...
Who? Donatello Bigsby? I feel that I have heard that name before...
...
Once the head begins to scream, Beppo reaches for his sword. Thankfully, Brandon is able to wrap it up before the mercenary's instincts take over.
Great empyreal lords! Given the vagaries of the House of Thrune, that gourd is most likely the key.
Beppo then looks at the box -though he does not touch it- hoping to see if it is trapped.
"And what the heck is that?!" - Tessai springs, drawing her blade.
Looking on as everyone talks about magic boxes and keys, but then suddenly jumps when the screaming head comes out and goes to cover his ears.
"Thank you Brandon, that was a little strange." He then pick up different somes coming from the head. "Wait is it trying to talk now?"
He looks with some surprise at Aemon.
I think it is!
He tentatively unwraps the head and, somewhat lost for words, says;
Err... Hello?
Aemon let's out a small laugh."What are you? who are you?" He then turns to the others, as the head continues to swear."What is this?"
Clearly it's intelligent, yet, it seems somewhat mad or insane. Perhaps by being stuck in the crux for a long time. Try to calm it down first.
Aemon not wanted to get close to the hand tries to talk to it.
"Please calm down, we released you from the Chelish Crux. Please explain who you are."
Aemon tries to assist Kyle in claiming the head down.
Vheed? Dargentu Vheed? He was the last mayor. He vanished some time ago.
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Delve...haven? Pathfinder? Me? HELL NO! I was...I was a trophy! A statue! An amusement! Vheed stuck my head on a table as if I was some ornament to entertain people!! @#$%!%!%!@#$@# I lived there for a time with her Dargentu (and then trails off into a litany of curses against the man for several minutes ). But yes...I knew...the place. I think. I do....!$!%$@%!#$!@#!#$!%$!@#$
"Well... If it knows the place as well as it knows how to curse, I guess we have found our... head?" - Tessai whispers to herself.
Somewhat perturbed by the head, Brandon remains quiet and suddenly wonders where that imp flew off to...?
Beppo ponders the names Khazrae is throwing out.
Why are you still hiding? he whispers back.
As Kyle pets the talking head, Beppo makes a face. Wow - either Shelyn gives him infinite patience and compassion, or Kyle is even more freaky than I thought.
Beppo chimes in: Did you live in Delvehaven with the mayor? What was he doing there anyway? Some sort of wizard...ry?
Never mind. he hisses as talk changes to Delvehaven, the reason he came to Cheliax in the first place. Well talk later.
The Pathfinders sent me here specifically to get into Delvehaven.
Amongst other things.
So I'd also like to know what was going on there.
He can feel Edmond shift uneasily.
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I'm hiding because I don't trust others...especially the pointy ear one. Seems to self-righteous for my tastes. When do I get to do familary things? Last cast spells with ya or something? This is boring. I wanna see you turn into a monster again and beat up your friends. That was fun!
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Crazy talk! Yes!! Delvehaven know I! Maybe not! See it!! yes, let's @%!@#%#%# see it mother @#$@%@!!! She begins cursing again.
Beppo attempts to keep the mad head on topic.
...and what went on in that place? What was the mayor doing, besides decorating his tables with loose body parts?
She may be of assistance when you get there. Perhaps seeing the place again would jog her memory. I'm not sure. Let's check the other items for further information.
"I think that if we take her there, screaming bloody murder, it may draw some unwanted attention... And why do I suspect she will not be ameniable with the idea of returning to the bag?"
It's something that needs to be worked out. But, she may be your best bet for working through whatever traps and dangers await you at the Lodge.
She opens the journal and looks at it for a few minutes. She pushes it over the Tessai and the group. Look at this.
Handout.jpg in Chapter 3 folder now available.
"This is clearly what we need. She can give us a lot of information, but Tessai is right we can't have her screaming."
Aemon attempts to look over Tessai shoulder to see what she was given.
Tessai carefully peruses the journal and the specific piece of information regarding the Pathfinders that escaped notice after Delvehaven was sealed.
"We have much to ponder here" - she comments - "I would like to find this Ilnerik Sivanshin - if he still lives, I am sure he would have important information for us regarding the place"
The tiefling tries to recollect if she knows where, and how far is Nidal located.
"We should perhaps take a moment to discuss the information herein" - she comments to the others - "And also additional time to peruse this journal. What of the other items?"
As she looks for a table to sit and lay the information before her, she looks over her shoulder to the head - "About her..."
"Are we just going to carry her tied at our waist?" - Tessai laughs -"Even more important... Is it alive or something?"
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You thumb through other pages in the journal and find...
Ledgers: These sheets of paper serve as accounting ledgers for Delvehaven. All of the ledgers are dated from the years of 4674–4676, the period when Delvehaven was under the control of the House of Thrune. Of particular interest is a passage on the top paper that indicates the strong possibility that the Delvehaven Pathfinders hid a portion of their treasure and clues about how to enter the deepest vaults in an off-site hidden cache somewhere in or near Westcrown, but that no indication of where this cache might be located has yet surfaced. These ledgers are frustratingly vague and written in shorthand, but could help to identify an object’s value or to identify magic items discovered within Delvehaven. The ledgers cease abruptly at the end with no explanation.
