Essar focused on the sound of the wail, it's tone, pitch and height. He hoped sincerely that it wasn't what he thought it was...
perception
knowledge (religion)
My allies it is time for us to retreat, the wailings are that of an elven female... A banshee can only be produced from the soul of an elven female and such a creature is far beyond our capabilities. My hatred of the undead does not extend into folly, if we fight this creature our destiny lies in dolurrth...
"For once I agree with the blood priest, discretion is the better part of valour. Let us live to fight another day."
Speaking through a Message:
"I concur. Your suspicion seems valid, Ebran, your house may hope for you to die here. Perhaps we can rest and replan at the settlement we stopped in earlier...
"
"Wait- while we can all agree facing a Banshee is folly, it is entirely possible that we can take another path to the astrolabe- Essar's cousin is not our goal so we do not need to follow him into danger. Let us look for another way through this building."
I may have another option for getting the item, however I must know whether or not if it is flammable...
Xov backed out of the passage, away from the banshee, back to where the group had fought Sir Kelton. Whatever they did next, going towards the banshee was not a good idea.
Replying to Danir through the message, he whispered
"Maybe. There is certainly at least one other passage,"
he gestured to where Essar's cousin had come from,
"but my contact said that the object we are after is an Eldritch Machine. If they have the means to defend it, they will, and I'd be surprised if there weren't some other creatures too powerful for us to face in here. If there really are mindflayers, they could probably see through any ruse we try. Besides, I'm getting the sense that someone other than the armies of Vol are in here..."
"Dunno if it's flammable. I would imagine if it is so powerful, simple fire couldn't do it in."
There is a way through this problem now that I think of it, in warfare it is generally a given that any fortification can be taken if your willing to pay the price to do so. What we need is a source of fodder to soften up the defenses of the enemy... I know just the fodder to do it, the Silver Flame is filled to the brim with zealous idiots who would relish the opportunity to attack a secret blood compound. With just a little manipulation on your part the Thranians will launch an assault in upon this place, they will serve as our fodder. Of course this is assuming that you can actually live up to the title of "spy" or is that just your formal designation from your superiors to feed your ego?
"Well, when we get back to the settlement we can research what other group is here, and call in any favors we have."
Ignoring Essar, Xov turned back to Ebran:
"Did your contact give a sense of how time-sensitive this is? I doubt leaving an artifact with creatures like these for a long time is a good idea...still, it may be easier to help Danir into his house first. Either way, we should probably retreat now, before they block the exit."
"I got very little from them"
"Well then, let's get out of here while we can."
Gesturing to Essar, Xov said
"We should probably get him somewhere he can be cured..."
"Indeed, if he'll accept it."
A cure for the disease is doubtable at best, in my studies of the Silver Flame I also examined the history of the disease which now afflicts me. Breaking such a curse is difficult, furthermore I doubt aid will be forthcoming from those who know how to cure the disease. As those beings tend to be either priests of the Flame or the Host and we all know how bad relations are between those faiths and my own...
"Would you rather just be locked up every month? I think I could arrange for that..."
With no guarantee about what happens between full moons, of course...
I suspect fate will not be that kind, my cousin now knows that we exist and his hatred for me is exceptional... He blames me for his failure to control his own undead during several battles in the Last War.
"Well, while he is moping about himself...hmm, I suspect the most important next steps would be to get a sense as to what other faction we just ran from, and to figure out where the thing House Cannith wanted Danir to get is."
"In my earlier research with our now departed companion, I was able to narrow the possibilities down to three locations that might hold the item- Castle Tarn, the Ruins, and Larquod's Legacy."
"Let's start searching then. Lots of ground to cover. "
I am afraid this is not an option, more pressing concerns require that we complete Ebran's task... This is a matter of Karnathi, Aundarian, Brelish and even Cyran security. When we raided the blood temple where this all began I lied, I did find something. However I needed time to investigate whether or not if it was authentic, I believe it is a map to Xenhotaal, the hobgoblin temple of the elements. Worse yet it is located in the bowels of the Thrane, if even a few of the legends concerning this place are true and Thrane was to find it... They could potentiolally restart the Last War with every nation's pants down.
His interest piqued, although suspicious that these could be even more ravings from a now-sick madman, Ebran asks, "Could you expound upon that?"
