Assist Spellcraft on Cage -
Sam looking over the cage with Nowzai "I might be able to figure this out enough to shut it down for awhile, until we can research it further to truly control it"
UMD to shut it down -
Jenya - "Maybe we should reach out to the Nidrama, see if we can ask her for a favor to bring Jenya back to us"
Cage- Sam will assist in getting the cage down and ready to transport
"Epik, while it is selfless to stay and protect the mirror, the reality is, you may not be able to if something comes out. We need to disable this thing as soon as possible. This seems much more urgent to me, than the cages. Unless the cages are also portals."
Dalamus will look at the party while discussing Jenya "I will see if I can find anything to help revive Jenya, I will meet back here at the temple when I am done."
Sam is able to affect the arcane energies of the portal to suppress it's activity. However, he guesses that over time (several days, perhaps?) it will reinstate itself unless they discover the command words.
The cage is made of one forged piece of the strange multi-colored alloy. It doesn't appear to be able to be broken into separate pieces without physically destroying it.
Epik nods at Sam, "Well done on disabling the portal. We should be able to safely leave it now. Since the cage cannot be disassembled, let's travel together to the Temple of Cayden Cailen to revive Jenya. Dalamus, stay with us - we're safer together."
agreed let head out to the temple. we should take the fallen adventurer with us since we killed all the priests here.
"I will be fine, and trust me, time is of the essence...I know this city, and have many contacts that I may be able to leverage. I will be back soon and I can meet you at the Temple of Cayden if you would prefer."
The party heads out to the west, dropping the cage off at the Drunken Morkoth along the way, while Dalamus heads a few blocks to the south.
As they spiral around to the west side of the city, picking their way around refugees and blocked off streets until they come upon the Church of Cayden Cailen or rather, the Cauldron Brewery. The smell of boiling barley and hops prevalent in the air and several throngs of people gather nearby the brewery ... not a few of them are drunk.
Entering the brewery, you are immediately greeted by a large smiling half orc dressed in chain mail and carrying a rapier at his side. He wields a large frothing tankard of beer in left hand and welcomes you warmly, "Ho friends, what brings you to this holy site ... the pursuit of the finest flagon you've ever had, perhaps!"
You recognize the man as Asfelkir Hranleurt, the leader of the church of Cayden Cailean, who aided you in the Flood Festival clean up.
The Mantis Blade chuckles mentally
perception
i will take Flagon. what other exotic spirits do you have master brewer.
placing two gold coins on the table.
Epik nods grimly at Asfelkir. "Another time perhaps, my friend. We are on a urgent mission to raise our friend Jenya. She was struck down several days ago while on a righteous mission to save this city. Though we have kept her body preserved since her death, I fear we cannot continue this much longer. May I ask that the Church of Cayden Cailean assist in bringing her back to life? We will compensate you for whatever the cost and we will owe you a debt of gratitude."
He stares wearily at the surrounding crowds. "Followers of Iomedae. What are they doing here?"
move to back up Epik
There never was a parlor here ... just your own mind reacting to the touch of He Who Walks in Blood. You couldn't handle direct contact with the God, as you wouldn't understand him, so your mind created this illusion. Apparently your willpower is strong enough now that he is allowing you to communicate through me. You are his contact here. You will create the Red Mantis faction in Cauldron. You've been called upon and have been recreated in an image that no one will recognize you in your previous life. He has made you into the perfect assassin!
You can feel the blade shiver with ecstasy at the thought.
We still have a mark to kill ... do not forget.
The man laughs good naturedly at Magma and pushes his money back to him. "Your first visit to the temple! The drinks are on us this time! Please enjoy, imbibe ... partake of this nectar of the gods. Just maintain enough level headed ness to depart under your own power and with the forebearance not to unsheathe your weapon at the smallest slight!"
Epik's request sobers the man a bit, while he maintains a bravado, his face falls a touch, "We've had trouble with the Inheritor's flock recently, but Jenya was a friend of ours before this Bishop came to town. I will help you for the regular fee."
Epik pulls out his 150gp and turns to the others, "Does anyone have enough gold to pay for the raise dead? If not, we'll have to barter a magic item."
