Shensen, her pet and Jenya are all dead (as is Dalamus)
Magma and Nemoris are around but won’t be available much longer. Other priorities etc.
Fario and Fellian are still at your disposal.
Meerthen , Skye, Kristoff and Vortimax Weer are all still in Cauldron. Epiks Iomedeanncrusaders as well
Maavu and Skylar Lewis (friendly Town Guardsmen) haven’t been heard from since before the Siege of Redgorfe. They were presumed involved.
If you want to buy anything other than what Skye has or what the temples and vortimax are limited to, you will need to teleport.
Cauldron is still.a city of refugees, trade has been strangled because if the rioting and instability with Redgorge. Hollow sky isnt sending food to the city (you never went to Hillowsky for any reason, but they are having related issues) and there is no Mayor or Captain of the guard. The nobles are squabbling.
The city is in the middle of a jungle and over 100.miles away from the next large city, Osibu.
There is no trade. Thus, still no diamonds or high end luxury. People are desperate for bread. No one is in the jewelry business right now.
I'm waiting on you all to figure out the next steps. There is nothing driving the plot other than you, at the moment.
Well, it seems the duty falls to me. Irori grant me sight to see the ways forward, and the wisdom to choose the right path.
Nowzai takes stock of the situation in Cauldron and gathers the group along with their allies. "Cauldron is on the brink -- better now that we have severely crippled the Cagewrights, but our people are still suffering severely. The multiple crises manufactured by these fiends has left it without leadership, protection or the resources to survive. We must do what we can to re-establish order and safeguard our civilians."
He turns to Meerthen, Fario and Felian, "The first priority is getting food. Can you learn why Hollowsky is failing to send goods, and remedy the problem if able?"
Next, he turns to Epik, Nemroris and Magma. "The city guard is shattered and leaderless. Magma, I would like you to take over as Captain -- they will know you and should respect your experience. Epik, can your crusaders aid the situation without being overzealous? We need order, not a pogrom."
"Cauldron needs leadership. I will assume duties as Mayor until this crisis is over or a suitable replacement is elected. I will need access to the city hall and address the citizens. Even the appearance of authority will put many minds at ease."
"Lastly, We need to revive our allies, and that will require travel to Katapesh to purchase the necessary aid. We will return quickly, hopefully no more than a day or three."
"Before we depart, any further suggestions?"
Epik nods at Nowzai. "Let's do what we must to bring our friends back. But, we must destroy Vhelantru when we return. There can be no order while he remains."
Meerthen and the Striders nod to Nowzai, "We have some contacts in that area that we havent touched base with in a long time. We will see what happened. We are taking Nemoris with us. We may have need of his prowess on this one, I'm afraid."
"Be aware that the nobles still control large parts of the city and while you have some of the merchants on your side, without Maavu, you will have a hard time swaying them away from the traditional nobility. Your biggest chance of getting the entire city on board with a new government will be through your strong contacts with the church. I recommend getting the entire Council together to vote on new leadership according to the laws of Cauldron. A certain high priestess could arrange that for you. "
As they leave, "Ah, a personal aide... did you find Thirifane's spellbook? I wouldn't mind a peek at it. Fario and Fellian tell me she was an accomplished transmuter."
Meerthen and the Striders nod to Nowzai, "We have some contacts in that area that we havent touched base with in a long time. Will see what happened. We are taking Nemoris with us. May have need of his prowess on this one, I'm afraid."
"Be aware that the nobles still control large parts of the city and while you have some of the merchants on your side, without Maavu, you will have a hard time swaying them away from the traditional nobility. Your biggest chance of getting the entire city on board with a new government will be through your strong contacts with the church. I recommend getting the entire Council together to vote on new leadership according to the laws of Cauldron. A certain high priestess could arrange that for you. "
As they leave, he turns back to you b]"Ah, a personal aside... did you find Thirifane's spellbook? I wouldn't mind a peek at it. Fario and Fellian tell me she was an accomplished transmuter."[/b]
Nowzai regards Meerthen's advice with a frown. "For months, we have been trying to put out fire after fire -- all orchestrated by Vhalantru and the Cagewrights, we understand now -- and the so-called leaders of Cauldron have done nothing or worse. I respect Cauldron's laws, insomuch as where they have not been twisted to evil ends, and will attempt to follow them. But I will not wait for the nobles and myriad factions to maneuver their bids for power while Cauldron's citizens suffer. The people deserve better, and more importantly, we do not have time."
