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Insidion lay dead, with three mirror images scattered at his sides, also unmoving.
Suddenly one of the images opens its eyes, then another, and as they all rouse and begin to snarl and circle the gnome illusionist, the eyes of Insidion open last of all.
"Booo!" he whispers, now on his feet with murder in his eyes.
Melnat tries to protect herself by creating several images.
The gladiator remains on the ground laughing but the other warrior keeps stabbing at Awen:
Insidion destroys two of the gnome's images!
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Victoria smiles that Insidion was able to avoid the nightmare.
"Baz! Stay after the gnome. Awen, get back and do not try to fight in your condition. I will try to cover for your escape."
She strides through the wall, trying not to get too dizzy.
vs wall
She moves to the space NE of the (A) on the map and casts lightning bolt on the two men.
DC19 reflex for half.
Bazresh's first arrow misses but is close enough to destroy one of the images . The other two hit the gnome!
Alexei leaps completely clear of Victoria's lightning bolt but the hysterical gladiator is hit by the full brunt.
---
Alexei tries to take Awen out as a threat:
Melnat steps away from Insidion and creates a chaotic blast of arcane energy that washes of Insidion and Bazresh.
26-50 do nothing but babble incoherently
51-75 deal 1d8 + Str modifier damage to self with item in hand
76-100 attack nearest creature
Insidion pops the gnome's last image and then claws into her! Baz's two arrows then knock the gnome unconscious! The gladiator mercenary, still laughing on the ground, can't put up much of a fight and Alexei, on his own now, surrenders.
After you subdue the Aspis, Kasadei and her scouts move in to secure the ruins.
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Victoria will rush to the fallen dwarf, seeing he is beyond the healing of her healing touch.
Alas poor Orik...I knew him...well...well not as well as I wished. Let us bind these and search the place for clues. Back in town we may find help for our fallen comrades. To lift the gray veil for Orik or the gray stone skin from Lucija .
She nods to Kasadei and the scouts but remains sullen at the losses her friends incurred.
Alexei and Nalme know they delivered the previous wagons to the Bronze House in Magnimar. Indeed, Melnat is wearing a bronze Aspis Consortium badge, which itself is proof enough that the Consortium is involved in these illegal digs.
Subduing the Aspis and questioning them without resorting to cruelty or torture impresses Kasadei, and because she feels bad for your fallen companion she offers her help slowing down the Lord-Mayor’s guards once you begin their raid on the Bronze House. "That should buy you a little more time," she says.
Having linked the Aspis Consortium to the smuggling operation, you can now plan a raid on the Bronze House to look for additional evidence of illegal activity and recover looted Thassilonian treasures. There is no firm deadline, but every day puts the Consortium more on alert and risks the Consortium discovering the raid.
Kasadei and the other guards help you transport Lucija and Orik back to the city for treatment.
While the Council’s writ gives the Pathfinders the authority to enter Bronze House and look for evidence, Kasadei and Lady Heidmarch recommend a subtle approach; Sloan can quash any open investigation within minutes with the Lord-Mayor’s aid. If asked, Kasadei recommends posing as merchants and slipping in with the daily trading business, while Lady Heidmarch advocates a night raid, quietly subduing any opposition. Kasadei estimates the Lord-Mayor’s guards’ response time to an alert at 10 minutes, and combat or fire would draw in the local patrols sooner. Kasadei provides the Pathfinders with a city watch signal whistle and instructs them how to use it. If you use the whistle, guard patrols will respond quickly, believing another guard patrol is in danger.
You may recall, or ask around to learn, more about Bronze House and local activity.
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Victoria helps negotiate the recovery of dead dwarf and stone gnome. If they need to be moved, she will arrange for their transport.
"I agree. Baz, you must have called in serious favors to find such revealing information. Very impressive.
Having the papers and a fallback plan seem prudent. Since use of force will not be well received, posing as the merchants and gaining their trust is our best option."
Posing as merchants, you approach the Bronze House, which is a busy center of trade and bustling with activity. Massive bronze double-doors decorated with serpent motifs serve as the imposing front entrance to the Bronze House. Voices echo around this grand hall, diminishing the speaker beneath the chamber's scale. Two pairs of smaller doors lead east and west, while two terrace doors lead north.
A clerk approaches you as you enter and, hearing that you are merchants, offers to take you to the offices to discuss terms. Four clerks work in the office with a guard overseeing the chamber.
An iron gate blocks the southwest corner, a chest and cabinet inside.
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Insidion takes a minute to prepare himself with mage armor before they make their appearance. Unfortunately, nothing about the tiefling looks at all like a merchant. If he smiles, it only reveals overly-large fangs, and his large black claws also make him look like someone to avoid.
In the end, his companions take the merchant's garb from him and insist he act like a guard.
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Lucija clenches her fists in frustration after being restored and apprised of what transpired in the cave.
"Had I been in there," She bombasts, "We would have crushed them before they had a chance to fell Orik!"
Upon hearing of the plan for dealing with the merchants, she chooses to postpone summoning her companion and instead summons beautiful celestial horses to bring with them.
Upon arrival she gestures to them , and says, "As you can see, we possess no small sum of wealth and power, and have much to offer a worthy trading partner."
"Well, what is it that we can do for you then?" the clerk asks. "What kind of business did you have in mind?"
