Khayal twirls his khukris in his hands making sure to flash his ring. Be wary of those once held captive, tell us of your former master.
The efreeti took a step back, seeing Khayal. His expression soured as he looked over the humans and demi-humans still advancing on him on top of the ziggurat. Between Yazi's weapon, Hajar's weapon, Khayal's ring, and the others' confidence, the red-skinned man's face slowly turned from pride to panic. "None of you...none of you are worth my attention!" he declared. "I go to find Lord Al-hassan!" With that statement, he waved his arms, and vanished.
"A strange creature, indeed. Why he could not have just acquiesced to us, I will likely never know. Oh well. Onward, I suppose?"
Hajar frowns deeply at the departing efreeti.
Who is this "Al-Hassan" Hajar asks the Azer
"Prince of this palace." Broadbeard tells Hajar. One of the fire-dwarves speaks up, and Broadbeard translated "Lord Jhavhul al-Marisah..." the azer stopped when he saw the looks on the adventurers' faces. "Er, the previous lord's brother. My group hasn't seen him since we arrived, either. You'd have to ask the Guardians of the Forbidden Gate camp to learn more." Broadbeard finished.
Broadbeard scratches his beard thoughtfully. "Usually we fought them...there." he said, pointing to the NorthEast of the ziggurat. "But the one place we were never allowed to go was there." Broadbeard pointed South. "I heard one efreeti mutter 'Fodder is one thing, but foolishness is another' when another efreeti asked why not." The fire-dwarf looked around. "This is a really good vantage point, I can see over the walls, almost." he stated.
"Yes, this place has be quite turned around, I'm afraid. Normally my sense of direction is fairly strong..."
One of the fire-dwarves yawns, setting off a cascade across the shorter people. "It has been a long day, masters." Coldtooth opines.
Khayal goes about setting up a defensive camp. He sets up a few small traps, less so to harm more so to alarm. He tries to make it so that disabling his traps would make a lot of noise.
I’ll take mid-watch, he says as he finishes setting up camp. He looks ready to drift off into sleep as he lays down with his head against one of his bags.
The adventurers fall back to the room north of the kobold & salamander kitchen. Broadbeard tells you "This was the guest house foyer, or entrance. Those letters," the azer points to frescos above the door to the West, "mean 'Welcome to the House of al-Bazan. May the grace of flame bring you good fortune.' Those were better times, I think."
The fire-dwarves bustle the kobolds in the kitchen, and soon one of the azer is offering a dinner of roasted salamander to everyone. The large table was flipped on one side against the staircase going down, and the azer posted themselves by twos at the inner doors going out of the kitchen and guest house entrance.
The kobolds settle to sleep in the kitchen after cleaning up all the mess that happened after the last hour or two.
The light from outside, if you care to look though the door to the North, shows the ever-present light from the Plane of Fire dimming ever so slightly for nightfall; perhaps some magic is at work over the city?
higher than 50; less than 80
3rd hour; still less than 90
Three hours after you leave the ziggurat and lock yourselves into the guest room, some dim sounds of battle to the NorthEast are heard. They continue for half an hour, then fade away. Nothing comes close to the door where you are all at.
The azer set a night watch, with Coldtooth saying "Masters need sleep. I, too, can cast spells - but I can let other azer", with a sidelong look at Broadbeard, "do watches."
Your new "ring" (the one from the Flickering Candle's storeroom) tingles a bit during the rest period, but nothing happens.
The fire-dwarves went about collecting the various loot from the fallen efreeti and fire-giants. Should you want:
From the ziggurat:
- 8 MW Falchions, Large-sized
- 2 common half-plate brass armor, Large-sized
- 2 common greatswords, Large-sized
- 2 suits of brass clothing from the fire-giants that can be reworked to repair other brass clothing
- 8 common daggers, Large-sized
- 8 common belt pouches, Large-sized
- 2 bracelets, ruby-studded, Large-sized, worth 50 gp each
- 13 gold rings of various Large sizes, 100 gp each, two qualify as Bayt al-Bazan servant rings
- gp's worth of emeralds, diamonds, and rubies
- 9 wooden mugs, Large-sized
- 1 Bag of Holding Type I with:
--20 skins of beer (8 lbs each full)
--5 hunks of serpent meat
--5 10-ft lengths of chain
--1 whetstone
--a small artwork of a wooden boat (1gp)
-- gold, silver
--3 brass plates of sending
From the salamanders:
- 5 common spears, Large
- 5 common longswords, Large
- 1 common whip, Large
- gp in rubies
- 5 brass flasks, Large, empty
- backpack of brass, Large:
--MW armorsmithing tools, Large
- backpack of brass, Large:
--MW weaponsmithing tools, Large
People's various time-keepers, mental or otherwise, tell you that 9 full hours with the azer keeping watch have passed. Sleeping on the warm brass floor got a lot warmer for those who could only depend upon endure elements. Hot, but not uncomfortably so.
A wild-eyed Garundi man with long white hair and leather clothing stares at all of you in the room. The apparition mouths words, and you hear in your mind:
Help me. I am trapped beyond The Impossible Eye.
The Eye is here, in this palace. Sequestered behind souls of brass. The orb of fire can repeal their eternal sentence and free their ward.
The chief eunuch of old sits upon a throne to the South that is not his own, but his old master’s covetousness has taken hold of his soul. If his claim upon his master’s holdings can be disproved, he is without his immortal anchor and can be slain.
I will be watching, and guiding you.
Help me, adventurers, and your reward will be great.
After you "hear" the man's words, he fades from view.
One of the kobolds comes up to Yazi. "New day. To choose which one of us to serve to masters?" it asks.
Broadbeard asked Khayal, coming from the door to the room to the West, "Quiet night. I didn't expect that. Just how many of the Flickering Candle and Guardians of the Forbidden Gate did you kill yesterday?
You awaken in the fountain room with the air genie and the water genie. Your attempts as well as the water Princess to cure the air genie have been fruitless, but he has calmed down considerably. The air genie has been contentedly listening to the Princess' songs during the hours.
List any additional work that you have done during the past several hours.
No one has used sending since you received the first message yesterday.
Uh-oh: you recall Rayhan casting a spell against detection?
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Yazi blinks as the apparition pleads to them. "That was... a lot of information."
She's scratching her head and still trying to wake up when the kobold approaches her. Tilting her head at the request it takes her a moment to parse the request. Then she does.
Kneeling down she gently pats the Kobold on the shoulder. "None of you are getting eaten anymore, you don't have to worry about that."
Bartan smiles when he sees the bag of holding, and starts shoving all of the gold, jewels, and jewelry into it. "When we finally return to our homes, we really will be very well off, my friends."
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Assessing everything quickly Nasir lets out a low whistle as she produces another back that she hands to Basir. Considering something for a moment, the dancer frowns. "Didn't Rayan cast a spell of nondetection on us? iT Just occurred to me that the reason I haven't received any other sendings from the Pathfinder Society might be because they can't find us to send a message."
Rayhan will teleport back to the party, he can find them quickly enough.
Khayal looks at Broadbeard and sighs, Too many, too many....
He begins to pack up his kit thinking on their past few weeks.
A lot of death and for what? And how much more killing was yet to come? A small depression brought on by frustration had fallen over him.
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"Seems like as reasonable a plan as any, my lady."