Aladir's state of nervous energy continues unabated, similarly to the behavior of Alikia. "Not sure what that gas did to me, but I'm feeling like I could just about take this whole city right now. You ready to get exploring, everyone? I'll go ahead if you all want but I'm not sure how much use I'll be what with all this pent-up energy that gas seemed to give me. I'll give it a try if you want me to, though, but I can't make any promises about the effectiveness of it. Wow! Look at the tower! It used to be so much bigger than this...this whole thing has been just terrible for the city hasn't it? I can't imagine how long it will take Kenabres to recover from all this. What do you think we'll find there?" he blusters, rapid-fire style. He probably doesn't even realize how fast and how much he is talking.
Quinn shoves the box of holy symbols in his pack, and follows the others back upstairs. He pauses a moment at the top to untie the man they had left, recoiling and repacking his rope. "This is a cultist safe-house," he tells the man. "Not a safe or wise place to hide. Go find your friends, if you like. Offer them our apologies and tell them we pray for their safety."
Quinn has to practically jog to keep up with the quick-step pace of Aladir and Alikia. But, that pace brings them quickly to what remains of the Tower of Estrod. "Not so safe as they had hoped," Quinn quips.
He circles the building until coming upon a likely entrance. "See anything amiss?" he asks Aladir before approaching the door.
Hyram watches Aladir and Alikia trying too place what they remind him of when it finally dawns on him. They are like bees when someone has disturbed their nest-buzzing all around! As they approach the ruined tower, he will grip his sword tightly and follow Quinn.
Following Quinn closely, Ezro rolls the sword in his wrist, cracking it and stretching the muscles in preparation for the inevitable combat to come.
"Following you Quinn. Hopefully the inhabitants of this place are as easy to dispatch as the previous. Inheritor protect your crusaders."
Aladir quickly approaches the door and finds it locked but not trapped. As he fiddles with it a voice from inside says "Password?" to which Quinn replies “I’ve new material for the archives”
The door opens and two men welcome you in, "if you don't have bedrolls there are some over there" and he points to the north east corner of the room. The ground floor of the tower is now open to the air—a tangle of wooden supports above being all that remains of the building’s upper stories. Two rubble-filled pools flank a central walkway that crosses to an open area with a few shelves, a desk and chair, and a flight of stairs leading down.
"But first you need to report in to Faxon. He is downstairs." The two men back slightly out of the way, but do not seem be alarmed at your entrance.
Quinn stepped through the door, sizing up the two men and getting a good look at the room.
"Faxon, eh?" he responds as casually as he can manage. The knowledge of these cultists and the pain they had wrought upon the city made his blood boil. "Then we'll go see him."
Quinn glances back to his companions, but unless they object, heads for the stairs.
Hyram, figures that starting a fight with these two will just alert Faxon, will nod his head nonchalantly and follow Quinn. Now let's see if Alikia manages to not pick a fight with these two! Hyram thinks as he glances back at the agitated elf.
Following behind everyone, Alikia's gaze darts around the large room. Taking in the rubble, the pile of spare bedrolls and the tangle of wooden supports, the half elf raises an eyebrow at the empty desk and chair. Feeling her palm start to itch with curiosity, Alikia sticks close to the group, attempting to suppress the need to bounce her leg.
Ezro sheaths his blade and takes as a relaxed stance as he can manage. Looking at the two in the doorway, he makes a slight grin to them, and chuckles maybe weakly, and says "Guess I can finally put this thing away!"
Swinging his silver holy symbol around he stuffs it into a pocket, trying to add tot he illusion of their belonging. Seeing Alikia begin itching, he lays a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Come along. Let's see Faxon and see whats up."
Aladir clamps his mouth shut, forcibly stopping himself from talking. Whatever that gas had done to him, he didn't want to end up causing the party's downfall by blabbing something in his loose-lipped state. Still, his eyes darted here and there, seemingly having a hard time focusing on one thing for any significant length of time.
In his still-addled state, it's all he can do to follow along with the others quietly.
Moving to the stairs, you all head down. At the bottom of the steps, there is a semicircular room that is empty except for a few bookshelves against the walls and a single desk and chair sit in one corner. A huge set of wood and metal double doors stands in the south wall.
Sitting at the desk, is a tiefling, who stands as you enter. "I am Faxon. Report you observations from the city, and tell me what treasures you have found in this place."
Hyram chortles, You call that a city? It's nothing but ruined buildings and hopeless souls! We have been fighting the Eagle Watch just to get here! Perhaps a better question is what have you added to the archives. Before we show you ours, we want to see yours! We don't want to report back to Lady Hosilla that you've been slacking now would we?
Quinn pauses at the bottom of the stairs. Radiance would sell the illusion, he guessed, but he was loathe to use the storied blade in such a way.
Quinn was reluctant to say too much, for fear of ruining their ruse. But, there was a question plaguing his thoughts. "Many of the knights seem to have gone mad. They are slaughtering innocents in the streets. I have never seen crusaders behave in such a way."
"I do not care for your tone human. And I do not care for whoever this Hosilla is. I am in charge here, now report, or else!" replies Faxon to Hyram.
