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Rokar thanks Osric for the help and decides to trust his fellow teammates and shares his "faction mission.
"Zarta asked me not to kill any Devils while we are currently on mission and to retrieve some token of theirs for use against them." Roakar sighs and then says"Gah I hate these side favors some times. Can you stop stabbing the thing. Maybe it's learned its lesson and will leave when it wakes. If not kill it then. Now what the hell kind of token could Zarta be wanting?"
When the "venture-captain" is being divested of his accouterments a lot of things glow under the scrutiny of a Detection spell. But it's when he takes his circlet off that answers begin to form.
2 potions of Cure Serious Wounds, +2 chain shirt, +1 human bane dagger, masterwork short sword, masterwork shortbow with 20 arrows, amulet of natural armor +1, belt of incredible dexterity +2, cloak of resistance +1, hat of disguise, ring of protection +1.
When the headpiece comes off the man changes appearance to a tall and thin man of mixed ethnicity (though his Taldane contains a slightly western accent.) "Look, obviously I'm in a bad spot here, but I don't want to lose my life...."
He finally takes off his ring and hands it over.
Darius studies the ring, and finds it to be a ring of rare make indeed. It's something called a Ring of the Binding Word.
This black iron ring always bears an engraving in Infernal that serves as reminder to the wearer of a pact made with a devil. The ring may only be crafted in the presence of a devil while a mortal enters into a contract with it. During forging, the ring creates a telepathic bond between the devil and mortal as per the spell. Additionally, once per day, the wearer or the devil may activate the ring to utilize greater teleport with the restriction that the wearer teleport only to the devil’s side. If the terms of the contract are met or either the mortal or devil are killed, the ring reverts to a mundane piece of jewelry. The mortal may not remove a ring of the binding word while it remains enchanted.
It has, but magic auras linger and you examined it right away. It doesn't do you guys any good, but it does provide a little bit of background.
"The ring bound me to this devil. I'm simply a paid assassin. I'm begging you. It was just honest work. Well, valid if not honest. Please. Please. Look, I had a strict contract. You'll find Keel in the bedroom... mostly. His body was shattered by the ice devil. I don't know much other than the man himself. If you want real answers you'll need to find Hestrem. You might find something in the office too. Just don't kill me."
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"We try to keep cold blooded murder to a minimum, but I can't promise you what the Chelaxian's will do to you once they find out you've murdered one of their own.. Sit tight and we'll drop you off to the authorities on our way out of town."
"Used to be a pretty powerful item, but with the devil dead its worthless.. If you must know it allowed the wearer telepathy and a teleport. Both tied to the devil.. Ig you wanna check on Keel? Lets search around some more.. Roakar you wanna watch the assassin here and make sure he doesn't slip away?"
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"Gladly." Roakar replies.
Roakar then pulls out a pair of masterwork manacles and handcuffs the little man, in a seated position, behind his back to something solid and hard to move.
He then looks to the assassin and says "They may call it murder, I would call it preventative care. I don't like shiny sticks in my back. So lets just play nice and sit there. That way I don't have to have an awkward conversation when they get back."
Darius collects his "treasure."
Darius searches the room and uncovers an interesting journal. One page in particular stands out:
I miss Kyalla so, but am continually reminded of the secrecy we must maintain. Thankfully, none have discovered not only that we know one another’s identity as members of the Decemvirate, but that we share a much more personal secret. While we see one another far too rarely, knowing that the portal to her in the Mwangi is only feet from where I sleep warms my heart. Perhaps someday we will find a way to be together without jeopardizing our positions within the Society.
…
Adril came to visit today, and quite unexpectedly. He seems to be using the Maze of the Open Road quite a bit these days. He inquired a lot about my defenses here, saying that he had heard rumblings of impending threats. I assured him that I am very safe here, and he seemed glad to know what protections I have implemented. I got a sense that he knew of my relationship with Kyalla, or at least of my portal to her camp in the Mwangi. He can be trusted with the information, I’m sure, but I nonetheless would have preferred he not know. I don’t think he knows either of us sits among the Ten, though. That, at least, is a relief.
…
My silent partner in this lucrative slaving operation has brought some harrowing news to my attention. It seems the Hellknight guards overseeing the Slave Quarter report that many of the slaves—slips especially—are moving ever closer to revolt. He indicated that they might be so near the verge of rioting that a simple word of encouragement from those blasted Eagle Knight meddlers would give them the confidence to throw off their chains. Hopefully none of those anarchic bird worshipers will hear of this, though, so morale among our property will return to its normal level of subservience.
When Darius hands the journal to others to look at a piece of paper falls out.
While the others digest everything, Darius discovers something ever more surprising (tipped off by the clue in the journal.) A secret door behind Keel’s bed leads to a small chamber containing a portal to Kyalla’s camp in the Mwangi Expanse hidden in a portrait of Kyalla, a fair-haired Taldan woman in a crushed velvet dress, a braid of her hair resting on the frame. A gold ring with Kyalla’s name inscribed along the inside hangs from the wall on a thin silver chain.
This is a wedding ring in the style of worshipers of Shelyn.
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Let me know what you decide to do with the body, the prisoner, the slaves, and the portal.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Darius will stow a piece of keel for possible ressurection later and he asks the slaves to deliver the assassin to the local guard.. With their master dead might as well loot him estate and escape the country as well lol.. After all that Darius will let the big man go through the portal first..
