While Rye and Fahd return back to the tavern (assuming the Forest Bounty) Chella and Tametomo go to the local Erastil temple for more information...
*The minions of Razmir are all brainwashed, giving up everything they own to blindly follow the Living God. Those deemed unworthy are sent to Razmiran to be devoured by the hungry god.
*The cultists take in far more money from the locals than they could ever possibly use for their work in the city. The extra coin funds the buildup of an army that will conquer all of Avistan.
*The cultists beat and steal from those who refuse to believe.
*The Living God is said to visit his temples on occasion. He could be in Tamran right now.
*More than one person has gone into the temple and has never been seen again. Most assume those who have vanished have simply joined the faith.
* The leader of the temple is a woman who wears blue robes and a cowl. She is a medusa, and uses the cowl to hide her snakes.
* There is no Living God. The “faith” is merely a cover for a vast and powerful guild of thieves.
* The temple possesses complete control over the local government, from the city guard right up to Forest Marshal Gavirk, leader of all of Nirmathas.
After spending the day inquiring about the cult, the party travels to the Ranger's Lament for the meeting Reginar told them about. The tavern is right across the street from the cult temple. The party walks in.
Sitting in the shadow of the Temple to Razmir, the Ranger’s Lament is a simple establishment. Made from solid wood timbers, the one-story building is comprised primarily of a large common room, with a bar and a kitchen off to one side. Although open for business, very few people appear to be inside, despite the fact that many of the other local
establishments seem quite full.
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Fahd walks into the room, casually looking around. He is looking for a telltale sign of a mask or anything that might give away a patron as one of the 'recruiters.'
Perception
If he does not see anything glaring jump out to him, he waits for one of the more diplomatic sort to approach the nartender and speak some pretty words.
As the party enters and looks around the only person inside is a heavyset human barkeep cleaning mugs. He glances up once "Sit anywhere you like" and then continues to clean.
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Before entering the tavern, Chella makes sure to hide her symbol of Iomedae under her tunic. She is not very comfortable at the idea of joining another religion even for a cover and she is also not very good at lying. For these reasons, she prefers to stay quiet and lets her teammates take the lead.
Shortly after you all arrive, another young man arrives and takes a seat in the corner. He appears to be a young half elf and has an angry look on his face.
The barkeep comes over to your table " Anything from the bar? Are you here for the Razmiri temple meeting? If so, the priests should be here in the next half-hour or so. If not, you'll need to hurry out as they have reserved the tavern for the next few hours." he says.
Roughly 20 minutes after you arrive in the tavern, six masked cultists arrive, three dressed in white robes, two in gray robes, and one in black robes. They look about the room and move toward the stage. After stepping up onto the stage, the figure in the black robes turns to the audience, his face hidden behind an iron mask. With a strong voice, he calls out, “You have come here to seek the power and glory of Razmir, and I am here to tell you that he has found you worthy!” At that, all of the other priests chant in one voice, “All praise the Living God!”
“He is proud of you,” the black-robed figure continues, “for taking this, the first of 31 steps to enlightenment, the path of righteousness, the stairs to power and glory. Razmir is the one true god. What other god so richly rewards those who follow him? What other god lives among his people, guiding them with his wisdom and his might? What other god can lead you to true salvation? None of them! Only Razmir can offer you the power, the fortune, and the glory that you desire. Will you join him?” He folds his arms and waits for an answer.
You notice the half elf sitting in the corner has changed his expression from one of anger to hope.
"I know some of you others need to think about this allegiance a bit more, be advised if you do not join you will be asked to leave." the black robed figure says.
the half elf in the corner also agrees to join up.
"Excellent! My name is Egarthis and I shall help you along your way to enlightenment. But first we have a feast. A feast to welcome the new adherents. Rolen, bring out some food. We have pheasant, beef, greens, breads, mead and wine. Eat up to celebrate! What will you all have on your plate and drink?" the man in black says to you and to the bar keep. The party moves to the long table.
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Tyranius grabs a little bit of everything for his plate. He quietly takes it back to the table and begins to eat.
Way to enlightenment huh..... Tyranius raspberries as he nudges Chella with his bony elbow whispering to her.
People and their false gods. He says giving her a wink.
Tyranius stands and raises his mug high in the air as he bellows for all to hear.
