You wait for about 5 minutes and go over to the ally. There propped against the wall is a native boy with a lump on his head. You bring him back into Cheiton's house. After a small healing spell is applied he abruptly wakes up.
Instantly he is overcome by fear when he sees you and starts crying and blabbering in broken common, I no do it, I no do it. Please sirs don't kill me...please!
Nim waits for Mihai to ply the boy with soothing words...
Mihai attempts to convince the boy that you won't hurt him and that you will help him to be rid of the people forcing him to watch you all.
vs. Hostile 25 + creature's Cha modifier (0).
Unfortunately the boy believes you are the ones that knocked him out and will kill him after you get any information. He sits there crying but defiant.
Nim looms over the boy. In a growling voice, his teeth slightly bared, he says in Polyglot, Sitshele bafuna ukwazi ukuthi yini thina, nina nibe free. Musa zisitshela ... futhi ... izinto ngizoya besuka kokubi baya kokubi kakhulu ngenxa yenu.
The boy breaks and tells you what he knows while begging for his life.
He is owned by a local crime lord named Aruvious. His owner was hired by someone to look for strangers matching your description to come into town. Aruvious has many little ones that he owns and has many eyes on the street.
Obviously someone paid well to have you found. He knows nothing of the one that hired his master but his master would. He was supposed to keep an eye on you until you settled down for the night then go back to the place where Aruvious keeps them and report your location.
The boys name is unchuku.
Mihai believes the boy is telling the truth. The boy is fearful for his life but he is definitely trying to make you feel sorry for him, probably so he can live.
Nim repeats one of his unanswered questions. Besides yourself, how many others were following us?
Just me...another already went to report your arrival into the city.
You mean the girl that tried to sell us the charms?
Yes. She was to try and stay with you while I followed from a distance.
Finally getting the answers he was seeking, Nim turns to the others. It seems we may have given those that seek to locate us the slip, at least for the time being.
Red Mantises a side, or any other interested parties we have not yet discovered he adds.
I think we should send our soldiers away for the evening. Surely there are places in Kalabuto, Saragavan soldiers can go to spend the night. A barracks or other military building. Keeping them here will only draw attention back to ourselves. We can then rendezvous with them again tomorrow when we are ready to depart.
The boy can remain with us until morning and release him when we are ready to leave.
Turning back to the boy, he switches back to Polyglot, Uma baziphathe, thina ngeke uvumele uya mahhala ekuseni. Uma uzama ukubaleka, noma akhaphele nathi nganoma iyiphi indlela, sizocela the Red Mantises ukunakekela kwakho.
The boy nods his head, the fear evident in his face. Cheiton helps arrange your shopping ventures for the next day and a secure place for the other men to rest at the local government barracks that night.
That next morning an odd sack rests in front of Cheiton's door. The red stains on the bottom of it make your stomach churn. You quickly rush to it...there is a note pinned to it.
It simpy states, Message sent.
C
Inside of the bag is four human heads. You recognize one of the heads as the man you saw outside of the inn yesterday...
A new horse is added as well as food and water and various other adventuring supplies and by noon the next day you are ready to go.
You leave east out of the city amid a wave of speculation. It appears that four men were killed last night in an ally. Their heads were cut off and their healess corpses left there spiked to the wall. The men were obviously tortured beyond belief and no one can believe that not a single sound was heard in the area.
Nim is unfazed by the Mantises' message, though he does comment, I'm sure killing them wasn't entirely necessary... but that is the danger of the game we play.
As they exit Kalabuto, Nim asks, Where to now?
The map made it seem like it was on your way. The search might be a detour of a couple of hours though since it seemed to be tied to sunken ship in the lake that you are going to be skirting as you leave the city.
You won't get to the approximate location until a day or two from now so you should be able to rework any spells as needed for underwater salvage operations.
Balani asks Cheiton if he has managed to learn anything of what she asked.
RETCON that morning as you are getting ready to go shopping. A man also visited the house as you were shopping to talk with Cheiton. Cheiton then approaches Balani...
We can retcon this as we move along, I have a lead for you...there is a group of people that came out of the jungle about 3-6 months ago. I am not sure you will like what you find though. They are in the fens. It is a slave work district. Go to the Rothcar Mill. Many of the people are there. I am not sure if they are the ones you are looking for though...but worth investigating.