Essar busts out the map and places it on the table and then speaks...
We all know what Mordain the Fleshweaver is capable of, every attempt to execute him failed. Over a dozen different methods were used, everyone of them failed. Finally they turned him to stone and sent him to Dreadhold, he escaped en route to that prison. He gained his horrific knowledge from the Closed Circle, a group of arcanists devoted to the study of Necromancery, Transmutation and Conjuration. Much of their knowledge was derived from the Dragon Below and the forbidden arts of magic that came from the aberrations who destroyed the hobgoblin empire. The Closed Circle by most standards had only touched the surface of the magical power that lay in their studies, and if that is true then Mordain is only a minor example of what happens when such knowledge is available.
If Xenhotaal is a treasure trove from the Hobgoblin Empire's destruction then it may well contain knowledge that would make Mordain seem to be a mere dabbler... Mordain was an example of what happens when a small ammount of that knowledge is learned by an individual. Envision what would happen if an entire nation of religious zealots were to gain a horde of that knowledge...
"Hmmmm, and yet, I do not care- if this is such a wondrous trove then we are likely not yet ready to face it, and I have duties that I must attend to with my house. I shall go back to Morgrave University and see what I am able to dig up on these locations there- I have also heard that they now have a Sphinx in residence and I must admit that I would like to meet the creature if I get the opportunity."
Xov cast message on the group, and started whispering.
"Well, hold on a minute...if what Essar says is accurate, Breland and Aundair would already know from seeing him find that...scroll. In that case, we are in no condition to handle the situation ourselves, and they would deal with it if necessary. Danir is right, we ought to focus on the tasks we have. "
You do not apparently understand something, our lovely little Cyran Powder keg is located in the inner regions of Thrane... From what I heard while in prison the Inquisition has ramped up security measures, in effect getting into Thrane would be difficult for a national force. However Ebran's House can get around that problem, Thrane suffered heavily in the Last War. The majority of her outer provinces were sown with salt by invaders from Breland, Audnair and Karnath. Everyone recognized one essential truth, if the Thranians have no food they are done for. This is the reason why Thrane kept all of it's holding in the treaty, the land was worthless. Being the buggers they are however Thrane will try to bring her outer provinces back to their former glory. To do that Ebran's House and to be precise the Raincaller's guild is absolutely essential. If Ebran's House were to act as our cover for Xenhotaal few in Thrane would question it. As such Ebran's Task comes first, as for taking out the Banshee I may have a way to deal with her...
"Have we not already suffered this madman's delusions enough? Must we continue to feed his need for attention when we have actual tasks to complete? Do as thou wilt but I for one am going to complete the task given me by my house."
I will be pursuing my plans and research in Sharn proper, if you wish to go after the objective that nothing is known about them go right ahead, however with Ebran's own assignment we already know the target and the defenses to an extent. With your task we know virtually nothing other then House Cannith said to go to X to find Y.
Xov rolled his eyes, and turned back to the rest of the group.
"Very well, ...perhaps Ebran and Othan can look for information on what other, non-Vol cult, is hiding down there among mindflayers. Shall I accompany Danir?"
Dismissing his message for Essar, but maintaining it for the others, he whispered:
Ebran remains silent on the matter.
Danir Heads off again to Morgrave University to study the locations he found on his previous trip to the Library there. Given the opportunity, if she is taking visitors, he will also inquire about meeting the Sphinx in residence.
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The quest to talk to the sphinx wasn't at all fruitful. Most people are guarded of the Professor. Your arcana roll was successful.
The Schema they want you to retrieve is in Karrnath, actually, in a dungeon called the Frozen Citadel, as you got ahold of the House's lists of where schema were found and studied. The schema they want you to retrieve was stolen by bandits that took over the Frozen Citadel but was never recovered.
That may be the best place to start.
Essar will be searching for the various Consulates of nations Breland has diplomatic relations with, are they scattered or within one single district?
Having given up on the matter, Ebran takes some time away from the party to consider what has transpired and what will happen in the future.
No way to proceed, group's too scared. Can't do it alone, for sure. And the artifact might be moved by the time we get back to it... That's it.
to see where such a thing (astrolabe) might be taken and how (rail, coach, etc)? Ebran isn't with the party while doing this, so any suspicions might be leveled at him alone.