Wadreskus recalls that there is a portrait of Olivina in the theater. The only trap doors you find on the stage are mundane things that lead to the empty crawlspace beneath, used for special effects and quick prop storage and retrieval during plays.
It seems you have found all you can from the theater now and your only other lead is to head for the Graidmere Swamp.
Beyond the cosmopolitan confines of the city, the theaters and academies give way to ramshackle farmsteads—moss-draped shacks occupied by suspicious farmers. Gnarled vines seem to pull every structure down into the swamp, and the roads gradually deteriorate into muddy footpaths. The air becomes thick with mosquitoes and the shrill shrieks of unseen creatures. With some simple directions from people back in town, though, you hope to find the place mentioned by the spirit of the hairdresser.
Impromptu causeways of soggy debris wind through the swamp, several converging on a decaying stone manor whose walls have settled, sagged, and sunk unevenly into the wet ground. Garlands of sinew strung with animal bones hang from the stones like a threadbare spider web, partly obscuring the small carvings incised into the crumbling stone. A small hut of wooden posts and woven grasses stands atop a nearby hummock.
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Wadreskus feels at home in the swamp. As the party nears the foot prints he gestures down to them, pointing them out to the rest of the party. He looks around for any sign of the humans who made the foot prints. His hawk reaches out into the spirit world doing the same.
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Pai didn't object to the shaman spell casting on Olivia. She wasn't too crazy about spending more time in the haunted theatre, but if it would give a clue, she was willing.
She followed the group to the swamp, and waited on one of the braver sort to say the words she was given, wondering what might happen.
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Wadreskus touches Quiven's shoulder leaving a small scar in the shape of a star. I'll have the spirits watch over you. Don't worry I can take the scar off you later. Remain unseen, I'll keep an eye on you.
Wadreskus's eyes turn black and he begins to chant in a low voice.
The actress is being held in a dark, dank room somewhere in the city of Karcau. She is bound and blindfolded. The moisture and air quality in the room indicate that she’s in the tunnels or sewers beneath the city.
Searching about Tangledyne, Quiven sneaks forward but finds the place utterly abandoned. The footprints you identified earlier seem to be the most recent signs of anyone coming here.
After Wadreskus repeats the words, nothing appears immediately, although the foraging birds, mammals, and insects pause, examine you more closely, and then hastily depart the area-though it's not clear whether they do so out of fear or to report to the swampers.
In fact, for all the haunted spirit told you back at the theater, it seems rather anticlimactic. You wait about though, and within the hour a swamper mystic approaches the hut. The animal bones and geometric patterns of mud that adorn his armor, clothing, and skin look quite dissconcering. A giant marsh cat lopes behind him. In heavily accented Common, he asks, "How did you learn to call us?"
The swamper simply nods when you tell him how you learned to summon their kind. "I know of this crime and I can assure you that none of the swampers are responsible for the abductions, although this has been the leading rumor. More information is costly and a trade would be needed. I would normally charge six thousand golden pieces for such information but under the circumstances I am willing to offer to fine folks such as you for half that price."
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Perhaps we can offer assistance in another way, there is more to this than just gold. Come sit, you have more to discuss. But first, partake in the bounty of the wild.
Wadreskus reaches down to the ground and begins to draw fruit trees from the dirt. They grow quickly and as they do as small spring begins to form with clear water. When the grove is done growing Wadreskus picks two pomegranates from a tree and offers one to the man. Eat then tell us what you really need. Wadreskus eats the other fruit and listens.
The swamper takes a deep breath at the questions of gold and payment. "I can offer you an alternative. You may receive the information for free. But the swamp always claims its toll in time, even when something seems free. Taking this option is your choice-it is of no consequence to us-but you have been made aware."
He then pulls a few fruits from the trees and sits cross-legged on the ground to continue the discussion.
"What need have you of gold, Master Swamper? What is it you truly wish from us?"
"As I said, the swamp claims its toll in time but your companions seem content with this, as am I as long as you accept the consequences."
The swamper mystic, satisfied with the exchange so far, tells you what he knows. "The swamper community has spotted several groups of strange figures dressed as mourners moving about the sewers and tunnels beneath the city. Many wore fine jewelry, and several carried bundles wrapped in gray linen-much the same shape as bodies swathed in shrouds. Most of the sights have taken place at the west end of the city, and we suspect that these cloaked figures are using the sewers to reach the Eylusia Building, an extravagant funerary business operated by Zeffiro Lesiege. This does not seem an outrageous assumption, no?"
