One of the men, Akkuret, invites you into the ancient temple, offering you seats in the recently constructed pews. All are given food and wine, and while everyone is eating and drinking, Akkuret listens to your questions and concerns before stating, "We shall get to all of that soon. But first I wish to discuss some new developments with you. It just so happens that I have been able to discover quite a bit about this Dalsine fellow's background."
"The third son of one of Taldor’s wealthiest senatorial families, Chalfon grew up with everything a young boy could want. He lived in his family’s vast country estate outside of the capital city of Oppara with servants at his beck and call. Not being the eldest, Chalfon wasn’t burdened with the responsibility of someday taking over as head of the family, and spent his youth indulging every whim. As he matured into young adulthood, however, he slowly began to resent his parents’ emotional distance, their burdensome rules, and their insistence on tradition, station, and family pride, and he began to look for diversions outside of Taldor’s strict social hierarchies. He found such an outlet in the easy camaraderie and fantastic adventures promised to members of the Pathfinder Society in Absalom."
"At first, life as an initiate in the Society was everything he had hoped for. Because of his family’s wealth, he was able to circumvent some of the more stringent requirements the Society places on its initiates, and live a life of relative luxury. He paid others to complete his chores and assignments, and spent his days and nights in Absalom’s brothels and taverns. He did not care that his actions violated the Pathfinders’ basic rules, believing that his ancestry and social class placed him above such boring, petty concerns. But when the Three Masters discovered Chalfon’s indiscretions, he was summarily expelled."
"Chalfon left Absalom angry and bitter, and spent the next few years roaming the Inner Sea region in search of distractions. He sampled the more exotic wares found in the markets of Sothis and Katapesh, lost and gained fortunes in the darkest gambling dens of Ilizmagorti and Riddleport, and drank strong mead in the cold longhouses of Kalsgard. When his gambling debts began to mount up, he fled his many creditors and went into hiding in rural Taldor. With nothing else to do so far from “civilization,” the bored noble began dabbling in esoteric arcana under the tutelage of a local, reclusive magic theoretician named Banell Half-Drowned. Being a rebel at heart, Chalfon found personal validation in the rejection of wizard orthodoxy inherent in Banell's approach, and saw it as a way of achieving wealth and true power. Not surprisingly, he soon became one of Banell’s most promising students."
"During his 4 years of study under Banell Half-Drowned, Chalfon occasionally visited some of Taldor’s larger, if not most metropolitan, cities in disguise to blow off steam and escape the drudgery of rural living. On one of these trips, Dalsine met a young Pathfinder named Kormiggon Sussworth in a seedy tavern. Kormiggon was slowly becoming disenchanted with the Society and spoke of a group called the Shadow Lodge, which aimed to supplant the inefficient and feckless Decemvirate. Since Chalfon blamed the Pathfinder hierarchy for many of his own problems, he and Kormiggon quickly became friends."
"When he felt he had learned all he could from Banell, Chalfon left his master’s house and began exploring remote ruins and forgotten places of power throughout Avistan, hoping to discover powerful magical artifacts that would help him in his ascent to power and limitless wealth. Ultimately he failed in this endeavor. At first, Chalfon was hesitant to return to Oppara, not wishing to once again be ruled by his family but he obviously overcame this."
"Chalfon hired a ship and began reingratiating himself with the Dalsine family. Playing the part of the prodigal son, Chalfon did his best to seem contrite and was soon accepted back into the family fold."
"But even though his wealth and power kept increasing, it was not enough. Through his continued correspondence with the Shadow Lodge member Kormiggon Sussworth, he made contact with an influential and radical member of the Lodge’s hierarchy—a secretive agent known only as the Spider. The Spider offered Chalfon an incredible opportunity: if the Taldan noble helped bring down the Pathfinder Society in Taldor, he would receive his pick of the artifacts found in the Society’s vault in Absalom once the Shadow Lodge brought the Decemvirate to its knees."
