."
"Actually, I was just going to dispel the alarm" Ishta explains "but then I thought maybe whoever put it there will know if it's dispelled. So we better leave it as it is and no one needs to know we're inside. Unless there's another alarm inside, but well..."
Ser Armithia grins at Ishta.
It's Tarask but the man looks beyond haggard, he's clearly not been looking after himself and you notice a dozen or more half or fully drunken bottles of spirits. In front of smashed mirror is an opened letter on the dressing table, curiosity compels you to read it and your vantage point shifts as you draw closer.
The handwriting is painfully familiar to you, it's Braccio's and the Bishop had this to say:
Tarask,
I'm not surprised your conscience is getting to you, given all the 'loose' ends you've oh so neatly sown up for the Cardona's over the years. The first time you came to me begging for an augury in aid of your soul I helped you because your contrition seemed genuine. Neither of us knew what the augury meant at the time but now it's entirely clear, you blew it for a palm full of silver the moment you betrayed them by locking that door.
Now you come to me when I have no choice but to obey and demand to know the future, to have yet another roll of the dice. Damn you for this Tarask, and damn you again for setting in motion the Lich's return. You claim you had no choice, but you're lying and we both know it. That's why you smashed the mirror, you could stand to see yourself. And damn you thrice for killing Jessica von Urslingen, you knew her grandfather doted on her yet you strangled her in front of him when he refused to bow to your master.
You wanted to know how you die? Like a wretch! Know this Tarask, they are coming for you. It doesn't matter where you hide they will find you. Helm has a thing or two to say about the likes of you...
Rot in hell!
B
Azarra takes Ishta's hand.
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"Tarask is inside. He doesn't seem to be in its best shape" Ishtar comments. Then she detected the letter, and proceeds to read it out loud.
"Oh, dear... let's go get him!"
Ser Armithia prepares for take-off!
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The sordid content of the letter almost makes Kardas forget what they're here for. It might be wise to remind everyone why they are here. "We aren't here for this rotten soul, but to acquire the tools needed to achieve victory. The Gods will judge his soul."
Ishtar's spell tears a hole into the fabric of reality through which you step through into the old Cardona family apartment. You've been in here before unaware of the significance of the books. The apartment has not been improved by Tarask's stay, it reeks of hard booze, stale sweat with an undertone of vomit. An impressive collection of half drunken spirit bottles line the beach behind him.
The man himself was much worse for wear, his features shrunken in and his fever bright eyes bulging as you appeared. Startled he yelped before snatching up a large curved two hand sword and he snarled, "You'll never take me alive!"
Ser Arnmithia grins.
Not certain that was even on the table. Although, Helm will allow you to surrender for a clean and quick judgment.
I don't want you alive anyway. You brought the lich back to destroy the town a second time. Why in the world would you do that? If you want to save your soul, then tell us how to destroy it.
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"And you know we will find out anyway, don't you think hiding it from us will work."
Kardas offers no words to the cowardly dog.
Bleary eyed, Tarask kind of half choked before admitting, "You don't understand what it's like, nobody stands a chance against him. I saw the way things where going and decided why fight the impossible. Besides by going with the flow I made really quite a lot of money, so I could drown myself in spirits and take all whores I could stand.
I wanted his protection against you but he just laughed and the damn Zhents wouldn't take a contract out. All that money he game me, in truth less than worthless. Damnit I've been running scared of you lot for months, I've had enough, I can't stand it anymore. One way or another it ends, here and now!"
With that he snatched up a bottle which he downed and clicked the heels of his boots together and he seemed to be moving with incredible speed! His sword flicked towards you in a passable guard.
The bottle may have contained a potion, or perhaps
Environment: Celestial arena (no special effects)
Ishta:You need to destroy its phylactery. As it happens you think you've seen Jandark's phylactery.COMBAT ORDER:
Ser Armithia-Seendren <----- WE ARE HERE
Azarra
Tarask
Kardas Rasalas
Ishta Khosiv
Ser Armithia-Seendren and Azarra are up.