"For several years now we have known of a concealed passage that leads to this building, but even then anyone using it traveled alone or in pairs; the groups seen lately number as many as fifteen individuals at a time. Those living in the sewers have tried to confront these suspicious figures several times, only to watch as the strangers melted into the gloom. Those who try to investigate further have turned up dead or disappeared entirely."
The swamper pauses and clears his throat quietly. "I will also warn you, Pathfinders, that the Eylusia Building has several anti-intrusion devices that guard Lesiege's business-far more than an honest businessman would require. Take of that what you will."
"Lesiege? Until a little more than a decade ago, Lesiege was a simple undertaker, but his infectious showmanship has transformed local funerals into flashy, opulent affairs—which in turn have made him one of the wealthiest citizens of Karcau. He is now considered a leading trendsetter and a rising star in the city’s social scene, and most of Karcau’s nobility hold him in high esteem and would look poorly upon anyone slandering his name."
"Lesiege has an appetite for vices of all sorts, from food to drugs to companionship. He spends many nights out on the town indulging his insatiable desires. Those seeking similar iniquities sometimes contact him to learn what Karcau has to offer. Perhaps some of the nobles who defend Zeffiro Lesiege’s reputation do so thanks to the plump dossier of blackmail he has no doubt accumulated over the years."
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"So, wait... Are we thinking that this Lesiege fella is responsible for Olivina's abduction? I mean, it makes sense to me - from what we've heard, he seems like the kind of guy to indulge in a little human trafficking - I wouldn't put it past him at least."
As the group makes their way back to town, Desmond wonders aloud, "At any rate, we should try and find out what these groups of mourners are doing. Maybe they're the kidnappers - maybe Olivina is just the most high-profile abduction. You know, they could be drugging or enchanting the victims and taking them to the mortuary where Lesiege ships them out all over Golarion."
He looks around at the others, shaking his head, "Alright, it ain't a perfect theory, but I seen things more sick and twisted in my time..."
The five-story Eylusia Building is among the most consqicuous in Karcau, and it is visible from almost anywhere in the city. Tall, ornate, and styled like an ornate mausoleum, it stands out as a monument to the egotism of its owner Zeffiro Lesiege. Most activity in the building is entirely legitimate. The ground floor serves as an ostentatious showroom for the coffins and displays created on the floor above. The third level houses workrooms for embalming the dead, and the fourth floor is administrative. The fifth floor contains Zeffiro's penthouse. As the swamper implied, there is a basement but no one seems to know what happens there if they know that it exists at all.
A nearby sewer grate easily swings open and leads to a tunnel with dank brink walls. Beyond this a little ways is an arched entryway with a strong wooden door and what looks to be a heavy lock protecting it. The left half of the door is painted black, the right half white, and both are in need of a fresh coat thanks to the discoloration from years of exposure to the moist air.
Quiven and Wadreskus do not find any traps on the door so Quiven sets to work unlocking it. With Quiven's skill, the lock proves quite easy for the halfling to pick.
Inside is a low-ceilinged chamber featuring two pairs of manacles bolted to the floor int he center of the room. The stone floor beneath them is stained rust-brown. Hundreds of half-melted candles populate the floor, along with several ritual ingredients, such as jars of tallow, salt, ash, and small bones. Fifteen alcoves line the room, each concealed with a heavy curtain.
However, as soon as you step a bit into the room, two of the curtains flip back to reveal two creatures wielding polearms. Cogs and gears are visible in the gaps of the metallic creatures' armor.
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Desmond jerks his head quickly in disgust with himself, "Adamantine arrows... can't forget again." Left without any effective ways of bypassing any kind of damage resistance, Desmond hopes to simply hit hard enough with his falchion to put some dings in the mechanical men.
He quick-draws Dingo and declares the red statue to be his "favored enemy".
Desmond's blade is not able to completely cut through the metal but he still knocks a few gears loose. The clockwork construct swings down on the ranger!
The other construct steps out of its alcove; as it steps out, the plate it was standing on is no longer depressed and as a result a vapor begins to pour into the room!
It then activates the crystal wand in its chest to shoot a fireball at the party!
red: 23 dmg