I shall drink a cup of wine, and take a look at the clothes. Then I shall have the slaves clean me, and prepare myself for meeting this master.
At last Tiadora leads you to a beautifully appointed office, richly decorated with dark wood and sumptuous brocade tapestries. Sitting in a leather high-backed chair is a devilishly handsome fellow who smiles as you enter.
I believe you to be the first to ever escape from Branderscar prison. Well done! Of course, you had help from the outside, he says with a wicked smile.
But enough with the pleasantries. You must be curious why I've helped you. Rest assured this is no random act of altruism. I have brought you here for a reason. My name is Cardinal Adrastus Thorn. I am the last high priest of Asmodeus left on the island of Talingarde. Once the Prince of Nessus was rightly revered alongside the other great powers. Now, the king of Talingarde has become a puppet to Mitran fanatics who wish to destroy any religion that does not bow to their insipid sun god.
For their blasphemy, I will see the same people who imprisoned and condemned you suffer. I understand what you went through for I have faced it myself. With that, he pulls down the sleeve of his robe and reveals his own runic 'F' brand. I am going to burn Talingarde to the ground and from the ashes I will build a new nation that knows its rightful master. I cannot do this alone. I seek servants worthy of our Infernal Father's majesty. Have I found them in you?
He rises and his eyes flash with hellfire and divine purpose. Join me! Serve me well in this holy endeavor and I will raise you up in the eyes of gods and men. I will make you princes of the new Talingarde. Today, swear fealty to me and to Asmodeus.
Put aside forgiveness and I shall give you vengeance. Put aside mercy and be made powerful. Put aside peace, and become my harbingers of war. What say you? Will you swear your allegiance or will you burn with the rest of the blind fools?
|
Knowledge Religion & Sense Motive to see if I know of this guy / know if he's legit:
It is good to see another of the faith... I am of course more than happy to help in any way possible in the furthering of our the Dark Lord's name.
Asmodeus already has my sole fealty. But I will gladly work with a superior of our order in whatever way He sees fit.
Let us bring down the Mitrans and show this place the true meaning of Power.
Cardinal Thorn smiles. Excellent. Let us make it official. Signing in blood is traditional.
He brings out a quill, a silver ritual knife, and two copies of a contract written on some odd leather and written in dark red ink.
Behold on this day ___ in the eight age
of this world a perpetual Compact is made between
Cardinal Adrastus Thorn (hereafter the Master) and those
who would be bound to him as his acolytes (herafter
the Bound). Both the Master and the Bound shall
hold fast and true to this Compact through all trial and
tribulation. By blood and soul the Bound commit to the
Compact and swear that it shall never be undone.
The Bound shall know and understand the Four
Loyalties.
The First Loyalty is to their patron and god - mighty
Asmodeus, first among the fallen, prince of the nine
hells, our father below. They shall do all that can be
done to further his worship and his glory.
The Second Loyalty is to their master - He who is
called the Cardinal Adrastus Thorn, High Priest of Asmodeus
in Talingarde. They shall do the Master no harm
and obey his every commandment as long as those
commandments do not clash with their First Loyalty.
The Second Loyalty is to their master – He who is
called the Cardinal Adrastus Thorn, High Priest of Asmodeus
in Talingarde. They shall do the Master no harm
and obey his every commandment as long as those commandments
do not clash with their First Loyalty.
The Third Loyalty is to their companions – the other
Bound who serve alongside them. The Bound shall deal
with each other fairly and honorably as long as doing so
does not clash with their first or second loyalties. All
treasure, wealth and reward garnered in their exploits
will be equally shared with all of the Bound who aided
in its acquisition.
The Fourth Loyalty is to themselves – for Asmodeus
is the Lord of Ambition and all who serve him should
strive to become great and powerful in his service as
long as doing so does not clash with their first, second
or third loyalties. By their weakness, ye shall know the
unworthy.