"I will call for a Council meeting as soon as we return."
*
After arriving in the city, Nowzai hires a proxy from the Bank of Abadar to facilitate the sale of their many valuables and also acquire the necessary components.
Ok, then 50% of still having some spell slots.
So I guess that mean she has no spell slots available. So she'll use a Potion of CSW, before collapsing into a bunk somewhere.
Current HPs = 32
Spells left: 1 - 6
0/0/0/0/0/0
Channel: 0
Dalamus will look around at the group...."Where are we? Did we win?
Is the plan to now head back to Cauldron and finish the approach that Nowzai had layed out, or are we going to do some shopping in Katapesh? I vote for shopping before leaving.
You guys will have plenty of time to rest.
Sooo ... go ahead and do all your purchases. If you have no other plans ... inrexommend you read the post inreferenced above ... I will start the "call forna council" adterwards.
I am just waiting to see what our cash situation ends up being
After Dalamus reemerges with the world of the living he is going to ask for detailed information about how everything went down. He specifically is interested in who was killed and what there role was if known.
"Thank you all for bringing me back from the beyond, it was an experience that I hope never to endure again! Sooo....What happened with the fight? Do we have confirmations to whom was killed and who survived? Was the leader of the Last laugh there as well? Sorry, my mind is still a little hazy from the experience"
"It is good that we were able to bring you back. Jenya and Shensen, too," Nowzai replies, smiling -- a rare sight these days.
"The battle was harrowing, but we emerged victorious. Only one enemy escaped that we know of: Vhalantru, who we revealed to be Orbius wearing a simulacrum suit. We attempted to engage it again, but were too spent from the battle and unable to stop it."
"I do not believe the Jester was among the leaders. In Thirifane's secret office we found a collection of notes detailing some of the Cagewrights and their plans. I spent some time trying to make sense of them..."
"In the office, there was also six cages with different animals, and names of our enemies etched on the discs." Nowzai ponders for a long moment, adding, "Come to think of it, I believe the monkey was trying to tell us something. In the chaos that followed, I forgot to return to check."
"Honestly, I am shocked that any of us survived! That was an incredibly difficult situation! I see that Jil / The Jester was on one of the disc's, did he get away as well? What monkey are you referring too?"
"I need to get resupplied while we are in this city, and run a few errands, but after that, do we have anything that we are supposed to do? Are we trying to chase Vhalntru or are we going to focus on the understanding Thirifanes plans?"
Dalamus will try and communicate with his Sabre "Do you know how I can find a place where there are other RMAs?"
"I do not recall the Jester in the battle. If he was there when you scouted out the meeting, then he likely escaped in the chaos."
"In the secret room were six animals in each of those six cages. I recall the monkey, in particular, was gesturing intently towards the raven." Nowzai shakes his head, "A bat, lizard, monkey, rat, toad and raven. I cannot fathom the connection between the animals and the associated Cagewright names."
"Shensen, do you have any insight on this puzzle?"
Taking the information the party has uncovered up to this point from Embril Aloustinai's office (high priestess of Norgorber posing as a high priestess of Pharasma) after killing her acolyte, Ike Iverson as well as Thirifane's copious notes, Nowzai is able to uncover the following about the Cagewrights.
They are a mysterious cult founded by demodands several centuries ago and charged with discovering a way to link the Material Plane with Carceri, the prison plane in order to provide demodands a cornucopia of prisoners and slaves for their nefarious needs.
They maintain their secrecy normally by using proxies or lesser cults to do their dirty work for them, like religious cults, slavers, thieves guilds, and adventurers.
They are currently searching for individuals known as "The Shackleborn." These individuals are descended from half-demodands, and their souls are believed by the Cagewrights to be instrumental to the planar link.
The Cagewrights are made up of a small core of masters with one apprentice each, led by a single cult leader.
They are currently pursuing a ritual of planar junction, and intending to fuel the ritual with both the souls of a number off Shackleborn and a source of primal energy. This ritual is to establish a permanent portal.