"After you death dealer!"
The slaves are nearly in shock at this turn of events. They had no idea their owner was dead, and upon being set free the shock starts to give way to hope. They gladly take charge of the situation and gleefully await justice (slavery is legal where they are, but assassination is not.) Each of them gives you a solemn nod. They all say the same thing, "Thank you."
Your work here done you approach the portrait, and step through Upon stepping from the portal—a framed portrait much like the one you entered in Cheliax—your lungs fill with foul smelling smoke. As your eyes grow accustomed to the thick air, you find yourself in a smoke-filled wicker hut, looking out a doorway at a cyclopean monolith in the shape of an upraised six-fingered hand several dozen yards away.
Darius:
Shirley: Darkvision, Low-Light
Ignatius: Darkvision
Osric:
Roos:
Roakar:
Once through, each of you takes a moment to soak in the surroundings. You hear neither creature nor person. Stepping outside you find yourselves in a beach encampment. The area appears to be deserted.
@Darius: Gotcha
Yes, the smoke is burning tents.
Roakar sees that most of the trail sign here has been washed away with the last tide. MOST of. There are some tracks that lead away on a trail to the west.
This structure shows clear signs of struggle and ransacking: the contents of several chests have been emptied onto the bed and the floor, and a mirror on a small dressing table has been shattered. Rudimentary scrawls and handprints in blood and mud cover the interior south wall. Ignatius declares these scrawls to be a stylized holy symbol of Angazhan, demon lord of apes. You come together to decipher additional words and symbols referring to “The Change,” “The Blessing,” and “His Bride.”
These small structures were more heavily damaged by fire than Kyalla’s hut was, though the strong rain has extinguished the flames and left them as the cause of the smoke now.. Each contains a few dead humanoid bodies that you easily identify as Pathfinders. Most died from spear wounds, while others appear to have been ripped limb from limb by a creature of incredible strength. One hut contains the body of a cultist of Angazhan. The cultists seem to have stripped the huts and the dead of treasure, and any remaining valuable items in the camp have been damaged beyond salvaging by fire.
Something destroyed the south wall of this hut during the attack, and the interior is soggier than the other huts. A shelf containing waterlogged books stands against the north wall; most of the books themselves were knocked into the mud in the fracas. A table in the center of the building has been upended and now rests on its side, its contents strewn across the floor. Among the mess, you discover Kyalla’s field notes detailing information about the camp’s central ruin, local religious practices, and the Mwangi Expanse in general. One entry stands out.
The Monkey’s Paw rises 60 feet into the air and replicates the forearm and hand of a six-fingered simian creature. The tip of each finger features the visage of a different species of ape formed from the exaggerated folds of each fingerprint. Their eyes seem to stare at you, following you as you move about. The shape of a symbol-engraved bracer surrounds the base of the statue, climbing from the ground to the base of the giant hand’s wrist. The glyphs are an amalgamation of Abyssal and Polylgot.
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Walking around the camp it is clear to Roos that someone or some thing attacked this camp and left it in ruins. The note itself is rather telling. "Making men onto apes... how strange..." Roos mutters to himself. Roos investigates the hand without touching it. "An ape hand shape and ape worshipers and ape transformations... all rather weird. I would not touch this thing, well maybe Roak can when he rages. I also do not read these words here." Roos jests.
The amalgamation of glyphs is gibberish, even to Shirley.
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"Well I speak polyglot and recognize some of the glyphs." Roakar says while tapping the headband. "Anyone know what this other stuff is?"
When Darius and possibly others speak up Roakar replies with "Well maybe we can put our heads together and figure this out then."
Turning to Roos, Roakar adds "Wasn't that little green totem also for Angazhan?"
It was...
Where to Pathfinders?
Roakar can't seem to follow the trail past the encampment...
Just giving the area a once over, Darius can't find it either. (Remember much of the evidence and tracks were washed away.) If you all work at it, I'm sure you'll get it.... I think.
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"Hmmm this last note says something about a secret entrance in the monkey hand....although they were never able to get in it...and something bad may be inside it...yeah does not sound inviting. There is also something about caves out to west...and madmen. Madmen i am sure we, or Roak, can handle. So maybe we look at the paw or look for some caves. Caves sound more human, and humans can bleed...i vote caves. umm....which way is west?"
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I'll try to give it a look over, and if: Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Osiriani, Ancient, Sylvan, Thassilonian, Tien, and Varisian fail, I'll try a Comprehend Languages.
Failing even that, I will make sure to record the glyphs, as well as the events thus far in my journal, before returning to the others to help out.
The glyphs must be pure gibberish, there's no rhyme or reason to them.
It looks like you're going to need a ranger for those tracks.
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I'll cast Hunter's Blessing on the party, picking both Human and Forest Terrain. With a bit of luck, that should give us another +2, and also allow for everyone to be able to Aid Another fairly reliably.
Before we leave, I do want to collect up the Wayfinders, if any, and try to give the fallen Pathfinders, as well as the other dead a proper burial.
Pick Jungle as your terrain, and it'll work :-)
Ignatius sees to the dead. He teams up with Osric to find the path the others took. The question is, what now?