He'll then go to the crowd of Iomedae followers, "My friends, why have you gathered at the temple of Cayden Cailean?"
The men snarl as Epik approaches and then recognize him and immediately change their tone and demeanor, pleading looks on their faces. Again, Epik is struck by how young these men are, some barely teenagers, but all armed with crude longswords. "S-s-sir Epik, we are watching these vile revelers to ensure they don't allow their seeds of chaos to seep into the streets. Ya know, sir. L-l-like the Bishop preaches!"
Epik with have plenty of funds to revive Jenya.
don't for get to take care of the negative levels that you and Nemorsis have.
Iomedae's Crowd
What are you boys doing? i want to know who made these awful swords! if you try to fight with these awful things you will get yourself killed.
if you are serious about serving Iomedae, the first thing we are going to do is make you a proper set of Armor and a sword.
both of you will show up at Gurzenon shop and i will school you on how to make a proper sword worthy of Iomedae.
do not make me come find you! 9am tomorrow.
Leave now before i give you both a proper spanking
** spoiler omitted **
The man laughs good naturedly at Magma and pushes his money back to him. "Your first visit to the temple! The drinks are on us this time! Please enjoy, imbibe ... partake of this nectar of the gods. Just maintain enough level headed ness to depart under your own power and with the forebearance not to unsheathe your weapon at the smallest slight!"
you can keep that brew-master. i will not draw my weapon unless to defend this place.
Epik's request sobers the man a bit, while he maintains a bravado, his face falls a touch, "We've had trouble with the Inheritor's flock recently, but Jenya was a friend of ours before this Bishop came to town. I will help you for the regular fee."
thank you for your help, would it be to much to ask to revive a second person. this noble Todd something is part of the Stormblades. he was at the temple Pharasma waiting for resurrection
Dalamus will head to the Church of Cayden to meet back up with the group. Upon entering, Dalamus will seek out Epik and walk over to him.
"Epik, any luck with Jenya here? Can they help her here, or do we have keep looking?
While I was looking around and talking with some of my contacts, I came across some more bad news. The Striders that we had met some time ago, seem to have been kidnapped by the Last Laugh guild, and they are apparently holding them as a tool against us. Sounds like they are going to torture or kill him if we don't come. Jenya is obvioulsy our top priority, but this can not be ignored. We can get everyone together when this party ends, and talk about what we should do next."
Epik frowns when he hears the crowd's explanation. Why would the bishop care about the church of a fellow good-aligned church? Something is amiss here. He then assists Magma in convincing the crowd to disperse. "Gentlemen, I will take over here. Please, go back to your families. I will tell the bishop that you did as he instructed. May Iomedae bless you all."
He then returns to Asfelkir. "Sir, we have the cash to pay to raise Jenya. We also seek restoration spells for two of us. Shall we proceed?"
Epik nods at Dalamus. "That is indeed grim news. We will deal with the Last Laugh as soon as Jenya is taken care of."
"How much do we owe for Jenya and the restoration spells?"
"The Last Laugh needs to be dealt with. They just want to keep this city in turmoil and fear." Dalamus will then walk towards the rest of the party
5450 and 1280
"5450 for the raise dead and 1280 for each of the restorations. Pay Ezekiel over there while I work,"
The horc picks up Jenya easily dropping his tankard which is attached by a chain around his neck. He takes her over to a table and clears it off with a broad sweep of his arm, knocking trays and candelabras to the floor. A couple of acolytes quickly run up to him with a couple sheets and some water and they clean and dress Jenya quickly.
Asfelkir spends a few moments in prayer standing over Jenya and mumbling quietly before he opens his eyes, snaps his fingers and walks over to a keg to pull a huge draught of ale.
The young boys look despondently at their weapons and then their faces begin to brighten as Magma mentions the Smithy, but they quickly come back to reality as Epik and Magma command them to disperse ... and they do so, hurriedly.
Dalamus will rummage through his bag and hand Epik the 1335gp to cover his portion.
Asfelkir takes a swig from his flagon and then walks over to Jenya and surprisingly throws the near full mug of ale in her face splashing her fully with the malted beverage.
The priestess awakes in a gasping sputter ... "Pfft ... wh .. what?!"