According to explicit notes in Thirifane's journal, Embril is a master and Ike was her apprentice. Thirifane was apprentice to Vhalantru. There are other masters and apprentices, but her notes don't call them out specifically, although she mentions she kept the list of names as insurance in case the cult decided to excise her because of her public role as a noblewoman.
Shensen doesn't recollect the room since she was dead but ponders the description of the event, "Interesting, that isn't normal behavior for a monkey. I wonder why it was so intent on having you do something? Food maybe? Fellian took the cages. He was intending to free the animals, because that's what he does. If he hasn't left for Hollowsky yet, I could have him bring them back here if you'd like."
Epik will gather the others to discuss their next move. "Clearly Vhalantru is a servant of these Cagewrights - or perhaps he is a Cagewright himself. Either way, he must be destroyed. Although we have destroyed many of his servants, there can be no peace in Cauldron until Vhalantru is dead. We must seek him out and slay him at all costs. Let us make our preparations such that we are ready this time."
"Vhalantru is one of the Cagewright masters. Thirifane was his apprentice," Nowzai says, his face dark. "On the silver animal cages, she kept those paired names... Thirifane and Orbius, Fetor Abradius and Shebeleth, Zarn Kyass and Gau Kleeoch, Jil and the Jester." He gives Dalamus a knowing look. "Ike Iverson and Embril Aloustinai, lastly Khyron Bonesworn and Alurad Sozizan. We know several of these villains are dead -- we killed them ourselves. Some I do not recognize. We will have to track them down as well as Orbius."
"Equally important is tracking down, and potentially liberating, the other Shackleborn. I also intend to see rule of law reestablished in Cauldron, before chaos breaks the city completely."
To Shensen, Nowzai adds, "Thank you. I now suspect the monkey may not be all that it seemed to be. They have a record of trapping victims in polymorphed forms. Please have Fellian bring us the animals, if he has not yet set them free."
"I think the first thing we need to do is stabilize the city, because chasing down these creatures could take a long time, and the city will be destroyed. We all have contacts in Cauldron, we need to get some sort of acting governor in place, and someone to lead the city guard. While we are doing this, we can have some of us that operate....say more in the dark, working the streets to get information."
"The real question in the hunt, becomes....Who or what do we start with? Do we know for certain that Vhalantru was calling all the shots, or is his master here as well?"
"I agree. I intend to take up the role of interim mayor if no competent and scrupulous candidates step forward. There is a lawful process to replace the mayor, and I intend to follow it until the process proves to be corrupted or takes too long to complete. The citizens of Cauldron are suffering and under grave threat... time and tradition may need to be set aside for the good of the people."
"As for the city guard, before we came to Katapesh to see you revived, I sent Magma to take control of and reorganize the guard. He is known to them, and will be a good fit for the job."
Dalamus, the sabre is strangely silent the entire time you are in Katapesh and when you return to Cauldron, it picks up communicating like you never left.
When you return from Katapesh, you find Fellian waiting on you, bloodied and dirty but smiling. The monkey sits on his shoulder.
"Heard you were looking for this guy. I let all his friends go, but he wouldn't leave. Kinda starting to like him."
He grins broader as well, "We found the issue in Hollowsky. The rest of the Necrocants were there. Bereft of their leader and tactician it didn't take us long to wipe them up but they did some damage to the city. One was a swordwraith and another a ghost, so there is some lasting damage to the populace. Good news is, we should be able to get the farms back up and running soon. Bad news is, do to neglect, the yield will be low. This is going to be a tight year."
The monkey hops up and down on his shoulder as you all approach waving its arms and screeching angrily at you.
Epik will return with Jenya to the Church of Iomedae. He takes stock of the remaining clergy, parishioners and Mendevian Crusaders. After spending time in meditation and prayer he begins the tasks of restoring order, assuming command and marshaling the church's resources.
"Sounds like we have the beginning of a plan. Let's get started on it, and see what we find. My guess is, none of this is going to go as planned, so we will have to figure that out. Meanwhile, I am going to head out and start listening to the whispers."
While in Katapesh, Dalamus will shop around for the following:
wand of poison
wand of fireball (all CL options)
Ring of invisibility
Once I know what is available, I will let you know what I will buy.