The Bound swear that they cleave to and uphold the
Four Loyalties even in the face of death and damnation.
The Master swears that as long as the Four Loyalties
are upheld, he shall reward the Bound as they deserve
for their deeds.
Thus it is written, and thus it shall be.
We being of sound mind and free will do so swear
and let they who violates this Compact know all the
wrath of Hell unending.
Signed,
________________________________________
signing the contract, he allows you to keep one copy. The other, he takes.
Well done. Your first command: prepare yourselves. Stay within the manor. You are still hunted by the Talirean soldiery. In three days we begin your training.
You're fed, fully rested, bathed and clothed in garments more befitting nobility than prisoners on the lam. For three days you live a life of luxury and ease in the manor house. Tiadora offers you each one of the slaves as a 'companion'.
During the three days, a slave seneschal approaches each of you and meekly asks what equipment you require.
|
|
I spend the first day turning the corpse we brought back into a skeleton minion. His name is Izzbit and he is an acidic bloody skeleton.
I have made my requests to the seneschal for my equipment.
Now that I know our party's makeup, I've changed my spell selection to include more healing options for our non-necromantic allies. It would still be prudent for other members to buy some potions or (for non-combat situations) scrolls for healing services.
Tiadora also mentions that there will be one more member of your Bound party. Victor Moreau.
i have learned new magics to heal Spawn should it be needed. It is good to meet my fellow companions without the frenzy of an escape. I am Loran, servant of zura and now great asmodeus. I am glad to see another vampire brethren among our group. Let us bring these delicious humans to their knees. This is Spawn, he is a part of me and shall grow as I grow in power.
a beautiful human woman with an albino raven perched nearby.
a brooding hulk of a half-elf, never far from his greatsword.
and a pair of twin humans, one of which bears a holy symbol of Asmodeus.
As Tiadora begins to bring your equipment to you, she also gifts you each with a silver medallion and an Iron Circlet. The silver medallion is a holy symbol of Asmodeus (worth 25gp if you could find a buyer). The Iron Circlet is magical.
Aura faint illusion; CL 1st
Slot head; Price 1,800 gp; Weight -
This circlet of wrought iron alters itself to comfortably fit any wearer. It allows the wearer to alter their appearance as with a disguise self spell. As part of the disguise, the circlet can be changed to appear as any sort of hat, headgear, or hairstyle the wearer desires.Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, disguise self; Cost 900gp
I am Leonatis. Maybe next time, I won't be unconcious for the start of the battle.
I am Temperance. I've always had a great deal of respect for Asmodeous, he's created quite a power base for himself and rules over it justly with little pity for the weak and pathetic. So, I am happy to be bound to his worship. I'm less thrilled with this Cardinal Thorn, but he seems like a powerful and ambitious man with designs for us, and one always needs a master. He will do for now.
It seems we will be spending a lot of time together from now on. I'm glad you all now have a means of disguising yourselves. It's not as effective as my natural ability, but should serve to keep you from blowing any diguises I come up with. As part of your time training, I'd like to help you better learn how to make a good disguise and how to "live" your part. It is an invaluable skill for a group of individuals on the wrong side of the law in this land.
A little bit more about me, so you know whom you're adventuring with. I'm skilled with enchantment magic, as you've all seen. You've also seen me shift into different forms before. I have a natural ability to shift into the form of any humanoid I've encountered.
Temperance shifts through the form of each of the other Bound while continuing her conversation. As she does so, she takes on their voices and mannerisms.
While your circlets can provide a visual effect similar to my shifting, there is a key difference. Your circlets rely on illusion, while I actually change. There is no illusion involved and no one can penetrate my disguise just by shaking my hand or patting me on the head. For all intents and purposes, I AM that person. For that reason, I should lead any infiltrations we decide to go on. Before joining you all, I'd used my abilities to get what I want when I want it. Before being captured by these idiot Mitrans, I was a pirate on the high seas. I had the misfortune being blown off course and our ship came too close to this little Paladin island. We were captured by one of their patrols and that is what brought me here. Now I will happily join the rest of you in burning this island to ashes and building our own little empire.
