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Maidrayne gives Valrar a sour look at his comment on their procedures. "Our policies may seem strange to you, but they are perfectly reasonable. Prisoner release is a very delicate operation that requires an unwavering conclusion. We must be sure that the person is beyond a shadow-of-a-doubt guilty or innocent and as such, require that one than one individual review the evidence. Besides, Lictor Boneclaw is a very busy man and cannot be bothered with every issue within the citadel. This procedure ensures that the problem is worthy of his time and energy."
She does, however, look through the paperwork, taking far less time than the Paravicar. She does comment "I'm surprised that Paravicar Acillmar has already signed this. It says quite a bit about your case, as he is a difficult man to convince."
After a few minutes, she looks up and says "Very well, Pathfinders. I am convinced that you've uncovered a grave injustice on the part of the Chelish empire. Let it never be said that the Order of the Nail turned a blind eye to it's own laws." She then signs the affidavit in the appropriate column before returning it to you.
As you return to the first floor, you see the Field-Paralictor stands waiting for you. She turns to you and says "You must have quite the honeyed tongue to aquire both signatures so quickly. Unfortunately, the Lictor has retired for the evening. I've taken the liberty of securing meals from the mess hall and a section of one of the barracks for you to rest in. I've also spoken with the Lictors's secretary and you have an appointment with him first thing in the morning."
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You awake the next morning feeling refreshed. As you step out of the barracks door, you see two Hellknight guards on either side who weren't there last night. They bar you from leaving, saying "Ah, you're awake. Field-Maralictor Makorios should be by momentarily to collect you. Please wait here until she arrives."
She arrives minutes later and merely says"It's time." before motioning you to follow her to the large keep in the center of the citadel.
Also called the Keep of Tyranny, the Lictor's Keep rises in the center of Bastion Dominus. Rising two stories above the open bailey, this forbidding structure features few window, each seemingly narrower than the last, and a roof rife with spikes of iron and stone. Makarios shows the affidavit to the contingent of elite Hellknight guards watching the entrance to the tower, and the guards stand aside to let you pass. Once inside, the field-maralictor hands you the affidavit, gives you a stoic glare, then turns and exists to await your return.
You are then led to a room known as the Hall of Edicts, an austere courtroom of sorts where the order's Lictor and lesser tribunals judge theose who have violated the law. This ominously furnished room contains a lowhanging chandelier made of smoky glass and bookshelves filled with leather-bound tomes. A wide stack of yellowed, black-bound volumes sits atop a raised dais-the ebonycolored judge's bench-in the center of the room. Sitting in the imposing bench is Lictor Severs "Boneclaw" DiViri, hard at work on reviewing an upcoming docket and past sentences yet to be carried out. The lictor's right hand is fully engulfed in a prominent, black steel gauntlet; shadows from the candlelight chandelier make the scars on his face seem even more ghoulish.
When you walk into the room, the lictor looks up at you, seemingly annoyed at the interruption until he realizes they you're Pathfinders. He extends his good arm to receive the affidavit and makes a tight lipped demand: "Tell me what you know."
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One last time, Valrar takes center stage, biting back any comments about inefficient bureaucracy he has thought up by now. Scootch's drunken energy flows through his body as he speaks, giving him a feeling of control. "The packet of evidence you now hold in your hand proves the innocence of Paracountess Zarta Dralneen. As you can see, our mundane and magical aids from the Society learned that these documents were forgeries by the enemies of the Paracountess, and her travel logs show that she was not in Absalom at the times of the crimes she was convicted of. She had to be at the scene for several of these specific crimes, which she was not, nor were any of her entourage, hirelings, or benefactors. If you can trust the Society, the time has come for Dralneen's release."
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"And as I recall, there's only been one instance when a case has gone through all lower channels and been denied at the top-- the imprisonment of Balak the Butcher, the case in his defense resting mostly on technicalities. We aren't talking about technicalities here, we're talking about someone who's not guilty in the first place."
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Lictor DiViri listens intently to the Pathfinder's testimony, growing angrier by the second. Once you've finished, He sighs, slams down the evidence, and swears profusely. Clearly irate, he signs the affidavit and begins a gruff address "That my order would accept a falsely accused prisoner, and one who is a Chelish paracountess no less? Completely unacceptable! No payment assuages that fact! Pathfinders, I know now that what you say is true: Paracountess Zarta Dralneen is innocent. And thus, she must be freed. I assume you wish to escort her from our custody? Yes, good. This embarrassing error must be righted.