"There are no innocents here, brother. And why should you or I worry about them." he replies to Quinn.
And I don't care for your tone either, tiefling. You may be in charge now but Lady Hosilla can replace you easily enough. I think perhaps we should report to her how you have done nothing while this city was ripe for the taking! Where are your soldiers? Where are your weapons? All I've seen are two lackeys and empty bedrolls. You do not inspire much confidence my friend!
"There are no innocents here, brother. And why should you or I worry about them." he replies to Quinn.
Professional curiosity, I suppose," Quinn responds. "I was among the Kenabres Guard for quite a while. Something has... turned them. It must be an impressive power to have accomplished such a thing so quickly, and so thoroughly."
"Guards, come here and remove this impudent human" Faxon yells.
To Quinn, "Brother, I suggest you keep your lackey in check before he looses his life."
You hear the guards from upstairs coming to the stairs.
Hyram shouts, Looks like the gig is up! See what one on the Inheritor's servants will do to you! As he moves into the room drawing his sword.
Quinn shrugs. "It was bound to happen, sooner or later." He moves forward drawing his golden blade. "In answer to your question, brother, this is the treasure we recovered under the city. Would you still like a closer look?"
Ezro puts a palm to his face and groans. "You must learn patience my friend!"
Drawing his blade, Ezro moves deeper into the room.
"The jig is up! The jig is up!" the elf blurts out quickly, though he waits until there is room for him before he ascends the stairs and bring his arrows to bear on this "Faxon" person.
Realizing that the ruse has failed, Ezro draws his sword and moves into the room. Quinn and Hyram do likewise. Aladir takes a shot at the tiefling and damages him. Alikia stands amazed at the groups inability to bluff their way thru this.
The two guards come running down across the upstairs and start to close in on the rear of the group. Faxon, casts a spell, then moves next to Quinn and touches him.
Ezro UP
Quinn feels a surge of horrible energy flow through him at the other tiefling's touch. But, he fights off the sensation after a moment.
"I take it you're not surrendering," he quips.
Groaning aloud as the guards approach, takes aim at the two guards, only she is unable to get a clear shot because of her trembling hands. Moving down the stairs, she passes Ezro to stop in front of the desk. As she watches Quinn's attack go wide, Alikia strokes her crossbow, causing the runes etched on it to glow a dark red color. "Elohino." she mutters as she stomps her foot on the ground which causes a large dark red streak to issue across the floor, only to fizzle just before it reaches Faxon. "Oh crud! Oh crud! This is bad, this is bad, so very bad!" The wizard sputters as she takes in her positioning and the guards approaching down the stairs.
Hyram will take a five-foot step and attack the tiefling not named Quinn.
Seeing the difficulty his comrades are having in their attacks, Ezro beseeches the Iomedae with a small prayer, "Inheritor! Shine your Light upon the blades of your followers, and help us to strike down your foes!"
------------------------
-- frickin really??
Ezro cast bless on the group, while Quinn and Hyram both miss the tiefling. Alikia casts a spell at Faxon, but it fizzles. Aladir moves over next to Alika and shoots an arrow but misses the tiefling.
The two guards move down to attack Ezro, and one hits him hard. Faxon tries to cast a spell, but with the two warriors in his face it misfires.
Ezro UP
Hyram will take a five-foot step and swing his sword again.
Looks like I'll be throwing you out - but it will be your corpse!
Quinn moves to the tiefling's side, forcing him to turn away from Hyram or turn his back to Quinn.
Ezro brings his shield and sword to bare, casting a quick prayer to Iomedea, summoning her divine protection upon himself.
"Inheritor! Shining Blade! Guard me against these vile creatures!"
Feeling himself wrapped in divine energies, he calls out ,"I will hold the head of the stairs, my friends."
--------------------------------------------------
Ezro casts a spell on himself and a shimmering bubble appears around him, making him harder to hit. Quinn and Hyram both swing at Faxon and wound him severely. Aladir also shoots at Faxon and hits, while Alikia shoots her crossbow at the tiefling also, but it bounces off the rear wall.
Both guards swing at Ezro, one of them missing, one hitting him quite solidly. Faxon successfully casts a spell at the Paladin and says "fall!"
Ezro UP
edit: Ezro is a lot more wounded than I showed originally. He is in bad shape.
Looking at the two guards that Ezro was keeping from charging in, to the devilish looking tiefling, Alikia is overwhelmed with what to do. She shakily conjures up an acid dart, before chucking it at one of the goons that Ezro is locked in combat with. However her attack falls short as she is unable to keep her aim with her hands shaking.
Quinn was about to respond, "You first!" as he brought his blade down in a killing blow. Instead a compulsion overriding his own forced him fall flat on his face. He spat out a mouthful of floor dirt, glaring up at the other tiefling. "Join me, won't you?"
Hyram tries to hit the tiefling again but seeing a grievously wounded Ezro from the corner of his eye throws his swing off-balance.
Grimaces as the blade bites deeply into him as his vision swirls somewhat at the sudden loss of blood and pain. Standing his ground, he cries out a prayer to Iomedea, "Inheritor! Heal my wounds! I beseech thee for aid!"
