"C'mon Artair, he probably wants to keep his tricks for a better occasion. I can talk some Elven and I can be very charming too," Jaed says before he starts walking towards the tree.
"Le suilon!", he greets the elf. "My friends and I are looking for a man called Reginar. We've been told you may know where to find him."
It takes a few more attempts before the elf both notices you and realizes you're talking to him. When he finally does, he looks up from his book, blinking slowly as he studies the little group with an impassive express. When he speaks, Tannivh's voice is soft and unhurried. "Hmmm...? Reginar? Are you referring to the ranger? I'm afraid I haven't seen him in quite some time. Though...if I recall correctly, there was some tavern he used to enjoy frequenting. Now what was it..." He goes silent for a couple of minutes. It was almost starting to look like he wasn't going to answer when he continues. "Something about plentiful woods perhaps? I remember it looked like a large, hollowed out tree. Quite popular, if I recall. Somewhere on the northern side of the city." He lapses into silence once again, this time apparently done with what he was going to say. His eyes stray slightly back towards his book, but he politely waits to see if you had any other questions of him.
"What are you reading today?" asks Lily politely.
Smiling slightly, Tannivh holds up his book so the title can be seen: "Cén fáth go bhfuil cruth níos fearr ná cineál"
"It's an interesting read about the philosophical implications of wildshaping and what it truly means to turn into another creature."
"Fascinating! I'm not privy to the skills of wildshaping but it does seem like an interesting topic - I would imagine there's a lot to examine about becoming a creature in its skin as opposed to becoming a creature in its mind. Living like the being versus being yourself in a different body," says Lily eagerly.
"I suppose I shan't keep you from your interesting reading. Thank you for sharing it with me."
"Yep, thank you for your...er... help. Cuio nin mellon!"
Jaed turns to his companions. "I suppose now we should head North and look for that tavern."
After struggling to be interested in the conversation, Etam starts observing the passersby. 'It's been sometime since I last was in a big city. Don't miss it that much.'
Once Jaed speaks, the warrior nods in agreement. 'I wonder if this elf knows anything about the cult…but it might be dangerous to question him here in the open. Better to follow our orders.'
Tannivh smiles, clearly pleased to have someone who shared his interest. He nods his head slightly in parting as he returns to his book and you all head to the northern part of town. A few short questions lead you to the tavern you suspect the elf had been talking about: the Forest Bounty.
Made from enormous timbers, the Forest Bounty is a long hall, open at both the front and back, filled with wooden tables and benches. Dozens of people gather here, eating, drinking, and laughing. One table of patrons even carries on with a bawdy song that seems to have most of the folk smiling. As soon as you enter, a serving maid approaches you. "Ahh yes, you must be the adventurers. You're expected." She points at a nearly empty table in the back where a robust man sits, sipping at a mug of something.
The man in question is wearing green and brown leathers and cloaked in a large bearskin. A longbow rests against the table next to him. As you approach, he looks up and with a hearty laugh says, "Welcome, friends. I imagine that you have been looking for me. I am Reginar Lacklan. Please sit—-we have much to discuss." He sweeps out his arms in an inviting gesture as a different serving maid places a tray of roast boar and forest vegetables on the table before him.
Sato finds the whole town to be fascinating, and takes care to observe everything he can, including local customs. When he gets invited to sit by Reginar, he will wait until one of the other members of the team sits first before he does.
"Thank you, sir. I am Etam Rethgifner.", Etam salutes the man and sits down. "We have a lot to discuss indeed. I am afraid Cygar gave us very little information on…the matter at hand. Who they are and what do we know about their goals." The warrior pauses for a moment, looking around himself "I assume this is a space safe from prying ears?"
Jaed sits next to Etam and reaches for piece of boar. He waits until the fighter has finished talking and, still chewing the meat, he adds: "Yep, a little more information would be nice. Even that Elven friend of yours could've been more detailed about where to find you."
"I assume you're referring to the cult of Razmir? Cygar briefly mentioned your interest in them, though obviously he didn't really elaborate. As for prying ears, it doesn't really matter. It's not like I know any deep dark secrets about the group. I just know what anybody who's bothered to pay attention would know. As you might expect, they're a bit secretive." He pauses to take a big gulp from his steaming mug.
"The group appeared in Tamran about 2 years ago. At the time they were just a small band of missionaries. Just over a year ago they managed to raise enough money to build a temple. Since then, their power and influence in the city have grown: the local guards seem to give them no heed, even going to far as to dismiss any report of their foul practices. They claim to be holy people, regularly going out to "aid the poor" and proselytize, but I've seen them beat a man to within an inch of his life! While the guards stood and looked no less!" It takes a moment for Reginar to regain control over his anger.
