Upon Gemel's dictate , the visible red hat darts down and disappears from sight behind the crumbling walls.
You ran him off Gemel. Lets hope he does not come back. That locked door in the light house intrigues me. Check it out?
"You think the light house, or pursue chase after chuckles on the theory he might have friends over there?"
Vuloo shakes his head wearily, "As much as I don't want to, I suggest we deal with that red hat before he can bring reinforcements or further raise the guard."
"If the last ruckus didn't raise the guard, I'm not sure a lone redcap is much concern. But he could cause mischief, " Braelex shrugs. "I'm happy to leave him alone for now."
*
Braelex spends some time searching through the rubble.
*
She will make a more cursory check of the mess for anything of interest.
*
"The locked door is presumably secure for the moment. I think we should check out the lighthouse interior next, but let's secure this level before moving up or down.
"I'd wager 10 gold that redcap is trying to lure us into a trap. Let's check out the building to the west first."
"That's 2 to 1 to 1, let's keep my word to the Redcap..."
Someone just do something. Relan says with a smile. We need to do it all. Order does not matter to me.
With Nibbly along, Gemel has mounted up.
Braelex finds nothing additional in her searches of the Cathedral and the Refectory.
The party moves in on the roofless area to the north where they spied the redcap.
Coming up to the rubbled wall, you find a iron-shod door slightly ajar and blackened by soot but still in working order.
Once a three-story-high building, this structure is now little more than a charred pile of ruins surrounded by a twentyfoot- high enclosure of blackened wall. A few smaller rooms remain along the walls, but even these are partially collapsed. Fragments of furniture suggest this was once the abbey guesthouse before the fire ruined it all. The ground floor of this burned guesthouse now appears as a large open space with just a few rooms surviving along the other walls. Sitting along the broken walls are tiny little mishhapen gargoyles.
As you approach, you spy a redcap, strangely without a beard, in the far corner of the room disappear as it finishes a magical incantation.
You spy one of the gargoyle's eyes move every so slightly to track you as you move through the rubble
10 ranks -1 wis +3 trained +6 Skill focus
10 ranks +3 trained +7 int
10 ranks +3 trained -1 wis
She appears to be genuinely afraid.
"Miss, I can see through your dweomers. I believe we should perhaps talk, we can come to a mutually satisfactory agreement..."
10 ranks +3 trained +3 charisma
"Ahhh!" she shouts out when Gemel speaks directly to her, pushing further into the.
"Ya gonnae come fer Auld Swallertail in 'at lighthoose? He wulnae come it onytime suin. Ricle is a win’poke nae big enaw tae blaw aff 'at shiny hut. An' Auld Swallertail main gie his scran an' bevvy frae Flappy Lassie, th' a body he is aye blaitherin' abit!"
She screeches at you and waves back to the door you came through.
Relan scratches his helmeted head. What did she say?
Vuloo shakes his head, "Something about the lighthouse."
He turns back to the red cap."Who is this Auld Swallertail? And who are Ricle and Flappy Lassie?"
4 ranks +3 trained +7 int
Gemel determines that the redcap thinks you're here to see some sort of older cleric of Desna (Auld Swallertail) is in lighthouse dedicated to Pharasma (Flappy Lassie). Apparently the cleric doesn't come out much, so much so that someone important named Ricle can't even get him to come out.
Vuloo nods and peers up at the lighthouse tower. "I believe I may have seen this cleric of Desna when I air walked past. He may be a much needed ally. I suggest we make exploration of the lighthouse our next priority."
Gemel replies to Vuloo "Well, it's nice to know about this 'Auld Swallertail', and I agree," and the he turns back to the redcap and asks "But what I want to know is what, or who, brought a warband of giants and redcaps to the abbey here and why?"
Braelex keeps lookout while the others speak with the redcap.
"Ricle Peaks kennae bring us. Ya ned'n nigh dur locken ta gets 'im. Th' Hen hae th key, but she tae make rocks ay ya!" the little redcap woman replies to Gemel's question.
Relan shrugs questioningly. Anyone understand that?
"This Ricle guy, Ricle Peaks, brought them here. The rest of it though? There's someone, a woman? By the name of Hen."
4 ranks +3 trained +7 int
Gemel pieces together that the redcap says that Ricle Peaks, their leader, is through a locked door nearby and the key belongs to The Hen, who apparently will "make rocks of you"
"Where can we find this Hen lady?"
The fae points to the south southwest and slightly up.
Vuloo turns invisible and air walks into the courtyard. He detects magic on the lighthouse entrance and checks for any sign of traps.
"Well miss, you've been quite helpful. Go back to the mountains and don't come back. We find you around here again, it won't end nearly as friendly..."
