"Gladly!" Valko replies. Following Taros' instruction, the half-elf grips the shard firmly in his hand and focuses on the Sihedron of legend; an artifact whose likeness will soon grace the very hand that now clutches the Shard of Pride.
Floating miles high in the night sky, the vision looks down over a large city, its snow-choked streets lit up by innumerable lanterns. With a massive cliff separating the two halves of the city, you realize you are looking down upon the very same city that you were just in - Magnimar.
As the vision lingers so high in the sky, you realize that this appears to be a live feed of the city - small specks of people move through the streets, while the larger giants of Shalast can be seen patrolling some areas of the Summit. Even outside of the city, the four Rune Giants can be seen patrolling or standing guard at the various entrances, their massive, rune-covered bodies easily visible due to their brightly-glowing runes. Outside the city, all is snow thanks to the ongoing Reign of Winter.
After having been lingering high above the city for a few moments, the vision begins to move - slowly at first, gathering speed as it soars down towards the city. Its path takes it towards the famous Irespan, the enormous relic that is the centerpiece of the entire city. It picks up speed, falling like a meteor towards one of the pilings that make up the colossal ruin - one of the two pilings farthest out from the shore.
As the vision nears its target, it slows down and begins to circle the structure - a piling covered in hundreds of crow-like gargoyles, carvings, and decorations. After encircling the massive piling, the vision launches itself through the piling’s wall, entering its secret chambers within and, in a speed that makes everything within look little more than blurs, begins its descent through the piling - through chambers where leather-clad women mingle and plan, down through web-infested rooms, down through an ancient laboratory wherein a large, rolling blob of flesh screams and wails as it struggles against chains embedded between its flesh and the walls, and down into what appears to be an ancient sewer system, where the vision slows and ends its descent.
Though moving quickly through the sewers, making it hard for you to remember the twists and turns, the vision moves along its path towards its target. You can hear muffled singing in an off-key tune, in a language that eludes you, echoing through the well-lit structure. Down in these sewers, the vision takes you into a large chamber wherein glowing-blue fungus coats the walls, floors, and ceiling, providing plenty of eery illumination within. The vision lingers here for but a second, allowing you to notice the four small, blue figures standing in a circle around numerous unconscious hog-tied figures laying on the ground. Although you are unable to hear most of what they’re saying, you catch the words ‘Surgery’, ‘Vivisection’, and ‘Implantation’ as they argue amongst themselves in Undercommon about what to do with their new captives - the captives of which you happen to recognize as none other than Fenster the Blight and his ‘associates’, the very same men your group encountered just hours ago.
The vision continues its path, going headlong into a wall and into a secret hallway which stretches on for at least a hundred feet. At the end of it stands a pair of massive metal doors that appear to be made out of a shiny silvery metal - the Sihedron is in plain sight, half of it marked on each door. Sitting in front of the door, chained up, is a pitiful sight of a woman wearing a once-noble garb, now in tatters and covered in her own waste. A horrible surgical scar runs down the middle of her head, where half of her raven-black hair has been shaved off, the other half having become a horribly tangled mess. Her green eyes are wild and she appears out of her mind as she babbles to herself, rocking back and forth.
The vision moves past this pitiful woman and through the doors into a domed room in which a comfortable, golden light shines from numerous fixtures in the walls. The entire dome is painted in lustrous gold and reds, depicting the glory days of Thassilon and remaining as pristine as if they were just painted. Arranged around the room are numerous surgical tables, a pile of pillows upon which a blue figure sleeps, and a series of alchemical labs upon which many mixtures rest.
In the center, an altar shaped like a seven-pointed star stands - a smaller, seven-pointed shape has been carved in the center of this marble altar. Sitting snugly in one of the star’s arms is a shard of gleaming black Adamantine - the vision focuses upon this Shard momentarily before fading, allowing your normal senses and the world around you to return as they had been previously.
Valko remains silent for several moments, head slightly bowed and eyes closed. He appears as if in a deep concentration, and nothing that occurs within the room elicits any reaction from the half-elf. Finally, his eyes open again. An infamous glimmer of self-importance returns to his bearing, and he turns to face Taros again with a wry grin upon his face.
"Your assumptions have proven accurate. This artifact has shown me where one of its siblings reside—a black sliver of adamantine. Perhaps more fortunately, it is not so daring a trek as one might imagine. In fact, the Shard rests beneath the very city we now stand upon: Magnimar."
