"..."
The Empty Throne, eh? The lawful good card of one's Charisma, it represented those who were gone - and the ghosts of the past who taught lessons. A most interesting draw when dealing with a Necromancer.
(Some would say it was just coincidence - but they were the people who would say that no matter how many examples you gave.)
Either way, since she'd asked for advice on Chaia's plan, the result was positive.
"I have no objections." she said, holding the card up for a moment. "It seems those who have departed agree with this plan - and it would be unwise to spurn them, even for one who normally commands them."
Chaïa nodded in agreement with Lu’s offer, which sounded more than generous for someone of Filge’s ilk, but she was obviously distracted by the worm in the box.
“This is a – or part of, at least – a spawn of Kyuss,” she said, staring at the thing in fascinated horror.
“Funny. I thought they’d be bigger,” she added, giving the box a mischievous shake and keeping her tone light in an effort to disguise her nervousness. All the same, her eyes were wide as she looked around the room, and her next words, though still calm, indicated just how seriously she took the situation. “Someone will have to poke around in those mines. Kyuss spawn are rare, and we should make sure they stay that way.”
Giving its still form a close look, she reasoned out what it must be in just a few breaths: once part of a rare sort of undead known as the Spawn, or sometimes Sons, of Kyuss. The latter term, she knows, arises from ignorant adventurers believing any undead lacking adequately pendulous endowments must have been men in life.
"Fascinating." Lu tries her best not to listen to the sounds made by Chaïa's poking. Brr. On the bright side, they seemed to have reached a deal with the necromancer that wouldn't result in him haunting them forever. Only the coming few days at worst.
“This is a – or part of, at least – a spawn of Kyuss,” she said, staring at the thing in fascinated horror.
Chaia can only recall the name and that they've got something to do with this sort of worm, which is quite distinctive. She knows Kyuss as a necromancer of the ancient South, who might be only a myth.
"Well I'm sure zey won't be too much of an issue." Lu notes and glances at the necromancer. She wasn't sure how well they could really trust him - or what they ought to do about that.
[dice=Know Religion]1d20 + 5
Saeri thinks she recalls them being largely indistinguishable from zombies at a distance. One needs to get up close to mark the worms. Or feel the unnatural fear they inspire in many.
"Well, its fear powers don't seem to be active." Saeri noted as they looked over things. "I wouldn't want to be around one when they're still moving, though. Best to take them down from a distance."
“Fascinating, as you say,” Chaïa said, voicing her agreement with Lu’s assessment. She was relieved that Saeri knew something more about the things, but it was exciting too, to think she might be on the trail of something rare even in the annals of her own people. “That is a very old name, from very far away. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone even maintain with any certainty that Kyuss was a real person.”
Chaïa tore her eyes away from the little monster. “Still, at least we know where to go next. Shall we?”
She spoke with unconvincing briskness, too obviously coveting the shelves full of Filge’s notes and wondering just how much further she could rifle before it was too much even for the currently cowed necromancer. She knew how much it would annoy her to have her own private papers pillaged.
"Aye, I think we are pretty much done here.", Janus eyes Filge, as he raises his hand and focuses on his sister. The amulet helped him focus, but it was not necessary, and he'd rather not reveal it's significance to the necromancer.
Neither did he intend to fake the use of some religious symbol - the man was welcome to wonder about the origin of his powers.
A moment later, a wave of positive energy bursts outwards from him, washing over the tanks and anything else, dissolving the magic binding the undead creatures to their existence. "Lets go."
Filge cursed softly as the last of his zombies expired. Again. He made no effort to stop the explorers from leaving.
Saeri followed behind Janus, content for now to see where things went. The cards had suggested this route was good, after all, and she'd be a fool to start doubting their wisdom now.
"Mmm-mm-mhm!" Lu made some sort of agreeing noise and headed outside. Once they were an appropriate distance away from the old building she sighed. "It would have been to easy if he had zat body noh? Let's hope ze caves aren't too bothersome!"
"Let's get a bite to eat yeah! Zen we can poke around a bit for info on zat mine ..." Lu decides as they head back into town.