You head over there, with Kragnir in tow?
When you arrive at the mill, it is a huge warehouse with a large symbol at the top. It appears to be a symbol of one of the trading houses, the Aspis Consortium. You approach the building. There are many natives working the grinder and various parts of the mill as well as a large bakery attached to the side.
It is then when you spot your uncle, Mutwabe! He is helping three other native men unloading a cart full of grain near the entrance. He looks thin and tired...
Balani asks Cheiton if he has managed to learn anything of what she asked.
Funny you should ask...was just finshed typing this up as you posted!
Balani sees a group of men unloading a cart near the door and asks the nearest labourer rather bluntly. Do you know of Chief Shokat or his son Hansi?
One of the men starts at the names and asks, Who are you? Why do you say the names of my father and brother?
Balani is surprised but pleased to have apparently found her uncle. She tells him who she is and that when she had found their village deserted she eventually found her way here. His reactions confirm that he is from that village.
How did you come to be here and where is my father?
Mutwabe sighs, Your father is dead Balani. A short time after you left the village was struck by a horrble disease. Many died...including your father. As more of our people died Kalish told us we had to leave or it would eventually claim all of us. We wandered for a time...it was hard more of us died. Eventually we came here. We had nothing.
Kalish had us all sign a piece of paper these men gave us. He said they would feed us, cloth us, give us work and shelter. Only later did we find out that we had sold ourselves into slavery...amongst the evil colonials...but at least they are doing what he said even though we are like animals now. He hangs his head in shame.
You remember Kalish was the village shamen. He was liked by few but his father was a great man and well respected so he took up his role as he grew old and died.
By this point two men with weapons and armor had spotted you and were walking in your direction. They seems to be wearing the same symbols as the one on the outside of the mill.
You look around and see several other men like those two around but busy with their own business. Keep in mind there is plenty of slavery in Sargava and the region. Even tribes enslave other tribes. Not that this will make you feel that much better.
When they are in discussion (as discreetly as they can be with the eyes of the city upon them), Tragershen will say "Well, I think it is obvious we should leave this town as soon as we can. If my estimates are accurate, the alleged treasure that the wise woman brought up should not be too far off our course. I, for one, would be intrigued to see what is there, if anything. And it may serve as an excellent red herring for those who seek to shadow us."
My curiousity is piqued... :D
As you leave the city Cheiton warns you to be wary of foreign tribes once they cross the Mwangi border.
Besides the xenophobic cult-warriors of Mzali, there are also the cannibalistic fey Eloko of the screaming jungle, and the degenerate, demon-worshiping apemen known as the charau-ka.
You let the boy go about a mile out of the city, plenty of time to get a headstart on anyone that may be looking for you...although that might have been dissuaded with the recent events anyways.
You follow the River of Lost Tears to a huge freshwater lake, the Lake of Vanished Armies.
Here at the Sargavan border with the Mwangi Expanse, dozens of tribal settlements line the muddy banks of both the river and the lake. Locals earn meager livings catching mud crabs and turtles, making mud bricks,
and growing rice, hippo grass, and other native grains.
The soft, shallow banks make it difficult to land larger craft, though the tribesfolk typically pole rafts out to passing vessels heading to Kalabuto or elsewhere, hoping to barter their foodstuffs for worked metal, crafted technologies, and other such materials. The settlements
are small, consisting only of collections of mud-daub shacks, and they lack such amenities as shops and inns.
Still, outsiders quickly discover that these friendly folk are eager to accommodate travelers in their homes, and offer you all sorts of gifts ranging from exotic foods to mystic drugs, and occasionally their companionship.
During your interactions with the tribesfolk, you hear local legends of a monstrous beast called Aomak said to live within the lake. The tales
describe a titanic, saurian monster that devours fishermen and their boats.
You could hire out a raft to pole out to th area the map is showing? Ayy special preparations? You are guessing from the map the area is about a a couple of hours south of here and out into the water maybe a couple of hundred yards. There is a specific tree jutting out of the water that is a landmark that is supposed to be fairly easy to find.
Balani returns to Cheiton's shortly after she and Kragnir left. She seems perhaps a little contemplative. I will never know my father...