At his feet and pacing back and forth along the length of the dining room, Valko continues, "Of course, there's more to it than that. It currently rests somewhere beneath the Irespan—the ruined bridge that stretches out into the coast. It was once supported by several pilings, but most have since fallen into a similar state of disrepair. Fortunately for us, The Crow—the piling we seek—still stands. It lies far beneath and hidden away upon a Sihedron altar. But here's where things get tricky," Valko starts, approaching the table to lean over with palms planted upon its surface. "The upper chambers are occupied by women dressed in leathers. As the vision descended deeper into the lower levels, I became confronted by several other creatures. The speed of my clairvoyance made proper glances a rarity, though beyond a blob of babbling flesh chained to a wall, the most common thread seemed to be small, blue skinned humanoids with a penchant for surgery and vivisection. More surprisingly, Fenster and those of his cronies we spared were there—among others I do not recognize."
"Questions?"
"Fenster, huh? Good, I regret not burying an axe in that s**@heads skull when we had the chance. Uppity little prick,"
Thinking on the rest of what Elfie said, Radyx added, "If that a+~@@#! is there, he likely knew that Natalie here had a piece of that star thing, so he figures we will be on our way to get the next one. And the girls in leathers, as much as I'd rather it be another sort, sounds like it could be some of your Tower Girl friends. They wouldn't happen to make that one of their regular digs, would they darlin'?" he asks Natalya.
"If they know we're comin', they know what to expect this time. I say we take our well deserved coin and go get us some surprises they won't be expectin'. Namely, I need me a better axe and proper fightin' shield. Taros, you got any servants round here that could take an order for us and go fetch some things while we get us some rest? That way we could hit the streets as soon as possible and hopefully still catch 'em before they get dug in like a tick on a dog's ass."
Ferit listens, screwing up his face in an expression of deep thought. It seems that he doesn't really understand most of what is being said. But once Valko reveals the location of their next goal, and that they will get to bash in the tower girl's faces he grins. "Oi'm ready to batter some birds soon as I take a wee kip," he says.
Hoosible's eyes widen and he grins giddily at Valko's description. "A blob of babbling flesh? Did it's babbling sound anything like 'ការព្យាបាលជិតស្និទ្ធតិចជាង'? Because if so it might be a juju zombie. Or perchance did it groan like 'Huuurrggh!!' or 'Raaaaarrrrrrhh' or 'Ounnnhhhng'? If so, it could well be a more standard zombie. Either one could be quite handy to find.
"Oh, and a chance to reclaim fragments of a lost artifact too -- that's really marvelous."
”The - the Crow? Ah s&*%.” Natalya, elbows on the table, exasperatedly buries her face in her palms. Sighing heavily, she looks up. ”Well, I guess a confrontation with the Tower Girls is inevitable then, if thats where the damn thing wants you to go. Thats not only where I found it, but its also where the Girls are currently set up - thanks to me. The b%#@* Ayala had everyone looking for a new suitable headquarters so we could get away from Fenster, and I had found a secret entrance to the Crow while simultaneously looking for things that Taros may be interested in. The entrance’s door was broken, however, and we had to use picks to get in. I lead exploration of it, partially on account of my expertise in the matter, and partially because Ayala had deemed me expendable. It was not long after I found the Shard and.. well, nearly got killed. Her girls may be thieves and burglars, but she’s a ruthless killer.” Natalya winces at the reminder of her injuries she sustained at the hands of Ayala, and she goes quiet for a few moments.
”It seems then, “ Taros pipes up, ”That you will be able to kill two birds with one stone, as it were. Not only will we solve the problem of this theives’ guild you’ve apparently angered, but doing so will also lead you that much closer to the next Shard. As for sending a servant to pick up supplies for tomorrow morning.. I’m afraid I can’t be of assistance there. I have but one servant, and I must send him to the Embassy to secure some defenses, and then off to the Golemworks to place my order. Not to mention that most shops would be closing for the night right about now. Best you see to your supply run early in the morning and head to the Crow afterwards.”
