.
Following vague instructions, each member of the party finds themselves in the Blushing Rose brothel in Kaer Maga's Hospice district.
Positioned at the center of their table is a letter bearing Venture-Captain Heidmarch’s seal which seems to include an enclosure.
Greetings, Pathfinders! I have new information for you about our agents’ discoveries regarding the cult of Lissala. When the Ten learned of the cult’s active existence, they sent a team to infiltrate a cell in the industrial town of Palin’s Cove. During that mission we learned that the cult intends to bring back the ancient Thassilonian Runelord Krune to rule Varisia. Pathfinder agents next encountered Lissalans here in the City of Strangers and discovered that the cultists aim to return the runelord by using refuge tokens that he created for his followers to reach his hidden location. Our Pathfinders also uncovered the location of an ancient Lissalan shrine, documented to hold a cache of these refuge tokens. The enclosed map shows the location where the shrine is said to be the fastest way there is from Kaer Maga west into the Wyvern Mountains.
Find the shrine and recover the refuge tokens so that we may use them to access Krune’s lair, thus preventing the Lissalans from raising their runelord. Don’t attempt to use the tokens yet we also need to uncover the proper command words. And hurry, please! A group bearing the Sihedron Lissala’s holy rune was seen leaving the city two days ago. They must seek the shrine as well.
Should you have additional questions about your mission, seek out a trusted informant in the Downmarket District, a textile merchant named Allira Vandane. She will aid you as much as she can. May Desna smile upon you, Pathfinders.
***
***
|
A dashingly handsome young man reluctantly tears himself away from the arms of several of the "blushing roses" and reads the letter.
"A race to the mountains you say? I hope it goes better than last time I went spelunking. We should probably seek out Aillira before we leave town."
"The lovely ladies in this fine establishment tell me that the leader of the Lissalans heading the same way as us, is a conjurer of sorts from Korvosa named Naroth Balam. The also tell me that the cultists kidnapped several travellers outside the city. Perhaps they seek to sacrifice them to further their nefarious plans."
|
Extending a hand to accept the letter from Miklos, Aeris introduces himself, "Good morning. I am Aeris, servant of Milani, and freedom." As he scans the letter, the others in the room might mistake him for a tall, slender human. However, what first appears to be an elaborately-cut cloak on his back, on closer inspection is revealed to be a pair of large wings tucked flat. Mostly a dark, smoky grey in color, with touches of crimson, the wings extend from about the level of his ears down to where the tips just brush the floor. His hair, longish and swept back from his face, is of the same dark grey as his wings.
As he reads the letter, he stands watchful and still, his head occasionally turning with an abrupt motion, then freezing in a new position, like a raptor scanning for prey. His face is narrow, with large, alert, amber eyes and a hooked nose, giving him a strangely birdlike appearance in keeping with his wings. He carries a long, beautifully-made bow behind his left shoulder, and a longsword and morningstar ride at his hips.
"Lissala?" he mutters, "Don't see a lot of worship of her these days." Setting the letter down, he continues, "What Varisia doesn't need is some iron-fisted tyrant of old trying to control it. I agree, Miklos, let's see this Allira and be on our way."
|
"Krune was the Runelord of Sloth," Says a wayang in exotic finery with ultraviolet eyes set in a pointed, doll-like, midnight-blue face beneath long, wild hair that somehow appears utterly black and purest white simultaneously. "If they chose him to bring him back to rule Varisia, they must not want him to do too much."
"In addition to wyverns, we should be prepared to fight giants - the Thassilonians enslaved them to build many of their monuments, you know - and beware Lissalan temples! They are enchanted to bless Her followers and curse everyone else!"
|
An impressive and well dressed tiefling, red of skin and dark of hair examines the brothel's interior. Noting the others at the table, he approaches, his tail seen swaying underneath the rear of his long coat. You can hear a slight clink, as a brightly polished mithral kiko is seen under his jacket as well.
"Well met fellows! I am Azzik! And what mysterious task have we been given?" Taking his turn to examine the paperwork, he examines its contents.
Listening with a smile as the party introduces themselves, he takes in each of their names and assesses them visually.
He nods along at their assessment of the task in hand, and then pulls out a book.
Scanning the Heidmarch note, he looks at each key task and then flips to a page in his book as a reference. A little after a minute he seems to snap out of his self-study, and smiles.
"It is as you say, plus my Encyclopedia of the Times: Historic and Modern has a few extra things to say."
"Krune was indeed the runelord of Sloth, as our shadowy friend here has intimated, and it appears we are to stop the Lissalans from being able to bring him back. Naroth Balam, the conjurer, seems to have forgone most other types of magic training. Someone remind me to grab a wand of shield on our way out of town. The captured travelers were taken east upon magic steeds of speed, and I figure that they will be enchanted and enslaved in much the same way as the giants of the past were."
