"And you will not live." the Vessel responds, again with a bit of a chuckle a swing of his blade. He, then begins to bring the vial to his lips.
Seventh Round of Combat Cont'd
Vessel (black) -13 HP
Imjah
Ulisha -2 HP (delay)
Kenji -6 HP
Shendril -1 HP
Blooming Flower
Vessel (red) -25 HP
The kitsune's magic causes a greasy film to cover the vial in the Vessel's hand, causing it to slip through his fingers. The badly injured assassin curses as the vial breaks open on the stony ground and its precious, magical contents soak into the soil.
The druid and the frog look on, unsure yet how to take down the assassin, but confident that their allies are more than capable of making "short" work of the halfling.
The halfling makes a dash and tumble past the druid and the frog, then arises to strike at the being that caused him to lose his precious potion.
Eighth Round of Combat Cont'd
Vessel (black) -13 HP
Imjah (delay)
Ulisha -2 HP (delay)
Kenji -6 HP
Shendril -1 HP
Blooming Flower -4 HP
Vessel (red) -25 HP
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Shenendril sighs as her opponent bolts. "It's never easy is it?"
There is probably "little" point as the halfling is charging into the proverbial blade barrier, but she drops her bow, since she can't effectively use it without endangering her comrades and draws her sword.
That done, she moves to join in the melee.
The kitsune's blow knocks the assassin unconscious.
With the last of the assassin's defeated, Ulisha exclaims, "Thank you for your assistance, friend!" She halts her cry, quickly however, and reaches for her side where her recent injuries are most prominent.
Upon catching her breath, she stares at the forms of the downed assassins and concludes, "These must be from the Vessels Between. Assassins sent on missions outside of the city often work in pairs so as to better protect one another. But they seldom move in larger numbers, so as not to attract attention to themselves. It is doubtful that there are more killers present."
"The bigger question, however, is who sent them?" Ulisha notes. "You were able to find me. Do you have any idea as to how these would-be killers did so? Or who sent them?"
Upon the person of the human, you find a potion of cure light wounds, two vials of acid (2), a light crossbow with less than 20 bolts, a masterwork nunchaku, and 23 gold pieces.
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Kenji is glad that they could catch the men alive!
He then turns to Ulisha.
"I am glad that we finally found you and this scavenger hunt is over! Do you know what we went through? I hope you have what you promised! And of course we know who sent them: Anwald Greenfelt, the venerable Taldan and former manservant to the Tullivor family. You have a lot of friends ... " he says sarcastically.
I suppose, I do." Ulisha concedes. "So Anwald's the culprit. He must still be mad about the chalice." A tusked smile forms upon her lips for a moment. Then, she continues, "But that sniveling manservant, Anwald, doesn't have enough coin to hire guild assassins on his own. Most likely, he was able to stir up some funding from some of my--what was the word you used?--'friends', among this week's leader of Galt's Red Revolution."
"I suppose that I shouldn't have given them that treatise exposing the revolution as a threat to relics and historical sites. The Red Revolution has historically never been fond critics, and it seems that the current regime has branded me an enemy of the Revolution. No doubt, old Anwald has been in Galt stirring up revolutionary fury and directing it at me, who he likely blames for the troubles his former masters faced." Ulisha concludes. "The Galtan revolutionaries probably know nothing of this, but they love the promise of dead enemies. It must have been they that financed Anwald’s securing of the services of the Vessels Between."
Ulisha gratefully offers a wand of comprehend languages, a wand of expeditious retreat, and a wand of identify to the party. With a wave of her hand and a few words, she also manages to heal you each to full health. The blade Silverhex, however, remains firmly within her grasp.
Recalling the kitsune's words, she notes, "You asked about what I 'had promised', did you not?" She holds up the alchemical silver blade. "Unfortunately, I can't offer you Silverhex. Not for free anyways. At least, not now that I have price on my head. It'll likely require a fair bit of coin to pay off Anwald and get him to call off further assassination attempts. I need all the coin I can get, I suppose."
The half-orc strokes her chin for a moment, then continues, "No. What I really need, I suppose, is to get Anwald off my back."
"Though, intimidation or enchantment magic may secure his cooperation for a limited time, I am certain that none of us has the means to secure his cooperation for long enough to make a difference. Killing Anwald does not solve my problem either, as the Red Revolution will still continue to hound me and send others to take the place of these assassins that you felled." she considers aloud.
"To get him off my back, either Anwald would have to be convinced that I am dead or that it is within his best interests to speak in my defense to his Galtan contacts. His words may be enough to convince the Galts to leave me alone and to and cancel the bounty upon my head." Ulisha ponders.
The half-orc turns to the party. "You were able to find out that it was Anwald who wanted me dead. Do you think you might be able to figure out where he is now? Perhaps, even speak to him?"
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Shenendril searches the bodies of the fallen Vessels as Kenji confronts their "guide." She keeps an ear cocked towards the conversation, though.
She adds the remaining arrows to her quiver, and pockets the wands, though she mentions their presence and shows them to the rest of the group as they make their way back to town so everyone knows they're available and up for grabs.
She'll also take the potion of cure light wounds, one of the vials of acid and the thunderstone for Belthelgior's use, offering up the gold for everyone else.