”What, in the middle of the day?” Natalya gives an incredulous look at Taros, ”No, they’d be spotted if they made the approach - Ayala would have someone watching from the top of the piling. Best they go during the morning fog or at night. As for them digging in.. I’m positive they’d have already done as much, even before they figured someone knew about them. One day won’t change that.” Natalya gets up, excuses herself for a moment, and heads to where her thugs are waiting somewhat patiently near the front door, and retrieves her two backpacks, bringing them into the room and laying them roughly on the table, ignoring Taros’ spilt soup and causing Taros to wince as the heavy, jingling bags likely scuffed his table. ”Still, it is best to be prepared. As it so happens, I had been planning an assault on the Crow in my.. well, in my recent state of mind. Theres one big thing you need to know about Ayala, besides her ruthlessness:”
”She’s a wererat.” She begins pulling things out of her backpacks and laying them on the table one by one. ”Hells, by now the entire guild are wererats - though she’s the only natural-born one. The rest were given the gift. It was one reason why Ayala and I didn’t get along, as I refused it. No way in the hells am I going to become one of those rat-f~~$ers. I.. kind of told her as much after having succumbed to the Shard’s curse. That and numerous other.. uh.. insults of varying sorts. I think the mention of her father having mounted a were-lemming to produce her was what finally caused her to draw her knives on me, though.”
From the two masterwork backpacks, she pulls out all sorts of oddities - vials of liquid, a few sunrods and smokesticks, numerous flasks, three clay spheres, similar to the explosives used by Terisha earlier that day, two packs of crossbow bolts with silvered tips, a traveler’s dictionary marked with the Sihedron, not to mention six jars of some horrendous pickled concoction, the pickles themselves varying from fish to rat carcasses to what looks like a severed human hand. ”Goblin pickles, “ Natalya says as she grimaces at the jars. ”Filling enough when you’re hungry and too prideful to refuse them when offered to you, but Hells do they taste bad. The goblins had given them to me as a gift.. I could only stomach eating one jar at the time.” She shudders.
From one of the backpacks she pulls out a large sack that jingles as it moves - she places this roughly down on the table, again causing Taros to wince, and opens it. ”I had collected a small hoard - gold, mostly, but plenty of silver and copper as well. I think.. “ she thinks hard on what she is about to say, almost going as far as to not finish her sentence, but decides to anyways. ”I think you all should have it, in thanks for saving my ass. The other supplies will come in handy against the Tower Girls - those pellet grenades are filled with silver pellets, and I’ve got Silvercloud Oil, a few silvered weapon blanches, silvered bolts, and a single vial of Wolfsbane, in case Ayala bites you. She prefers to use her knives, but she’ll nip flesh if desperate.”
_________________________________________
Cost: 2 gp
Same as normal Tindertwigs, but requires only a Swift Action to strike and they last for 1d2+1 rounds. They were invented by Varisian Fireworks specialists and are quite common in Magnimar and elsewhere in Varisia.
Radyx takes his cut of the cash and finds himself a comfortable room to get some sleep in. It had been a long day, and likely longer tomorrow, but at the moment he cared little about that. He finally had enough coin to get his axe and shield back!
Several months ago, when he was desperate for coin, Radyx had pawned them off to a broker named Hadrick outside the arena. With the first light of morning, Radyx bundled up in his clothes, armor, and furs, and trudged his way up the snow covered road to Hadrick's. As he approached, he looked up at Serpent's Run, memories of dread, fear, excitement, and bloodlust all mingled together came crawling back. You bested that beast, Champ. She ain't got nothin' for you to fear anymore.
He continued on to the door of the shop that he sought, and opened it and turned to close it securely from the cold. He stomped his feet to shake the snow off his boots, and a rugged voice calls out behind him, "What can oil' Hadrick do for...weeell...look what the cat drug in!"
The man was only a bit smaller than Radyx, and was cut just as lean. He too had once been a pit fighter, but back in the showy non-lethal fighting days before Karzoug legalized real bouts.
"Hadrick," Radyx said as he made his way to the man and shook his hand. "Here to get my gear outta pawn.". He reached into his pack and revealed two crumpled up tickets.
"I figured you'd be back. Just not to actually buy somethin'!" Hadrick stepped into a backroom and after a few minutes returned with a dust covered axe and shield. He blows the dust off and sets them on the counter. "That'll be 900, friend."
Radyx's eyes go wide. "900!? You've lost your mind! You only gave me 350 for 'em to pawn!"
Hadrick smirks and points to the tickets, "Yeah, and you missed your deadline to buy 'em back at that rate, pal. So now I get to sell 'em at whatever I want!"
Radyx scowled at the man and countered, "700."
"This ain't a haggle, Radyx. 900."
