Faithless and Forgotten Part 2: Lost Colony Of Taldor (Inactive)

Game Master nightdeath

Magni follows up with the plan

As the rest begins to keep Galvar's attention on themselves, his eyes begin to droop as Nithrun's spell hits him hard! Within moments, his body begins to fall as he enters the realm of dreamland!

Catching his body, you lower him gently onto the ground.
Game is on. What do you wish to do next! Galvar is now down on the floor and no one seems to have noticed.

If we are in A6 as we planned there should be no one near us. Take out our ropes, tie up and blindfold Galvar, then check out A7 if the guard there actually is our contact as suggested above. If it is then put Galvar in its custody and get the information we need in order to save Zefiro

Getting out his rope to bind the guard and a weaponcloth to serve as a gag, Samildanach turns to Oggil and indicates the prone man. "Any chance of you knocking him out?" he whispers. "Won't be sleepig long and don't want to kill him yet."

With that he gets to work tying Garven up and loots him for any keys that may be useful.

"Right, let us try that contact, maybe she can cover for us, or know a barrel we can shove him in till this is over."

The spell should target 4 HD. Was there anyone else who could have been targeted besides the guard?

"As the eagle spots her prey, did you find any keys?" He points to the nearby cells. "That would be a good place to store him."

"But as the wail of a banshee is worse than her touch, so should we gag him to avoid undue attention being brought upon us."

To ensure that you Put Galvar out of commision for good (Without death if that's your wish), I have moved everyone to A6: Facility Storage. Inside this place is secluded enough that you'd face no further interference from the other guards and can leave Galvar insdie as well.

This chamber stores crates containing various odds and ends necessary for running a prison: food, manacles, parchment, ink, and other supplies. Two cages for minor offenders, animals, or valuables stand against the east wall, and an interior door leads into another room.

You'd find a place good enough to place the Knocked out Galvar here. Do you wish to search the place further?

Why not?

"Start searching the place... we need to find Zefiro and to free him..." says Magni while surveying the room.

Perception check: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24

Nithrun searches alongside Magni for Zefiro, or clues to where he might be.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Oggil joins in the search.

"With the eagle gone, the rabbit may emerge. Let us seek our contact and see what he has to say."

perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

Making sure their 'charge's is securely locked away and manacled, Samildanach joins the search with his fellow agents for anything of use here. They also listen to the interior door once done searching.

search: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

listen: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

The party discovers two crates with rather interesting items inside.
Two violet crystal prisms used in the activation of the sound proofing system in the prison. One of the crystals has a visible crack in its surface.

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The Guard Krima looks up at all of you when you enter the Archives.
"Yes?" in a neutral tone though her eyes tell you she has already noticed the absence of Galvar.

Looking at the odd Prisms, Samildanach shrugs and looks to Nithrun, the relative expert on such matters. "Any ideas there? Apart from shiny ornaments." the Cleric asks before they make their way to Krima. Eyeing her up he sighs slightly, knowing they have little chance but to trust the untrustworthy Tamrin and give her a shot.

"Ya see, we're a tad lost Krima and a mate of ours said you might be able to help." he starts, hoping she gets the importance of the matter. He drops his voice as he continues "it would seem we have the same interests in plants, a pretty little Flower it is too."

diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

Oggil looks at the prisms with interest. "Perhaps they are interrogation devices?" he wonders.

"If you could help us.." he adds to Sam's plee "You would be doing a great service.."
diplomacy (aid): 1d20 ⇒ 11

Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

Nithrun fiddles with the device for a short amount of time before uncovering its properties. "It radiates illusion magic, and it seems to be working once more," he says.

Magni casts Detect magic on the stones.

"Yep they're magical all right..." he confirms.

When the group enters the next room the dwarf actually nods at Samildanach words:"Yes... a flower" he confirms

"Indeed flowers are precious and should be allowed to grow freely." she affirms her identity.

"Now that you're here we should get to work." she begins.

