As Mary steps around the dead/dying servants, it occurs to Mother Magda that Venture-Captain Eliza Petulengro might appreciate it if the party were to help tend to them.
rod of wonder (technically this belongs to Eliza)
a bunch of masterwork short swords
2 small light wooden shield +2
2 leather armor +2
2 short sword +1
2 cloak of resistance +1
After a thorough search, Eliza has the prisoners interred in a small dungeon beneath the lodge created for just this purpose.
A handful of Eliza's servants are able to be stabilized but the rest are too far gone. Despite the depths of the tragedy, the venture captain finds the will to thank the party for their efforts.
Wordlessly, Eliza returns with a sealed scroll case which she hands off to Butyl before rejoining Osprey in searching the grounds. A minute later Zarzuket's spirit is rejoined with his body and he wakens with a gasp. His world is awash with pain but he lives again.
Returning to the ruined Great Room an hour later, the party, Venture Captain Eliza Petulengro, and Osprey meet to share what they've found.
"We believe the lodge is secure now", the venture captain says with shaken confidence that matches the blood and dirt marring her normally flawless complexion . "But the question remains why the Red Revolution attacked this lodge and assassinated Adril Hestram. I wouldn't mind if the Pale Maiden was returned as well but that's mostly a matter of principle. We can't have our enemies thinking they can attack Pathfinder lodges and make off with artifacts whenever it pleases them."
"The attackers that fled escaped through the courtyard and down into the hedge maze. I found tracks suggesting that's where they infiltrated from as well", Osprey explains.
"But they fled into no ordinary hedge maze,” Eliza says. “The Lodge’s books call it the Maze of the Open Road, and my own investigations reveal that it contains portals that connect to sites all over Golarion. It’s been here for centuries, and it’s extremely dangerous. I’ve been spending most of my time worrying about the rare curious citizen who sneaks onto the grounds and wanders in, but I wonder if I shouldn’t have been more concerned with what might come out."
The venture captain appears thoughtful for a moment and then looks to the party once again. “Please, follow me."
Leading the party outside, Eliza and Osprey stop when they reach the entrance to the hedge maze known as the 'Maze of the Open Road'. Both look somber and contemplative.
Eliza turns to you with a wistful sigh as Osprey speaks with a low, scratchy voice.
“This Red Raven struck at Adril Hestram for a reason. The truth is that we have suspected Hestram of treachery against the Pathfinder Society for months. The Decemvirate asked me to investigate personally. The Talespinning was not a prelude to Adril’s promotion, but rather a test of his loyalty.”
“A test,” Eliza says, “Adril Hestram appears to have failed based on what we found in his room.”
She produces a silver amulet, a greenstone amulet in the shape of a screaming ape, and a rolled up map. After a moment she hands them to the party.
"The idol and the amulet went missing from the vaults of the Grand Lodge months ago. We knew it was an inside job but had few clues linking the theft to anyone. Why Adril stole them or what he was doing with them remains to be seen. I don't know what the map is for or what the initials mean but I'm certain its nothing good."
Osprey smiles, his thin lips showing comfort and humor belied by his penetrating, avian gaze. “It remains to be seen whether you, his most trusted field agents, may yet pass that test. Guilt by association is not fair, but in the Decemvirate’s eyes it is prudent, especially in these dangerous times. Your investigations thus far have proven you loyal Pathfinder agents. Venturing into the Maze of the Open Road and solving the mystery of Adril’s assassination will assure your loyalty to the Society, and will surely gain the approval of the Ten.”
Eliza steps forward, her hand curling into a triumphant fist. “I believe in you. I have since the first day we met. Go into the maze. Learn what you can of the Red Raven’s operation and how it ties in with Hestram. Come back and report to us, and we will coordinate our next move.”
With their task before them and the stakes clear, the party enters the Maze of the Open Road.
The shadowy pathways stretch and turn, surely taking you outside the dimensions of the maze as viewed from the lodge’s rear lawn. The leafy walls virtually bristle with enchantment, and the atmosphere thrums with the sense that once inside the Maze of the Open Road, you have somehow left the mundane world behind. At irregular intervals side paths branch off from your chosen corridor, leading who knows where. After several minutes the path widens to reveal a long causeway roofed by crumbling marble arches. Far up ahead the stone pathway opens onto a large plaza containing a handful of ruined stone structures, ancient buildings that look like abandoned temples. An enormous marble colossus of a robed figure looms upon a pedestal at the center of the courtyard, looking down upon a field of lifelike statues arrayed in a chaotic pattern. All bear terrified looks and are posed in grotesque defensive postures, arms out to stave off some unseen danger.
So damaged are the walls of this roofless structure that the building’s original purpose is impossible to determine. Amid the rubble within stand five statues of primitive human men, Mwangi warriors by the looks of them. Each wears a simple grass skirt and bone fetish necklaces, and each also bears a considerable length of chain.
A sibilant female voice seems to come from the air around you, snaking it s way into your brains without actually making a sound. “Ssssso many visitors! Sssso many men with weaponsss and murder on their minds. For yearssss and yearsss no one would visit Condria’sss garden. Ssssso many years. Ssssso lonely. But now you come in numberssss! With your ssscarlet cloaksss and your ssswords of ssteel. It issss good that you have come, for now you shall never leave!”
Before the party can reply the five statues lose their stony hue and become flesh. With a vacant expression, they attack!
Gregor connects twice, crushing bone and pulping flesh in equal measure. Somehow, his opponent remains standing.
Markavious recognizes these warriors are fearsome Bekyar beast cultists. Their kind are known to terrorize the Mwangi expanse in the name of their cruel demon-ape masters.
When Markavious flies upward he bonks his head on some kind of invisible barrier that's flush with the top of the hedges.
Both savage warriors are rendered blind by the elf's persistent glittering dust.
The sightless beast cultists attack blindly, swinging their heavy chains in crushing arcs at their nearest opponent. Their unhandicapped brethren join the fight with a bit more tact, one even sweeping for the inquisitor's legs.
Despite being battered by the flurry of attacks, Gregor manages to keep his footing. Barely.
Four of the cultists are swept up by the conjured orb of roiling water.
Butyl feels his spell take hold and, within the swirling water, the beast cultist turns on his ally but a second later he turns his aggression back toward the party.
Mary joins the melee, tearing apart the blinded cultist and then wounding another despite the water blunting her claws. Markavious's spell is turned aside by the aqueous orb.
When Gregor withdraws, one of the cultists takes a swing at him.
The cultists struggle but are unable to free themselves from their watery prison. The blind one continues to rub furiously at his eyes.
Butyl sees no signs of additional threats, hidden or otherwise.
"Something east of us too!"
nonetheless she still has toys to play with
power attack, haste
Mother will just watch with her crossbow in case a new threat appears.
Mary tears another of the near-defenseless warriors to pieces.
Gregor neither see or hears any signs of other things moving about in the ruins.
The cultists continue being slowly drowned and/or tumbled to death.