"Anyway, that's who they are. As to their motives, I can't say. My best guess is typical human greed and power, though to what end or if there's more to it, I have no idea." He reaches out to spear a piece of boar with his fork, still glowering slightly.
"It sounds like they're using magic of a variety that I employ." Sato observes, setting down his food. "Many people with my abilities can let the power over others get to their head, and make themselves out to be lords over men."
Etam raises an eyebrow "Hmmm…you might be right, master Sato. Though perhaps a decent amount of gold to a corrupt guard captain might have a similar effect." He turns to Reginar: "What do you think, sir? Could bribes have swayed the guards? Or is it more likely that sorcery is behind the city guard's willingness to look the other way?"
Artair sits at the table as well. And I wonder how this is connected to the situation that we had in the crypt. Did you hear word of that adventure?
Jaed listens to Reginar's speech. When he is finished he adds his questions to the ones formulated by the others:
"Who is this Razmir? Is he the one in charge of that lot? And where can we find that temple?"
Reginar strokes his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm...it's possible they're using magic. But I think the majority of their recruits are unhappy villagers, so anybody with that kind of power would have to be higher up in the food chain. My guess is that with the guards at least, they're just using gold. If not, then they have more magical resources than I thought. While the guards in this town aren't inherently corrupt, many of them think they have 'better things to do' given the whole business with Molthune."
And I wonder how this is connected to the situation that we had in the crypt. Did you hear word of that adventure?
The ranger raises one eyebrow. "No...Cygar failed to mention anything about a crypt. What happened? Is this crypt somehow related to the cult?"
"Who is this Razmir? Is he the one in charge of that lot? And where can we find that temple?"
"In a manner of speaking. Razmir, or 'the living god' to his followers, is the deity the cult worships. He was originally a man, but after passing a test of some sort, declared himself a god and started gathering followers. He rules over the country of Razmiran. The temple itself is near the center of town, right smack dab in the middle of a number of local businesses and wealthy residences. If you head in that direction, you won't be able to miss it: it's the size of a full city block!"
The crypt was how we all, save the mage and the elf, got into this. We are from the smallish village of Kassen. Every year a few of the townsfolk make a pilgrimage to the crypt to light a lantern from the flame and bring it back to town, where it is preserved all winter, a symbol of the town's resilience. Most years the town mayor and a group of dignitaries perform this quest. However, every few years a handful of younger townsfolk are given the honor of lighting the lantern to mark their passage into adulthood. This year, it's was our turn to complete the quest. In the process we stumbled upon the fact that the crypt had been pillaged and Asar had been awoken and it was filled with Undead. We fought our way through it and rescued several of the townsfolk. There we found one of the tomb raiders had a mask. We also found reference to the Ranger's Lament a place where they were apparently hired. Cygar, who does not seem to revel much in the way of details found us Sato and Lily to round out this little band of misfits. He also managed to track the mask to this cult. He put us on a boat and now we are here.
The dwarf downs his ale and sits back down in silence, figuring that is the most he has rambled in a while...
"Yeah, all that and we think they took something from the tombs that we'd love to have back." I'm not sure if we want to share the full story right now. Those amulets might be worth a lot even if they the vault they open is empty.
"Just two more questions: Have there been reports of necromancy around the town lately? And, do you happen to know an elven sorceress called Iramine?"
Reginar leans forward in interest as you tell your tale. "A mask you say? Is it like the ones worn by cult members? But it must have been if they came from the Ranger's Lament. That's one of the cult's main recruiting locations; they hold meetings there to interview potential applicants. I actually believe their next one is scheduled for tomorrow night. Tomb robbing definitely sounds like something I wouldn't put past the group. But necromancy? They always struck me as more of the 'money and power' sort over the dark arts. And to answer your question--" he turns to Jaed "No, I haven't heard of any undead roaming about Tamran recently. Though if the group does have necromancers, I would imagine they'd try extra hard to keep that little bit of information under wraps. As you might expect, most people don't take kindly to their dearly departed being turned into animated slaves."
He takes another gulp of his drink as he contemplates Jaed's other question. "No...can't say that I've heard of anyone by that name. Do you have a description of her? Though if you suspect her of being in league with the cult, I'm afraid even that won't help you: they all wear masks and pretty similar robes, so you don't really know who's who."
"If this so-called living god is actually the ruler of a country, and if I am correct in thinking you are less than convinced by his self-proclaimed divinity, how comfortable is Nirmathas with this cult establishing itself here? It really seems like covert military action, especially with what has happened in Kassen.", Etam says and grabs a piece of meat.
He turns to Lilly: "Mistress Lilly, is it possible that the undead in the crypt spawned naturally? Perhaps due to the desecration of the tombs? Or is it more likely that these cultists not only have deep pockets but also the dark arts on their side?"