She nods and scampers off, and startling you, the four gargoyle like structures above take flight in a cloud of dust and zoom after her, red eyes blazing as they glare menacingly at you and fly around her in a protective circle as she darts for the front gate.
Vuloo takes matters into his own hands and heads to the entrance to the lighthouse. His detect magic finds faint abjuration magic on the door frame and lock.
Nudge
Standard 6.5 foot human-sized door.
Andel also check for traps and then opens the door.
Relan follows Andel up to the door and readies to defend him.
As Andel and Relan approach the door coming up near the invisible Vuloo, the door suddenly swings open.
Standing in the door beckoning to you is a thin, tall, blue-eyed and red-haired elf, the one Vuloo saw earlier through the top of Pharus Pharasmae. You note wrinkles appearing on his head and sides of his eyes ... making him a very old elf.
"Quickly get in!"
He clutches at a holy symbol of Desna on a chain around his neck and grasps a starknife tightly in his other hand.
Braelex gets in!
Gemel will dismount and lead Nibbly through the door. "Pleased to meet you, Gemel Valdemar, and I'm guessing you're 'Auld Swallertail' - sounds like you'll make much more sense than the redcaps dialect does."
Relan, seeing and recognizing he holy symbol of Desna, bows deeply and gets in. Yes father. he is heard to say.
Vuloo and Andel move in but remain on guard and wary of the elf.
Once the group is safely inside, Vuloo introduces himself. "Pardon our caution, but we've been fighting for our lives with your neighbors. Please explain what you're doing here and why we can trust you."
Once you're all in, with Nibbly making the entire process awkward and uncomfortable, the cleric sighs in relief as he closes the door and makes an arcane gesture.
Closer up, you realize that he is a half-elf, not an elf, changing your assessment of really old to fairly middle-aged.
He turns and looks to Gemel, "The terrible names those horrific little fey coined are the least of the atrocities they commit. I am named Casamir Azmeren, the high priest of Desna at the Abbey until this chaos consumed it. I saw you fighting the ettins and redcap and knew you to be enemies of the invaders, thus I've invited you in to entreat your aid in resecuring the Abbey and to assist with whatever help and knowledge I may. I also have a bit of a personal interest that I'd like to see if you could help me with given I'm stuck in this lighthouse with nary and opportunity to assist."
He looks pained as he mentions that last bit.
10 ranks +3 trained +7 in +6 Skill Focus +4 past life memories +1 lore
"Well, Casamir, we share goals in securing the abbey. Also, Bevaluu Zimantiu of the Cynosure Tower says hello; he'd like you rescued... So what can you tell us about the situation out there? Have you seen any invaders besides redcaps and ettins? There are at least a couple of others out there - a 'woman' called 'Hen' by the redcaps, and a 'man' with the sobriquet 'Ricle Peaks'. Also, what is this personal matter of yours?"
Bevaluu, eh? Took them long enough to figure out we were in dire straits ...", the half-elf sighs as he leads you up the stairs.
You are first hit by the stench of what's obviously the result of someone living in a closed container for weeks on end. It's touch not to retch and you see the priest flush slightly in embarrassment,
"I knew it was cowardice to flee here when the Abbey was attacked, but it was going to be a slaughter, and this place is stout and defendable, plus I've been tending it for years, so I know it's ins and outs." he says by way of explanation, but not really apology.
"The man that led the attack was Ardathanatus, I am sure of it. He was the last recorded priest of Pharasma on duty when Aroden died and I suspect he has turned to chaos and evil, and has some designs on bringing some sort of catastrophic planar invasion. It was he who brought the ettins and redcaps along with the thrice-cursed medusa (I assume that's the Hen your redcap prisoner talked of)."
The pained look flashes across his face again and then he waves it off muttering, "In a moment."
He then continues, "Adarthanatus has help from Zolerim, the local priest of Nethys, who violated the Windsong Truce and helped the invaders kill the Masked Abbott. I am unsure why, Zolerim was always a mysterious bugger."
You arrive at the the room at the top of the spiral stairway which is encased in thin, immaculate walls windowed with large, colorless glass panes. In the middle shines a huge iridescent sphere, whose dazzling colors are magnificently reflected all over the surrounding white walls and window panes. The walls of the room have been covered to a height of seven feet with tangled scribbles and drawings of butterflies and angelic women.
I do not judge you. If any will it will be Desna. You are here now and that is good. You can provide knowledge of this place, our enemies that lie within, and give us a place to rest and recover from our wounds.
10 ranks +3 trained +7 in +6 Skill Focus +4 past life memories +1 lore
"Well, to judge what has happened to the rest of the Abbey, that was good sense, not cowardice. But do tell us all the details you have observed while trapped here. Do you know what is in the other buildings of the abbey for example?"
Gemel observes carefully as he converses - is Casamir hiding something?
10 ranks +3 trained -1 wis