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"I am heartened to visit with others who revere their ancestors as I do," Zlata says. After a slightly uncomfortable pause, she continues, "If I may be so bold, we were hoping to pay our respects to a particular ancestor of yours, one Haraka Sorin. I understand he fought alongside Malash, and he was a... dear friend of a colleague of ours."
Yes, Malash, that great soul. The reason we stand so united this day - his doing. Your request is granted, I shall escort you personally, along with my clan leaders.
The elves descend into the shrine of Haraka. The shrine complex is lit with continual flame torches. This chamber contains the crypts of several dozen
deceased elven nobles, including Daimyo Haraka Sorin. The crypts are dug into the stone walls and covered with inset metal screens, allowing visitors to view the revered remains. However, seismic shifting has caused the skull of Haraka to roll out of sight.
This is a tangled knot of honor. When he was Malash, Bakten gave our families strength. Yet, even for his sake, can a son permit the desecration of his ancestor’s grave?”
This is a conundrum we have to ponder. The elders shall vote at moonrise.
Moonrise is another three hours away. Thick clouds pervade the cave, creating small clear pockets where the nobles congregate, regaling one another with legends of heroic deeds, then eagerly debating the finer points of honor that each tale brings to light.
The three clan leaders are said to be key influences: Daimyo Haraka Kasashige, Lady Ishigo Shiori, and Lord Mata Ryuu.
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Skarn will favor a direct approach to the problem and pay a visit to the Daimyo first, bowing before him as befits a fellow nobleman.
"We are truly honored by the trust you bless us with, Daimyo Kasashige. For this we are most grateful. I am Skarn Moonbane, a servant of the gods, and I hold dear the respect of the deceased ones. By now you have surely realized that the true reason for coming here was to honor to your ancestor Haraka Sorin, for he was the greatest companion of Malash. Honoring the dead is our prime concern, and we feel that we cannot leave a sepulcher that has been disturbed by tremors untended. It is our duty to honor your ancestor by restoring his tomb in the proper way."
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Anaristiel moves to speak with Lady Ishigo Shiori. "For years, I have been a keeper of our lore. I have also been haunted by the spirits of our ancestors; largely benign, but restless, just the same. I have heard whispers from them, always at the edge of hearing, and I have felt their caresses brush my hair as a light breeze." She pauses. "I do not know if they put great store in the state of what remains of their physical bodies, but I do know that you put great store in the sanctity of these graves. However, as much as you do not wish for any hands to disturb them, there is an equal chance that the spirits of our ancestors are merely requesting that their remains be set aright. Should we not entertain that possibility?"
Skarn
Skarn talks to the Daimyo, who seems to be burdened by an indecision to act. Our ancestors watch us in every step. I have pondered the connection between my great-grandfafther and Malash many times, and now it is as if I have experienced the event myself. he says, obsessively glaring at the family shrine this great alliance of elves, I have seen it erode over time, though it is beyong my power to stop it.
Anaristiel
Anaristiel has already caught the rumour that the lost her husband and six infant children to a yeti in the mountain.
The lady wears a mourning white, including a broad, conical hat that conceals most of her hair. She looks around the shrine and says ponderously My man... mind your step on your way home... as if praying to the shrine.
The affectionate words are not for her late husband, but for Bakten instead. Bakten know nothing of his veiled life, and the grave mistake he made on his path.
[b]Mogall and Grimaldus
Mogall speaks of religion and tradition, but his view as far too typical of Avistani beliefs, and find little resonance with the inhabitants here. Grimaldus offers some views on how to stabilize the caverns, though the elves seem to be more interested in less directly applied discussions.
The third noble is Lord Mata Ryuu, a toothless rambling elf reeking of sour wine. Greetings, outsiders! he rambles every time he spots one of the adventurers, giving a cast of doubt on whether he still has all of his marbles. As Zlata comes near, he shakes her hand with a bony, claw-like hand. The nails rasps against the half-orcs' skin as he does so.
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"Honored one, we may yet be of assistance in this matter. I must confess another fact - we were sent by Malash himself, or rather his latest incarnation - to explore his own past. After many incarnations, his memories start to fail him, and we are to uncover the grey areas of his past. Maybe you could be of help? Failing that, restoring your ancestor's shrine would perhaps echo into our present for the better of all."