"It's possible," says Lily without hesitation. "Places where large amounts of the dead are interred are prone to spontaneous animation, especially if the dead are unquiet - if they died in terrible circumstances. But even an otherwise 'normal' crypt or graveyard sometimes sees spontaneous risings due to the strong concentration of so much death in one place. Those situations are, however, unusual. The more common sources of animated undead like this are due to deliberate animation via necromantic spells, due to someone doing something that causes unrest in the tomb so that the dead rise to defend it, or due to some ward that was left on the tomb in its construction being activated. Since I wasn't in the tomb it's hard to know if it had signs that other people had been through there and caused damage or triggered something."
So it could have been the disruption caused by the tomb raiders disturbing the crypt of Asar? He seemed to at least think that he was in charge....
Etam puts a hand to the side of his head, a sudden headache piercing his skull and a coarse voice speaking to him: 'I told you, unfaithful man-servant!'.
"Yes…yes, he certainly thinks he is control."
Jaed negates with his head. "No, we don't know how this Iramine looks like. It was a long shot, no worries." Although I'm sure these people are after her piece too.
After listening to the discussion about the necromancy Jaed shrugs his shoulders. "And I always thought the stories about skeletons and ghost were just meant to scare little kids. How wrong I was."
He takes a big breath. "If this cult such a power we'll know soon enough. Reginar, please, tell us more about these interviews. How hard would it be to get accepted. We may be able to gather more info if we infiltrate their ranks. This guy here," he says pointing to Sato with his thumb, "has a very convincing speech."
"If this so-called living god is actually the ruler of a country, and if I am correct in thinking you are less than convinced by his self-proclaimed divinity, how comfortable is Nirmathas with this cult establishing itself here? It really seems like covert military action, especially with what has happened in Kassen."
Reginar shrugs. "It doesn't really matter to me if he is a god or not; he's not my god. That distinction belongs to Old Deadeye. But it's also not like he'd be the first mortal to ascend like that. Or the first deity to lead his followers in a direction that I don't agree with. As for them establishing themselves here, this isn't Razmiran or even the marginally more tolerant Cheliax. People are free to worship who they choose. I'd hardly call the cultists here an army. More just a gang of thugs-- bad for the common man, but no threat to the nation as a whole."
He takes a big breath. "If this cult such a power we'll know soon enough. Reginar, please, tell us more about these interviews. How hard would it be to get accepted. We may be able to gather more info if we infiltrate their ranks. This guy here," he says pointing to Sato with his thumb, "has a very convincing speech."
The ranger nods approvingly at the plan. "That certain seems like the most likely way to gain access to their temple. They keep the place locked up pretty tight, so I haven't been able to gather as much intel as I would like. I haven't been to any of their recruiting meetings personally, but I gather 'joining' itself isn't that hard. Of course, they seem to have a ridiculous number of tiers in their program, so I don't know how hard it'll be to get to a point where you're given enough access to actually find something out."
"And if they're a proper cult, they'll want money. I mean donations!" Sato offers. "Financial power is how they'd bribe guards and get the aristocracy to look away."
Jaed looks at Sato like he went crazy. "Are we really going to give OUR money to this people?! I am ok with the idea of infiltrating the cult but I was expecting it would be free. Or at least, have some reassurance that we'll have the money back."
"I don't mind playing the fool tomorrow night during that recruitment. Anyone else wants to join me?"
"I'm in."
Etam's headache subsides and he answers: "I will join you as well. It seems like the best plan. If only because it is the only one."
I always thought it best to not split the party. I'm in as well. Though Jaed does make a good fool. Where should we stash our stuff? It might be best to not carry a bunch of weapons in with us, what do people think?
Finnrick looks up from his untouched plate as if waking from a dream. "I'm sorry for my manners, I have been lost in thought. I think that trying to infiltrate the cult tomorrow night is a grand idea. My only concern is for us non humans. Is the cult friendly to the different races?"
"At the same time, would you feel safe walking there unarmed? Perhaps we could act as bodyguards?", Etam says.
He looks at Finnrick and then at Reginar: "That is a valid question. Sir, any reports of racial violence amongst the cultists?"
"And I'm not really good at, er, faking it," says Lily.
From the sounds of it, people are masked. It should not be a problem. I guess you are correct about our stuff. Maybe stash some of it?
Reginar shakes his head. "Religious intolerance? Prejudice against non-humans? That must be some town you're from if these things concern you. Perhaps if you were all goblins and orcs you might some issues, but to answer your question: no, I have not heard any tales of racial problems with the cult. As to your gear, I don't know what you'll face inside. As such, you may wish to be prepared. But if you are concerned, anything you don't need I could look after for you out here. Once inside, I would suggest that you also keep a low profile. You'll be greatly outnumbered, so picking a fight would be...unwise."
