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Dissa keeps up well, despite his typically labored movements with his Fauchard. When the likelihood of threat and the need for hustle are eliminated, he returns to his more geriatric stance.
Upon reaching the door he responds to the old woman, "I like this door. However, our intent was to be inside the door. Zefiro even recommended we seek counsel inside this door. Perhaps we are at the wrong Fox Den?"
Eyebrows disappearing into her hairline the woman responds, "Zefiro sent you? Alright, come in, but hurry!"
Inside, a cheery fire warms the cool sea air, and nine young children of varied ages sit around Mireille Goldenglow, a slender, middle-aged elven woman with chestnut colored hair and a simple, yet elegant rust- olored dress. Her eyes are closed, and she commands the attention of the children with a tale about Rius Galdaeon, a kind Chelish architect and paladin of Shelyn, whose allegiances aligned with Chelish loyalists when Thrune began to take control. He viewed Thrune’s reliance on devils as a blight on Chelish achievements and so confronted Baraxial, a powerful barbed devil called to aid the Esoterium Lodge. Their battle shook the foundations of Aroden’s Arch, and it’s said great pieces of it crumbled into the sea when Baraxial dragged Rius with him back to Hell. She says the entire city felt each blow land, and it was the signal she needed to flee from Corentyn while civil war raged on. When Mireille finishes the story, she opens her eyes and you a strained smile, "Welcome, on behalf of myself and the others present."
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Before entering, Bozmir looks around to check if anyone had followed them.
He had sat down behind the children, patiently listening to the tale, but when Mirielle addresses us, enough time had passed that Bozmir has to be direct. "Does the Rack know you're here?"
After her answer, or refusal to do so, he approaches and speaks quietly to her "We are Pathfinders. We have inadvertently endangered Zafiro and you."
The mastiff in the corner perks its head up and growls low at the dinosaurs that enter the room, but subsides with a spoken command.
Mirielle looks confused, "The Order of the Rack? Did Zefiro tell you they were after me? He's just paranoid, surely I'm in no danger."
Mirielle begins to look panicked, "Perhaps he isn't paranoid..." When a sharp knock sounds at the door she drops her voice and hangs out next to a door leading to a back room. "I've been in trouble with the law before, I don't want to be disappeared. If you can help me get to my home, the Hellknights won't think to look for me there. Please, it's not far from here."
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Bozmir decides to play the face this time, pushing past Dissa and opening the door a crack, with a firm hand on it and dagger hidden behind the wall. "Good evening, we weren't expecting anyone else tonight. The children have to sleep soon." He tries to make a judgement about the man and his capabilities and allegiance.
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Dissa nods to Bozmir, and gives a quick smile and a wink. "See you at the docks." Dissa mouths, nearly silently.
"Children, we need to take Ms. Marielle home now."
He turns to Marielle, Dulomak, and Steinfaust while whispering, "Ms. Marielle, we'll escort you out the back. The time is now." Dissa thumps Steinfaust on his sturdy shoulder, and pats Dulomak on the back.
With that, he swiftly and quietly moves to the back door.
The man is suited up in a chain shirt, with a truncheon and shiny new manacles on his belt. He seems like he would be fairly confident using it, but this is typical of the guards you've seen floating around the city.
He responds to Bozmir's question with an eye-roll and quick snort, "I'm sorry sir, but we've got to come in and search this building."
The woman from before sneaks next to Bozmir and taps him on the shoulder, "It's alright, he can come in." The guard comes in and searches the entire building, turning up nothing more than dust bunnies.
"My place is only just ahead. I have a hideaway in the house that they have proven they cannot find. If there was another distraction or we moved quiet enough we could make, it's just down the street."
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Dissa walks casually through the alley with Ms. Marielle, and wraps his arm around her shoulder to ebscure her hair and ears from any onlookers.
"Let's move casually, but swiftly. What do you need? Our next move is the docks." Dissa asks in a low voice so both Marielle and Steinfaust can hear, but hopefully no one beyond a few feet would overhear.
"I don't know, I'm trying not freak out here.!"
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Dissa keeps his arm around Marielle's shoulder, and just strides toward the building she indicated. He walks right toward the door without hesitation, and without looking over his shoulder.
"Steinfaust, let's get across this bridge, and move directly behind the next cottage. Ms. Marielle is a little uncomfortable, so we'll just stride along with her." Dissa speaks softly to his friend. Do you have any stealth skills to help us evade notice?"
He walks smoothly and comfortably with Marielle to her safehouse, keeping her hair and ears obscured with his arm and armor.
Mirielle slips inside her door with none of the guards the wiser. Before she slips away she assures you she will lay low for a few weeks, perhaps leave Cheliax altogether for a time. They give Bozmir some strange looks, but keep the search running along. There is no evidence of Mirielle in the building and no one knows where she could have gone to. They offer an awkward "Have a pleasant evening," and depart.
With all of the commotion dying down you return to Zefiro who sighs lightly when you tell him Mirielle is safe, "Oh thank Iomedea," he breathes. He nervously glances up at you, "You didn't just hear me say that. Now then, let me get those records I promised you, yes?" He dives into his archives and return bearing several large ledgers of information and covered in dust. He sneezes twice before handing you the stack of information. On top is the notice House Thrune posted in the town of Anglemire decades ago:
By the grace of Her Infernal Majestrix, Queen Abrogail
I of the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune, all residents of
Anglemire are pardoned for seditious and treasonous acts.