"Soon afterward, Chalfon’s spies came across some incredible secrets that would allow him to put this plan into motion. They had been following our group for some time. A Keleshite member of our group named Khismia happened to be the youngest sister of a Qadiran noblewoman named Pasha Muhlia Al-Jakri, the faction leader for the Qadiran loyalists within the Pathfinder Society."
"Chalfon knew very well who Pasha Al-Jakri was. Chalfon’s older cousin was none other than Baron Jacquo Dalsine, head of the rival Taldor faction, and Chalfon knew that the two of them hated each other. Not caring for his cousin any more than he did for the rest of his family, he devised a plan to pit the two faction heads against one another."
"Chalfon could not believe his luck when he received further news—that the venture-captain for the Opparan Pathfinder lodge, a man named Muesello, had been using the Dawnflower Blossoms to smuggle Taldan artifacts out of the country in order to circumvent Taldor’s high export taxes on such items. The situation seemed almost too perfect. With a few well-placed manipulations, he would not only be able to expose the venture-captain’s crimes and discredit the Pathfinder Society in his home country, but hopefully also create an all-out war within the Society by pitting Baron Jacquo Dalsine and Pasha Al-Jakri against each other. All the Shadow Lodge would have to do then is come in and pick up the pieces. All he needed was a little luck. And it seems, so far, that things are going his way."
The man sighs and continues with one last thought. "Going after Dalsine tonight would be suicide. If we wait here for the night I hope that more of our Sarenites will be able to join us and help you. But I fear that nothing can be done for the moment, especially with so few. I will send someone to act as messenger to warn the rest of the Pathfinder Society if you like. That way when we make our move we will hopefully have more of your friends with us."
The party lays down on the pews to rest. Just as the party is drifting off to sleep, Vanyel's raven lets out a squawk! just in time for everyone but Vanyel to wake up to notice Akkuret standing over Rilamon's body with a scimitar drawn!
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Rilamon hurriedly stands up but Akkuret slashes at him as he does so.
As soon as the elf is on his feet Akkuret slashes at him again!
He then slams into Rilamon with his free arm:
As the impostor takes Ril down, his features slowly transform into a hairless, leathery biped with a face dominated by grotesque and unsettling whorls and slits instead of actual features.
Vanyel wakes up!
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Tevaga rolls off the pew instinctively when she hears the raven's call, but she's too slow to do anything as the shapeshifter starts cutting through Rilamon.
Seeing that she's the next closest target, she feels her body tense for a split second before she consciously lets her body loosen for the impending attack.
Tevaga gets up from her nap and feels a bit angry at the recent development!
Fruno stumbles up from his bench.
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The impostor steps over to Tevaga and attacks!
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His rumbling snores having been interrupted, the now-awake half-orc scientist grumbles out a cry of "Treachery!" He draws a small flask and drinks it down, causing his bulk to swell with muscle and his skin to harden into a gray leather, as his nails grow into claws and his mouth fills with rows of jagged fangs. He moves around the pews to flank the creature with Tevaga. "Vile fiend!" he spits between a jumble of sharp teeth, "You'll regret this day that you attack us!"
Vanyel tries to use a wand to heal Rilamon but is unsuccessful.
Dr. Gunter gulps down a tonic to increase his strength and Fruno moves around the pews to get at the attacker.
Tevaga pulls out a sap and hits the impostor!
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The faceless blob creature steps away from the center of the group and swings its scimitar at Dr. Gunter!
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Dr. Gunter steps around to where the creature steps to cut off its escape from being surrounded. He winces from the sword's blow, but only briefly. Fending off the creature's second blow, he smiles wickedly through his snaggle of razor teeth. "Oh ho! It's a game of fisticuffs you want then? Come then, see about this!" the alchemist hisses.
Dr. Gunter lands a claw and bite on the faceless stalker!
Vanyel tries his wand once again but can't seem to get it to work.
Fruno swings his greataxe but misses.