The party gets served their plates of food with the guests getting their plates and drinks (wine, mead or water) served first as honorees and then the cultists get their drinks and food. After five minutes of casual banter and feasting, Elvar, the other prospect, seems dizzy and falls over...just as you all begin to feel lightheaded and dizzy...
Most of the party begins to slump over passing out with Fahd almost standing up before passing out. Chella is the last to fall as she sees Egarthis lock the tavern door and other cultists move in to carry the bodies before she succumbs to the effects.
One by one you slump over slipping into blackness.
The next thing you know is the feeling of cold hard flagstones as you come to and the sound of footsteps approaching. You have been stripped of armor, weapons and anything else you were carrying.
You find yourselves in separate cells as you wake having slept off the poison. The footsteps get louder and then a black robed priest and a grey robed priest walk down the hall of cells.
The masked, black-robed priest paces down the narrow stone hallway, looking in each of the cells. “I must apologize for the way that you were brought here,” he begins with a calm, even tone. “We must be sure that you are pure and properly prepared to join the faith. Today you shall fast and meditate on the glory of Razmir. On the morrow you shall be sworn in and given your masks, made one with the body of Razmir; one piece of the greater whole. You shall become acolytes, and be allowed upon the first step of enlightenment. Rejoice! The path of glory and fortune shall be open to you.”
They present you each with a set of white robes and a bowl of water. Then they leave.
Some time later, your not sure how long a black robed priest comes in and offers everyone another bowl of water. You hear Elvar's (the half elf from the bar) voice: " How long are we gonna be stuck in here! " followed by the slosh of water on stone as the priest empties Elvar's bowl onto the floor.
Any one else who speaks up or asks questions gets a similar treatment.
Another long wait and another bowl of water, then another span of time and another bowl.
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When the first priest steps in and reads off the schedule, so to speak, Fahd spoke up. "Hey, no one said anything about fasting! I'm falling away to nothing in here," he grumbles, which would no doubt lead to the priest pouring out his cup of water onto the ground.
The warrior didn't want to risk speaking to any of the others, figuring there were probably ears all around the area. He stood quietly throughout most of the rest of the day, basically only looking around the area of his cell for anything out of the ordinary.
Perception
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Tametomo sits, closing his eyes. He seems to meditate.
It's a trial Shizuku sends me. I know of fasting and I have no fear of death. I shall try and lead my companions to calm and finish this mission without being corrupted.
After some time, the palarcher opens his eyes and speaks with calm.
"We shall overcome this trial, friends. Let's not loose our minds and stay true to our hearts. There. We have something to accomplish and were sent to do this."
He displays a grin and closes his eyes, leaving both ears wide open.
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Tyranius accepts the water as he bides his time in quiet contemplation.
Inside he seethes with anger at the betrayal, wanting to burn every last one of the cultists but he knows that he needs more information first.
Standing he smiles at the cultist as he takes his bowl of water and drinks it.
Yes, Before this is over we shall all be enlightened. Tyranius says with a smile.
Finally hours after the last bowl of water a group of priests (one black robe, and five grey robed priests) walk down the hall of cells.
"The time has come for each of you to ascend to the first step. Follow me to the hall of worship."
Each of your cells is unlocked by a grey robed person and you are led down a hall at a t intersection you are taken left then through a door down another hall to the right and up some stairs. You find yourselves in a room 20 feet by 15. Two plain wooden bench seats are the only furniture.
"Wait here until you are summoned." The black robed man says and then the priests leave you and Elvar to sit on the benches.
After a few minutes you are all summoned to enter the next room. A large crowd of masked priests waits in the temple. While white robes shroud most of them, some wear gray, and a few wear black. In the center of the chamber rises a gigantic staircase, atop of which glitters a porcelain and gold mask, the holy symbol of Razmir. On the eighth step of the stairs stands a black-robed priest, who says gravely, “Who is the first to come forward?”
"Please stand at the first step but no further." Fahd moves to the first step. Here other priests hand him his iron mask and white robe. "This is required dress on the first floor and out in public." he is told. They motion for him to don the rob and put the mask on.. does he...?
“All hail Razmir” is heard from the other acolytes. The black robed figure then motions for the others to follow suit and join Fahd on the first step.