Dustwich hits the newcomer with a blast of earth! Torean accepts the battle as Carlyle's daggers fly harmlessly past.
Zaril: 11 dmg
Myrd's splinter only bounces off the man's armor.
Zaril: 11 dmg
Cyrinda and Jocephus rain their respective missiles down on the enlarged man! He, in turn, shouts obscenities and stabs at Torean!
Meanwhile his support continues to fire arrows from behind:
Zaril: 23 dmg
|
Torean barely knocks aside a thrust from the spear, a strike which would probably have cut half through his neck and killed him on the spot. Torag's blessing heals some minor cuts, and the dwarf shouts to the others. "Hit him again! Bring him down!" He waits for spells, gunfire, and daggers to fly from behind him. Then the dwarf takes the gamble and steps forward to smash the man with his warhammer. He brings Torag's judgement down on the man, forsaking healing for justice for the defilement of the temple. "You shall not have this temple! Torag will give me the power to crush your bones!"
With a mighty swing Torean brings down the Aspis leader and the rest of the party quickly wipes up his archer support!
With Zaril Namoth and his Aspis Consortium expedition thwarted, the Golden Guardian and kobolds assist you in clearing the collapsed corridor of rubble. There you uncover the remains of Venture-Captain Nieford Sharrowsmith, which are badly damaged but identifiable thanks to his crushed wayfinder and other belongings. The kobolds allow you to extract the body and its possessions in peace, but afterward the small humanoids make it clear that you have overstayed your welcome and should leave.
When you return to Nantambu, Aya Allahe is there to receive you. She listens to your recounting of the mission, and when she learns of Sharrowsmith’s death, she nods sadly and voices her thanks.
“Nantambu will not be the same without my friend Nieford Sharrowsmith. When he was younger, he traveled to all corners of the Mwangi Expanse and truly made the region his home, despite having been born hundreds of miles away in Avistan. He never truly lost his adventuring spirit, and as this lodge grew, he found his hours dedicated more and more to paperwork and less and less to exploring the lands’ rich history. I know his soul would take no offense at my saying he died as he would have wished—active, engaged, and in the field. I take solace in being able to provide him proper funerary rites.
“With his passing, Sharrowsmith’s Exports has no venture-captain, but I have corresponded with Nieford’s colleague Ambrus Valsin and agreed to act as the temporary manager of the lodge. After all, the full extent of the Pathfinders’ involvement in Nantambu has remained a something of an open secret, and it would be an embarrassment for anyone but a friend or family member to take command of the business so soon after the owner’s death.”
“I dearly appreciate what you have done for the Society, for your venture-captain, and for me.”
Aya Allahe also examines the metal component you found in the Krihirik talisman. After a moment’s study, she quickly stands, recovers a piece of stationary bearing five graphite illustrations, and slowly smiles. “This is remarkable,” she announces. “The shape of the talisman matches one of the drawings Ambrus Valsin sent me. What you have found is a piece of the Sky Key, the device even now the rest of the Society is at its wits’ end attempting to reassemble!” Then, with quiet affection, she murmurs to the Sky Key component, “Congratulations, Nieford. You and your agents have once again done what the rest of the Society could not—a fitting tribute, and a fine legacy.”