"Well that doesn't seem very nice or friendly of our host."
In either case, Bishop will start pointing and trying to get his party's attention to realize Banshau is being somewhat hostile to our cause.
The world goes silent around Fenwick. Banshau, seeming to catch on to this, backs away to an edge of the cavern, gestures to the monks, and points towards you.
Angry, Kit raises his axe, You are gonna wish you all kept singing when I'm through with you!
He attacks the first monk!
While Kit's words are silenced by magic, his axe is not dulled. The monk attempts to dodge out of the way but still gets a gash cut into his shoulder.
Dakkar... is not particularly happy. This is not uncommon, but he really wishes his paranoia about everything potentially being an enemy didn't pay off so frequently.
So he does what he usually does, throwing back his head in a silent roar, before rushing forward, swerving around one of the monks to get at the thing that was truly irritating him, before attempting to sink his fangs into said entity. (probably an AoO, but better than the flanked spot in the front. Dakkar is quick enough to take the detour.)
Dakkar gets out of the silence radius, so he can hear Banshau cry out in pain as he bites the fey. The monks close in and try to defend him, pummeling Dakkar with their fists.
Iskender will start an inspiring performance, in the form of dance, to give his allies the usual bardic bonuses, +2/+2. Banshau is welcome to partake of those bonuses also.
Iskender moves forward, drawing his rifle as he goes.
Bishop will use some hand and arm signals to indicate the need to take out the fey and leave the monks alone. Then will move forward, drop the silence rock on the ground (free action) and Selective Channel (excluding the 3 adversaries) with a mythic surge.
Banshau flees out of the silent area and a goes a little further, then turns back. He begins casting a spell...
Kit will continue to attack the monks as they just took a toll out of Dakkar.
Not to be so easily deterred by a bit of a beating, but now quite angry, Dakkar abruptly surges toward Banshau with incredible speed.
Banshau's magic briefly takes hold... before snapping, as Dakkar's eyes fill with wanton bloodlust, and he lets out a terrible roar before tearing into his foe with crazed abandon.
Dakkar tears Banshau apart. The monks suddenly go still, then look around in confusion.
Then look at Dakkar with obvious fear.
First turn Dakkar confusion rolls (other people have a chance to do things first.)
For a short moment, Dakkar is uncontained, as he stands among the aftermath of his berserk attack and roars his victory to anyone who can actually hear. There is a moment where he is on the verge of lashing out wildly, before the fury fades as quick as it came, and he slumps back down, briefly worn out from the frenzy of activity, before looking around and eyeing the monks warily.
Kit looks at Dakkar, You all right, bud? He then turns to the monks, So are you going to continue to attack us or have you come to your senses and tell us why you followed Mr. Shifty there?
Bishop will kick the rock of silence out of the way but still keep his distance from Dakkar.
"Mind if I help your wounds out? Sun's going down big guy...." bishop will use Faith's Reach to stay 30' away but cast Cure Serious Wounds on Dakkar.
and then cure mod since you seem to still be down
"What the? Why the heck did you kill the Banshau? He didn't do anything wrong, but these others sure did!"
Now that Banshau is dead, the compulsion on Iskender fades and he realizes he was magically manipulated.
The monks seem to realize this, too. "That... that... deceiver!" one of them declares. "How long has he twisted us?"
"Too long," answers the other. He looks to the party. "We will not fight you, travelers. Perhaps we should even thank you for freeing our minds."
Iskender reevaluates his situation, "Hmmm, it did feel rather strange, now that I consider things. You there," he picks out the monk that called Banshau a deceiver, "tell me what you remember, what has happened here?"
You can thank us by telling us about the artifact. Kit responds.
"I was a traveler," one of the monks says. "I was passing through here when one of the other monks sought me out, telling me of how a terrible tragedy had befallen the monastery, where most of their leaders were lost... but they had the fortune of gaining a new leader. At first I was dismissive, but as they talked I grew curious about this Banshau, and then... things are cloudy. I think... I think I did the same to others that passed by, leading them here to Banshau, serving his whims..."
"I was just an acolyte when Banshau arrived, and our leaders met their end with the dracolisk," says the other. "I didn't know how Banshau became the next Abbot, but everyone else went along with it, so I did too... and things began to change, but none of us left knew how it was supposed to go, and soon enough I think we were all under his spell."