Poem Cipher What appears to be a page torn from the back of a book sits in a larger piece of folded parchment. The torn-out page presents a poorly written poem called “Cugny’s Wedding,” about a man who falls in love with a mermaid but drowns when he tries to seduce her. The poem is covered with spidery script, as is the folded parchment that cradles it. A quick study of the parchment indicates that someone believed the poem was a code or cipher that hid the route to a cache of Pathfinder treasures kept outside of Delvehaven (as indicated in the ledger portion of the Delvehaven papers).
Finally, you see a Missing Pathfinder List (that's the handout given to Tessai ... handout1.jpg...everyone should have looked at it by now.): This single piece of parchment lists the names, descriptions, and in many cases final fates of several Pathfinders. As you look it over, a smile comes over Ailyn's face.
This is amazing. Listen, When Aroden died and Westcrown fell into chaos, the Pathfinders stationed at Delvehaven locked down the lodge. The majority of the junior members fled Westcrown entirely, but the final fates of five of Delvehaven’s more powerful and important members has long been a mystery. The House of Thrune took a deep interest in the fates of these Pathfinders, for if they could be found, they or their
spirits could be interrogated to learn more about how to access the lower reaches of Delvehaven. So, I believe this letter to Dargentu Vheed catalogs not only the names of all these missing Pathfinders, but also gives clues as to where they may have ultimately ended up.
She looks intrigued; All five of these Pathfinders are listed as “missing” by the Decemvirate back in Absalom, and if you could discover the fate of these five, their names and fates could be etched upon the Wall of Names in Absalom and bring closure to this awkward chapter of the Society’s history. For each Pathfinder whose fate you can secure proof of, I will insure you are handsomely rewarded.
As she finishes, Janiven opens up the silver box. Odd, they just have candles.
Candles are used for a myriad of religious ceremonies. Please, hand them to me. He looks them over for a few minutes. These are referred to as "grave candles." Grave candles are magical candles that draw forth spirits from the mortal remains of long-dead creatures, allowing the living to speak to them for a short period of time while the candle’s wick burns.
In order to function, a grave candle must be placed amid the physical remains of the body to be spoken to. These remains can be partial, or even just a handful of ash or grave dust, but nothing less than that. When it’s lit, the smoke rising from the candle grows thick, and a ghostly shape similar to the creature’s appearance in life manifests in the smoke.
At this point, the manifested spirit, referred to as an 'echo', can
speak—be aware that a grave candle does not impart any additional understanding of languages... so be ready with ways to understand other tongues depending on who you speak with. Also, keep in mind, Pharasma limits communication in this manner with those in her care. A dead body can only be successfully subjected to a grave candle once. At least, that is my understanding.
Aemon still looking a little perplexed, listens on as everyone speaks.
"So we could use these candle on the 'missing' pathfinders? If we were to find them."
That seems to be the case. Maybe we'll find out what went on there, how the shadow creatures were created.
And a few other things besides.
That all sounds helpful. So, friends, what first - Beppo counts the options off on his fingers - look for other clues to the hidden cache, go all the way to Nidal for this Sivanshin fellow, or try to find the bodies of the others, including the unfortunate Venture-Captain-slash-statue?
He mulls this over for a moment himself. Perhaps the low-hanging fruit is to find Heavenscape and Gaelfini, then use the grave candles to find out more about Delvehaven. Nidal seems a dreadful long way to find the one guy who is still alive. Thoughts?
That all sounds helpful. So, friends, what first - Beppo counts the options off on his fingers - look for other clues to the hidden cache, go all the way to Nidal for this Sivanshin fellow, or try to find the bodies of the others, including the unfortunate Venture-Captain-slash-statue?
The note mentions that the statue or remails of that individual might be in possession of the Luccas. Rance Lucca is somewhat known for his distaste of government. And he's not too far from here. May be as good as place as any to start.
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that in modern Cheliax, where they could act relatively openly, the Sisterhood has languished. In neighboring Isger, their order has prospered and evolved, becoming the better-known Sisters of the Golden Erinyes. Here in Cheliax, though, most of their monasteries are now abandoned, and those that remain are, like Westcrown’s Massacre House, run by relatively small numbers.
Luccas! I went to school with a Lucca...sniveling twit if I ever met one...grimy pimp.
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If he has a distaste for government though Beppo, he may be useful to talk to regardless.
"Starting with Rance Lucca is fine with me also." Aemon the shys away from the next question. "I'm not really a people person. I'm happy to go along with what you lot think."
Tessai ponders the whole thing for a moment, then offers - Well, we are running on scarce information to proceed but... If I remember correctly, Rance Luccas DID attend our murderplay, as it seems he is fond of blood sport so... We may use that as an approach"
"We can just bet on hanging out on his more frequent places, and casually "bump" into him - from there develop a story around being a fan of unusual art of sorts, and he may eventually come forward by himself and show us those remains are in his possession - it may be wishful thinking, and if he doesn't come forward himself, we may throw it out there at the right time"
"Currently, we should not be identifiable as The Shades of Grey, but we are still known for the play, and we can still move as a troupe - a troupe that needs to somehow bump into Rance Lucca?" - she smiles openly.