Radyx's hand lashes out and grabs the man's throat and he says, "You sell 'em back to me at a fair price, and I won't find a reason to have my new employers look into your sorry sack of s+&* you call a business!" holding up his marked hand for emphasis.
Eventually, the two men come to an agreement on a price, though it still cost Hadrick a black eye and two broken shelves. Radyx then made his way back to Heidmarch Manor to see what the plan was for the attack.
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Hoosible takes his share of the loot and just looks at it for a long while. This is the beginning. If I hadn’t met that fellow in Eleder who recognized my gift-- but no, I am a Wendifa. I make my own fate. I would have found another path. It galls me that I can’t yet bind wendo into corpses like my master Gej used to do...but this windfall provides a different opportunity.
The pallid gnome quizzes the valet at the Cyphermage lodge, watching the man’s expression grow more and more confused.
”OK, you want to know where to rent a cart and driver by the hour? Certainly, I can help you with that. And yes, there’s an excellent flower shop not far from here.
“...And where to buy a tiger? Well I’m sure I don’t know where to buy a dead one, but if anyone in Magnimar has a living one it’ll be the Market of Sails. Sometimes they have beasts for the Serpents Run. Your associate Radyx can certainly direct you there.
“...And a scroll shop that would sell scrolls to Animate the Dead? And yes of course I know a temple that can cast Remove Paralysis, but with apologies, is there someone you know who’s paralyzed? And the best saddle shop I know? I’m sorry sir, what exactly do all of these things have to do with one another?”
….
After renting a cart and driver, his first stop is the flower shop where he’s fortunate to find a large supply of dried strawflowers. Hoosible buys them out and then climbs into the back of the cart. He asks the driver to take him to the Market of Sails. Meanwhile the little gnome sits merrily weaving in the back as the cart bumps down the road.
Hoosible is excited to find a tiger at the Market. He waves down the animal keeper who was just throwing some grey meat into the hyena cage. ”Ahem. Is there any discount for sick tigers? Or a dead one, if you have any?”
The salesman scowls at him. ”I’ve got one tiger for sale. He’s in great health. 325 GP.”
Hoosible shrugs. ”Hmmm, OK then, I’ll take him. Can you give him to me dead though, if you would? Otherwise, can you at least put him in a smaller cage so that I can stab him to death before I take him?”
The salesman begins to shoo the creepy little purplehaired gnome out the door, but stops himself in the end, unwilling to lose the sale. ”OK, what do I care what you do with it. Stab it yourself if you need to. Outside. I’ll leave it in it’s travelling pen for ya. Will that make your conquest unsporting enough for ya?”
Outside, Hoosible gives the tiger a gentle look. ”I won’t lie to you. This is going to hurt, kitty, but it’s for your own good. Be brave.” And with that he -- clumsily and repeatedly -- stabs the noble beast with his longspear through the narrow bars of the pen until it finally bleeds to death.
He hands the horrified cart driver an extra gold and asks him to help him drag the corpse onto the cart.
….
Twenty minutes later, at the temple of Urgathoa, Hoosible buys the scroll and pays a cleric to cast Remove Paralysis for him. Finally ready, Hoosible strokes the bloody fur of the dead cat and whispers, ”Now the exciting part comes. Are you ready, kitty cat?”
Hoosible closes his eyes and feels the wendo spirits swarming around the tiger’s corpse like sharks. He unrolls the scroll and starts to chant. It’s not the wordcasting tongue of the Wendifa, but he recognizes the power in it easily enough. At one point he thinks the incantation might be getting away from him…but no, I am a wendifa. I speak the words of power. binding the wendo is my birthright. I will not fail.
A scant five seconds after he’s begun to chant and it’s over. Hoosible sees that he has indeed successfully guided a wendo into the body, and now it rises up with a low, ”Purrrrrhhhunnghh”
Hoosible gives it a hug around the neck and scratches behind it’s partially attached ear. ”See there, didn’t I tell you it would all be for the best?”
….
Hoosible gets back to the lodge not by cart but astride a zombie tiger that seems to somehow move with even more speed than it had when alive (if much less grace). Around it’s neck -- and sticking out of it’s many spear puncture wounds -- are wreaths and bouquets of dried red, orange, yellow, and pink flowers. He proudly pats his steed’s head and says, ”Hello there, I’d like you to meet Strawflower. Strawflower’s very happy to meet you, aren’t you kitty?”