Epik will thank Asfelkir. "Your methods are unconventional, but effective. I thank you sir."
He then helps Jenya to her feet. "Welcome back, my friend. You had us worried. We'll escort you back to the church so that you can recover." Epik then frowns and looks off into the distance. "I also need to have some words with the Bishop."
He turns back to the others. "We can deal with the Last Laugh once we've safely escorted Jenya."
Nowzai is pleased that Jenya is returned to life, and gives the woman a warm smile as she wakes.
To Epik, he replies directly, "No. We need to rest and research before we stumble into another hornets nest."
Sam welcomes Jenya back and promises to get her up to speed as soon as we can somewhere to rest and away from prying eyes and ears.
Sam nods at Nowzai, "I agree with Nowzai 100%, we need to rest before we step into any more problems, we have had a full day"
agreed we need to find a place to holdup and recover.
we need to identify Ike's magical gear
The Bishop lives in his own world he does not care what we think or do and he certainly does care about Jenya or he would have raised her from the dead.
where can we holdup and heal?
"The Bishop wouldn't raise me, but Asfelkir did? I'm not certain I want to go see him again ... something feels wrong," Jenya shakes her head.
"Ike, Last Laugh, that monster we fought, and whatever hit me from behind. I need to get caught up, it sounds. But I'm exhausted, rest would do me right. Don't take me to the Temple, I should stay with you for now."
"I must go to the Bluecrater Acadamy regardless. I should be safe there. I doubt I could get boarding for the whole group, however." He looks around the brewery, "If the Drunken Morkoth is not safe, maybe here?"
"I think "safe" is a relative term here. We are likely in as much danger any place that we go, but we should try to stay together. Aside from Nowzai of course, perhaps the Drunken Morkoth is still a fine option. I am sure they have patched up the wall"
the only problem with drunken morkoth was the half dragon we killed.
we can go back there with the threat destroyed.
Asfelkir could you please revive Todd here also.
"Vandorboren? Sure, but it will have to be tomorrow after I pray. Leave the cash here and I'll take care of him in the morning and send you a note when I'm done. Where are you staying?"
Epik will take a couple of minutes to summarize the events that Jenya missed. "We can rest at the Morkoth tonight and deal with the Bishop tomorrow."
He turns to Magma. "We should ensure that Todd has a proper burial. It is not our place to stop him from being judged by Pharasma."
Sam agrees with Epik and Nowzai on paying to raise a stranger, "We could also stay in the vault if needs be, it's safe and I believe large enough for us all."
"I could also go with Nowzai to at least have safety in numbers and I am a member of the Academy myself"
"That probably makes a lot of sense Sam. Right now we seem to be the hunted."
"I can move about this city without issues for many reasons, but none larger than the fact that I look completely different that the Dalamus that they want to kill. That being said, I can get traverse this city and collect information as we see fit."
Epik,
if the Stormblades were going to bury Todd he would be in the family Crypt not at the temple of Pharamsa.
we are responsible for stopping his resurrection. i don't want the stormblades hunting us for revenge. we have enough problems without adding Stormblades to the mix.
"I believe the Stormblades have been our foes for a long time, my friend," Nowzai replies to Magma. "I wonder if they knew that cultists of Norgerber were masquerading as Pharasmans?" He shakes his head. "We can keep Todd's body in stasis and send a message to Aslaxin and his company, but I would wait until we can confirm they weren't complicit in the temple's corruption."
"Regardless, I think those resources would be better spent in restoring Jenya to full health. "
Dalamus looks disgusted at the idea of resurrecting Todd "I am personally not willing to pay for the services of our enemies. He can rot on the street for all I care. Where does it end? Do we start resurrecting all of our enemies, just in case it might make their friends less upset.....you know, the friends that had already wished us harm? This makes no sense."
"Now is not the time we should be frivoulus with our resources! We are under an immense strain, both physically and economically. If we do not get rest, and restore ourselves soon....Well, let's just say this..I guarantee that none of our enemies will be resurrecting any of us."
"Now let us be off to our lodging, we all need a great deal of rest. Even I am getting all riled up...with my frayed nerves."