"Ah yes," the clerk says. "We deal in many such things. Is there anything in particular you are interested in? Let me show you this, it is a mask of mental warding from one of the reclusive and insular elves of the Mordant Spire which we were recently able to procure." The clerk, with the assistance of a guard, unlocks the cage and retrieves a wooden mask from the chest before closing and locking the cage again. The clerk carefully places the mask on the desk next to an official declaration of authenticity from the Cathedral of Abadar.
As an official representative of the Church of Abadar, I do hearby affirm that I have carried out all proper procedures, both physically and magically, to verify that the mask presented to me on 4 Calistril 4708 ar by Mr. Maiveer Sloan of Magnimar originates from the Mordant Spire.
Signed this day,
the 15th of Calistril 4708 Absalom Reckoning,
Yarius Melinar
"Is this the sort of thing you might be interested in?"
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"Forgive me," says Lucija, rising from her seat. "someone needs to oversee the workers while we're done this."
Lucija heads outside to herd the celestial horses into a back alley before dismissing them, then returns to the foyer, waits until nobody else is there, and summons a salt mephit.
"Princeling of Brine," She addresses the mephit solemnly. "I have summoned thee here for a task of espionage. I wish you to scout the building we are in, then return to me and report what you have seen. I wish to know all that you have seen, but most important are where you see workers or guards, and how many of them, and where their private documents are kept. Do not let yourself be seen! If are seen, then do not return. Do not fail me!"
"Some less documented? But why would you not want to be assured of authenticity? We only deal in authentic relics, I assure you."
Meanwhile, Lucija's salt mephit nods in understanding and then works its way east. It reports back to Lucija on the following:
The southeastern door in the lobby leads to a small chamber with chairs and a desk, supposedly used for private meetings. The door beyond is locked.
The next door to the east also leads to another meeting room but this one has a secret door. The mephit goes through and finds a sitting room with finely carved chairs sitting before a fireplace and bookshelf in one corner. Half-burnt papers litter the fireplace. There is also a desk in the room.
Another secret door to the north leads to a chamber where a glowing sapphire atop a pedestal sits alone in the room. The western door to this room is locked.
The mephit then has just enough time to go out into the gardens at the center of the complex, but nothing interested is noted there. A 10-foot-hgih stone wall, iron gates, and shrubs block its vision to the area beyond.
This exploration takes several minutes and the mephit has just enough time to report back to Lucija before it is whisked off to its home plane.
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Reflecting on her new knowledge, Lucija reaches out further and summons another aide: A hound archon this time.
"Warrior of Heaven," She addresses him. "I have called you here to assist in a task to which you are well-suited: An investigation - yes, backed by the full force of the law, if you must know - into a far-reaching yet small-minded business enterprise that squanders and undeservedly hoards the treasures of this world. You are to assist me in any way you are able, but primarily as sentry, as I seek evidence of their suspected crimes. I have associates in the other room distracting them."
With that, she and the archon make their way to the room with the bookshelf and fireplace, and begin searching the desk and fireplace.
Maps are spread out on the desk.
The half-burnt papers in the fireplace include shipping manifests for Jeggare wine.
The desk has many papers and writing implements. The hound archon notices a hidden compartment though. Inside is a ledger detailing the locations of Aspis smuggling operations around Varisia. A second hidden compartment contains Sloan's information about various organizations within Magnimar. At the top of this pile is a single sheet of paper with the words Korholm Agenda at the top.
KORHOLM AGENDA
The Agenda’s strike on the Grand Lodge showed a flair for the dramatic, and what a delightful way to put that hypocritical club of sanctimonious hoarders in their place. A mind as honed as my own cannot help but wonder, however; surely this strike was not the final objective. Do they aspire to establish a foothold in regions where the Society’s infestation strangles legitimate business transactions? Then again, I suppose the tremendous value of the items they liberated could be motivation enough; a sane person does not scoff at between five hundred thousand and a full one million gold pieces in market value, at my appraisal, nor does he advertise that he has newly come in to such fortunes. I sincerely hope for their sake that the Agenda soon realizes what a grave misstep they have made in not yet inviting me to join their ranks. However, grudges should never stand in the way of profit, and so my heart would swell with forgiveness in the name of commerce, were they to recognize the value of my contributions in their most recent actions, and compensate me appropriately. My overtures of forgiveness have only met with shadows within shadows, I am afraid, though I would not spare the Agenda a passing hint of respect were its members simple to find.
The bookshelf has many interesting tomes.
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Lucija's eyes gleam wickedly at her discovery. She stashes the maps in her handy haversack.
Figuring these papers were burned for SOME reason, she takes them out of the fireplace and stows them as well, as well as her archon's discoveries.
"You serve me well!" Lucija congratulates the archon.
Lucija has found the mysterious Peacock Spirit an entity of extreme interest for some time now - she may not know Thassilonian, but she knows one of the spirit's holy texts when she sees one. She takes it.
From there, they head into the room to the north that the salt mephit had reported. While the archon keeps watch, she appraises the sapphire for both magical and more mundane properties.
Lucija finds the next room with the stone to be beyond her understanding. The next door is locked.
To Baz, the clerk responds, "Why don't I get you something to eat and take you somewhere more comfortable for these negotiations. There is a conference room across the foyer. I will have some servants bring you refreshments and I will go fetch some newer finds from our warehouse." The clerk escorts you to the meeting room Lucija's salt mephit explored earlier and sends for some food and drink.
(+2 stonework)