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Astraden looks up from her ministrations, then points the wand at the partially-beheaded corpse. "Hey Officer, that thing escaped, but we have it under control now. It's under control because we killed it."
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"We've found that seems to work out pretty well for everyone involved."
"...Well, almost everyone."
"...I called it. Haven't you guys ever heard any bard's tales? The caged monster always escapes during the parade. Sheesh!"
"Well, sure, but they don't always escape in reality," Eben says as he walks over to inspect the broken cage. "Monsters on parade isn't that rare in the city, and I dunno, I feel like they only escape and massacre the public maybe one out of ten times... maybe statistics just caught up with us." Eben takes a close look at the shattered glass and broken bars, keeping an eye out for potential sabotage.
Carina lets the others speak with the guards, examining the wreckage of the chimera's cage with Eben.
"No need to thank me, sir. It's my job." Carina helps the downed man to his feet and turns to face the guards.
"The chimera got loose and started rampaging, sirs. It attacked two people and tried to escape. We were here to put the beast down." She explains, brushing off her pants.
"Harrumph!" The captain's bushy eyebrows furrow. "What's this? You killed the parade's prized goatbeast?"
Astraden looks up from her ministrations, then points the wand at the partially-beheaded corpse. "Hey Officer, that thing escaped, but we have it under control now. It's under control because we killed it."
"Haru-harrumph!" The captain stumbles over his blustering as he draws nearer and sees how brutally injured the chimera was. "What's all this, then?"
"We've found that seems to work out pretty well for everyone involved."
"...Well, almost everyone."
"Hm."
The captain raises an eyebrow, considering the scene.
"So, who's gonna pay fer all this...this great mess ya lot've made?"
"Probably the people who were incompetent enough to let it escape. Which wasn't us."
"You're welcome, by the way." Carina stands up and faces the guards, her hands on her hips.
"And I find it quite disconcerting that you're more concerned with the chimera's well-being than that of the people who would've been killed by it if we hadn't intervened."
Huh... the bars were weakened before the parade? Weird... suspicious, certainly, but that could easily be chalked up to wear and tear...
"Pay!?" Cuetzpalli exclaims incredulously. "You should be paying us for doing your job and containing the damage before it was ten times worse!" The olman is clearly angry. Damned city folk have no stinking respect!
Farrukh, bored of talking with the silly guard, inspects the cage with his powerful deductive skills.
"So, what, was this thing made of rock candy?"
It looks like the iron bars, lacking the glass's immunity, had been weakened by the constant blasts of lightning.
The captain looks flabbergasted at Cuetzpalli's and Carina's responses. He focuses his blustering on the Olman. "What? Outrageous! We came here as quick as we could. You're lucky so many of us were in the area.
"Anyways, we don't look kindly on crazy would-be heroes runnin' around beating up people's pets, but I suppose we can letchy'all off with a warnin' this time 'n light of the damage the critter was causin'. Guess they'll hafta find a new openin'..." He struggles a moment with the next word. "...shpeckackle for the Games. An' on such short notice, at that."
"Heh. Iron bars? No wonder this thing got out. Guess whoever stuck this in here forgot lightning will play merry hell on iron."
"You'd better," Astraden says. "We preserved your 'order' or whatever."
Having finished healing Spiny, she turns to the rest of the group. "Let's bounce, eh? Looks like the way's clear now that the parade's stopped."
"Bounce?"
"Mhmm," Cuetzpalli says. He has had enough of the guards and is ready to 'bounce' as well.
Carina arches an eyebrow. "'Bounce'? We're 'bouncing' now?" She asks, puzzled.
Fharlanghn's beard...
Eben stands up from where he's been looking over the shoulder of Farrukh and Carina's more experienced investigations. "Huh, guess it was just incompetent cage design then." He spares a glance for the nearly-bisected corpse of the performer the dragon head tore apart. "Hope that guy was at least partly responsible for that, then," he mutters. "This would be really unjust if he was just a random guy in the parade..." He glares right at the sputtering guard captain. "At least the deaths were kept down to one in any case because 'crazy would be heroes' were on the scene. Sorry we didn't get permission. Your face is memorable, I promise if a giant monster tries to kill you and I'm around, I'll wait until I've gotten signed forms in triplicate from the city council before intervening." He nods to the others. "Yeah, lets get going. We've got Garden District business waiting for us, after all."