Nemoris will wearily raise his head, and talk for the first time since the last fight. I also agree, I won't be spending any money to resurrect Todd. I do thank you all for aiding me though. I would request that we all rest in the same location, even this new Dalamus and Nowzai. We have had a few too many surprise encounters, and I don't think anyone who's split off will survive on their own if they are attacked.
Also, if we had one less person this last day or two, I doubt any of us would be here now. I *<cough>* am hardly here as is. Nowzai, I know that you keep your own council, but I'd ask you to stay with us at least for the night before you go to research. I also think Morkoth is the last place we should stay. If we do not all want to stay in the vault, let's pick an inn at random and have Dalamus procure lodgings, then sneak in 1-2 at a time so it's less obvious.
Epik nods to Nemoris. "Good points my friend. Let us be on our way."
He then leads the way to the Drunken Morkoth.
Elder, the Stormblades were never are enemies. They are spoiled nobles playing hero for the citizens of the Caldron. They were trying to win the affection of the city but we were doing a better job. These spoiled nobles did the only thing children would do lashed out at us. For some reason the Temple of Pharasma was delaying his resurrection and trying to kill us. Whoever was pulling Ike strings want us and the Stormblades out of commission. By putting the Stormblades back together we give our enemies a second target to worry about. We should not make Stormblades our enemies.
I will never understand humans. Aslaxin could I have a barrel of ale and a couple bottles of mead if you have it.
"Magma....by being entitled youths as you say, wouldn't it seem obvious that the elders would have already raised Todd? I feel there is a lot more going on here, and none of which we should be concerned with."
"Let's go to the Slippery Eel tavern. I will sneak all of you in, so that we may go undetected."
Stealth
To Magma, "Adversaries, at least, if not clear enemies. You make a fair point -- enemy of my enemy and such -- but I would know first that they are indeed not pawns of the vile powers destroying Cauldron. The priests here can preserve his body in stasis until we find out for certain."
Nowzai nods to Nemoris, "Wise enough advice. I will stay with the group for the night, then head to the Academy tomorrow. Sounds like Sama'el will join me. Also, I can teleport to safety in Occipitus should I encounter any danger."
The party leaves Todd with the Cailenites and Jenya insists she'll take care of her own restorations once she can dig up some materials on the morrow.
You head back to the Drunken Morkoth and find Gryphon and team still cleaning up from the attacks. They've made quite the progress in the past few hours.
Exhausted and bloodied, you head to your rooms and into the Vault, finding the soulcage now annotated in the ledger. Glancing about, there seems to be plenty of room to set up cots or even construct beds as you wish, but for now you lay out bedrolls and catch some shut eye for the evening, and thakfully you're uninterrupted.
A ragged Jenya burns her daily allotment of spells on healing everyone up. Over your morning meal, she picks at her food before letting on what's troubling her.
"I know you all have your companion to hunt out and other leads to pursue, but also consider that Embril Aloustinai is still the high priestess of Pharasma ... or Norgorber, who knows, but she could return at any moment. No one knows where she is off to. Not sure how long you'll be able to keep the actions at the Temple under wraps, but every week that goes by will increase risk of her return or if the Town Guard finish the Siege at Redgorge, they may start instilling order in the city again and they will turn to the Temples to help."
"I'll be out and about gathering resources, but send a runner if you need me sooner rather than later ... and ah, don't let on to the Bishop that I'm back. I'd like to reveal that in my own time," she states as she gets up to leave the inn.
She pauses in the doorway, "I can't thank you enough for what you've done. I owe you my second chance at life, and if this city's state is any indication, I need to be here."
Epik wakes after a long sleep and feels better than he has in weeks. After his morning prayers, coffee and a hearty breakfast he finds the others to discuss the day's plans.
"Shall we deal with the Last Laugh or focus on researching the cage and gate? It seems to me that the Last Laugh may be more urgent."
Dalamus awakes from the best nights sleep, that he thinks he has ever had and heads down for breakfast.
"Jenya, just to be clear....are you saying that you are going your own way, to help the city?"
Dalamus will turn to Epik "Yes, I think the Last Laugh may be more urgent, but then I guess it depends on if the cages are of an imminent threat or not. Either way, I am sure the Last Laugh will not wait long before they execute their prisoner(s)"