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Shohiraj pieces together an escape route from the gathered notes and files.
The group races through the tangled halls, pressed on by emotionless recordings that the "destruction of the facility is imminent." As the group begins to ascend a ladder to the surface, Zurnzal peels off, his explanation barely audible over the twisting squeal of metal in the halls behind, and continues back toward the mansion entrance.
With a nod the group opens the trap door to the surface. The workers in the field have returned, several are racing between buildings, carrying what they can of their personal belongings. Others, the scientists from the above-ground labs, load documents into the saddlebags of the few horses on site. To Falth's delight several look curiously injured and maimed.
No one notices as the four of you slip out and into the surrounding forest.
Zurnzal slams the trap door shut. A thud and squeal penetrates the silence, then stops.
The theletos aeon hovers ten feet away as if it had been waiting specifically for you, its visage slightly grayer than before. Zurnzal reaches out a hand to it. It reciprocates.
A thorny vine climbs up a crumbling trellis before wrapping itself around an iron sconce bearing an unlit torch. As the vine coils higher, the torch springs to life with haunting, green flame. As if attracted to the light, a trio of praying mantises with red-hued carapaces clambers up the vine toward the flame. The vision fades just before the three arrive, making it unclear whether the mantises extinguish the fire or throw themselves upon it.
The front door bursts open.
"Temarra! Temarra! Are you here? We must go. It's over."
There is a long pause, then the door slams.
Zurnzal nods to the Aeon and departs into the shadows of the garden.
The group's return trip seems uneventful until you cross into Cheliax. Within an hour, a team of Aspis operatives led by a finely dressed Garundi agent named Amersanus Valacosti meet you. The agents instantly begin to collect the files, documents, and specimens you have collected and place them in haversacks and iron chests.
"My team is to escort you back to Ostenso for debriefing. You are to speak of nothing that they saw to anyone except Iaovin Ratarion. Are we clear?"
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As you approach the Aspis HQ in Ostenso, members of Valacosti’s team teleport you directly into the Aspis Building and shepherd you to the Hall of Blades.
He snidely debriefs you, asking probing questions and repeatedly reminding you that what they discovered is to be kept completely confidential—even with regards to high-ranking members of the Consortium. He seems particularly worried that the strange creature that devoured Eramay has made off without consequence.
He does end the meeting on a somewhat favorable note, however.
"For your service and compliance, I assure you that you will be paid in full for your sacrifice, whether that’s in gold, favors, or the tearing up of pending bounties."
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