The zombie tiger, with bits of flesh hanging from it’s many puncture wounds, answers with a ”Purrrrrhhhunnghh”
"So that's what you do with a perfectly good tiger, huh?" Radyx asks as he walks towards the pip squeak.
"Well, I suppose that is one way to make sure they mind. At least you will be riding in style, Tiny," he says as he comes up beside the creature. It was the closest he had ever been to a tiger or an undead without one trying to kill him. So at the very least, he was impressed and intrigued.
"Just for the record, if I ever die and you are around, you better not turn me into some mindless chump!" he says with a stern look on his face.
__________
Hoosible replies quite seriously, "The way of the Wendifa is difficult to master, but one day I hope to be able to perfect the Words that will transform a man into a Juju zombie -- perfecting his form while leaving his cunning intact. It's the greatest honor my master knew how to bestow, and he hoped I would learn enough to grant him that gift before he died.
"...Sadly, humans live such short lives and he passed on long before I learned to bind his soul and a wendo together."
With a tear in his eye, he says, "In the end his body...it just rotted away without anything at all to reanimate it."
Wiping his face with his sleeve, he adds, "But I will master it some day. And if you prove yourself worthy of the gift, I give you my word I'll bestow it upon you."
Radyx stares at the runt blankly, then turns and walks away. It was perhaps the creepiest thing he had witnessed in the past few days.
Not long after Natalya finishes explaining what all of the gear she had hoarded does, the group prepares to retire after a long, grueling day of traversing Magnimar’s gutters and dealing with the gutter rats found there. Before they can retire for the night, however, Taros has one final thing to go over with them.
”As it so happens, news of the Shard of Pride needs to be sent to my superiors - I cannot entrust this to a mere messenger - instead, I will be sending three of you directly to Xin-Shalast to deliver the news. Because we need the shard to discover the locations of the remaining shards, it will remain with Valko. Wilhem, Isroth, Al’cazar, you three will head to Xin-Shalast in the morning with my commendations. Likely, my superiors will find their own tasks for you once they receive news of our discovery here.”
He turns to the remaining members of the group, ”Luckily, I happen to have three replacements already picked out to continue the search for the remaining shards - these three are already fully fledged Cyphermages in their own right, but currently are a man down due to a death on their most recent mission. As a result, I see a perfect fit. You’ll meet the three in the morning, when you receive your Brands.” And with that, he dismisses everyone so that they may finally get the rest they seek after the hard day’s hassle.
----------
In the morning, after the group assemble in the dining room of the Heidmarch Manor, they are greeted with the smell of rather bland porridge for breakfast, Taros waiting with his specially crafted branding iron for their membership rites, and three new members to join the group. The first is a tall, thin, masked Chelish man wearing garb in a shocking array of colors. The second is a shorter figure with jet black skin - one of the Drow. The third and final member of the team is a armored female half-elven woman gripping a longspear in one hand.
”Meet Alexin Alazario, Remiandiv Blixx, and Tarrana. You three, meet Hoosible, Drybriar, Charbonardent, Ferit Skuller, Radyx Felston, and Valko. Valko von Richten. I have already informed them of the artifact and everything we’ve learned thus far, and they are to replace Wilhem, Isroth, and Al’cazar, who left a little while ago for Xin-Shalast. I do hope everyone gets along! Now, I suspect everyone has shopping and preparation to do before the raid on the Crow, so don’t let me keep you. Let us get the branding over with so we can get onto more important business!”
The branding rite itself is relatively simple, with Taros asking everyone to take off their gloves, if any, and simply pressing the brand painlessly against the back of their hands. Although each one expected pain, there was little more than a tingling effect as the brand tattooed itself upon their skin.
With that, they were fully-fledged Cyphermages.
Valko rises with the sun, as he often does, setting about his morning routine with gleaming eyes and zeal. The brand of the Cyphers will soon grace his right forehand, and his first actual assignment would soon be underway. The Shard of Pride—one of the very shards forged by Xin himself—hangs around the half-elf's neck much as it had Natalya's just a night prior. A wide grin splits the Ustlavian's face as his runs a thumb gingerly over its coppery surface. Pride. That singular sin seemed at home more than any other in his hands. He would claw his way to prominence. This is only the beginning.
A prolonged groan and a series of whimpers announces Renfeld's presence. Valko rolls his eyes and calls out "Enter, Renfeld! Stop lurking about the hallway like a pea-brained simpleton!"
The door to Valko's bedroom opens and closes, admitting the lurching form of the half-elf's trusty assistant. "Master?"