"Well actually there were TWO deaths," Astraden remarks to Eben as the group leaves. "Chimeras are people, too."
"Well, then that's probably more like four deaths, then, right? The heads were talking to each other..."
The captain scowls, mumbling under his breath about meddlesome kids these days.
The group continues onwards, coming to the Garden District. Although the guards at the gates to this district look at the ragtag group with suspicion, they do not bar their entry.
Soon, the heroes come to the address. A white stone wall surrounds a manicured yard of trimmed hedges and exotic fauna. A cobbled path, flanked by a pair of pools and rearing dragon statues, leads to a white marble manor house with gilded double doors and flickering golden lanterns.
As the party approaches the front door to the opulent manor, it opens—as if they are expected. An aged-looking elf stands in the doorway. With straight silver hair and austere, wrinkled features, he must be at least eighty in "elf years".
"Good day," he says, his tone neither friendly nor rude.
"Good day, sir. Is Eligos in?" Carina asks, folding her hands in front of her.
As for why you're here, now:
Eligos is a colleague of Allustan's who's an expert in ancient lore, ad a powerful agent of the wizard Manzorian. Eligos has resources Allustan lacks and might be able to shed some light on the matter of the Kyusspawn, Ilthane, the Age of Worms, the Whispering Cairn, the Ebon Triad, and possibly the matter of getting aforementioned treaty ratified.
"The master is in, yes. Do you wish to speak with him?"
Assuming the answer is yes (and isn't phrased rudely), the elf manservant steps aside and allows the group to enter—save for Spiny, who the manservant insists be kept outside or, at the very least, in the foyer.
Regardless, once inside the manor, the party is escorted through the grand foyer, dominated by a marble staircase lined with suits of ancient armor, and topped by an ancient battle banner used as a curtain. Off to one side, a short hallway leads to a parlor.
The parlor is lined with packed bookcases, framed by various oil paintings of faraway places and fantastic locales (such as a great road of bones, a bustling city set inside a dormant volcano, and an abstract painting of a vast featureless ashen plain). All of the furniture is gilt with fine gold tracery and padded with plush red velvet cushions. The floor is polished wood, but covered by a well-worn carpet depicting some forgotten battle between the forces of good and evil.
The elf provides the party with a fine wine and a bowl of fresh fruit, then bows and goes to fetch his master.
Farrukh takes an apple and starts munching happily on it. He inspects the carpet, taking in the scene.
Cuetzpalli tells Spiny to wait outside, before going in with the others. He looks uncomfortable inside such an opulent house. He munches nervously on an apple while they wait for the wizard to show up.
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Eben spends the walk to the Garden District casting prestidigitation repeatedly to tidy up his clothes, especially concerning himself with any stained remnants of tanglefoot goo. He happily offers out some magic cleaning to anyone else in terrible need of it, the recent fight having possibly resulted in tears and bloodstains even on freshly-laundered clothing.
If Astraden even begins to open her mouth, Eben speaks over her, offering his most sincere praises on the decor and affirming that yes, a meeting with Elgios would be highly desirable, thank you sir. Otherwise he defers and lets Carina charm the group's way in.
Waiting for the sage to arrive, Eben takes a glass of wine and sips it while examining the parlor. "Huh," he says, staring at one of the paintings. "Do you think this is a real place? I mean, building a city inside a volcano is just asking from trouble..."
"We would, please. His expertise comes highly recommended, and we have matters of importance to discuss." Carina nods at the elven butler as she follows him into the manor.
She takes in the sights of the parlor, quietly munching on a bunch of grapes. The paintings in particular interest her. "Huh... why would you make a road out of bones? I mean, they're sturdy, don't get me wrong, but it strikes me as being quite impractically morbid. How would you pave them? It must be hell for riders to traverse..."
Tanith sniffs the fruit and finally settles on a bright orange which his begins peeling by hand. The gilded finery is lost on the big Kordite but he can tell expensive digs when he sees them and makes a conscious effort to not sit on anything.
"Would you want to live in a place like this someday Red?"
