Blood sprays out of the mans mouth he falls without a peep
Marhok wipes the blood off of the blade and puts it back in the box, drawing his greatsword he and Edric move up the stairs.
"If we can do that trick again, you'll have to do the talking. Elsewise my sword will have to do the talking for us."
Edric nods in agreement.
The stairs lead to a closed door
Not expecting a closed door, Marhok looks to Edric and whispers "We might need to pull the same thing again. You think you can do it again?"
Marhok sheaths his greatsword again and orders Edric to do the same. He listens carefully at the door if he hears people talk or not or any other signs of cultists.
Just to be sure he takes out Yaniel's sword again to make the bluff more believable.
Then Marhok knocks on the door hoping somebody would open it.
Edric calls out from behind him.
"The man downstairs told us to bring up this sword as quickly as possible. It seems imperative to our future goals as this had once belonged to a famous crusader named Yaniel."
The door opens and the man from downstairs stands there.
Behind him is another tie fling, with dark red skin.
Well done. You bring me that the rest of you leave us for now so I can debrief him.
oops here is the toom description
This semicircular room has been outfitted with numerous demonic
decorations. The green glass lanterns hanging on the walls give
the room an eerie glow. A brazen minotaur head hangs from one
wall above an altar covered with wavy-bladed knives and curved
bulls' horns, while star-shaped symbols in red decorate other
walls. A large wooden chest sits near the west wall.
and the room prior
This semicircular room is empty except for a few bookshelves
against the walls and a single desk and chair sit in one corner. A
huge set of wood and metal double doors stands in the south wall.
Marhok walks inside with a clap on Edric's shoulder and a slight nudge.
Edric stays behind at this time.
Marhok looks around the room with interest, nodding at the ornaments and decoration of the room and wonders what lies behind the wood and metal doors.
He will answer any questions the man asks him, but if things look like they go sour he will keep a readied action to fly into a rage and attack the man in the room with him.
have some wine while I examine the sword. If this is indeed the sword irbid supposed to be I should he able to glean its magic properties. Just a moment while I cast an identification spell.
As he casts the identifaction spell Marhok flies into a rage and attacks the man with Yaniel's sword.
At the same time Edric, who's probably either going down with the tiefling or waiting on the other side of the door, grabs his heavy mace and readies an attack on the tiefling when he sees or suspects the first signs of trouble.
Was waiting to see if you allowed him to cast and it sounds like you allow the casting. I need a will save before you can attack or rage
I gave it to you, it was both off screen. In any event you can make your move once I roll init here cause you made the save
He wins.
fall and prostrate yourself, he says after stepping back
Dc 14 will. Then you are up
Marhok curses as he falls prone, he looks up to the man and his eyes flare with anger. "Your own doom." He stands up and draws his new ranseur from his back as he moves threatingly toward the man. As he does so, his skin suddenly turns grey and slightly scaled, in normal circumstances one would think him a demon at this point.
Actually never mind, after looking through his spells and options it is time to give you a bad touch.
The tie fling focuses and casts a spell then reaches out and slaps Marhok on the face. Marhok feels confusion begin to cloud his vision. Will save of 17 please
The spell only made Marhok rage more as he drops his ranseur and two-handedly wields Yaniel's sword.
Big whiffer.
You do not want to see what I am going to do to you.
He steps away and casts a spell
DC 16 Will
Marhok's anger rises and he drops the sword, drawing his own greatsword and swings at the tiefling caster before him with all his rage behind it.
Edric unsheaths his heavy mace and whacks the other tiefling on the head with it.
The witch falls to the ground bleeding
The other tiefling grunts and falls
Marhok stabs the witch in her back with the greatsword and twists it, killing her.
Then he opens up the doors again so he can reach Edric and see if he's in trouble. Seeing Edric having managed to subdue his own opponent, brings a smile to Marhok's face.
"Remember me that I hate witches and cultists, I seem to forget there spellcasting every time."
Marhok says as he walks past Edric and kills that tiefling as well.
"No need for them to be questioned." He says with a blurred vision and inability to focus clearly.
After that he and Edric search through the belongings of the two tieflings and through the room in which the witch died.
After searching the body the following is found
wand of cure moderate wounds (9 charges);
Other Gear morningstar, heavy crossbow with +1 bolts (12),
brocers of armor + 1, cloak of resistance + 1, key to area N 4,
key for chest in area N4, 29 gp
the chest contains
The brazen minotaur head on the wall is an
active brazen head (see page 64).
