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Tomas pulls out his rope and fonds something in the room to affix it too. Before throwing it off he hands it to Baloo.
"It would seem one rope would be just too short, two should be fine and I care not if my rope is left here, a simple enough thing to replace. If Baloo is to stay up here I will head down with our CSI to have his back."
With the ropes tied, he makes his way down the cliff face cautiously.
With the rope, you carefully make your way down the waterfall. Baloo goes last after anchoring the rope to the altar. Swareti gives Baloo a final wave before slipping out into the hall. The duergar now shackled into the other cell snarls at the fighter as he leaves. "Droskar aided us when our world crumpled for a second time. His emissaries found us then. And our toil will be repaid as he sends more. Run. 'Finders. We will not forget this."
When Baloo finally alights at the fall's base, the party recollects. There is no sign of the remaining fossegrim.
Tanbaru becomes visible once more and leaves Farg's face. Ha! Nice job. Jerks had it coming! And you got to do some goodie-two-shoes rescuing too. The greys'll probably clam up tight up there for a while, but the big two and change are down at least. So what's next? And what's that doohickey do?
As each of you enters your swirling eddy to return home, the sight of abandoned Naldak's Point fades from view to be abruptly replaced with the dull basement walls of the Grand Lodge.
Aram Zey is staring intently at a seperate portion of the Hao Jin Tapestry. As you emerge, he speaks in a dismissive tone without looking up. "Your back then I see. Well? Report then? What have we learned and what have we found? A summation please - you can scribble down your full report at a later time."
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"Unfortunately, the dwarfs we initially sought out had been slain or enslaved by a rival encampment of duergar. It seems seems that the evil underdwellers also had assistance from a group of Aspis. Please be aware that the Aspis were taking great pains to tell the local population that the Society is filled with untrustworthy, murdering people bent on theft, destruction and personal gain. As far as we can tell, that Aspis team was eliminated by the unstable duergar leader, Ironwhip. That said, we had several encounters where diplomacy prevailed, even accepting surrender of defeated foes instead of outright killing them. When we were finally able to breach the dwarven stronghold, we were able to reduce the effectiveness of the leadership, lay the seeds of a potential alliance with a group of captured wayang, and recover a piece of the Sky Key. No losses or casualties. The rest will be in the full report."
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Tomas shrugs mechanically and indicates the collected piece of the Sky Key retrieved from the Tapestry. Finding a table to lean against he concurs with Fendel's report and then Milo's addendum.
"Quite, the sky belonged to an ancient temple, though we gained support from an unsuspecting source.An Oni spirit if you would believe, though he seems quite attached to Farg."
Eh, it was boring there anyway. Tanbaru says. From the look of you, you'd've loved it pointy. What're you starin at anyway down there? Trying ta peek at a pair of -
[b]Enough! Aram Zey barks to cut off the oni. He sighs “The transformation of Naldak’s descendants into duergar was an unexpected and unfortunate development. However what matters is that you recovered another piece of the Sky Key. You successfully completed your mission.” The Master of Spells returns his attention to the tapestry. After a few moments, he barks, “Why are you still standing around? Do you want an award for doing your jobs?”
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Tomas shrugs again and pushes off the table, uncaring if he knocks the papers on its surface. With a wave to the Master of spells he turns and heads out of the room. Wizards! First they demand a report, then tell you to leave whilst giving it! Fickle fiends.
"Well friends, it has been a pleasure, even you Tanbaru. Now I intend to worship Cayden Cailean in the only way that counts. Who is up for a drink? I work at the tenple here in Absalom so can arrange a discount!"
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"No need to loose your head Master Zey! We will allow you to return to your research."
"Well friends, it has been a pleasure, even you Tanbaru. Now I intend to worship Cayden Cailean in the only way that counts. Who is up for a drink? I work at the tenple here in Absalom so can arrange a discount!"
Hmm..well, I do have to write that report, and continue my language studies...
"What the hell? I am not religious Tomas, but I am open to your attempt at conversion. Lead on my friend!"
So tell me Tanbaru! What do you have planned for the future?
The floating oni attempts to shrug again. "Eh, deal's a deal. Guess I'll float around and help your group out for a bit. Though hey, there any branch in Tian Xia? Think I gotta bit of unfinished business there."