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Terrill heads out of the tavern with the party, then speaks once they're out of earshot, "Let's keep an eye on the door, and when she comes out, I'll turn one of us invisible to follow her. Once we know where Golbrier is, we can free him and talk to him. Who wants to get turned invisible...no, wait, I know you would find it fun, Bizzle, but we should think about this question a little differently: Who's the sneakiest of our group?"
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"If you don't mind, Hawkwren," answers Terrill, "it might be the best way to know where she's going. Since Bizzle has given us the ability to communicate, we can follow some distance behind and you can tell us where she's headed. Don't want you to have to deal with any surprises completely on your own."
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With a plan in mind, the party waits for Alya to leave the inn. . . only to find that she seems content to stay put! After some time it becomes apparent that she is in fact staying at the Broken Cup. Hawk easily sneaks past her (and everyone else) to the rooms upstairs, though, where he is certain that he can hear Golbrier’s muffled cries from one of the rooms.
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Once Hawk returns with word of where Golbrier is being kept, Terrill says, "Right, I can't stand to see someone held like this. Let's go free him, now." He casts a quick glance at the rest of the party to give them a moment to respond, then heads toward the door of the Broken Cup to go upstairs and rescue his fellow Desnan.
Hawk-who is definitely a dude-hurriedly sneaks back up the stairs and makes his way into the room, finding Golbrier tied up on the floor next to the bed. After loosening the man's bonds, Golbrier whispers to Hawk, "You're from the Society, I'm guessing? Good. I can slip us out of the city through the Leper Gate if you can just get me out of this room and away from that damnable bounty hunter."
Golbrier shrugs and shakes his head. "Not unless you've got a potion in your pocket for me. Not a trick I know, I'm afraid."
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Hawk thinks for a moment then rummages through his pack, withdrawing a small flask. "Here, take this, it'll help you sneak out. Give a minute headstart to alert my companions, maybe they can divert the bountyhunter's attention while you make you escape. We'll meet you behind the tavern."
With that, Hawk returns to the party and quietly informs them of what he knows, then moves toward the door, before he becomes visible once more.
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Bizzle leaps into action.
I say, my lady! Bizzle will position himself so that she must look at him in a place that she would not be able to see the man coming out of the room and down the stairs. I couldn't help but overhear that you've had some good fortune. Would you like an attempt to make more out of said fortune? Bizzle produces his loaded dice from his beltpouch using Mage Hand as he speaks. Whaddayasay?
Golbrier nods at Hawk's plan. As the ranger leaves the room and returns to his companions just in time before the invisibility wears out, Golbrier downs the elixir and sneaks down the stairs unnoticed by Alya or the others drinking at the bar.
Out in the open air again and free from his bonds, Golbrier is very grateful for the rescue and gives you all heartfelt thanks as he leads you away from the inn and the obnoxious bounty hunter. "I was waiting for the Pathfinders when she caught me so I'm glad you were able to track me down. Without your intervention I'd be sitting before the Umbral Court by now; I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you! Now come this way; I know some Desnan sympathizers who can lend us some mounts and get us out of here in a hurry. Oh, and take these few things, it's all I have to offer right now."
He gives you two cloaks of elvenkind.
Along the way he fills you in with what has been going on. "My most recent information from the Whispered Song is about the leader of the Onyx Alliance expedition, a man named Lord Maravan. My sources say Maravan is a spellcaster of some power, having trained in the Arcanamirium in Absalom, but also an accomplished duelist who studied under a Tian Xia weaponmaster."
"Some Whispered Song spies have heard him claim he was planning on recovering a minor artifact known as an 'obsidian obelisk.' Maravan seems to know the location of an ancient barrow known as the Cairn of Shadows, which lies within the Barrowmoor. They believed it was the burial mound of a horselord chieftain named Telendrak, an ancient foe of the Midnight Lord who the Desnans hold in high esteem."
"Now I'm happy to have allies willing to explore the site-certainly it is better for you to explore it than the damned Onyx Alliance-though I am truly not interested in entering the barrow personally, even if it does hold certain significance in my faith. I’m a lover… and a singer… and a bit of a dancer, but not a fighter. I'll gladly lead the way there though."