The wooden chest is locked (Disable Device DC 30)Faxon
carries its key. Within are various items looted from
the ruins over the past several days by the cultists, including
2,310 cp, 759 sp, 1 2 2 gp, 1 1 pp, five silver holy symbols of
Iomedae worth 25 gp each, a masterwork longsword, two
masterwork scimitars, 450 gp in various fine housewares
like silverware and table settings, a wand of bless weapon ( 18
charges), and a cmrently broken phylactery of faithfulness.
The chest also contains a sheaf of papers documenting
the cultists' movements around the city. These papers not
only indicate that the plan to attack Kenabres was several
years in the planning, but that there were a large number
of Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth involved. This list of
names is valuable to the crusaders-it can't help Kenabres
at this point, but since several of the names on the list
include people operating in other cities, the crusaders will
pay 2,000 gp for it in reward.
A brazen head is an object sacred to the cult
of Baphomet. Most brazen heads appear to
be the head of a minotaur, but others in the
shape of humans, animals, or multi-faced
demons exist.
When mounted on a wall in an area sacred to Baphomet,
the brazen head constantly breathes out invisible vapors that
fill a 60-foot spread. Any evil creature in this area gains the
benefit of a bless spell.
When in the area of an unhallo w spell cast by a worshiper
of Baphomet, a brazen head can be used once per month to
perform an augury. Rumors exist of more powerful brazen
heads capable of casting divination or even commune.
Sells for 3,250
See map for the letter that you find there as well
Marhok reads the letter with a quizzical look and frowns, then hands the paper over to Edric.
"Seems this plan was a long time in the making, they want to use the wardstones against us. We should take as much of these notes and letters with us towards Defender's Heart, they will know what to do with it better than the two of us I suppose."
Marhok and Edric collect as much of the loot they can carry, Marhok puts on the cloak of resistance, dusting it off and making sure that he remembers to clean it later as there's still blood on it.
Edric will take the +1 bolts and the wand of CMW (9 charges) and the wand of bless weapon, he'll also carry the letter and the information.
Marhok fastens the mwrk weapons and the bracers of armour to his pack, collecting the finer wares and the brazen head in a bundle and carrying that in sack on top of his backpack.
Edric and Marhok arrive at Defenders Heart, where they are greeted by Anevia and another woman that must be Irabeth after giving the code word Silverstrong
The largest inn in Kenabres is Defender's Heart-a stout
stone structure that survived the fall of Kenabres with ease.
Built to last and largely ignored by the initial demonic
attack (which focused much more on Old Kenabres and
the riverfront), Defender's Heart was a perfect choice as
a place for surviving crusaders and veterans of the war to
gather and form a sort of defensive line. The majority of
the smviving crusaders now housed here belonged to the
Eagle Watch, and they have assumed control
of the various other leaderless mercenaries while they wait
for the Mendevian army to come to the city's aid.
While the inn is owned an run by a one-armed man
named Kimroth Otai , he's largely ceded control of the building to
the Eagle Watch-the highest-ranking survivor of which
is the half-ore paladin Irabeth Tirabade. Along with a
handful of experienced crusaders and city guards, Irabeth
has spent the past several days gathering intelligence on
the assault, formulating plans to defend the inn against
periodic attacks by demons and cultists, and working to
keep morale up by promising the Mendevian army is only
a few days away from helping to retake Kenabres.
Alert guards are posted at every third window in the
large structure,
Irabeth explains that she's now in charge of the Eagle
Watch, at least, until the Mendevian army arrives to help
reclaim the city. She knows that word got out about the
attack, but has also heard that Nerosyan and other cities
along the border are facing their own plights-so far, she's
relatively certain that none of the other border cities have
suffered as great a defeat as Kenabres, but she can confirm
that this city's wardstone has been destroyed and that as
a result, the entire network of wardstones has diminished
in power to a shadow of its former strength. She thanks
lomedae daily for the inherent disorganization of the
enemy, noting that had the demons made as focused an
attack on Nerosyan as they did on Kenabres, things would
be dire indeed.
Please tell me of your travels, Anevia has told me that you have much information to share with us.
Marhok listens to Irabeth's story and the conditions of the survivors and people at Defender's Heart. Then as she asks him about information he nods solemnly.