Astraden takes a handful of strawberries and chows down, examining one of the bookcases. "I wonder what kinda books a REAL wizard keeps. Maybe there's actually something worth reading . . ."
Tanith's question surprises Carina a little. "Well... I would, one day..."
She clears her throat and turns a slightly deeper shade of blue. "Not that I intend to stop wandering yet--I mean, there's still so much for me to see and do."
...I'd like it if you were there with me, too.
"I wouldn't. I don't think I'd like living in a house where I was afraid of touching anything."
"How could one person need so much space?" Cuetzpalli wonders aloud as he munches on his apple.
Farrukh takes an apple and starts munching happily on it. He inspects the carpet, taking in the scene.
For context, you're at the center of this map, the Jungle is at the very bottom. And here's Cauldron.
Cauldron is located in the caldera of a dormant volcano.
Tenser, Bigby, and Otiluke discovered a plan by the Circle's own Rary to slay a number of diplomats assembled in Greyhawk to sign the treaty ending the Greyhawk Wars. Unfortunately, Rary witnessed their discovery, and a great magical battle ensued, resulting in the deaths of Otiluke and Tenser, and severely wounding Bigby, who was unable to pursue Rary as he escaped.
Word later came that Rary's allies, among them former Citadel member Lord Robilar, had ensured Tenser's and Otiluke's deaths by destroying every clone they had prepared for such an incident. Rary and Robilar fled to the Bright Desert, southeast of Greyhawk, where they established the Empire of the Bright Lands.
Though this painting does not show the faces of the wizards involved, the spells being hurled—all well-known spells like Tenser's floating disc, Otiluke's telekinetic sphere, and Bigby's crushing hand—indicate a battle between such well-known mages, and their foe's tan robes with intricate gold patterns seem to confirm his identity as the treacherous Rary.
"How could one person need so much space?" Cuetzpalli wonders aloud as he munches on his apple.
"When you come to possess as much money as I do, it grows rather trying learning to manage it responsibly. Easier to spend it like a fool so you can concentrate on what matters in life."
A middle-aged man wearing an open red robe with a silver breastplate underneath enters the room. His eyes are sharp wells of deep gray accented by specks of red. His hair, red like the setting sun, shows the first signs of receding. “My manservant, Pollard, tells me that you wish to speak to me,” he says in a calm, even voice. “My name is Eligos. How can I be of assistance?”
Farrukh looks quizzically at Eligos' Breastplate.
"I thought you were a Wizard?"
"First things first, we need some help with a treaty. Then we were hoping you could get us some information. These are really good, by the way," Astraden says, grabbing another handful of berries and popping them whole into her mouth.
Eligos frowns. "I've never claimed to be one. While I do think I'm quite adept in the arcane, I prefer to see myself as a master of lore." He raps on the breastplate with his knuckles. "I started out as a simple hiresword, though. Even when I started learning magic, I never really felt safe going around without armor, so I just accustomed myself to casting in a tin can."
His head tilts as Astraden starts speaking at him. "Might I ask your names, then? Or is there some great hurry?"
[dice=Knowledge (history) boneroad]1d20+5 [dice=Knowledge (religion) boneroad]1d20+10
"First things first, we need some help with a treaty. Then we were hoping you could get us some information. These are really good, by the way," Astraden says, grabbing another handful of berries and popping them whole into her mouth.
"Uh . . . I'm Astraden Limhaare, and they're Tanith, Cuetzpalli, Carina Viera, Farrukh Al'Khatel, and Eben MacTeague. We were recommended you by this guy called 'Allustan.' Ever heard of him?"
"Ah." Eligos blinks. "Well, if Allustan sent you...never thought I would hear from him again." He sits down in an expensive-looking armchair, clasping his hands. "Please, continue, Ms. Limhaare. What was that about a treaty?"
Carina admittedly was caught quite off-guard when Eligos made his sudden entrance. It was enough for the others to speak before her, but tries to maintain proper manners all the same. She curtseys when Astraden introduces her.