"I've chores for you, Renfeld. That outdated collection of broken pipes, cracked mortars, and squirrel dung we made do with has outlived its usefulness. You are to make your way to the markets and procure some items more in line with ou— new standing." Pressing a simple bit of parchment with a short list of quickly scrawled items, Valko ushers Renfeld out the door and pulls the door closed behind him.
______________________________
Bowing to the newly introduced cyphermages, Valko says, "I extend greetings to our new companions. As you have been informed of, we seek to gain entrance into one of the ancient pilings that once supported the Irespan that looms over Magnimar. While Miss Vancaskerin knows of the way into the place, where the Tower Girls have taken up residence, the true purpose of our visit will carry us far beneath the scope of what Natalya knows of the piling. As such, I have come prepared. . ." Valko gestures to Renfeld, whose buckling knees gladly deposit a large bundle of goods onto the table.
"At the moment, we should decide on our method of approach. I would recommend we wait for cover of night, in the interest of not losing an entire day to preparation."
Radyx is kicked back in a chair when the new members arrive, his feet propped up on the table, and he is picking at a fingernail with the point of a table knife.
"Yeah, go after dark, kick in their teeth, get the shiny. Brilliant!"
He drops the knife down on the table and says to the newcomers, "Like Tar-tar said, the name's Radyx. Radyx Felston. If you keep up with the 'Run,' you may have heard of me. One of the few souls good enough and smart enough to escape that snake's coil."
"Before we get to proper planning and such," Radyx turns and feigns an apologetic look Valko's way, "not that your 'plan' ain't a good start, Elfie, but I figure we ought to know what each of these new comers bring to the table, and what went wrong with their last team that got one of 'em sent to the Boneyard."
Ferit greedily takes his share of the wealth, then looks at the newcomers with suspicion. He asks Natalya, "Kin you only hurt wererats with silver?"
"When they're in their hybrid forms and animal forms, they're damned difficult to hurt with anything except silver - or mithral, like my sword. Thats why I had been stocking up on the various silvered equipment. However, if you can get the jump on them, you'll likely find them in their normal forms - they die just as anyone else, then."
As Remiandiv finishes speaking, the tall, pale, rail thin, heavily tattooed man next to him falls over, convulsing in laughter. "In.. over... his.. head..." the man finally croaks out half a minute later. He continues, clawing his long blonde hair from his face as tears of mirth stream from his piercing blue eyes, "Oh Remi, you are entirely too hilarious. In over his head..." He stands, rearranging the myriad sashes and scarves that cover his riotously colored clothing in a separate and often clashing riot of colors.
After another bout of giggles, the strange man collects himself, rearranging the now skewed crimson and gold domino mask he wears, and speaks in somewhat more even tones, "The fool's name was Soul on Fire. Only a pompous jackass of a Shoanti would take that name. Well, his name turned out to be true." Another cackle rips through him, but he once again brings himself under a modicum of control. "He opened what he though was a healing potion, but it was alchemist's fire instead." Barely able to contain himself, he forges on though the story. "He jumped into a cesspool to put himself out, but he couldn't swim and ended up IN OVER HIS HEAD!" With a final shout to end the story, the man can no longer contain himself, and falls into a giggling heap once more.
Ferit chuckles along with Alexin at hearing the fate of their fourth team member. "Well, Oi need a silver club or sumfin before we head to the Crow," he comments to the others after his laughter subsides.
"Don't hold it against him," Radyx says with a smile. "Perhaps he was just trying to live up to his name."
Radyx then looks to the new member of their little menagerie that had yet to speak up. "Well, we've heard from Giggles and the card player, what about you darlin'?"
Valko shrugs at Radyx's response, then says, "I'll leave the riveting discussion of what forms of violence are newly available to us to those among our number already predisposed to demonstrations of a particularly physical bent. We've already enough muscle to lift the fallen remnants of the Irespan itself skyward, so I will dare to venture a small glimmer of a hopeful guess that Master Taros has rendered unto our number the services of individuals capable of solving problems by way of actions not confined solely to the realm of thugs and brigands. By the grace of Lissala, I might further set myself up for soul crushing disappointment by daring to hope that, among these new cyphermages whose talents shall be subsumed by our own grand spectrum of capabilities, there exists at least one that is actually capable of decrypting a cipher!"