"He kept his belongings in the next chamber," the first monk says in response to Kit. "Perhaps it is there?"
"So, with the false Abbot gone, do any of you even have the experience to take over leadership here, or do we need to send off for help from other Abbeys?"
The two monks look uncomfortably at one another. "We... might need a little help, but I don't think any of the other monasteries would know about the true ways of St. Menande..." one says.
"They may have been lost," the other sadly agrees.
"Let's go see this artifact and learn what we can learn from there."
"We... might need a little help, but I don't think any of the other monasteries would know about the true ways of St. Menande..." one says.
Too bad. We met a head monk at one monastery who was a real peach! Kit adds.
Dakkar shakes himself free of the vestiges of blood frenzy.
"...I'm a bit battered, but I'll be fine. As long as this whole trip is worth it. Maybe a bit hungry now, though I do have a bit of that dracolisk meat left."
Iskender points at Dakkar, ”Bishop, can you heal that?”
The two monks look uncomfortably at one another. "We... might need a little help, but I don't think any of the other monasteries would know about the true ways of St. Menande..." one says.
"They may have been lost," the other sadly agrees.
"I can say, with confidence, that I don't know much about your particular religious structure, but let me ask, is there a higher authority, to which all of your Abbeys look for overall guidance? Also, surely there are written records of what Saint Menande stood for, and enough of you probably know the rote learning that any first year gets. What you may be lacking, is a more strategic, higher level thinker, with years of experience, to run the day to day business of the Abbey. That is what maybe you could borrow, for a while, from another of your allied Abbeys. Not for the wickedly dogmatic nature of your own faith, but for the minutiae of running the place, and tactics for proselytizing the religion itself. Does that make sense?"
The two monks look at each other, then back at Iskender. They nod in unison.
You don't think they get it.
Kit looks at the monks and can see they are still confused. Well, enough about monastery business! Lead on to the artifact!
"Right"
The monks lead you towards the chamber at the back of the cavern. A statue of a small humanoid, missing its left arm, is placed in front of an area hung with wreathes of flowers, with a mattress and a small chest along the walls. Hung from another wall is a triptych made of three panes that look quite similar to the glass-like panes of the Opus Aeterna you've already claimed.
”Praised be the maker. Our trials have been many, and the struggle mighty, but our faith and fortitude have paid off, in your holy name. With these panes, our quest is one step closer to complete!”
Let's go find that guy that owes us a drink! Kit says now that their end of the task is done.
Dakkar just shrugs and contemplates getting some more dracolisk meat on the way back.
You set out towards the Barony of Veleate. It's another long, dusty journey, but you're unmolested during it.
After this journey, the sight of water is welcome. Ahead you see the shore of Hargo Lake, and just where you were told there would be, a dock. A few boats sit moored to the dock, a caravan of several wagons on the shore. People move crates and barrels from the wagons to the boats, but one fairly human-like person stands to the side scanning the desert beyond.
She sees you and waves, then shouts out, “You look a bit road weary, travelers! Nice day for a water crossin’, yeah? If you’re headed to True Veleate, I’d be happy to get you there. It’s a lot cooler on the water and not nearly as much dust.”
Iskender turns to his companions, "our luck has taken a turn. We shall see which direction it goes."
He steps forward and hails the woman, "we are but poor lost circus performers," his hand gestures towards the motley crew, "on our way to Veleate indeed. Please tell me that we are almost there, and that the passage is safe and swift from here?"
The woman strides forward with a smile. "The name's Ginny, and with me you'll be gettin' to the other side nice 'nd quick."
She steps a bit closer and adds, in a conspiriatorial half-whisper, "'specially since your horned friend Khedri paid extra for me t' keep an eye out for you."
A bit louder, she continues, "'f this is your first time in th' True Veleate for a while, you prob'ly don't know things 've changed here. Lady called Onkat-Oun's Baroness now, 'nd she don't care for arcane magic. Calls it all witchcraft, says it's 'sponsible for Rhythes bein' the way it is, 'nd that prosperity will only return 'f we destroy it. So law is in th' Veleate you go t' jail if you've got any arcane items or the like."
Again she drops her voice. "Like your friend did. I warned 'im, but he was awful insistent on keepin' his stuff."
And what happened to our..er..friend after you warned him? Kit asks.