"We do have some useful information. For a start we have found that a group of cultists of Baphomet have intruded Kenabres for a long time already. One of them made off with this beautiful piece of a sword."
Marhok retrieves the sword in its ornate chest/box and shows it to Irabeth.
"Edric here believes it to be Yaniel's Sword, I've got no reason to doubt him on this."
Edric nods quietly as Marhok does the talking this time, a bit in awe about the happenings around defender's Heart.
"Also, the note that accompanied the sword mentioned more 'safehouses' for cultists. In between getting Anevia and the other two of our companions to relative safety, we've investigated all those safehouses. Topaz Solutions was trapped, but abandoned the second was reduced to rubble, but the tower was still in working order and we found some more information there." Marhok motions Edric to give him the papers they found and the letter from Minaghe to Faxon that they found.
He waits for Irabeth to finish reading the letter.
"No doubt this is grave news and although I'm little more than a regular soldier myself, I'd like to help in any way I can. Kenabres has been my home for these past long years and I'm not giving up my home to those demons without putting up a fight."
If the PCs mention
the Templars and their safe houses, Irabeth becomes very
interested. The Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth are, in
her opinion, one of the most dangerous elements of the
enemy. " They have spies everywhere," she says, " and have
apparently been among us for decades. Only recently has
proof of their presence been manifesting. I personally
managed to root out one oft heir more powerful membersthe
leader of a group called the Hammers of Heaven. We
all thought of Staunton Vhane as a model crusader, but
as far as I was able to discern, he's been working for the
demons for decades. There's even evidence he may have
been the one to betray Drezen 75 years ago. They knighted
me for that discovery, but I'm still not sure why, since he
slipped through my fingers and is out there still, causing
who knows how much more damage ... " Irabeth trails off
here for a moment before she shakes her head to clear
her thoughts,
Marhok nods as he listens to Irabeth relating her story, when she finishes he speaks up again. "Actually we found an half-orc mage with a grudge in your home. One called Vagorg I believe, I'd reckon Anevia already told you about him. I bring some other news as well, good news as a matter of fact."
Marhok pauses for a bit and then recalls the troubles underground.
"Irabeth, you are not without allies in this struggle. During our time underground, we've met the ones that are usually called 'mongrelmen', please don't call them that to their face. I've promised one of their chiefs, Chief Sull, that I would relay this message."
Marhok coughs once and tries to clear his throat.
"Though we are shunned by the upland world, our ancestors fought bravely in the First Crusade. We would honour our ancestors and be honoured to fight alongside the other crusaders again, to wipe the demons from Kenabres. Your enemy is our enemy. This is the pledge of Chief Sull, leader of the underground free folk."
"In short they await the news to be called back to fight alongside you. They will help free the city from the demon taint that plagues it now."
Irabeth is delighted to learn
that the mongrels of Neathholm ( people she prefers to call
the " First Descendants," out of respect for their original
parents, never would she call them mongrels), and agrees to send some Eagle Watch knights
down to contact Neathholm and work out the alliance.
Irabeth gives you a quick tour and gies you a room. There are about 200 people here, some warriors and some lower level clerics and paladins of Iomadae, and all your wounds and ability damage are healed for free, and can always be done upon a return here.
There are even some merchants to whom you can sell things.
As far as purchasing supplies-you can assume that anything
costing 3OO gp or less is readily available for purchase, and
that anything beyond that up to a maximum of 2,500 gp
has a 75% chance of being available for sale.
Irabeth
approaches them with a grim, worried expression. She
explains that their arrival at Defender's Heart couldn't
have been more timely, and asks them to come meet with a
man named Quednys Orlun to find out why.
Quednys Orlun ( L G old male human wizard 6) is an
aged and angular human with an eagle's talon tattoo on his
cheek. Founder and head librarian of Blackwing, Quednys
was at the Cathedral when the attack began, and was
instrumental in saving several citizens from certain death.
He suffered a nearly fatal wound in doing so, but survived
after he was brought to Defender's Heart and healed. Since
then, Quednys has helped keep order in the inn. He believes
that Blackwing was completely destroyed, and is haunted by
this fact. If the PCs fill him in on what happened to his
library, he is both distraught about not having been there to
help himself and grateful that the PCs were there instead.