--------------------------------
Seeing Hyram move to aid him, Aladir steps up to his foe and draws his rapier, his bow clattering to the ground as he stabs at his foe with the sharply-pointed weapon.
Ezro, in dire straits, calls upon Iomedea blessing and some of his wounds close up. Quinn falls to the ground and tries to trip Faxon but is not able to. Hyram steps to the side, swings and misses, while Aladir moves up so he is flanking Faxon and critically wounds him and Faxon falls to the ground, bleeding out. Alikia tries to send an acid dart towards the two guards that are attacking Ezro, but fails.
The two guards both take a swing at Ezro with their glaive, however with his shield of faith up, they miss. As they see their leader fall to the floor both of them look at each other, say "we are out of here" and flee up the stairs.
Watching the individuals flee, Ezro leans on his sword and looks to the others, as he catches his breath, and giving a quiet prayer of thanks to Iomedea.
"Is anyone injured?" he asks as he finishes.
Hyram will hold out a hand to Quinn, Here Brother, let me help you up. In response to Ezro, Hyram will say, I am, and from the looks of it so are you! The Inquisitor will add with a grimace which is his version of a smile.
Moving to the group, and sheathing his blade, Ezro will recite a short prayer, and thanks to Iomedea, releasing a burst of healing energies, leaving the unconscious enemy out of the prayer.
------------------------------------------
Quinn takes Hyram's hand and pulls himself to his feet. But, in the interim, the two lackeys make good on their escape. "Thank you."
He looks down at Faxon. "Now you tell me, brother, what treasures have you found in this place?"
The battle over, Ezro calls upon Iomedae blessing for all in the room excluding Faxon and heals some of his wound. Hyram helps Quinn to his feet. Meanwhile Aladir searches the desk, finding nothing of importance, and the still bleeding out Faxon. He finds a wand, a morningstar, a heavy crossbow with 12 bolts, bracers and a cloak, as well as a key ring with two keys on it and 29 gp. After finishing the search, he discovers that Faxon had completely bled out and is now dead.
Using one of the two keys, Aladir opens the double door in the southern part of the room. This semicircular room has been outfitted with numerous demonic decorations. The green glass lanterns hanging on the walls give the room an eerie glow. A brazen minotaur head hangs from one wall above an altar covered with wavy-bladed knives and curved bulls’ horns, while star-shaped symbols in red decorate other walls. A large wooden chest sits near the west wall.
Checking out the area thoroughly for traps and finding none, you all enter the room after Aladir. He also checks out the chest, and then opens it with the other key. Inside is, 2,310 cp, 759 sp, 122 gp, 11 pp, five silver holy symbols of Iomedae, a masterwork longsword, two masterwork scimitars, 450 gp in various fine housewares like silverware and table settings, and a wand.
The chest also contains a sheaf of papers documenting the cultists’ movements around the city. These papers not only indicate that the plan to attack Kenabres was several years in the planning, but that there were a large number of Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth involved.
Also is a note written in an immaculate handwriting:
Faxon,
You did well to report your superior’s mishandling of funds, and I trust that you will continue to serve as loyally in the weeks to come. You need not command the Kenabres Templars for long, for the city is about to die—I only wish I could be there to take part in its murder, for I have fond memories of my Red Morning Massacre. No matter, I suppose, for your mortal kin will all fall soon enough—as I said, Kenabres’s days are short. Vorlesh has already left to meet with our Lord’s daughter in the Abyss to secure a Nahyndrian crystal of the proper purity, and once she has what she needs, she’ ll arrive in Kenabres to finish the job and turn the wardstones fully to our use. You will know when she succeeds, I suspect!
Praise Lord Baphomet!
Minagh
"No great loss to our cause, I'm certain...heartless as that may sound." Aladir states after he announces the passing of their enemy. He also makes sure the others are well aware of the things he has found in the room, bringing the bracers, cloak, and two wands to the group's spellcasters so they can identify their purposes.
Quinn steps through the locked door behind Aladir, stopping to look around the room. "This place needs to be burnt to the ground." He helps the elf drag the chest out of the second room, only giving a sparing glance at the stacks of documents. "Seems like what we may have been searching for, but none of these names sound familiar. 'Nahyndrian'?"
"Sort through that, if you would. Hyram and I will need a few moments." Quinn nods to the inquisitor, drawing his sword and stepping into the altar room. "Let's see what we can do to improve the decor."
Looking through the magical items that Faxon had on him, Alikia keeps quiet as Quinn destroys the altar. Although she knows that the unholy site should be dealt with, she had hoped to preserve it and study it for when she had a moment to look through some books on the subject. "I don't really know what any magical properties most of these items have. I'm sorry. I know what the cloak does, though." Keeping quiet as Aladir mentions Faxon's passing, she offers a silent prayer to Pharasma that Faxon might end up on one of the happier planes and not drawn into the Abyss.
Hyram looks at Quinn and nods approvingly. He then draws his longsword out and also goes to work destroying the altar!
Now that this area is no longer a haven for the cultists, you decide to push on.