She speaks to Kragnir with a sigh. We seem to be at loose ends now. After a moment she goes on. What think you of this group we have been travelling with? Do you wish to seek lost treasure?
She finds one of the party returning to Cheiton's and approaches him, My quest has ended here. Have you any need for two more on this quest of yours?
We heard he left with a group heading out into the Mwangi expanse. He bragged to one of the women about being on some important expedition for the colonials. he hesitates
Is there nothing you can do to help us Balani? Your father spoke of you leaving to find your destiny...you look...well off. Are you some kind of rich adventurer? Maybe you can help us? The Aspis Consortium people...they are not kind. Maybe there is nothing you can do for your people.
Balani does not have a great deal of sympathy for people who sign contracts without reading them first but having no other ties to her father she reluctantly agrees to see if there is anything she can do. I make no promises, but I will see. How many of you are left here?
I must go. I will return when I can be of help. It may not be for a while.
She abruptly breaks off and addresses one of the approaching guards, You there! Take me to your master.
I am looking for a man named Kalish. Do you know where I might find him?
If asked about how she came to ask him this question or what she was doing talking to the slaves outside she just says she was directed here by someone who sells information and after asking the first people she came to she realized they were useless and that she should be talking to the master of the establishment.
You uncle informs you that there are still about 70 people. They are here and one other establishment on the river. A fish house. There are children as well. Unless they are freed they will grow up in slavery as well. He admits that Kalish was the only literate one, other than your father, in the village.
The two men are reluctant to take you anywhere. You appear to be a random local and a dwarf, though well dressed and armed...an odd site but the men ask you who you are and your business? Assuming you don't insult them or threaten them you can probably get them to bring you to the merchant who runs the Mill.
He is a pensive and hawk nosed colonial, who sits behind a grand desk. You notice there are two additional guards, better armed and armored than the other two now stationed outside the door.
Kalish has left...on an assignment. What is your business with him, he is now an agent for the Consortium?
Keep in mind that the Aspis Consortium is a very powerful Merchants Guild. There are simimlar to a modern day mob organization in many ways. They have legal and illegal operations.
The man almost spits out his coffee as he begins to drink it, chuckling, after he settles himself, I doubt if Kalish is worried about making good on many things...he is one cold hearted Mwangi. He will not be back for some time, if ever. Many don't come back from the expanse when they go there.
So I am afraid you will not be collecting on your debt unless you plan to chase him into one of the most dangerous jungles in the world. Is there anything else? he says almost dismissively.
Further skirting around your desire to see Kalish will force a bluff check at this point.
Upon returning to Cheiton's she asks to speak to him.
You may wish to look into the Aspis Consortium. They recently sent an expedition into the Expanse. Judging from what I have heard from our companions they may be a rival to their mission. One of the men on the expedition is a Mwangi named Kalish.
I also require some information. Would you be able to find out how much it would cost to buy 70 slaves; men, women and children. Would it be cheaper to buy them as a group or easier to buy them a few at a time. I am also interested in less...expensive...ways of acquiring them. Maybe they could slowly disappear over a month or two. I would also need some place to put them, jobs, housing, new identities if needed. I would of course compensate you for this information. She sighs to herself Maybe finding family was a mistake. It seems to have given me some sort of obligation
Coin is coin, right? Bit of a serious bunch really, but Tazion is legendary for its riches. We could do a lot worse, even if the risk is high.
In the presence of the Aspis, Kragnir looked his most menacing. His jaw was set grimly and his spiked, midnight black full plate glimmered dangerously in the light. His hammer, too long for any kind of sheath and weighing as much as a man, was hefted casually over one shoulder.
We will pick back up again tomorrow at full steam with the investigation of the wreck. Just got back. Thanks everyone.
I can look into it for you. I am not really an expert at that sort of thing but let me see what they are doing. I can have this for you though by the time you return...if you do.
Mihai is saddened to quiescence at the sack of human heads, and merely offers Nim a look that seems to carry a weight of responsibility upon it. He attempts to see the severed heads interred with the bodies... but if that is not possible, offers them a prayer as he sees them laid to rest in a grave dug by his own hands.
He is quiet and reserved thereafter upon the road to the wreck... hunched and with furrowed brow deep in thought.