Once back in Cauldron, Dalamus is going to head back to Bogdans tattoo parlor.
Sorry for the delay. Catching up now.
Sam will purchase Celestial Armor, a mithril buckler +2.
How much time do we have for any crafting?
Both are available.
Ma'puande has been lost in thought since her death. She finally says:
"A few things have been on my mind lately, obviously. But one thing has been foremost: These 'Shackleborn', Could those odd 'birthmarks' I saw under my 'True Seeing' spell on a few of the party members be connected somehow?"
Using Flex time:
As they see the monkey on Fellian's shoulder, she casts "True Seeing" and takes a look at the monkey and everyone nearby, and relaying the information to the rest of the party. She also asks if anyone there could "Speak to Animals"
Flex Time Also:
Ma'puande attempts to assist Nowzai in researching Demodands leaders, and their attempts at connecting the Prime to Carceri, and why.
Demodand leaders.
Attempt at connecting the planes.
Why?
Gathering his considerable unspent gold, Epik will seek out a weapon smith whom can increase the enchantment on his adamantine greatsword. He will also find an armor smith whom can upgrade his armor.
Yes, that is accurate.
Nowzai knows much regarding planar lore.
*
"Are you suggesting Dalamus and Jenya are Shackleborn?" Nowzai asks Ma'puande, furrowing his brow in thought.
*
Meeting Felian, Nowzai smiles as he takes the angry monkey. He nods to Ma'puande's suggestion. "We may need to find a scroll. Sama'el can manage the casting, I believe." To the monkey, he adds, "What do you know, little one?"
*
After returning to Cauldron, Nowzai dusts off some of his old clothing -- expensive and well-appointed cloth, embroidered in noble fashion -- but finds them moth-eaten and a decade out of fashion. Before I take the role, I should look the part. He tosses the old clothes into a bag for donation to the poor, then sets off for the nearest tailor. He purchases a fine but functional suit in the latest fashion, accented with jewelry that is subtly expensive without being flashy.
"Are you suggesting....that I was born cursed?
The three things Dalamus is looking for are attainable.
Ma'puande casts true seeing and as she looks at the monkey, she sees something else entirely. A halfling stares back at her, posed and gesturing like a monkey.
As before, she sees the mark on Dalamus.
Tlanextic reaches out and finds half-coherent thoughts about freedom, a spellbook in a cage, and transmuting friends back to their normal state. He also gets a name, Thallo Quickstride.
"It is as I suspected. This monkey is actually a polymorphed halfling. Do we know a Thallo Quickstride?" He thinks for another moment, then asks Fellian, "Where are the other animals? It is possible they are similarly transmuted -- we did not find Thirifane's spell book, and I suspect the raven may be it."
"If we can have Jenya cast break enchantment, it can potentially free Thallo of this curse."
"This enchanted halfling could hold all the answers, he may know who all the names are on the silver disks. Nowzai, that is a great point...We need to track down those other animals.
Let me know what happens when Dalamus gets to Bogdans tattoo parlor.
*
Between Ma'puande and Nowzai, you're able to come up with a name that you find in a couple obscure references. With some coorelation of multiple documents, you believe it is the name of the Cagewright's leader. The name is Dyr'ryd. Other than that, though, you find nothing else about him or her.
Ma'puande believes the Cagewrights want the planar connection to increase their access to slaves for the demodand's workforce and armies. What the Cagewright's themselves gain, given they aren't demodands, is beyond you, but Thirifane implies some future power or wealth in her notes.
"Ah, I'm sorry Nowzai, when I said I let them go, I mean I released them into the wild about 3 days ago. Sincerely sorry, I had no idea." Fellian scractches the back of his head as he looks at the wizard sheepishly, guilty about something he couldn't possibly have known about.
Ma'Paunde shakes her head "I'm not thinking anything. But the shackle-born are apparently victims of these Cartwrights, so maybe they need protecting? Or maybe we need them, enemies of my enemies and all that."
Dalamus will look at Ma'paunde "I don't think I am the one that needs protecting. They are not after me specifically. Is there anything unique about the marks? Is mine different than the others that you have seen? Can you tell how long it has been there?"