"It HAS been a rather torturous path to get here and I wasn't expecting to have to save you, to be honest," she tells Ulisha, agreeing with Kenji. "But, we've come this far. It seems a waste to stop now, especially since we'll be helping a fellow Pathfinder."
With the bard's gratitude, you make it to Daggermark following your departure from Ulisha's cave.
You learn that Anwald has made a mournful boor of himself over the past week, apparently still upset about Ulisha’s actions. However, there are some rumors that the drunken, former servant has come to regret having called Ulisha out as an enemy of the Red Revolution. Word is Anwald can often be found imbibing at a small tavern in the marketplace.
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"It seems our 'friend' has come to regret his decision to make Ulisha an enemy of the Revolution and has decided to drink himself into unpleasantness, for himself and those around him. He should be in this tavern over here," she says, leading the way to a small drinking establishment in the marketplace.
Even from outside of the tavern you can make out Anwald's voice. "It's her own fault!" he shouts as he slams his drink against the table. "She brought it on herself. The Tullivors’ might’ve never been the highest of houses, but they were good folk, honest, and it was my honor to work for them. She ruined it! And for a stupid cup!”
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So far, Anwald has not been very impressive. She would respect him more if he were the kind of villain who did what he did without any remorse or regret. But he did bad things then whined about them.
Without a word or waiting for an invitation, Shenendril takes a seat at the drunken man's table, Belthelgior peeking out from within her hair at him.
"Don't worry, friend. You haven't done anything as bad as you think. We saved her from your attempts. Now why don't you tell us about this cup and how she ruined it. Maybe we can fix things without anyone else having to die," she says.
"So, Ulisha's alive?" Anwald responds with a mix of both relief and regret, apparently in equal parts. "That half-orc cost me dearly, but I was, perhaps, a bit hasty in calling her out as an enemy of the Red Revolution." The man shakes his head, sorrowfully.
"As for the cup, Ulisha stole it! Even before their flight from Galt, the noble families Tullivor and Sarvio were bitter rivals. After resettling in Gralton, both clans hired adventurers to recover family heirlooms they’d abandoned during the Red Revolution—and sometimes to steal each other’s treasures too! Ulisha was one such adventurer, but she hired herself out to both families!" Anwald explains.
"One treasure, a platinum chalice, belonged to the Sarvio family. My former employer, Lord Tullivor, had tasked Ulisha to... obtain it. Instead, she stole the cup and, by all rumors, pocketed the sum from its sale. Nevertheless, the Sarvio's blamed me. One of Sarvio's, the Lady Rhiannon, slew the last heir of the Tullivor family--left his body in a graveyard! Now, I have no cup! No employer! No job! No coin! All thanks to Ulisha!" Anwald recalls through sobs.
"A price must be paid! If not in blood, then in coin. If you will pay me the cost of the stolen chalice, then I will cancel the bounty and also speak in Ulisha's defense to my Galtan contacts to convince them to leave her alone. To accept less would be an insult to the Tullivor family and leave me destitute. What say you?"
You know that Anwald is simply trying to cling to his sense of duty to the Tullivor family, even though he is no longer in the employ and his former employer, the Laban, is deceased.
It is also clear that Anwald regrets his actions and does not wish Ulisha dead--something he believes certain to occur unless the Galts are appeased. By pointing these facts out, you believe you can convince him to drop the feud without blood or gold.
With your combined skill in diplomatic matters, you collectively realize that Anwald is simply trying to cling to his sense of duty to the Tullivor family, even though he is no longer in the employ and his former employer, the Laban, is deceased.
It is also clear that Anwald regrets his actions and does not wish Ulisha dead--something he believes certain to occur unless the Galts are appeased. By pointing these facts out, you believe you can convince him to drop the feud without blood or gold.
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”Please reconsider! We know that you do not want this! You have a sense of duty to your former employer which we can all understand but the past is behind us and you have to look into the future! We supported you to prevent something that you would have regretted and now it is your task to stand up and do the right thing! Stop the assassins!“ Kenji pleads.
"Very well." Anwald concedes. "I suppose it is time to bury my old grudges with my employer. Find a new destiny for myself."
"You can assure Ulisha that the bounty will be cancelled." he adds. "It would be wise for me to untangle myself from the current leaders of the Red Revolution anyways before the tides in Galt change once more."
When Ulisha receives word of your deeds, she is overjoyed. She presents Silverhex to you as a gift of friendship and promises to be a steadfast ally, who will use her knowledge to provide help to you should you ever request it. She also encourages you to keep ahold of her journal. "Perhaps you can use it to locate other treasures that I may have missed." she suggests. "But, I think I have had enough adventuring for a while."
With the silvery blade now in hand, there may no longer be reason for this party to remain together. Yet, once you have had a taste of adventure, there may be other opportunities for you all to continue cooperating, exploring, and reporting. Indeed, it is possible that there are other leads in the journal given to you by Ulisha that you can one day follow. She may even provide you with new leads and discoveries soon to be uncovered by her studies. After all, the friendship of a scholar so deeply knowledgeable about the River Kingdoms and its surrounding nations is perhaps even more valuable than any ancient druidic sickle.