"make no mistake, I'm happy with my decisions. Regardless."
the man falls silent aside from the metal clanking as he assumedly walks off.
Shayde gazed after the departing man. It wasn't worth the effort to hunt him down right now, not with the difficulty provided by invisibility. Next time he would have to be ready. And perhaps he would fight some foes elsewhere. For now, there was the tower.
"Should I scout ahead?"
Lina digs out the wand the group purchased and uses it to mend her wound. "I owe you all an apology," she says. "I jumped in to the fight without waiting to consider the situation, and could have gotten somebody killed. I'm sorry."
Azlana laughs. I think that was me, actually. I cast Detect Demon, and I knew he was a Demon worshipper, but I didn't realize it wasn't an actual Demon until he started talking. But you're right. He was too much for us regardless, it seems. I wonder who he was going to kill in the tower, and if we are going to regret not allowing him to do so.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Haruto shrugs slightly. "Who is to say he would not have attacked us had we proven unwilling to fight? He seemed the sort who worships violence above all else."
Azlana moves up to the tower and knocks on the door, using the passphrase if someone answers.
When the passphrase is given, cultists open up the door and welcome the party in.
"... holy symbols? No need to wear those disguises here. Come on, qe've got a place somewhere around here."
Azlana goes along with it, but stays very aware and tries not to let the party get surrounded.
Shayde and Stalker enter; Shayde idly wonders how the cultists will react to the shade... while plotting how best to assault them when the time came.
the cultists dont react much to shayde, giving the group some bedrolls.. "report to faxon in the basement then bunk wherever you want."
Azlana takes the bedroll and nods her head, trying to assess the danger they are in.
She starts down to the basement to see if they can learn some information from Faxon before killing him.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Lina puts her holy symbol out of sight and tries to look shifty and mean.
Haruto seems almost to glide in, gazing through rather than at the cultists. It is sad that there are so many dark dreams here... dreams that will have to be ended. Better if they were turned bright, but it seems unlikely that those who would put out the stars will listen to his words.
And so, he remains silent.
when the party heads downstairs, they see a tiefling.
This trifling, probobly faxon, asks the party to report from patrols and turn over any loot they've found doing so.
Instead of doing as he says, Azlana challenges Faxon in a louder than normal voice, but not to the level of yelling. Just sounds angry and frustrated.
Faxon, why are we doing so little? We could just attack them and be done with it. They are still weak and in shock. These patrols are ludicrous!
"you know as well as I that the demons will finish them off, and we have to prepare to move to the next city, when minagho calls us. So don't get impatient."
When is Minagho going to call? I'm freaking tired of the pointless patrols. Why don't you let us go ahead to the next city and scout?
faxon narrows his eyes, starting to lose patience.
"I don't know when, nor do I know what city is next. I would advise you stop asking stupid questions."
Azlana nods to Shade, in case he wants to get stabby.
"Fine."
Shayde doesn't bother with silly questions, and instead steps forward, slides his short sword out of his cloak, and thrusts at the cultist.
Stalker acts nearly simultaneously to do similarly.
As Shayde attacks, Azlana takes a step back while drawing an arrow and also attacks, trying to down the leader of this cell before he can call his friends.
"Right,"" Lina says shortly, since it's evident that Faxon doesn't know anything. She flicks a starknife off of her belt and aims for the throat.
Haruto, as usual, is too spaced-out to anticipate the surprise attack, so he misses the surprise round.
and with that, faxon barely gets out a breath as she drops to the floor with all sorts of weapon sticking put of him lik a human pinchision.
Haruto seems vaguely surprised by this turn of events, though he's still looking past where Faxton was standing rather than at his corpse.
Azlana searches the body and the room for any information they can gather about the cult... (and of course valuables) along with anyone else who wants to help.
With a thought, Shayde summons a few orbs of darkness and sends them up the stairs to snuff out the dim lights above. Then he and Stalker slink up as well, to capitalize on the darkness and distraction.
Lina cleans her blade and moves to assist Azlana in her search, then prepares to assist in the fight against the rest of the cultists.
The other cultists are utterly routed.
There's a locked wooden chest and Faxon carries its key. Within are various items looted from the ruins over the past several days by the cultists, including 2,310 cp, 759 sp, 122 gp, 11 pp, five silver holy symbols of Iomedae worth 25 gp each, a masterwork longsword, two masterwork scimitars, 450 gp in various fine housewares like silverware and table settings, a wand of bless weapon (18 charges), and a currently broken phylactery of faithfulness. The chest also contains a sheaf of papers documenting the cultists’ movements around the city. These papers not only indicate that the plan to attack Kenabres was several
years in the planning, but that there were a large number of Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth involved.
Finally, there’s a short note in immaculate handwriting.
Faxon,
You did well to report your superior’s mishandling
of funds, and I trust that you will continue to serve as
loyally in the weeks to come. You need not command
the Kenabres Templars for long, for the city is about
to die—I only wish I could be there to take part in its
murder, for I have fond memories of my Red Morning
Massacre. No matter, I suppose, for your mortal kin
will all fall soon enough—as I said, Kenabres’s days are
short. V orlesh has already left to meet with our Lord’s
daughter in the Abyss to secure a Nahyndrian crystal
of the proper purity, and once she has what she needs,
she’ ll arrive in Kenabres to finish the job and turn the
wardstones fully to our use. You will know when she
succeeds, I suspect! Praise Lord Baphomet!
Minagho
And lastly, on faxon's person- potions of cure light wounds (2), potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of barkskin, potion of invisibility, potion of spider climb, +1 leather armor, dagger, ring of protection +1, portable alchemy kit, four silver holy symbols (two of Iomedae, one of Shelyn, and one of Desna).
Yikes. Sounds like they are going to try to finish off Kenabres. We'd better go report back.
They gather up all of the stuff they found before they head back.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Well, that confirms their suspicions about what the demons are planning," Lina says. She considers the note for a moment. "Minagho, the Red Morning Massacre..."
At first these refugees were allowed in unquestioningly. In early 4607AR, however, a demonnamed Minagho entered Kenabresmagically disguised as a refugee. Once inside the town’s walls, she revealed her true form and slaughtered 62 citizens before vanishing in a cloud of greasy black smoke.
After the Red Morning Massacre, as it was called, Kenabres refused entrance to any emerging from the Worldwound except those who could demonstrate direst need. Those admitted were forced to undergo protracted and painful tests to demonstrate their mortality. Individuals who fell under suspicion were turned away or executed on the spot.