"I won't go anywhere without my swords. Specially if we are going to be surrounded by crazy fanatics," Jaed categorically states.
He then looks at Etam and, as if we was reading his mind, he says: "We should check this Ranger's Lament before we go there tomorrow. I could also use a drink so we can kill two birds with one stone tonight."
Reginar nods his farewell to each of you in turn. "Good luck on your endeavors. Meet me here in a week's time to share what you've found. If I don't see you, I'll know something has gone wrong. But hopefully all will go according to plan. Just remember not to stick out too much."
With that, you take your leave and head towards the center of town. As you approach the area, you start to notice that the buildings seem better kept and cleaner. This is clearly one of the more affluent parts of town. Correspondingly, you start to notice more and more guards either patrolling or standing watch over the growing crowd of people. Businesses begin to pop up, ranging from coopers to cobblers.
Soon you reach what must be the temple. Just as Reginar said, the building cuts an impressive figure. Occupying an entire city block, the temple of Razmir is built of solid stone walls about two stories tall with towers positioned every thirty feet along its circumference. These towers rise above the temple itself, each crowned with statues depicting the Living God. The temple has almost no windows, aside from a tall, stained-glass window on the east end depicting the mask of Razmir. The west end of the structure contains a courtyard, only accessible through a sealed barbican. Masked priests patrol the wall tops surrounding the courtyard, watching those below with a baleful attention.
As you watch, 7 people dressed in white robes and identical iron masks exit the building. Two place a wooden block upon the ground that a third moves to stand upon. The elevated one begins speaking to the nearby crowds in what appears to be a sermon or a speech, though you're too far away to hear what's being said over the general noise of the shoppers around you. As the speaker continues gesticulating, you can see the heads of the other six members moving throughout the crowd.
On the other side of the street from the temple, you catch sight of a sign for the Ranger's Lament. It would have been easy to overlook the simple wooden building, dwarfed as it is by the impressive temple.
'Ha! If this Razmir idiot is a god you can call me Ramona from now on, kid.' Asar's voice interrupts Etam's thoughts. "I'll keep that in mind", he whispers in reply.
The warrior looks at Jaed with a dead serious face: "Our peregrination has brought us to the right place. Shall we get closer and hear the priest's holy words?"
"Sure, let's listen to that craziness. Just remember Reginar's advice and try not to draw too much attention. We both know remaining unnoticed is not one of your strengths," Jaed smiles and winks an eye at Etam.
He then walks into the crowd, hiding from the patrolling individuals, while trying to figure out what they are doing and if they are armed.
"I just hope they are as ok with my clanking armour as the bats…" Etam sighs, remembering the crypt of the everflame.
He goes into the crowd, keeping the rogue in sight. The warrior advances as little as possible, just enough so he can hear the sermon and hopefully avoid the patrolling priests.
Lily quietly follows the group's lead, not quite sure how to pass off as an elf interested in human religion.
.
As you approach, you all begin to make out the words of the sermon giver. "--not one of those gods who sits aloft on his throne content to watch his followers suffer. No, he is a god of the people. That is why when he ascended he chose to stay here among us. When he passed the Test of the Starstone, he did not abandon us as that drunkard or that peon of the dead god did! No, he remains with us in the great country of Razmiran, where he uses his great wisdom and power to spread prosperity across his realm. That is why we, his humble acolytes go through the city each day to share food with the unfortunate of the city. But we cannot expect the great Living God to shoulder all the burden. That is why we ask you, kind citizens to open your hearts as well and aid us in our noble endeavor...."
He continues on, sprouting a combination of praise for Razmir and pleas for both recruits and spare change. Now that you're closer, you can see that as he talks, several of the robed men are approaching members of the crowd with a bowl to gather donations.
During the day Finnrick had toiled with how he should go about getting Millsy into the church without being seen or if he should leave her somewhere near. As he was walking througb the street he had chanced apon a clotbing store and an idea came to him.
Finnrick went in and bought a new floor length dark green linen cloak with a hood and when tied with a bit of hemp rope was able to hide Millsy between his legs. It had taken some coaxing but finally Millsy had been persuaded to hide under the cloak and if he shuffled Finnrick was able to keep Millsy hidden.
Standing in the crowd Finnrick looks around at the other people gathering to hear the sermon he looks to see who of them may be carrying weapons and listens trying to see if any thing the speaker is preaching is known to him.
Etam whispers to Finnrick: "Do you know any of these gods he is mentioning? In any case, I think I heard enough. Shall we go back to the market and wait for master Zandorias?"