Soon after the meeting with the PCs and Irabeth, he sees to
it that any survivors still hiding out there are relocated to
Defender's Heart as soon as possible.
Irabeth begins the meeting with the PCs by thanking
them again for all they've done so far, and then by making
sure they're willing to help the city some more
Irabeth continues
"As horrific as recent events have been, we've come to realize
that they are, in fact, merely a prelude. The razing of the Kite,
the destruction of our wardstone, Terendelev's murder, and the
assault on the city were nothing more than opening gambits.
The Worldwound is on the march in a more concentrated assault
than we've seen since the fall of Drezen. It's fair to say the Lord
of the Locust Host is finally making his move. The end of this
hundred-year-war is upon us, and it falls to us to ensure victory.
"While the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth were scattered,
those who serve the Lord of the Locust Host himself remain
concentrated in Old Kenabres. What we've heard from within the rA
barricade they've erected is ominous. The cultists are waiting /)f"
for something, and based on our own information and f'/
what you've managed to recover so far, it sounds like
the vile witch Areelu Vorlesh will soon be coming to
Kenabres. And it appears that we've determined
what she intends to do.
"When the wardstone was destroyed by
the Storm King, it exploded and destroyed
the Kite. The network along the border
failed, but did not fade completely.
perished, fled, or were captured-this final task falls to
those few who remain, and of them, the PCs are the best
situated to take on the mission. A small, elite force like the
PCs can strike at the Gray Garrison, in filtrate it, and deal
with the situation-especially if Irabeth and the other
surviving mercenaries go on the offensive throughout the
city. By doing so, the crusaders will have to abandon their
defensive position and will certainly take losses, but luring
the cultists now in control of Old
Kenabres out to attack a few dozen
sudden uprisings of crusaders will
certainly give the PCs the advantage
they need to attack the Gray Garrison.
Irabeth doesn't expect the PCs will
be able to achieve their goal on the first
try-she even suggests they plan for multiple
attacks on the Gray Garrison. She and her fellow
crusaders will time their own strikes with each of
the PCs's attacks, and while the cultists will certainly
shore up their defenses between forays, multiple strikes
should wear them down. As long as the PCs can destroy
the wardstone fragment before Vorlesh's arrival, it will all
be worth the risk.
While none know when Vorlesh is scheduled to arrive
(and thus it's safe to assume she could show up at any
minute), Irabeth tells the PCs that Quednys has the perfect
tool for finishing off the wardstone's
I believe this is because a significant
portion of our wardstone still exists, and
that the cultists have taken it to the old
riod Of cancellation destruction-a rod of cancellation he
salvaged from a ruined wizard's shop.
garrison in Old Kenabres. From what we've learned, they're
hoping to engineer a way to somehow reverse the field generated
by the wardstones-essentially, to use our own greatest defense
as a devastating weapon.
"The attack on Kenabres had a predictable result: causing the
crusade to gather at the border to defend it. Some wonder why
the demons haven't attacked in stronger numbers. I believe that
Areelu was counting on us massing along the border, and that if
she can corrupt the wardstone field, she can strike a devastating
blow against us all. In effect, we've lined up for the slaughter.
"Vorlesh is surely seeking some object of great Abyssal
power, likely the Nahyndrian crystal mentioned in the missive
you recovered, and with it she intends to turn the source of
our hope into an unimaginable nightmare. We cannot hope to
evacuate everyone from the border-I doubt they would give up
the defensive line even if they knew what the enemy planned.
But we can still stop this from happening-we just need to have
someone infiltrate the Gray Garrison, locate the wardstone
fragment, and destroy it."
She continues to explain All of Kenabres's greatest defenders perished, fled, or were captured-this final task falls to
those few who remain, and of them, the PCs are the best
situated to take on the mission. A small, elite force like the
PCs can strike at the Gray Garrison, in filtrate it, and deal
with the situation-especially if Irabeth and the other
surviving mercenaries go on the offensive throughout the
city. By doing so, the crusaders will have to abandon their
defensive position and will certainly take losses, but luring
the cultists now in control of Old
Kenabres out to attack a few dozen
sudden uprisings of crusaders will
certainly give the PCs the advantage
they need to attack the Gray Garrison.