"Speaking of past enslaved, in addition to the threats previously mentioned, be forewarned that Krune or his minions may have protected his sites or cherished relics with bound angels. A terrible thing, evil subverting good to its will. Ah, and if we are heading to a Lissalan site, her profane power may empower her faithful an put a curse upon us, the invading infidels. None of you worship her, do you?"
"Plan to be well prepared."
|
|
Aeris listens in amazement as Azzik relays all he knows about the runelord, and Lissala, and even the Lissala-worshippers involved in this particular job, his amber eyes flicking once or twice to consider the blank book the tiefling referred to so studiously.
"Impressive," he says, "and useful. It's always better to know things about your prey that they don't expect." He lays a hand on his holy symbol, the rose of Milani, and says, "No worshipper of Lissala here. I'll shed no tears putting an arrow or three into any who would bind an angel."
Conveniently enough, Allira turns out to be one of the brothel's Blushing Roses. The party is able to meet her in a heavily perfumed but otherwise unoccupied chamber.
"Speak your questions quickly pathfinders, secrets don't remain secret long in this place", she warns as she locks the doors. "How can I help you in your task?"
Allira shakes her head. "I heard something similar but I don't know much about who was taken or why. I'm afraid you might be better informed than me on that topic."
|
|
"Well you must know something," Aeris says gruffly, "the venture -captain told us to come to you, and you asked us how you could help. Do you know a secret short-cut we can take, or the weaknesses of Lissalans, or anything about the mountains we'll be traveling through? Any must-have supplies, or perhaps you could provide us with some fine golden brocade cloth?"
He goes quiet, realizing he might have been just a tad rude, but his frustration with the textile merchant is enough that he does not apologize.
The informant frowns but she seems quite accustomed to dealing with rude men.
"I can tell you that the Lissalan shrine lies about 100 miles west of Kaer Maga in the Wyvern Mountains, through the Ash-Blown lands. Our research indicates that several dozen of their tokens are stored there.”
Allira retrieves a tightly rolled scrap of parchment that was secreted among her few strings of clothing. "This should do."
A dark-skinned Pathfinder with mismatched armor and a shorn head enters the room.
"I'm replacing another agent at the last minute," he says gruffly. "Sorry I'm late."
Travel is slow and difficult at times but otherwise uneventful as the party traverses the Wyvern Mountain's craggy passes. Almost a week later, the Lissalan shrine is within sight.
In a mountain valley, sparse trees sprout from cracks in the steep cliffs, bending in the direction of the constant, howling wind. Piles of scree litter the ground at the base of the cliffs. In a hollow with a muddied brook, a hole in the mountainside opens up. It was clearly excavated recently — piles of soil and rock flank the opening. A perfectly square tunnel the height of an ogre cuts through worked stone, leading to a chamber beyond. Light from within reveals muddy tracks in the dust that coats the floor of the tunnel.
A single angelic figure stands guard near the valley's exit. “Halt, tomb robbers! You shall not enter this sacred site. One more step and you will be destroyed.” It warns in taldane.
Temporarily placated by Aeris and Miklos's words, the angel softens.
"Very well. Remove all your enchanted equipments and submit to my cleansing gaze and I will allow you entrance to this holy sight."
Aeris believes the angel is being honest and vigilant.
The angel studies Aeris closely. He feels the air around him vibrate briefly.
"Very well. I deem you two pure. You may enter."
|
|
Before they step inside, Aeris replies to Miklos, "It's not too late to ask a couple of questions."
Calling out to the Angel, he asks, "Now that you have judged us pure, can you answer a question or two? Whose tomb do you guard, and who placed you here to guard it? How long have you stood here doing this duty?"
"Yeah...we're not tomb robbers," Crowe echos. "Just tryin' ta save the world from some dead tyrant."
He begins to remove his equipment.
"Look, but don't touch."
Azzik believes this creature to be a monadic deva, a stoic watcher of the Ethereal Plane and the Elemental Planes.
After judging the rest of the party, the deva addresses Aeris's question.
"I was called to this plane by a mortal spellcaster. Such summons are often an inconvenience but after he explained how holy this site is, I agreed to his request for a time. I have guarded this pass for four days as you know them."
"He called himself Naroth. The nature of our agreement prevents me from using my gifts on him but as far as I could tell he bore no falsehoods."
The angel frowns slightly at Azzik's accusations.
"The mortal that summoned me was alone. That was why he needed my aid in guarding this holy site."
The impossibly large blocks of the shrine’s walls are in such good condition that they seem to have been laid only decades ago. Carved into the stone, spiky script is clearly visible throughout the room. Stone double doors stand in the east and west walls. Each is decorated with a seven-pointed star, and each blade of a star displays a spiky rune. One rune per star glows with an amber light that illuminates the room. Also in the western wall, a short square tunnel leads back outside, with a score of muddy footprints showing the way. A passageway to the south leads to another lit room. The air inside the shrine is cool and fresh.