House Davian, found guilty of instigating unlawful conflict,
is excluded from Her Infernal Majestrix’s mercy. Henceforth,
all aid knowingly or unknowingly quartered to House Davian
and its members will warrant death and eternal damnation.
House Davian and all those still pledging loyalty to House
Davian are hereby branded traitors to the Chelish Nation,
and sentenced to death by starvation in accordance with
Her Infernal Majestrix’s wishes, lawfully obeyed by authority
provided under Edict 208.14A.
You return to the Sea Sylph only to be told that the captain and crew have retired to the Wicked Fork in the West Drenches. It is a bit south of The Fox Den, and is known for its weatherworn exterior and trident with its destroyed central tine. The proprieter, a gnome with crazy green hair, greets you as you walk in, "Howdy folks! Always good to get more business. I'm Neld Havasavu, proprietor of this fine establishment. Let me know if you need anything."
Bozmir finds a few leads with some merchants that have entered the city, though you'd be taking the last leg of the journey on foot through rough terrain. The Sea Sylph will take you directly to your destination and is unlikely to leave without you.
Dulomak is assured there is a large stock of meat, not necessarily because dinosaurs pass through often, but because several devils that answer to Thrune rule require sustenance when they are in town.
In the morning you arrive downstairs to find Cassian, the other Pathfinder agent you were told to watch out for, already at the bar drinking. His disheveled clothes, damp hair, and grimy brow suggest he’s had an industrious morning—or perhaps just a sleepless night. After he downs another shot, he informs you that he’s through sneaking around for Zarta. He tells you that he met with her contact, the same Tamrin Credence you met at the docks, and delivered Zarta’s message. Neld inches closer as the PCs speak, working over a glass with a dirty dishrag. Cassian continues, “Then I come back here and find that rat is an agent for the Aspis Consortium!” Neld leans in and states, “Well, that’s what I heard, anyway. His ties go back—way back. But that’s how it goes around here. Everyone ties their cart somewhere, you know?” Cassian tells you he couldn’t sleep, fearing that Zarta is slipping into old habits too quickly. He collected your supplies early that morning to keep his mind off these developments. Everything is loaded and ready for the trip to the Eismonts...
Little remains of the town of Anglemire. Nature is reclaiming the few sturdy stone buildings still visible from the coastline. At the north end of the city, where the Eismont foothills meet with the rocky steps of the Menador Mountains, is a short square tower surrounded by the crumbling walls of Emberhold. Thick curtains of lush, green ivy reach upward from an ocean of waving grass and cling to the cracked stone walls—all that remain of the keep.
A fire long ago removed the roof and floors of Emberhold’s great hall. Five thick columns still stand amidst a dense gourd patch at the bottom of the large pit that remains. The main doorway on the south side is flanked by two stone staircases that wrap around the interior of the west and east walls, much of which have crumbled to the ground. To the northwest is a square tower that’s only partially standing. Weeds have overgrown a doorway on the east wall, which breaks on the northeast corner for a wide set of stairs descending from the ground level. A rusty iron gate still stands at the center of the pit’s northern wall, rising from the densest portion of the gourd patch and fencing off a descending set of stairs.
Round stone columns rise from the earth to a height of 10 feet where they once supported the wood floor of the great hall. The iron gate in the north wall descends into the earth. A thriving thicket of vines feed numerous ripe gourds. Though these are the most impressive gourds in the patch, hundreds of smaller gourds thrive here as well.
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First thing in the morning Dissa will re-cast Lucky Number from his wand.
Picking up bon Bozmir's direction, he whispers along with the Ulfen Skald. "It seems these plants are some kind of fancy? I will do my best to liberate any prisoners here."
Dissa casts Fallback Strategy from his wand, and moves toward the direction Bozmir indicated. He stays on the steps, avoiding the vines but keeping his ears alert for the sounds described by the Skald.
"Dulomak, do you or Kontha smell anything out of the ordinary? It seems these plants are unusual, and significantly out of place. This does not strike me as a garden spot." He asks his half-orc brother-in-arms for guidance while creeping to the northern tower.
Dulomak realizes Dissa is correct, even if these plants naturally came to be here nothing would cause the enormous sizes of several of the gourds unless magic was involved. There are several creatures in the natural world that could cause such growth, though without further investigation it is impossible to tell. Whatever it may be your goal lies underneath beyond the iron gate.
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Dissa attempts to avoid the gourds and vines entirely by leaping across the pillars.
He jumps toward the top of the first pillar from the steps, and catches a glimpse of himself stumbling immediately. With the foresight of his mistake, he activates his Fallback Strategy.
Apparently it was meant to be. Dissa envisions himself running and falling, only to actually run and fall.
Dissa's leap lands him amidst the gourds, several crushed under his weight. As he and Bozmir destroy the plants strange hissing sounds are made from the garden.
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"What? Who is there?" Bozmir asks. He casts Comprehend Languages on himself.
Damn it Dissa, be careful!Get out of the garden!
He hopes such a minor infraction (from his perspective) doesn't devolve into combat.
Three beings reveal themselves from among the gourds in the patch. Dulomak recognizes them as gourd leshys, a race of plant people that care reverently for any plants they consider under their care. They make a different noise, one more akin to calls from wild animals in nature.