He is acting really strange, it's almost as if he is under some form of psychic control.
Lord Mata pretty much ignores Zlata after his initial greeting, then says Greetings, outsider!
The response to Skarn's words is far better: And so, after many generations, he comes to our aid again? Who I am to refuse - though I am bound to the covenant, and cannot act alone on this. Speak to the other clan leaders, that you may sway them as well.
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Grim presses the case with the nobles, attempting to find a way to sway them to the party's needs. Sensing their desire to speak of grand stories and ancient tales, he recalls some of his chapter's lore for them. He tells of ancient empires and star-faring peoples who once visited this world and left a small contingent of warriors to await their return.
Mogall sees the mind control that Lord Ryuu is under, and for him, his senile behaviour makes sense: he must have been the target of a mind wiping spell several times, causing him to lose grip on his memories, and on his ability to remember.
Gaps? What do you mean? The very notion. Greetings, outsider! Lord Ryuu says, scraping his bony claw across Mogall's face.
His mind... truly, he was a great man once. Such a great soul. I loved him once. How I hated the woman that stole his heart. A samsaran womand, with hair like a black shroud.
Lady Shiori seems little impressed by Grimaldus' words Malash is who I speak of. My business is my own.
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Pitbull decides to break a few eggs and see what happens - Asbo pays attention and covers her back as she moves towards Lord Ryuu.
"Hey, old man, do you still remember the Samsaran woman Malash who stole your heart? What you reckon once you tell us about her we start working out who been stealing your brains" Pitbull hardly comes across as caring and sharing about it - more abrasive as usual.
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Skarn pays a visit to both Lady Shiori and Lord Ryuu, attempting the same approach as he did with the Daimyo.
"Did you know that we were sent by Malash reincarnated? Rather by his latest incarnation - we are to explore his own past. After many incarnations, his memories start to fail him, and we are to uncover the grey areas of his past. Maybe you could be of help?"
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Anaristiel latches on to Skarn's words when he addresses Lord Ryuu, adding, "Speaking of failing memories...Lord Ryuu, I believe that we need to come to terms with yours. Someone obviously wished to remove any trace of Malash from your mind; I submit that it was none other than Lady Shiori, who has ever desired the heart you gave to Malash."
Lady Shiori finally confides in Skarn I hold a dark secret. I once vowed to kill the woman that stole Ryuu's heart. I never did actually kill Malash, but my vow stands. When I heard that she - now in the form of Bakten - was close to enlightenenment, I tried to make good on my vow, and sent a squad of assassins. I am not proud of this. I will help you in your endeavour, if you promise to keep my secret.
As for Ryuu's mind: I have no finger in that.
Anaristiel, meanwhile, tries to directly confront the ailing Lord. The confrontation send Ryuu in a bit of a panic. Before Anaristiel can do anything, the husteria escalates, and the lord simply casts a spell, and teleports out!
Without Ryuu present the Daimyo says we need a replacement for the vote. I nominate my niece, Mata Miko, so cast the vote.
A mellifluous wind abruptly clears the grotto of all clouds. The elves place themselves around the mirror in the floor, whose surface is reflected in turn within the pool suspended magically overhead.
Just before the magical moment that the elves are waiting for, the Daimyo decides to have his vote.
The clan leaders vote unanimously in favor of the pathfinders, and teh Daimyo praises the group as the hands of Malash have come to reinforce the eternal bond! Let it be known that this group is granted access to Sorin's tomb after moonrise.
These words cause great protest among the scions. They hurl abuse, calling the decision a disgrace you are not worthy of the blessings of the ancestors! some scream as the elves start bickering among themselves. Finally, one reckless elf jostles Kasashige and he falls, shattering the mirror before it can reflect the moonlight.
Such a disgrace Daimyo Kasashige mutters as he leads the pathfinders to the tomb Bakten would weep to see his greatest deed undone
As the adventurers light the flame, the flame burns blue, but moments later it begins to flare and sputter madly, coruscating through the spectrum until it settles on blood red. Within the frantic candle, images appear: first, a jagged black pagoda, then the image of a blue-skinned woman, her hair like a black shroud. Her jaws distend and erupt with fangs. Bakten’s face appears, his eyes wide with pain and terror. He falls from view and the candle’s flame winks out.
a hostile entity invaded the candle’s psychic bond.