Irabeth doesn't expect the PCs will
be able to achieve their goal on the first
try-she even suggests they plan for multiple
attacks on the Gray Garrison. She and her fellow
crusaders will time their own strikes with each of
the PCs's attacks, and while the cultists will certainly
shore up their defenses between forays, multiple strikes
should wear them down. As long as the PCs can destroy
the wardstone fragment before Vorlesh's arrival, it will all
be worth the risk
Quednys has the perfect
tool for finishing off the wardstone's, a rod of cancellation With this item, the PCs should be able
to drain the last vestige of power from the fragment; in so
doing, it will completely sever the wardstone's connection
remaining connection to the field. Doing so will rob Vorlesh
of a crucial chink in the wardstone field's armor and prevent
her from using it against the crusaders unless the demons
can manage to destroy another wardstone-" Something I
don't think is possible in the short term, for the Kenabres
stone has suffered numerous attacks over the past several
years that made this final destruction possible. Almost," she
adds wryly, " as if the demons have been planning for this
day from the start." If the PCs suggest simply reclaiming
the fragment and keeping it safe, Irabeth sadly shakes her
head-she points out the fragment is useless at this point to
the crusaders, and as long as it exists it will continue to be a
liability. It must be destroyed.
Marhok's selling all the stuff they don't need anymore and all the stuff they've gathered.
Marhok is trying to look for a cloak of Resistance +1 for Edric, +1 Chain Shirt and an Amulet of Natural Armour +1 for Marhok. Also he checks to see if he can find a wand of CLW that's still up for sale amongst the people at Defender's Heart.
After the initial selling and buying of larger equipment, Marhok heads off to a man or woman that sells potions, buying 5 potions of Enlarge Person for 250 gp and 1 potion of Bull's Strength for 300 gp.
After that Marhok counts out the money he still has and nods to Edric. "This stuff should keep us safe and be able to dish out more pain to those demons and cultists. You just stay behind me when things get too dangerous alright?"
After a few days of rest, and the merchants making purchases Aranvagail arrives with the others from the library he seeks you out and lets you know that he manages to secure a cache of supplies which he turns over to you
eight potions of c ure serious wounds, four
potions of lesser restoration, 10 +I evil outsider bane arrows, a
chime ef openinJj, two cold iron weapons ( pick types used by
PCs), a wand of maJjic missiles (C L 5th, 31 charges), and a wand
ef dayliJjht ( 24 charges).
Horgus arrives as well, and shockingly he brings supplies and money for the defenders, and pledges to help free the city.
The mongrels arrive and their numbers swell the defenders. It is an amazing thing to see them accepted as easily as they are
The army moves towards the grey Garrison, and there are many patrols all around, the First Crusaders and the rest promise that they will keep them off of you, while you assault th guards at the front of the door.
Irabeth speaks Remember that you are likely to find many of our crusaders, please treat them with respect, many may have their souls corrupted by demons, save those souls and release them as you can.
A large stretch of buckled ground and rubble stretches before
the Gray Garrison, an aptly named structure that squats across
from the open ground that once stood before the Cathedral of
Saint Clydwell. That cathedral is no more-nothing remains but a
towering mound of rubble and a deep, jagged rift in the ground.
Guarding the main entrance are two bloated looking men with Scythes
As Irabeth mentions the corrupted crusaders, Marhok's face turns grim. "I'm no paladin or holy man, my respect and release of their souls goes through my sword and ranseur. Edric will give them their last rites as a last honour won't you Edric?"
Edric solemnly nods to confirm Marhok's words.
"Besides that there's not much what we can do for them."
When Marhok and Edric arrive Marhok looks to Edric and then at the two guards at the entrance.
"Any ideas of what they are?"
Edric looks on and shakes his head.
"Not my expertise I'm afraid."
"Well it's time to get acquainted then. Cover my flank Edric."
Marhok approaches the two guards stoically, his ranseur in hand, moving slowly then readying his ranseur if the two of them approach.
Edric follows a bit more hastily as his lung still hasn't recovered yet.
Oh no you haven't that will require a remove curse which is beyond their abilities. A scroll is possible but you would have to buy it
The two raise their scythes. The faces look vaguely familiar but from where
Marhok will advance like he did before, wondering who will make the first move. If he gets to within 10 feet distance unhindered he'll attack.
Ok do you want to roll the remove curse or shall I?
Edric can do it he has level 3 spells
DC 15 local or nobility to recognize those two men
Once Marhok is 30 feet away they speek
[b]Are you here to turn yourself over to the Deskari?[b]