Tevaga hits with her mace but once again does less damage as his formless body absorbs some of the blow.
Rilamon continues to lie unconscious
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Faux-Akkuret once again steps out of flank and goes after Dr. Gunter!
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The alchemist steps around to flank the charlatan. Dr. Gunter looks injured from multiple sword wounds, but the creature's slam doesn't manage to do anything against his alchemically toughened skin. "Foolish turncoat! You shall not best the efforts of the Pathfinders! Lay into me with your blade, I shall still stand against you!"
With a bite and claw Dr. Gunter takes down the creature!
The Dawnflower Blossoms cultists are quite upset, knowing that their entire organization has been compromised. They thank you once again and inform you that they are no longer safe here and that they will hire a ship this evening and flee the city.
They add that none of them know the location of Dalsine’s home, but assume that it is located somewhere in the aristocratic Senate’s Hill district. They also express concern that the situation might be much more dire than the fake Akkuret let on.
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Doctor? What? Oh, right. B'trayl. Assume he's dead now? Once he sees the body, Ril asks What th'ell was he? Tha's not normal. After a moment's though, Ril stands very still.
Rilamon "casually" walks over to Vanyel and whispers to him how do we know that that one was the only one? What if some of the rest of them are the same thing he was? Can you do some mystical mumbo-jumbo to tell?
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Vanyel shakes his head, then gives a reassuring sort of half-smile to the assembled cultists. "I assume that this creature, whatever it is, was not suicidal. It wouldn't have acted unless it seriously thought that it could kill we Pathfinders all, and it saw stopping our mission as important enough to sacrifice its disguise. If there had been others allied with it here, they would have felt the same, and would have struck at us. I have every confidence that all of us here are exactly what we appear to be. But if you--" He indicates the followers of Sarenrae. "--wouldn't mind, I think we should talk to each of you individually. Not that we don't trust you, it's only that I'd like to get your impressions of the false Akkuret and in a group it's easy to let just a few people do all the talking. Would that be acceptable?"
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Tevaga pulls out her own wand and hands it to the doctor. "You mind hitting me with this one?"
"Thanks."
Tevaga starts counting the cultists when Vanyel offers to talk to each one in turn, and raises an eyebrow.
"No need for that. It's late, and I need to sleep. " she turns to the crowd and points at the woman attempting to make herself small. Tevaga pulls out her sap, and starts hitting it into her open palm. "You come here and talk to me now, or we'll both take a little nap and chat in the morning."
Singled out by Tevaga, Charito begins to tremble and sob. She falls to her knees. "Please! Don't kill me! It's just. . . I know who Chalfon Dalsine is. . . I just was afraid they wouldn't trust me if I told. . . I swear, I didn't know about the attack, but I worked as a chambermaid for a woman who was h-having an affair with Ch-Chalfon last year. . . . I know where his manor is on Senate's Hill."
Once she calms down she can give you directions to Chalfon's manor.
The Sarenites also impart upon you the few remaining treasures they still have in gratitude for your help. They give you a potion of lesser restoration and an illuminated Kelish manuscript of key passages from Sarenrae's most holy text The Birth of Light and Truth (worth 150 gp).
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When the woman finishes what she knows of Dalsine, Tevaga nods her head in understanding. "Y'know, I thought Akkuret's story seemed a bit detailed and, I don't know, sympathetic, or something. Now it makes sense. Man, that was stupid of us..."
"Well, fake Akkuret sure wanted to dissuade us from visiting Dalsine tonight, but that was prob'ly all BS to assassinate us in our sleep. Do we want to go at least stake out the place tonight? We can't stay here."
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Frunobulax gives Tevaga a nod of approval, "Have you ever considered taking up the mantle of an inquisitor? You seem to have a natural knack for it." He finishes putting on his armor.
"I say we seek out Chalfon's estate. Yes, acting immediately may not be the most prudent, but Tevaga's idea of staking out the place seems sound."