You poor blind fool. You decided to do evil because you thought there was no use fighting it? There is always a way to destroy evil... always a way to make things right. Hope and joy balance out evil and despair, or the whole universe would have melted down long ago.
Realizing she is talking herself out of despair just as much as she is lecturing him on it, she continues.
What are you going to say in the afterlife, eh? You're going to face the people who died because of you and say that? Oh, I didn't think I could stop it, so I HELPED it? So I JOINED it?
You are absolutely right that this ends now, but if you want a chance ... the only chance you have left... at deathbed repentance, and even a drop of mercy, tell us something that will help us take him down.
Azarra steps back and shoots him.
Do it now, before you bleed out. One chance to save your soul. You don't have a lot of time.
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Ser Armithia begins to open his mouth when the bard said the words already. The Paladin smiles at her.
Agreed! Before Helm delivers His final judgment on you, tell us something that may allow your passing from this world a bit quicker!
The Paladin then confirms what they easily suspect.
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Ishta's eyes glow with a red gleam and her skin turn darker, greener. The Flumefire struggles to take control, and her hands move fast making arcane gestures. Her voice reverberates in a low tone.
"Fool! Speak now or suffer forever!"
Isha finishes the incantation and a cold vapor comes out from his hands.
"A cold death is all you deserve! Freeze!"
"May your soul find comfort."
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Tarask gives Ser Armitha a dirty look, before snapping the shaft of Azarra's arrow despite it sticking out of his shoulder. With a sigh and a half choked sob he replied, "You don't even know the half of what I've done, I'm so utterly F*****! It wouldn't make any difference, even if I told you about the glintstone cavern where the master keeps his phy..." And the he stopped with a mortified look, "Oops."
Ser Armithia looks to Azarra for her opinion on the matter.
He isn't actually evil.
Not caring about whether he is evil or motivated by fear or salvation, Azarra tries to connect what he said to anything that she knows
Glintstone Cavern! Thank you, Tarask. Though you might not be intentionally evil, which is hard to believe, but a nice surprise, if true... justice still demands that you die for the incredible evil you have done, intentionally or not. However, I hope in the afterlife you are granted some measure of grace, even if just for the accidental revelation of this information. Your subconscious was trying to save your soul, even when your conscious mind had given up.
Now, let the execution be concluded.
She nods at Ishta to continue.
She turns her head to Ser Armithia.
"I don't buy it."
Then she releases the ice storm.
"FREEEEEEZEEEEE!!!"
Ser Armithia nods also.
Azarra's words brought a derisive snarl from Tarask which was cut off by a sound like high-pitched glass shattering and a despairing wail from Tarask as he was enveloped by a mist of utter whiteness.
Horribly Ishta's spell didn't kill him, although all the exposed skin on his face arms and legs flash froze, shattered and sloughed off leaving ruination behind.
<--- FAIL
Screaming incoherently Tarask lashed out at the closest target, Kardas. The strength of the man was terrifying, battering past Karda's guard like it wasn't there his sword biting in deep. Tarask's wounds made him clumsy enough to fumble his next strike which Kardas managed to parry, but his third thrust was unstoppable skewering the magus close to his heart.
<--- HIT
<--- MISS on a 1
<--- HIT
<--- NO CRIT
Environment: Celestial arena (no special effects)
Damage Log:Round: 1
Tarask was hit by Azarra for 10 (total damage taken 10)
Tarask was hit by Ishta for 61 (total damage taken 71)
Kardas was hit by Tarask for 23 (total damage taken 23)
Kardas was hit by Tarask for 26 (total damage taken 49)Totals:
Tarask: 71 damage
Kardas: 49 damage
COMBAT ORDER:
Ser Armithia-Seendren
Azarra
Tarask
Kardas Rasalas <----- WE ARE HERE
Ishta Khosiv
Kardas Rasalas, Ishta Khosiv, Ser Armithia-Seendren and Azarra are up.
Discombobulated to be the center of the man's rage, Kardas replies in turn with sword and spell. "Your ancestors will spit at you in the afterlife, dog!"