Yellowknife's explorers retire and have a pleasant night. But the morning does come as it must, bright and early as it insists on being. At least the Lathanderians would be pleased.
"Ahh-mm!" Lu blinked awake, well rested and content with life. It would feel even better not knowing there were some face stealing horror lose in town, but eh, can't have everything. With a grunt she sat up and started the slow process of getting ready for the day.
---
"So - plan?" Lu asked in a hushed voice between the mouthfuls of breakfast. "Let's ask Yellowknife first. Even if he doesn't know zat much, he might know who knows. And who will be greatly offended for us asking. Zoughts?"
Saeri considered for a moment. "Would you rather have an opinion or a reading?" she inquired, trusting the results of a Harrowing far more than her own position on any particular subject.
The explorers find Yellowknife busy at work in his laboratory, but he's happy to make time for them.
"Well again. How can I help you today, friends?" he asked.
---Breakfast talk!---
"Can't I have both?" Lu grins. She had no problem with excess! Continuing on that thought she takes another healthy chunk of her food.
---Visiting the Wizard---
"Hello! Do you know anyzing about zis old mine? It's not still in use is it?" Lu shares the location of the claimed zombie-maker site. "We've been looking for whoever stole zose corpses, we heard zat *someone* is doing strange zings down zere."
She didn't feel confident sharing that their source was the somewhat unpleasant necromancer. Not yet. Probably not ever. But if everything worked out, she wouldn't have to. They would get their body back, Filge his mission and everyone could go their separate ways.
---Breakfast talk!---
"Can't I have both?" Lu grins. She had no problem with excess! Continuing on that thought she takes another healthy chunk of her food.
---Visiting the Wizard---
"Hello! Do you know anyzing about zis old mine? It's not still in use is it?" Lu shares the location of the claimed zombie-maker site. "We've been looking for whoever stole zose corpses, we heard zat *someone* is doing strange zings down zere."
She didn't feel confident sharing that their source was the somewhat unpleasant necromancer. Not yet. Probably not ever. But if everything worked out, she wouldn't have to. They would get their body back, Filge his mission and everyone could go their separate ways.
"I'm afraid the Ironeater mines are very much still in operation. They're not likely to just let you in with no clear business there," Yellowknife said, apologetic.
"Hmph. And accusing zem of being pawns of darkness won't help either, even if accurate. Zanks for ze head's up. Say ... You know if zere's people zere at night too?"
"Hmph. And accusing zem of being pawns of darkness won't help either, even if accurate. Zanks for ze head's up. Say ... You know if zere's people zere at night too?"
"Ironeater keeps his mines thoroughly guarded and has a barracks for those miners who owe him more than they can repay, whom he enslaves."
"What a surprise." Saeri said in the tone of someone who was thinking the exact opposite. "I wonder if we could charm our way inside somehow..."
"Hmhph. What a zoughtful guy." Lu groans. It was starting to feel like going to the bottom of this would, ironically, be an uphill struggle.
"Maybe we can do some trick to get in. Hmh. And I wonder - is there only one entrance to ze mine? Must be more zen zat right?"
"Hmhph. What a zoughtful guy." Lu groans. It was starting to feel like going to the bottom of this would, ironically, be an uphill struggle.
"Maybe we can do some trick to get in. Hmh. And I wonder - is there only one entrance to ze mine? Must be more zen zat right?"
"There is only the one public entrance. I wouldn't know where to look for others, though with any mine it's possible they connect to the Realms Below."
"I don't zink we want to go down zere. I'd rather butt heads with all ze goons in town zen go anywhere near ze underworld." Lu shudders. She wasn't sure to proceed, but this didn't feel like the place to find that out anymore.
"Hmph. I feel zat we might need to know a bit more about what's up with zat Ironeater..."
“Back to the Happy Cow, then?” Chaïa offered, putting Lu and Saeri’s suggestions together. “We could try charming our way through the guildmasters’ thugs before trying to force our way into the mines. Although…”
The wizard hesitated for a moment, trying to phrase the range of less gentle strategies of persuasion as tactfully as possible. “Do we have access to more … compelling fascinations? Sadly, it really doesn’t seem like the sort of place whose regulars would be moved by a winsome smile and energetic persiflage.”