"A prisoner matching Zefiro’s description was in the middle of a torture session when the interrogator was called away; he’s probably still strapped to whatever machines they have inside, along with people I suspect are fellow Bellflower agents. Whatever Galvar showed you is likely not where they are but the outside of where they would be. Also when Zefiro was first incarcerated, guards secured his documents in the prison’s vault. I don't rightly know what the building’s traps are, but most likely, from my observations, the interrogator keeps some kind of written memo for accessing the vault in his office. You'll need this." She hands over an imperfectly cast duplicate of the office’s
key

"Not a perfect mould but it should do for our purposes. For this I'll be 'taking' over Galvar to ensure we don't look so suspicious."

She crosses her arms as if expecting questions.
"Well?"

"So, we go into the interrogators office, find his memo, take it to the vault, secure the documents about Zefiro, then head into the middle and free him and the other bellflowers. Then escape without notice?" checks Oggil.

Samildanach breathes a sigh of relief as the identity is confirmed and lets loose the tension in their shoulders. Nodding to the agent, the Half-orc mulls over the plan which seems simple enough.

"We have some crystals here, any ideas where we put them? Also and knowledge of the guards inside?" he asks before indicating he is ready to go.

"Well now, the guards will be likely distracted by the festival but anything overtly suspcious and they'll sound the alarm. Also Im not too sure what those crystals might do. Though I suppose they were meant as some form of security precaution...."

"So long as they are not like the ear of a bat, that allows hearing from a distance." mutters Oggil.

"Let us head to the interrogators office. We should time our walk to avoid the guards patrolling the ring corridor."

Samildanach nods to Oggil's suggestion and shrugs, waiting for their guide to be ready to escort them along. Having the contents of Garvel's pockets, the Pirate hopes they have some of the correct keys to get them through.

"Right, let us move on then, lead on 'escort'." he says once they are ready.

We don't have anyone able to cast "silence" i guess?

"Let's" magni concedes.

Oggil leads the group out and around, nodding politely to any other guards that they pass.

Although the guards looks suspiciously at first upon seeing you without Galvar, they stand down upon seeing Krima.

The walk seems long but you soon reach the Office A8. The key you have made by Krima is an imperfect fit but with some jostling perhaps, you could get them to work.
Disable Device needed. DC25. With Key +8 bonus. Can be made untrained with key.

Oggil rattles the key in the lock once the guards have moved on.

DD: 1d20 + 2 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 2 + 8 = 18

But it doesn't fit for him.

Following Krima through the prison, Samildanach does his beat to look as vigilant as the rest of the guards, not wishing to stand out any more than they already do. As Oggil tries the lock, he looks around in apprehension, knowing the game to be up if they get caught here. Hearing Oggil's rattles, he frowns and gives it a try himself.

dd: 1d20 + 1 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 1 + 8 = 26

lol.

Gozreh smiles upon his favored indeed as Samidanach gets teh key to open the door with a satisfying click.
Krima nods to the rest of you as she stands guard outside while the rest of you pile in.

The other guards seemed to have not noticed your actions.

A smoldering fireplace illuminates this room, casting red light over a massive corner desk littered with disorganized papers. A seven-foot-tall statue of a four-horned fiend with a burning crown overlooks the desk from the corner.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

"Shall we look for the directions to Zefiro?" Nithrun suggests, looking around for agreement before proceeding to examine the room. He begins to leaf through the papers on the desk.

Oggil joins in the search of the desk, keeping a wary eye on the devil-statue.

perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23

Glad the key worked, Samildanach steps into the office with the others and looks warily at the statue in the office. Whilst the others search the desk, he searches the statue for clues.

perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

"That thing is creepy, reminds me of those ruins a few days back, eh?"

"As the echo returns across the lake, so does the statue seem familiar" agrees Oggil.

After finishing with the desk, he will examine the statue closer. But he wants to finish the desk first.

