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The Hall of Purifying Flame is found on the outskirts of Katheer, among the stench of slaughterhouses and tanneries. Nothing about the Hall of Purifying Flame suggests purity. Poorly patched cracks meander among the decaying brickwork, running up from the structure’s uneven foundation. The hall’s many windows have been bricked up or boarded over. Above the hall’s iron-shod door sags an illegible, weather-beaten sign. Ruthless mercenaries and slavers, the Fraternity of the Unforgiving Fire make their headquarters in this decayed structure. They have no one posted to watch the exterior.
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As they approach the house Karsa, back in his usual appearance, mutters a quick spell. Right, we can talk to each other privately now he whispers through the message cantrip. When they get close enough he opens his senses to the presence of magic and checks out the entrance to see if it looks safe.
If all seems safe he retreats to the back of the party and mutters, well, go on then, it all looks perfectly safe, what are you waiting for, a personal invitation?
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“Well I thought I’d use my blade instead of my head … but whatevah.”
Kalistrian dude kinda reminds me of someone …
Ensuring her ioun torch is in orbit over her head, Eadie attempts to smash open the door with her adamantine blade.
If successful, she leads the others inside on the lookout for surprise traps or ambushes.
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Karsa prods Kuriq with his bone walking stick, hey now, weren't you payin no atenshun! I done searched the stoopid door for magic n' traps n' stuff. If'n yu want ta live youd best keep yer eyes and ears open yung'un!
With that he pops a wadded ball of oddly coloured red goo into his mouth, chews it loudly and then spits the remnants onto the ground where they spatter over Kuriqs shoes. He gives a big, toothy grin filled with blood stained broken teeth.
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Scattered debris and empty barrels clutter the structure’s main hall. Dim light filters from a curtain-shrouded balcony above, illuminating the silhouettes of dozens of wooden training dummies. To either side, stone stairs lead up to the balcony. The stench of rancid oil and stale sweat fills the hall’s smoky air.
Hearing the break-in several dervishes seem to have spread a red-crimson oil across the ground near the entrance as several more stand ready with scimitars in their hands. "Didn't think you would come knocking so fast."
Bless
Karsa
Grint
Hania
Kuriq (30/33)
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Dervishes
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Vurgan
Eadie (103/106)
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Hania runs up to the nearest enemy. "Repent of your evil, and you will be redeemed!" she calls out to her enemies. She swings her sword at the enemy she ran up to.
edit: oops, I don't think I can move that far and then attack; I was misremembering a rule. Please save that attack for the first attack of next round.
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Peering around the edge of the door Karsa takes in the large number of enemies. We want any of them alive? he asks, hoping for a no. Bah, you probably want to jabber at them, don't you and I suppose our host might be upset if I burn down this bit of the city, not like there's anything here that looks like anyone would miss...
With that he raises his stick and points it at the central guard. You, KABOOM! he snaps and a small ball of fire races towards her, exploding into a raging inferno.
Cackling as the flames erupt he scurries into the room.
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Karsa sends a fire bead hurtling into the room, which explodes into a deafening torrent of fire. As the smoke settles none in the room stay standing as they lie on the floor. Wisps of smoke pour off of their clothing that looks to be melted to their skin.
Thougha fire remains as the oil looks to be ignited and not dying down anytime soon. It would be best to avoid it completely.
Grint and Hania wait for another dervish to show itself. As one rounds the corner Hania stabs him through the gut with her blade as Grint shoots the man in the face with a well aimed bolt.
With only one remaining Kuriq fires a shot into the room. His arrow pierces the dervishes heart, instantly killing him. The devastation of the Pathfinders leaves none standing to be able to speak.
Searching the pair of rooms downstairs proves fruitful though. The northern chamber contains a slave pen with bloodied manacles inside while the southern room is an office with a desk and two chairs. Heaped notes and letters lie atop the off ice desk. One parchment mentions that an Andoren meddler had been dealt with while another names Ibn-Chadli and states that the sorcerer hired the dervishes as guards.
A bloodstained box in the off ice holds the stolen portrait of Prince Khasine and bags of Chelish gold.
Two stairways lead up to a curtain-shrouded balcony, where a massive brazier burns below a smashed skylight. The ruddy light illuminates an ominous bronze idol with the head of a bull.
Karsa
Grint
Hania
Kuriq (30/33)
Vurgan
Eadie (103/106)
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Kuriq doesn't really show much remorse after he realises he shot the last one. "Don't look at me! I only took out one of them. They deserved it regardless."
He takes some time to inspect the clues but doesn't find anything out of the extraordinary save the names clearly written on the notes. "At least we know who to go next."