Travel to the southernmost end of the kepp; there, beneath a tower called the Forgetful Spire, you'll find an entrance to our oubliette -a place we call Caina. Pay no mind to what or who you find down there, for they are meant to be forgotten. Just give this certified affidavit to Maralictor Ganden Heriphis, the oubliette's keeper. He'll know what to do. Now quickly, be on your way -this blunder will be rectified promptly or not at all!"
It would appear that the hall echoes because as you leave, the mood in the citadel has changed drastically. No one stops you, challenges you, or even questions you. Outside, the field-paralictor doesn't even question whether or not you recieved the signature. She simply states "This way, please." and starts off at a brisk pace toward a slender tower rising from the northeastern tower of the citadel. It's barren wall and barren floors give credence to it's name: the Forgetful Spire. Aside from the door to Bastion Ferox's bailey and the stairs climbing the cylander's inner wall, the tower appears to a hollow, empty shell.
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Once inside the tower, the field-paralictor takes a key from her belt and sticks it into a crack in the floor, causing a trapdoor to fly open. She then turns to you and says "This is where we part ways, Pathfinders. It has been a pleasure." before walking back out the door. The trapdoor leads you down a musty staircase hidden below Forgetful Spire and into a oubliette containing a dark, dreadful grouping of prison cells. The Hellknights call this place Caina, after the infernal realm of torture and pain. Prison cells dominate both the room's north and south walls; the largest of these serves as a torture chamber for prisoners whose sentence also includes correction with devices such as racks and bottomless chairs. A think column lined with bloody stains stands in the center of the main room; the torches mounted on it throw grim light upon all the oubliette's horrors. A desk sits along the east wall, behind it sits a tall man, with sharp green eyes and dark, shoulder-length hair streaked with white. He motions for you to approach his desk and you quickly realize that he's not alone, as a pair of hell hounds lay sleeping on either side of his desk. They awake and regard you with vague interest but do not move from their spot. As you move to stand in front of him, he tersely asks "What do you want?"
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Valrar bows to the Hellknights when he passes through the door, happy to have seen the back of them. Now faced with another one, as well as two dogs, of all creatures, Valrar begins to mentally plan some form of relaxing activity for when he returns to the Lodge. Nevertheless, he bows to the new man as well, saying, "We are here for the release of Paracountess Zarta Dralneen. This affidavit has been signed by the commanding officers of this establishment, and it calls for her immediate release."
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The Maralictor's eyes grow heavy until he can no longer keep them open. With a great thud, he falls back into his chair, fast asleep. Valrar takes advantage of the situation and leaps onto the desk, stabbing a hellhound in the side as he so. Oloch steps to the side to assist the swashbuckler and removes the hound's head with his greatsword. jager ignores all these distractions, keeping a focused mind. He levels his pistol and fires, hitting the other hellhound in the jaw.
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I would guess he was working with whoever framed her. But it isn't our job to clean up the Hellknight's internal mess.
However, we do have written approval for her release. So lets clean up the place, get her, and get out before others discover the situation causing 'bad things' happen to us.
Lets stash the dog carcasses. You guys want to question, kill, or bind Heriphis?
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Jorin begins to search the body and the office for anything magical or related to our task.
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"Well, I'd like to kill him, but we probably shouldn't. I mean, this was probably planned by the Hellknights, and he did attack first, but they'll twist all of this if we kill him. They will anyway, once they find him. We'll stash him somewhere hard to get out of." Before he carries out his own order, Valrar can't help but ask, "Does he have anything valuable on him? Anything magic?"
Scootch: FINISH HIM!
Valrar: No.
Scootch: I'm hungry.
Valrar: Shut up.
Valrar: Wait, did you even notice when the fight broke out?
Scootch: You expect so much out of me.
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Searching through the man's belongings, you find some oil of bless weapon, a potion, masterwork fullplate, a masterwork shortsword, a magic cloak, and a magic longsword.
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To Heriphis, No, I don't think by most common definitions I could be considered a mercenary. However, by most definitions, you are a mercenary. You do after all get paid a salary for your work. I actually do not receive a salary. I get recompensed for my expenses and the items I recover. But mostly I am dedicated to the goal or preventing the loss of knowledge.
At least I am following the law and the legal directives of my superiors. You however, attacked those you were ordered to cooperate with and are conspiring to illegally hold someone you know to be innocent of the crimes for which she was imprisoned.
That really does not say good things about your orders dedication to upholding the law. This event will go along ways toward destroying any faith people might hold in the reliability of the Hellknights. I am happy to let your superior officers deal with you. Somehow, I don't think they will appreciate your incompetence.
Vile jailor, you have no moral high ground over us in this situation. We are upholding the law you are breaking. We are correcting a travesty you are attempting to conceal. As my grandmother might say, "Shame on you and yours!"
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Jorin then heads over to determine who is being held in the cells, Give me your names at this time.