The Ustlavian half-elf listens intently as the new additions to their number introduce themselves. In particular, his curiosity is piqued by the drow among their company. His own elven heritage imposes no discrimination against the ebon-skinned elf, but Valko is curious as to what circumstances brought the fellow into the fold. He wore no slave brands, freed or otherwise, so it was unlikely he was purchased from traders at Sandpoint.
Abruptly, Valko says to Remiandiv, "A free drow in Shalast? I think I should like very much to hear recounted the tale of what allowed that to be a truth. Although, given the nature of our mission, I should think we will all be very willing to accept the services of one such as yourself."
"Well, Oi need a silver club or sumfin before we head to the Crow," he comments to the others after his laughter subsides.
Valko considers for a moment, then says, "If necessary, I can lend to you my own dagger—pure silver and of ancient Thassilonian make. While I am very partial to it, I would have no problem lending such a thing to you in the interest of keeping a hive of rat-women from gnawing at me."
"Ye gone off at the gob again, mate, I 'aven't a clue what about," Ferit says after Valko's speech. "As fer yer sticker, nope. I prefer batterin' te stabbin'!"
Radyx looks at Natalya and says bluntly, "Hey Miss Priss. In your scouting of the place did you happen to come up with a map or remember the general layout? That'd help a bunch."
Alexin ceases giggling and perks up when he hears Valko mention ciphers. "Oooh, I love ciphers," he says. "The very best ones are in the very best languages. And the very best languages are the ones that no one speaks, at least not here." The once almost gibbering man suddenly shifts in demeanor, that of a scholar rather than a madman, perhaps hinting at his life before whatever left him in his current state. "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn. A beautiful cipher. How can it be both dead and dreaming? Is it undead? Is it a god? And where is this R'lyeh with a palace in it, no place I know of." The newfound clarity drains away as he speaks, and soon he trails off, "I've spent considerable time wondering about it."
"Anyway, you needn't worry that I'll carry about a mountain or a bridge. Nor will Asmodeus. Now Abadar, however... Well it won't be a mountain but he can carry things. Probably not a bridge either. Well, at least not a very large one. More like a few extra planks or something." Alexin continues to drone on, pointlessly musing about what Abadar can and cannot carry.
"I'm Tarrana" The short red haired half elf girl says from her seat at the table a longspear resting not far from her hand. "I'm just here to help get the job done. Beit it through magic, violence, or whatever else."
Natalya glares at Radyx. ”Yeah I can draw ya somethin’ up, Scar Face.” She turns to Taros, ”Taros, got some paper and ink? My map-making skills aren’t all that great, but I’m sure I can come up with something that even this oaf can read.”
Nodding, Taros motions to Impy, who heads into one of the other rooms and, about a minute later, returns with a piece of parchment, an inkpen, and a vial of ink. Natalya takes the stuff from the mechanical familiar and begins drawing a crude map for the group. ”Now, see, the Crow, along with the rest of the pilings, is about two-hundred feet wide around its midsection and about two-fifty along its base and top. Its a bit over two-hundred feet tall, as well. Big-ass ol’ thing. Anyways, the entrance to the Crow is a small boat-dock along its eastern side - that was where I found the secret entrance which the Girls and I broke through with picks.”
Natalya’s drawings prove to be rather crude indeed as she continues. ”Immediately inside are a few small, useless rooms - we camped out here and used one of them as a makeshift latrine. Following the hallways north leads you to a larger room with a bunch of pillars - and a staircase that leads all the way up to the fourth floor, which is near the top of the piling.”
Taros interrupts her - ”You spelt ‘fourth’ wrong.” He points at where she wrote ‘forth’ and does his best to suppress a laugh.
Natalya glares at him and crosses out the misspelled word and writes it in correctly. ”Happy? Anyways, “ she continues, ”There are a few rooms here we found some junk in to loot, but then there was a secret door to the south that lead into a much larger room with a broken statue and an opening to the outside. Lots of evidence of campfires here - previous explorers, no doubt.” She takes a few moments to catch up with herself as she keeps drawing the map. ”Anyways, this is where it gets tricky. See, despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find any hint of a secret door here - as I was about to give up hope and lower a rope down the eastern alcove all the way down to the first floor, I spotted something. A secret hatch in the ceiling, right above a nice hundred-eighty-or-so foot drop. Had to use a series of pitons and ropes to climb my way over there to get to it - and I tell you, theres little more terrifying than being held up by nothing more than a few pitons hammered into the ceiling above you while you dangle over a two-hundred foot drop. The hatch itself wasn’t very difficult to open, though, and it led to a small corridor that led to a floor hatch into what looked like a crypt. There were at least a dozen skeletons standing vigil there - thankfully, I was able to sneak by them while invisible. The hallway led west and then north, past a continuously fed fountain and past a collapsed room towards the stairs downwards the third level.”