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"Very true, Kuriq." The young Pathfinder nods sagely. "Someone that sells ice cream, right?"
❄ ❄ ❄
Eadie sheathes her falchion, removes her helm and enters the warehouse with her mouth hanging open.
“WHOA! YOU GUYS ARE ALL MURDER HOBOS!”
She *winks* as she stamps out small fires. “My kinda people!”
Eadie sifts through fragments of jewellery and bone in the ash-filled brazier at the idol’s feet. She discovers an iron holy symbol of Iomedae with the initials “C.P.” engraved on the back.
“Hmm … I wonder if this belonged to Grandmaster Torch? Haven’t heard from him for a while. Maybe the Ten sacrificed him to a fiendish minotaur here in Katheer?”
She shrugs. “Anyways, it screams faction 'fetch item' to me. Maybe there’s some prestige to be earned by returning it to the Shadow Lodge?”
Bored now, Eadie hacks off the statue’s head with her adamantine falchion. “Dunno who this statue is supposed to be – but I’m guessin’ it’s a devil or demon lord.”
“Say, the note suggests Raamiz Ibn-Dudeface worships something from the Lower Planes. It like sorta says his right-hand man could be a demon or devil.”
“One thing confuses me though.” Eadie frowns. “Isn’t Raamiz the name of that fella that thinks he’s a living god? What would he be doing worshipping minotaurs in Qadira?”
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Karsa scurries around the room checking the bodies to make sure none are actually still alive.
Hah, guess they weren't s' fond o' fire after all!. Approaching the idol he taps himself with his wand and flips open his blank journal and mutters a spell. Words begin to flow over the blank pages as he flicks through it muttering to himself.
As he identifies the statue Karsa's demeanour changes, his limp seems to vanish and he loses his accented common.
Looks like Moloch, one of the damned arch devils. That's not a good sign. Nothing good comes of messing with devils. Damn fools should have known better.
He sifts quickly through the remnants finding nothing more but he secures the portrait in his handy haversack.
Eadie, the merchant is Raamiz, the living god is Razmir, they are TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE! He squints at her, looking over her carefully. Are you sure you passed your confirmation? Did you bribe Janeira?
If we are done here we should move against this sorcerer, and quickly. If he is using infernal magic then the rest of you could probably benefit from some fire resistance. I can provide some if you have failed to come prepared...he leaves the implied insult hanging in the air where Eadie will no doubt completely miss it. :)
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Are you sure you passed your confirmation?
“Pretty sure.” Eadie doesn’t sound terribly convincing.
“Is Janeira that blond halfling lady? I was confirmed before she came on the scene.”
The warrior *scoffs* “Anyway, to get confirmed in my day, Initiates had to escort an antiquities expert across Kortos Island (and back!) uphill both ways, in the driving snow. And we liked it!”
“Didn’t get no free wayfinder either. Just being called a ‘Pathfinder’ was reward enough!”
Did you bribe Janeira?
“No but I did try bribing the Abadarian Inquisitor at my paladin exam.”
Eadie curls her upper lip. “Old Mate said I didn’t display behavior appropriate for a paladin! Can you believe that?”
“Then when I challenged him to provide an example – his men threw me out in the street!”
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Grint checks through his various caches of alchemical components, he checks each location again a second and third time.
"I could use some help. I appear to have used the last of my fire resistant materials making my newest bombs. It is very interesting. If you can focus enough heat resistance into a mixture you actually cool the surrounding air."
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"Devils are evil. We should destroy this thing" he takes out his Adamantine great sword. He pauses momentarily to ask "Has anyone a better way to do this before me and Eadie try the brute force and ignorance method. We want to be quick so as not to miss the incubus and its rendezvous. I can also provide fire resist for one other when we come to the ship"
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“Oh yeah, I’d like some fire resistance when the time comes, please Karsa.”
Eadie carves ABADAR RULZ! into the idol’s forehead, before getting bored and trying to shotput it through a broken window.
“Out the way, please Hania!”
"To the anchored ship"
“For freedom!” Eadie thrusts her steel fist into the air. “And ice cream!”
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"Do you know where this ship is? Miles from the city is a finite amount of coast to search but if I was delivering slaves into a questionable situation I wouldn't stick around afterwards. If we've searched everywhere maybe we shouldn't stick around here? The building is on fire, and it's not my fault but still."
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Before the group departs Eadie chips away at the statue's head while Karsa searches the men's bodies finding several potions of CLW as they each carried one, Mwk Scalemail on each along with a scimitar.