If Nim notices Mihai's admonishing gaze, he does not react. He does however speak up when Mihai suggests attempting to reunite the heads with the bodies. I do not think it wise to associate ourselves with these corpses any more than we already are. At best we will have to answer questions by the local authorities. Questions we likely don't want to have to answer. At worst we may find ourselves incarcerated indefinitely.
I for one do not wish to tarry here any longer than we already have.
The Lake of Vanished Armies isn't the type of lake you want to go swimming in normally. Balani and your knowledge of the area gives you some idea of the dangers posed by this lake.
Crocodiles, Piranha, Giant Gar, and other not so common creatures inhabit this lake and the occasional native becomes their prey. To save time you get a couple of locals with rafts to take you to the area after bribing them with a couple of small gemstones worth 10gp total.
About an hour by polling on two rafts gets you to your destination, a huge dead tree sticking out of the water the natives call the Finger of the Dead.
The local rumor is that a ship went down near the Finger, a rumor supported strongly by your map. The tales also follow that only a couple of people survived the wreck. The survivors told a tale of horror that as the ship went down people swimming to the shore were eaten alive by the dozen. The deaths were attributed to a local legend of a beast called Aomak. You are about 100 yards from the shore.
You dangle a couple of ropes tied to the rafts into the water and then cast your water breathing spells before lowering yourselves into the water. Darkness quickly overcomes you and light spells are required as you lower yourselves to the bottom. Underwater vegetation and murky water limits visibility to about 15' with 30' out the limit that you can even make our shapes.
The map seemed to indicate it was south of the "finger" so you start there. Some fish go by that startle you and a close call with a 12' Croc make you cautious but so far there is no beast that attacks you as you walk slowly across the bottom of the lake.
About 15-20 minutes later you are finally rewarded with the outline of a mast partially covered with Silt and you can make out what appears to be a wreck just behind it.
Any preparations or final preparations before proceeding into the wreck to look for treasure?
Tragershen will cast mage armor on himself as they come upon the site.
Before descending, Balani ties a length of twine to her bow in case she needs to drop it while under water and attaches the other end to the back of her quiver.
Weighed down almost to the point of immobility in his formidable stone plate, Kragnir was quite relieved to be offered a Touch of the Sea.
You slowly move into the wreck...it is touch slogging for those without magic to speed their movement. The ground is soft and sucks your feet in and Kragnir is still not happy about being in the water. Mihai falls over several times as does Tragershen.
You also kick up a big cloud of sediment from the ground and even though you are hidden from animals except for squid Nim, your passage is VERY evident. The ship is slick from underwater growths...you begin the process of looking around the ship. After about 5 minutes you find a large iron chest...rusted from the waters. It is very heavy and moving it doesn't seem a good option. You pry it open and inside you see 30 gold bars and 4 vials unbroken. It appears there were once 12 in this lined case but the others were destroyed, what is left of the vials in the slots for them. They appear to have been labeled at one time but those are long rotted.
Each bar weighs 10lbs...how would you like to get them back to the rafts?
As you think it through a large object or creature glides through the water above you at the extreme edge of your vision. You couldn't make out what it was but it was long and thick, easily 4-5 times your size in length...it glides out of view and is gone...for the moment.
Kragnir gathered up all 30 gold bars into a pile with undisguised glee, volunteering to carry them all.
** spoiler omitted **
Balani smirks at Kragnir, Are you going to walk all the way back? Asking the group at large, Will the rafts hold this weight?
The glimpse of the shadow overhead causes her to rethink.
We will barely have enough time to get back to the rafts. Carrying this load will slow us down further. Maybe we should hide it somewhere here, surface, take our bearings, and come back at a later time.
If I have to i'll drag it across the ocean floor... the greedy Dwarf replied.
The bars won't slow me any more than my stoneplate does. The rafts held all of our weight before. If Nim is not on the raft and takes some bars with him when he becomes a fish or a bird, we should manage it all. That fish stalking us makes me inclined to do this though...
Kragnir pulled the stopper off a potion at his belt, gulped it down and rapidly became the size of a small Hill Giant. He held his massive hammer over one shoulder as he began stuffing gold bars into his now extremely large backpack.