The Daimyo bids the adventurers farewell, hoping for better circumstances next time.
Back at the sanctuary of Bakten, Twig - the pooka servant of Bakten - conveys several mental images: Bakten meditating, Bakten horror stricken, and finally Bakten’s body evaporating, then says with a tear-struck face Bakten so gone. But gone-gone? Great Beyond. Show candle, yes?
When the party pulls out the candle, the extinguished flame re ignites itself, burning with a small, pale light. Twig’s sorrow turns to joy: Walk-lookers! Hope burns! New Bakten means new answers soon!
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"Ah, that explains those black-clad attackers, then," Zlata replies to Shiori, "we had wondered."
Turning to the Daimyo's niece, she asks, "What say you, Lady Mata, will you allow us to help your ancestor?"
Seeing the image that appears in the candle's flame, she gasps, "Was... was that supposed to happen?"
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Skarn guides the discussions with the newly appointed council members, bringing his arguments together with a decisive voice.
When the Pathfinders return, he is surprised by the turn of events, but simply nods.
"We'll have to see this matter through - I think we are far from finished." he announces ominously.
Boon Rolls:
Boon of players choice on a natural roll of 1 or 20
**Re-Rolls not allowed on boons**
Since the death of Venture-Captain Bakten Shengrah, New Oppara has been in mourning. The heavens echo the city’s grief, bestowing shrouds of inky storm clouds on the city, rolling down from the Zi Ha Mountains to the north. On orders from the Lantern Lodge, all local Path nders have cloistered themselves within the samsaran guru’s sanctuary, combing his libraries for clues that might explain the strange resuscitation of Bakten’s candle of conveyance, for none of the sages of Amanandar can explain how the candle still burns when Bakten’s soul has departed.
As the black clouds hurl blizzards from above, an unlikely source of aid appears at the sanctuary’s gates: an elderly elven noblewoman stumbles in, frostbitten and half-delirious. “I came to atone,” she cries, “Bakten was once Malash—a hero. But what was Malash next? That evil woman! I loathed her so. I thought she stole my love’s heart, and blamed her next life, Bakten, too! But if he knew nothing of his own veiled life?” Her ancient hands clutch a weather-beaten scroll case, as if it were a lifeline. “Tell me he is not dead, please!” She begs, “If Bakten is fallen, I fear the shrouded one may rise and doom us all!”
Lord Mata Ryuu and I were devoted to one another. But one day I saw him dallying with a samsaran woman whose hair was a black shroud. He swiftly rejected me, and he was never the same man after that.”
The woman was Jujanil, the evil creature who stole my love’s heart. I was certain that she was one of Bakten’s past lives, a being of the same soul, but now I am not so sure. I made a terrible mistake, and now we may be doomed.”
After you Path nders visited Jinin, I realized if Bakten himself recalled nothing of the shrouded one, then perhaps she was a separate soul entirely. I sent one of my daughters to ransack Ryuu’s chambers. I had to know what creature had ensnared him centuries ago. She brought me this scroll.”
The Black Grave Tower is a secluded pagoda of black basalt high atop the Wild Peaks of Zi Ha. Locals shun the tower, believing it to be haunted.
When the pagoda was built, a pilgrimage of crimson-clad priests traveled the lone mountain pass to christen the tower in the name of the Lord of Envy, the god Fumeiyoshi.
The funds for the pagoda’s construction came from the Mata house in Jinin, although a raven-haired samsaran supposedly oversaw its completion.
Fumeiyoshi, Lord of Envy, is one of the 20 prominent deities of Tian Xia. He was once known as the God of Night. However, he grew jealous of his brother Tsukiyo’s love for the goddess Shizuru. This envy led him to fratricide, and he became the patron of dishonor, envy, graves, and undead.
Fumeiyoshi often manifests to his worshipers as a nearly skeletal crimson humanoid with three eyes, jagged tusks, and twisted claws. His unholy symbol is a red demonic face, and his sacred animal is a wolf, sometimes shown devouring a freshly killed hare, the sacred animal of his brother Tsukiyo. His favored weapon is the naginata.
Envious of the living, Fumeiyoshi grants eternal unlife to his most devoted servants.
Fumeiyoshi loathes samsarans, as their souls evade his clutches through reincarnation. An undead samsaran would be a favored follower of the dark god.