With little other lead the group sets out for Raamiz Ibn-Chadli's Villa, the deranged ex-suitor of the bride.
Small villas line the Avenue of the Phoenix, the local residences of traveling merchants and officials. Intricate designs cover the homes’ finely carved doors, subtle reminders of their residents’ wealth and taste. Midway down the street, the gaudily painted walls of one home contrast sharply with the burnt-out remains of an unfortunate neighbor: this must be Raamiz Ibn-Chadli’s villa.
Few people travel the secluded avenue, and although watchmen regularly patrol its length, they follow their rounds with easily predicted routine. Few lights burn here after dark, as few of the merchants and slavers living here care to know their neighbors. Behind the elegant villas, a walled neighborhood holds the hovels of slaves and indentured servants. A stout, locked door and twelve-foot walls guard Raamiz Ibn-Chadli’s home.
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Karsa will look at Hania with a growing degree of incredulity. We are going after a devil worshipping, slaver pirate who unleashes a bunch of dangerous wild animals into the midst of a wedding and you want to knock on the door and ask politely to come in??????? !!!
He sighs and shakes his head. Paladins! he mutters in exasperation.
Just before they enter he casts several spells on himself.
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"I agree that we should give him time to repent. The Dawnflower would want that." Kuriq says somewhat sarcastically and uses his fingers and counts to ten. "His time is up. There is no mercy for the wicked. Let fury and justice reign upon the devils." He mutters with a vengeful voice. And soon after he brings down diving blessings upon the group and himself, prior to drawing his bow."I'm ready, and he has failed this city."
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Eadie drinks one of the CLW potions, while the party stands at the entrance to the estate.
“Naw, I’m with Hania on this, boys.”
“Just ‘cos someone’s a devil-worshipping, slaver pirate doesn’t mean they’re ALL bad.”
“I mean, that stuff of ours he stole was total quality. Dude clearly has an eye for high-end merch.”
Eadie slaps her armored thigh. “Shoot! If we can get him to give up his crazy delusion about being a living god, he’d make a GREAT Pathfinder!”
“And by the way, the Scarab Sages saw him first …”
Eadie draws her enchanted falchion. “Do you want me to use my adamantine skeleton key on the door, Karsa?”
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There seems to be no answer as Hania knocks on the gate surrounding the Villa. Eadie easily begins to hack through several of the bars. Enough for everyone to squeeze through and make way to the house itself.
The party moves closer to the house, which shows no signs of activity. The front door is unlocked and the party moves inside. The villa has several comfortable bedchambers, a bath chamber, a dining room, and a study upstairs. Stairs lead to a basement below.
The study holds several items of interest. A box atop Ibn-Chadli’s desk holds neatly-organized correspondence. These papers include a sheaf of love letters written to Lujine, returned after she rejected his suit. Another bundle details Ibn-Chadli’s dealings with a band of slavers. While slaving isn’t illegal, the papers suggest these men abduct Qadirans for sale in Cheliax. One slaver captain’s note agrees to rendezvous with Ibn-Chadli at sunset on the day after the wedding.
After searching about the room for a bit, the party finds a loose floor tile. Beneath this tile lies the Jewels of Zalmer, wrapped in greasy black parchment. Under then sits a battered journal, a volume once stolen from Pathfinder VC Targos Min-Katheer. Its notes describe sites near Katheer, but the text readily falls open to a section describing the Tomb of the Upright High Priest Ubaidah Abd-Hikmah, several hours' ride up the coast. It details the isolated site's importance to the local church of Sarenrae.
As the party moves about the study discussing their findings, the door slowly opens with a shaky, "H-hello?" A pale pair of servants tentatively step into the room. The elderly Ulfen couple standing before you look terrified to see intruders in their masters home. "What are you doing here?" they ask quietly, looking about nervously. "I hope the master doesn't see you in here, you really shouldn't be in here."
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Karsa will turn on the two servants and stride up to them. He puts one arm protectively around the two elderly servants and gives his best smile.
Now my dears, I am afraid there is a bit of a problem here. It seems like your master has been engaging in some very dubious activities. We are hear investigating an attack on a prominent local wedding on behalf of the authorities. I fear your master is involved, indeed certain items which were stolen from the wedding are right here in his rooms.
Karsa gently leads the pair to some chairs and sits them down.
Now, I am quite certain that you have no knowledge of these actions and were not involved in any way but you know how bureaucrats can be. Sweep up everyone involved, ask questions later. Lots of problems for everyone. I don't want to see that for you. So, if you co-operate with our enquiry, tell us everything you know about your masters activities, were he might be, when he might be back, then I am sure we can keep your names out of this.