Since the Whispered Song is aware that Pathfinders were due to arrive and seek out the Onyx Alliance expedition, Golbrier has already arranged a route to get you to Barrowmoor. With his assistance, you are able to travel quickly, borrowing mounts from Desnan sympathizers and dodging Nidalese enforcers as you head toward the Cairn of Shadows.
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As they make their journey to Barrowmoor, Terrill takes the opprotunity to ride by Golbrier's side and chat with him. "It makes me very happy that we were able to get you away from that bounty hunter," he says, "I would free anyone unjustly held, it is the core of my beliefs. But to free a fellow Desnan has a certain sweet savor to it. I have spent many years fighting for freedom on behalf of the Song of the Spheres, just as you have worked in your own way to live out her beliefs. In fact, this is not the first time I have come up against the Onyx Alliance, and I look forward to defeating them once again."
He goes quiet a moment as they ride peaceably along, then continues, "Within the Society, as you may know, there are certain of us who seek above all else to liberate the imprisoned and oppressed. It could be of great benefit to my like-minded Pathfinders and yourself if we were to work together. Give it some thought, we have some time as we travel to discuss it. In the meantime, I hope you'll grace us with some of the Starsong's melodies by the fire tonight."
During the travel, Cadaeacus asks their escort about what they are seeking. "Do you happen to know what this obsidian obelisk does or why the Onyx Alliance wants it so badly?"
"I'm afraid I don't. I'm not really a proper priest, just a singer and outspoken proponent of the faith. If they want it so badly, I can't imagine it means good things though."
"Within the Society, as you may know, there are certain of us who seek above all else to liberate the imprisoned and oppressed. It could be of great benefit to my like-minded Pathfinders and yourself if we were to work together. Give it some thought, we have some time as we travel to discuss it. In the meantime, I hope you'll grace us with some of the Starsong's melodies by the fire tonight."
"Ah? I appreciate the sentiment; I had no idea there were others in your Society who favored such values so strongly. Of course, I've always been friends with the Pathfinders but had never really considered joining or opening a formal alliance with them. But if there are some among you who could lend aid to my cause in breaking the religious imprisonment of people in this country of Nidal, I may have to consider working with the Society more closely in the future."
"As to the song, I'm sure you'll tire of my voice by the journey's end! Ha! But it would be my pleasure to perform for you tonight...."
Golbrier is in regular contact with Whispered Song spies, who ensure you don’t run afoul of patrols or Kuthite loyalists during the journey. Just before you arrival in Barrowmoor, a spy’s report informs Golbrier that the Onyx Alliance expedition has found the Cairn of Shadows and they’ve begun excavating the ancient tomb. The report pinpoints the cairn’s location, but can’t be sure how long the Onyx Alliance has been inside.
The barrow mound holding the entrance to the Cairn of Shadows is a tall mount of rock and gray earth, 30 feet in diameter and 20 feet high. One side has been excavated with piles of dirt and lose rocks tossed about. The excavation into the tomb is only a few yards deep, beyond which there is an archway made of black stone and the tunnel walls change from roughly dug dirt to worked black stone.
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Seeing the entrance to the excavation before them, Terrill reaches over his shoulder and draws his elegant curve blade. He turns to Hawkwren and says, "You want to go first or shall I? You can sneak better, but with all of us in tow, I don't think the sneaky approach is going to last long. Though I can turn you invisible again if you wanted to explore a bit."
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Maaarv draws out a flask of liquid, passing it back and forth between his hands. "I'd wager these Onyx fellows are quite busy with their excavations - perhaps so busy that if we are all just sneaky enough, we could get around fairly well without too much trouble."
Maaarv stops shuffling the flask back and forth and holds it steady in his right hand. If the group decides to go in all together, he will drink it.
The party steps through the portal, trying to be sneaky:
All lights grow dim as the party steps into the portal. A large hall stretches to some great height, its ceiling too high to see. Chains of every size and length hang from above, filling the space with delicate clinks and slow scraping sounds as they gently sway in some unfelt breeze. The depth and height of the chamber are difficult to assess as the chains obscure vision beyond a few feet, but through the forest of chains comes the sound of strangely slow running water.