While Astraden is being (by her standards, at least as far as individuals connected to Allustan go...) reasonably polite, Eben still steps in for a more polished approach. "Well, the treaty isn't the main reason we came to see you, but we'd hoped you could give us some advice on that as well. Two birds, one stone, as it were. Basically, we've been authorized by the lizardfolk of the Mistmarsh to negotiate a non-aggression treaty with the people of the Free City. Unfortunately, none of us are particularly political or well-connected, so we'd hoped for some advice on how we would go about getting a meeting with the council or anyone with the authority to enact such a pact."
Astraden nods in deference to Eben. "Basically, the lizardfolk hatchlings have been ravaged by this plague of 'Kyuss worms' and are in like, no condition to be waging war. The tribe we met with, who agreed to treat, was saved from a second run of that plague by our actions, and will have a ton of fighters matured in a decade or so. If we can just make a compact with them now, they may be able to convince the other tribes to do the same."
Cuetzpalli seems to have been daydreaming, but comes back to reality with a question, "How'd you get so much money?" He fails to notice that he is rudely interrupting the ongoing conversation.
Looking concerned, Eligos is about to answer when Cuetzpalli interrupts. He rolls his eyes. "I'll start with the easy question: It pays extremely well to serve an archmage.
"As for the treaty...hm." He scratches his head. "The simplest route would be to contact the city guard, but I believe I can help you 'worm' your way past that bureaucracy. You need to meet with some members of the Directing Oligarchy—the chief directing body of Greyhawk."
He goes over to a table and sits down, procuring a paper and inkpen. He starts writing. "There are sixteen Directors on the council, and roughly three you need to pay attention to: The Chief Constable, the Captain-General of the Watch, and, of course, the Lord Mayor. Any others will want to be heard, but be of little consequence in this matter. I'll explain more later. Pollard, fetch an envelope and a wax stick."
He straightens, setting the paper aside. His red-flecked steel eyes narrow. "Now, what's this about the worms of Kyuss?"
"A dragon named Ilthane has the tribes on lockdown, and appears to be spreading the worm plague among them. The lizardfolk did not report any walking wormspawn when we met with them; their worms do not appear to "possess" people, seeming only capable of eating through eggs. However, ambulatory Kyuss spawn attacked Blackwall Keep and the village Lambere, so we know they're out there, in the marshes." Astraden stops to chew. "Oh and we're pretty sure Ilthane is dealing with the Ebon Triad, and we think the Ebon Triad is here."
"Kyuss zombies are really hard to kill, by the way. If you know an easy way to take them down we'd love to hear it." Farrukh interjects.
The mention of Kyuss-zombies makes Carina's eyes widen. She shivers. Her memories of them are... unpleasant.
nonononononowhy'dyoubringthoseup
Eligos looks extremely troubled. "I have heard the name of Ilthane, though not recently. As for the lizardfolk, it's small surprise they hadn't encountered any spawn—I doubt the worms can penetrate especially thick hides, so it makes sense to target the weak-shelled hatchlings. It's quite genius to use the lizardfolk, actually...in a morbid sort of way. They're concentrated, isolated, and produce massive quantities of vulnerable young."
He glances at Cuetzpalli. "Cuetzpalli, was it? As an aside, that dinosaur Pollard says you travel with should be mostly fine fighting the spawn. Just make sure he doesn't try to bite them or anything. I doubt he'll want to, anyways."
"As for weaknesses, that's trickier. The touch of pure silver or mithril will instantly slay a Kyuss worm. If you have a silver scalpel or the like, it'd no doubt be quite useful. I fear this doesn't do much against the spawn themselves, though, unless you have a lot of the stuff.
"A remove disease or remove curse spell can instantly kill all worms in a spawn, turning him into a harmless zombie. Erm, relatively harmless." Eligos grimaces. "But in all honesty, the spawn have no weaknesses. They're tough, regenerating, clever, and, as you've seen, horrifically fecund. I can look around for some sort of chink in their armor, but I can't make any promises. My best tip is to screw your courage to the sticking place and try not to get surrounded."
Eligos pauses as Pollard brings him a glass of water. He quickly downs the whole glass before continuing.
"I'm afraid I know even less about the Ebon Triad, save that they worship Hextor, Vecna and Erythnul all at once. I can look into the matter, but it will take some time. There are many books to consult, and most are kept in the Great Library. I should be able to gather the information you seek within the week."
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