The first thing you find of note is One is a copy of The Asmodean Disciplines, bookmarked to a chapter on crime and punishment with a handwritten note.

The second document is a twine-bound set of instructions for activating the prison’s soundproofing mechanism.

The third is a letter addressed to the interrogator from the Nail’s ranking officer addressing the declining efficacy of reports exposing political enemies provided by Zarta Dralneen. This letter provides some insight into Zarta’s shift in loyalty from House Thrune to the Pathfinder Society.

A vial of antitoxin can also be found in the drawers.

"Bad poetry." notes Oggil. He spies the antitoxin with interest.

"Why do I suspect there is poison somewhere nearby?"

Keen dwarven eyes turn back to the first letter. "Odd.. 'ixpressly' is spelt incorrectly. Surely that is intentional. There is likely some hidden message in this poem."

Looking from the statue to the notes, Samildanach frowns slightly as he tries to process the information apparent. It would seem Zarta is trying to distance herself from Cheliax, why is that? Shaking his head to clear idle speculation he thinks for a moment.

"Yeah, spelt with IX... ain't that Nine in the old tongue? Maybe something to do with the Nine Hells?" he shrugs, not entirely sure.
"Anyone know what that statue depicts?"

"Indeed, that is plausible. How might we procure an 'essence of vice and sin'?" Nithrun asks. Continuing to search the drawers, he finds the vial of poison. "Could this be it?"

Are there any papers related to Ianareth Alazario?

Any checks we can try for this?

Magni shrugs:"Well I guess we'll have to find out later. Zefiro is clearly not her and still needs saving. Where next then? he asks

DC 16 Linguistics check notes the deliberately misspelled word “ixpressly,” which provides a hint for the riddle.
Nothing else found here.

"As the hells have nine level, so does this poem also have nine lines" notes Oggil, pointing out another similarity.

"Let us visit this vault.

Where to? I suggest A9

A9

Steel beams reinforce the walls of this chamber, which is accessible only through a round iron door with an inset wheel. The numerals one through nine embellish the wheel’s edge, with the number one set in the uppermost position beneath a stone arrow.

The vault has an iron door sealed with a combination lock.
There is no key to open the lock, but someone can bypass it by turning the wheel in the proper number sequence, alternating directions once each number reaches the arrow.

"I guess there's a code somewhere for this thing... I suggest we find it" says Magni starting to search the room

Perception check: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

"If it's not in your seeing range, I doubt that any of the guards here would be willing to reveal it," Nithrun says. Holding up the vial he pocketed, he asks, "Where might the not-nice hall of sacrifice be to put this, if I understood the verse correctly?"

"As the sun gazes down on the surface of the world day after day, so should we examine again the clues we already hold." suggests Oggil.

"That poem. It had nine lines to it, did it not?"

Samildanach listens to his allies' suggestions with a nod and looks up at the Vault ahead of them. Reading through the poem again he shrugs, unable to work it out at this moment.

"Whatever we do, we should also look into these Prisms. If they work to make the place quiet, it might be a good idea before we start to free prisoners." he suggests as they contemplate their next step.

The poem found earlier seems to hold the key to the vault's code if only one could deciper it. What little insight you have managed to gleaned from it suggests that with in the code lies the numbers that you seek.

So far so good, since the guards are not displaying any untoward suspiciouns towards the party.

"Since the hall is supposed to be 'thrice-damned,' maybe the number 9 should be used three times?" Nithrun suggests.

Oggil tries the poem:
"Asmodeus even stated
Of our wretched fate
That he hath reevaluated
Every spirit’s weight.
For what would be the fairest price
Of souls ixpressly grown
If I’ve an essence full of vice
And sin in evil Abrogail’s Thrice–
Damnéd Hall of Sacrifice to cast before his throne? "

"could it be the number of words in each line? three, four, four, three, seven, four, seven, six, nine" he asks.

"That misspelling still bothers me though."

Not related to number of words per line.