|
Ramesses leads the group further into the cave and behind a narrow passage you find another room. This roughly semi-circular chamber contains a number of bedrolls clinging to the shore, as far away from the water as possible, though a number of them are still muddy and moist. These bedrolls are obviously of human make, rather than the typical mud and reed nests of lizardfolk.
Hidden in one of the bedrolls you find a note:
Durra,
Creating this back door into Hao Jin’s
demiplane has cost us a considerable
amount of money—far more than our ally
initially requested. It’s up to you make
sure that this investment is worth it. You
must recover at least enough for us to
recoup our loses if we have any chance of
convincing the three, or even their Mentor,
to continue to project. I know you have
a passion for side projects but for once,
focus on the task at hand!
A serpent can swallow anything,
Aglorn Desimire
|
Baldwyn spots a piece of parchment and pulls it from a bedroll. "Huh. A note of some sort." He passes it around for all to read.
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
"It appears the Aspis are not alone on this venture, this heinous venture," Razmand ponders aloud, rubbing his mustache as he thinks. "And it would be pointless to first pay a huge amount of gold for a portal to an unknown world, and then desperately try to cover the costs. There must be something else to their presence here. They can't be here just to be a nuisance for us."
"More will be told to us as we progress. Move on."
|
"'The three' and 'their Mentor,'" Vladek, still barely visible, echoes the note curiously. "It sounds like they've found someone to do business with here - someone powerful enough that they have the Consortium at a disadvantage, and even so, the Consortium remains...extremely eager to work with them. Learning who they are and what they do seems like valuable knowledge. Likely, we either would want to persuade them that we make better friends than the Aspis...or they are the sort that we would hope to ensure never takes up another 'project' again."
|
|
With the note in your pocket you head to the cavern to the east, to have a closer look at the sorting bay. This relatively dry cavern is abuzz with activity. A group of lizardfolk is busy packing artifacts into crates and barrels, toiling under the watchful eyes and amid the stern orders of a trio of humans, who bark out their demands and rebukes in Draconic.
Once the Aspis goons spot you, they immediately attack.
Vladek
---
Aspis blue
Aspis red
---
Zorro
---
Aspis yellow
---
Razmand
Baldwyn
Ramesses
|
|
Zorro lunges at the guy who just shot at him and hits. The man winces in pain, but does not give up. The Aspis with a yellow hood takes another shot at Zorro. "Stop that or you die!" he shouts at the swashbuckler.
Vladek
---
Aspis blue -24HP
Aspis red
---
Zorro
---
Aspis yellow
---
Razmand
Baldwyn
Ramesses
|
|
Razmand casts a spell and suddenly the Aspis agents get burned, one of them catches fire. Ramesses brings his greatsword down on the Aspis agent with the red cloak and hits. Baldwyn follows Ramesses' example and cuts a deep wound in the man's chest. The man drops to the ground and with another mighty swing Baldwyn knocks the man unconscious. Vladek floats towards the man in yellow and has an evil look at him. Quadathra blasts the other Aspis with a bright flash but the lucky man looks somewhere else when the light hits him.
The Aspis attacks Zorro once more but is not able to connect.
Vladek
---
Aspis blue -27HP on fire, shaken 2R
Aspis red defeated
---
Zorro
---
Aspis yellow -3HP shaken 2R, -4 Att. 10R
---
Razmand
Baldwyn
Ramesses
|
|
Zorro parries both attacks while another Aspis agent moves behind his companion and shoots an arrow at Baldwyn, but the arrow somehow turns around and only the feathers hit the Fighter.
Vladek
---
Aspis blue -27HP on fire, shaken 2R
Aspis red defeated
---
Zorro
---
Aspis yellow -3HP shaken 2R, -4 Att. 10R
---
Razmand
Baldwyn
Ramesses
|
|
"It's barely necessary to waste resources on these sad agents," Razmand says to the team. He turns to look at the yellow agent straight in the eyes.
"You probably thought you are competent, skilled, fabulous even. But a group of lowly pathfinders have come to your hidey-hole and made you look ridiculous in mere seconds. Your company will soon lay in ruins, soaked in their own blood, and it is all thanks to your incompetence, your inability to deal with your archnemesis. You'll be unable to face your brethren, your comrades, even your family. Your guilt, your shame will envelop you, consume you, until you become nothing more than a lifeless shell."
|
|
As the man comes up, Baldwyn tries to cut him down before he makes his shot.
vs CMD
With the men close as hand, Baldwyn swings his blade to put them down for good. He clearly is trying to impress the lizadolk.
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
Baldwyn uses his chance to bring the shooter down, hitting him hard with his weapon. Razmand provokes the Aspis on the floor until the man gets really angry, clanching his fists. Another smack at his head causes him more headache and another one knocks him out. Ramesses attacks the remaining Aspis, but the attempt is not good enough.
Vladek
---
Aspis blue -47HP on fire, shaken 2R
---
Zorro
Razmand
Baldwyn
Ramesses
|
As he tries to bullrush zorro and fails zorro stabs him with his rapier
As Zorro critically stabs him he says " The last guy that tryed to bull rush me got his head separated from his neck"
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
"You are here to save our children? You don't want to harm us?" one of the lizardfolk answers. "Se appreciate your effort, but please be careful within these caves. There are more of them! Please take whatever you need from these crates. We will seal them again so they won't know."
3x potions, 3x +1 mithral chain shirt, 3x +1 dagger, 3x +1 rapier, 3x longbow with 20 arrows.
The three potions are potions of cure moderate wounds.
|
|
While looking through the stuff, Zorro's says" That rapier looks cool but my one is better"
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
You move on. The relatively dry land of this cavern is cluttered with the artifacts of lizardfolk daily life. Small cooking fires, mats, turtle shell bowls, wood utensils, stone knives, and game pieces crafted from rock and shell litter this area. A large group of lizardfolk go about their daily routine, though in a skittish and tense manner. A dozen lizardfolk have relocated from the tribe’s village several miles away.
Upon noticing you, the lizardfolk buzz with hushed activity. Hissing whispers question in Draconic whether the newcomers are members of the Aspis Consortium or some new form of "smooth-skin" enemy.
One elder lizard moves forward and questions you regarding your reasons for entering the Muckmouth.
|
|
At ease my lizard friends...says Ramesses in Draconic....We are not of the Aspis, in fact they are our biggest enemy! We are here to help you get your eggs back, free you from their tyranny and with Gorum's blessing, disembowel a few of those scum along the way!!! Ramesses turns to his allies That pretty much cover it?He says with a grin.
|
|
A small waterfall drums over several protruding stones before crashing into a large pool. A strange, pulsating light emanating from a nearby cave mouth fill this pool with a vivid and intense rainbow of colors. Torn nets litter the water. Parts of the netting are still attached to the shore, but most have been torn off, and now circle the pool in the current created by the waterfall.
By tradition, the females of the Muckmouth tribe lay their eggs in this pool, holding them in place with the nets that are now float adrift in the pool.
Inside this room you spot a pair of identical twin Aspis archers. They are here to keep a lookout for lizardfolk daring to brave the lighted chamber to recapture their eggs.