”I didn’t get the chance to fully explore the third level - I took the right-most path and ended up finding a route down, so I have no idea whats down the north and eastern passages. Passed a large room with a statue of some fierce looking woman though. Down in the second level is where it gets interesting. First, I found a large room with a few pillars and a rather curious door - this big, silvery-double door with the sihedron on it. Didn’t look like it, but it was scalding hot to the touch. There was a smaller door to the north that I didn’t check out, but instead I went through one of the two eastern doors, figuring I’d examine the big one later. In the pillar in that room, through a secret door accessed by a hidden button, was where I found the Shard, laying next to a skeletal corpse. I didn’t get to examine the corpse further though, as that was when Ayala caught up to me.”
When she finishes her ‘masterpiece’, she looks at it and shrugs. ”Eh.”
Ferit starts drooling as he stares dumbly at the "map". "Ken we feckin' go now?"
Radyx looks at the map and says, "Then we ain't gonna be able to use much strategy anyway. Bruisers up front, and we clear out anything in our way."
Tarrnna pulls out her own pack of weathered harrow cards and idly plays wiht them as she leans back in thought. "Agreed. I don't feel like watching a man get cut to ribbons as he gets bruises up front. And I don't fancy having a werewolf at my back either. We should pack enough silver to make a dwarf's fingers twitchy."
"Fortunately for us, I'll be present for our delve into the piling. The Crow itself will pose no threat to us so long as none choose to blunder blindly into every hidden nook and cranny of the place. We should also consider the vision my own Shard has shown me, I think. . ."
The large, rolling blob of screaming flesh looked like some sort of Lemure, a type of Devil. However, Lemures do not normally get that big, nor are they able to speak.
The blue figures you spotted were most definitely Derro of lore, most likely the one seen by Fenster. Apparently they saw him, too. In addition, the glowing blue fungus is a rare and very dangerous fungus known as 'Cytillesh'. This blue fungus causes a wide variety of mental illnesses for those who linger near it for too long - insanity being the most common side effect.
One last thing - you realize you recognize the chained up woman. It was difficult at first due to her mishappen surgical scars, missing hair, and her unkept nature, but you remember seeing a picture of her and her husband in this very manor, kept by Taros. The woman is none other than the famed Pathfinder, Sheila Heidmarch. It was known that the Heidmarchs were on the run after Karzoug took the city, but neither have been spotted in Maginmar for a few years.
"Alas, until we know which shard comes next, Remi, I cannot provide the correct Ioun Stone to suppress the curse. That being said, I suspect the remaining curses would be less troublesome than the Shard of Pride's curse. And, worst case scenario, there will be seven of you and one of whoever holds the shard. I'm sure you can subdue them if there's trouble."
Strawflower curls in a corner, her fur matted with blood and her many holes stuffed with dried flowers of red, gold, yellow, and pink. Hoosible sits, snuggled into her fur, listening to the description.
When Natalya draws her map, Hoosible motions for Strawflower to rise and the 500 pound tiger comes up beside her. The 35 pound gnome looks down from Strawflower's back, tilting left and then right to get the best view over his fellow cyphermages' shoulders.
"For the skeletons, people should bring some blunt weapons-- but remember to let me see if I can persuade the wendo spirits that animate them to join my cause first.
"But yes, Strawflower and I are ready to go. Aren't you, Strawflower?"
The zombie tiger replies with a low, gutteral "Purrrrrhhhunnghh...."
"We go, we go, out to, the crow," Alexin says in a sing-song tone as he capers towards the door.
Charbonardent has a silly grin on his face until he receives his brand that transforms into one of pride and satisfaction when the branding process is complete. His first mission is complete, too.
The half-giant welcomed the new cyphers with a stoic stare. He guessed from their lack of groveling that they did not accept the majesty of giants like the other cyphers. Eventually, he fully expected that they would learn.
Charbonardent was not clear about what to expect to secure these other magic shards except success would win him glory. The lesser races spoke about securing silver weapons, so he took that as a task to purchase another greatsword. So his first words to the new cyphers were, "Let's secure silver weapons and then this crow."