She resigned herself to another ghastly evening, unless Saeri would be able to draw out information by means of one of her readings, tacitly encouraging the mine guards to offer something useful to interpret her predictions. Trying to consider all the options, Chaïa weighed the contents of the group’s newly pilfered spellbook. More aggressively, they could try to put the fear of the gods into the guards , though that wouldn’t make them any friends in the long run. Still – she glanced at Lucrecia with a small smile that wavered between worry and a rueful acknowledgement of how much Yellowknife’s band of talented amateurs enjoyed getting stuck in, despite everything, “We might find goon heads that need butting after all.”
All the same, it would be nice if the situation didn’t call for or provide her two weakest schools of magic. Divination and necromancy. Of course. Why can’t more solutions call for planar geometry or raw magic? The thought does raise another marginal possibility, actually, based on conjuration. “If all else fails – though it would probably get messy quickly – we could try to break into the mines under cover of darkness. It wouldn’t be particularly subtle, but I could try to call up a mist on top of the night, to cover our approach.”
"Might be worthwhile to visit that barracks with enslaved miners. They might be able to tell us about what is going on in the mines...and I dare say if there's a chance the place gets shut down and they regain their freedom, they are more than willing to cooperate even if it involves a risk for them.", Janus suggests, shrugging. "Maybe we're just some siblings and a fiancee, looking for a brother of ours, following a rumor we heard saying that he got enslaved...we could probably bluff our way into the barracks with some palm grease for the guard..."
"Men are always fascinated when they're hearing about the future." Saeri said confidently. "Help me find one of them who's not drunk enough to be totally incoherent - there's nothing worse than an unhinged client. I'm thinking... divining for the future of the mine, perhaps? We'll have to get them to ask the question, though. It's not wise for me to do it on their behalf."
Lu shrugged and then grinned. "I won't mind a drink. If zat qualifies as a drink zough ..."
Lu shrugged and then grinned. "I won't mind a drink. If zat qualifies as a drink zough ..."
"Might be worthwhile to visit that barracks with enslaved miners. They might be able to tell us about what is going on in the mines...and I dare say if there's a chance the place gets shut down and they regain their freedom, they are more than willing to cooperate even if it involves a risk for them.", Janus suggests, shrugging. "Maybe we're just some siblings and a fiancee, looking for a brother of ours, following a rumor we heard saying that he got enslaved...we could probably bluff our way into the barracks with some palm grease for the guard..."
What a vivid imagination the young man has. Chaïa met Janus’ glance levelly. “It’s an idea. A worried young woman, fiancée and one brother in tow, another missing, enslaved over some recklessly accumulated debt… And the most responsible one of us to play the chaperone, of course, whatever everyone’s comfortable with. Though I’m not sure how easy it would be to appeal to Ironeater’s heart, or those of his guards. It might have to be gold after all.”
She thought back to her own family. Growing up, she had never thought of it as remarkably comfortably off, but then leaving Evereska for the wider world had come as a bit of a shock. It had been a while since her last visit, but Chaïa could certainly recall the attitude, if it came to that sort of bluff.
“First things first, though,” she agreed. “To that ghastly place, avoiding poisoning ourselves with swill, if possible, to see if we can learn anything useful before knocking on the mine’s gate with who knows what pretext else, or magic, or an undead worm to throw in their faces!”
She grinned mischievously, ever so slightly.
"Well, it's an idea as good as any!" Lu declares and mentally prepares for what was to come. Which is to say she closed her eyes and imagined herself eating real food.
"So, how is this going to go?" Saeri inquired.
"...Huh." Saeri said, smiling slightly as she put the Empty Throne back into her deck. Despite the faintly ominous name, it was actually a good card - with leaning towards both order and holiness, it represented persuasion and, more directly, those of the past who had taught important lessons. "As long as we remember those we've met, diplomacy should be fine here." she predicted.