Now, excuse me, I need to have a little fun with this slave boy of mine. This iron circlet should be extra fun. Hmm...who should he look like today? Blackerly, perhaps...
Have you enjoyed your gifts? The iron circlets allow you to move amongst your enemies as one of them. The silver amulets will remind you of your true loyalties. And the other items - well, you need them now.
You have done well to escape from Branderscar and to accept my offer. However you are still not ready for my service. Tiadora will lead you to the basement of this domicile. There you will find nine chambers, each more dangerous than the last. Somewhere hidden within these chambers is a pendant of silver and sapphire. Recover the pendant, and bring it to me. Let nothing and no one stand in your way.
He stands up and looks out of the manor house window, across the grey moor. Its almost dusk. You have until dusk tomorrow to bring me my prize. Do not fail me.
Cardinal Thorn takes a seat at his desk. Tiadora arrives right on cue. This way, is all she says.
More tests, but this time, we are prepared. let us face these challenges and be done with it.
I should have a crossbow, a new shield, a mace and some new clothes, as well a spell component pouch (i'll keep the chain mail then since it'll be covered by the illusion). Also I assume Spawn will be summoned since its been a couple days.
Hmm...he wants us to kill stuff in his basement? I've never heard of such an odd initiation before, but whatever suits his evilness. Let's get going before I have to deal with any more of his servants' incompetence.
Do one of you boys have a little extra space for some of this equipment? I've never been one to pack lightly and I can't possibly carry it all myself.
I am in my "standard" human form, dressed in my finery, which should remain clean despite whatever we have to do down there*. I have a good deal of extra equipment (pathfinder's kit, food, water, cold weather gear, etc) and if no one has space for it, I'll leave it in my room. None of it is actually that important.
I am cranky because the slave seneschal told me he was unable to procure the mule and pack saddle I requested. He is currently handcuffed to my bed with the cheap manacles he did manage to procure. He'll be awaiting my return tomorrow. I left a key to the manacles with my "companion" slave in case it looks like harm will come to my master's property from his imprisonment.
Tiadora leads you to a set of stairs. Below you will find the Nine Lessons.She leaves without any further explanation.
You descend the set of stone stairs, leading down through an archway into an unfurnished chamber beyond. Inscribed upon the archway in the common tongue is: "Deception is a tool. Self-deception is death. Deceive always thy enemy but never thyself." The room beyond is lit by a small oil lantern hanging from the center of the chamber.
There is a doorway east.
shall we get this started then? I will move into the room with Spawn by my side to the door.
Loran and Spawn move up to the door
the floor falls away beneath them, catching them by surprise as Spawn reaches for the door handle. they fall tumbling into a pit, scattered with blunted spikes reaching up from the floor.
Loran and Spawn both take:
Loran manages to flail enough that he actually catches about as many spikes as he could as he falls into the pit.
I found the trap... Spawn help me out of here...
a quick go around makes it clear there's no more pits (at least, none that open up beneath you ).
taking some more time, you split up and take 20. you find a secret door to the north, and a secret door to the south. Spawn eventually helps Loran out of the pit, slowly. Though he's still staggered. no one has opened any of the secret doors, or the obvious door yet either.
Eventually someone does try and open the visible door, its fake however, and just opens up to a dead end brick wall. The secret door hidden in the north wall conceals a small niche. Inside that niche is a small pedestal that holds a jewel that glows with pale blue light. Its cold to the touch. There is another inscription: "Thou hast seen through deception to uncover a useful tool." Ash takes it and easily identifies it as a fancy container of Alchemist's Ice.
Leaving just the south door left to explore, you eventually open it up.
Did anyone acquire anything useful for healing a badly beaten up summoner? And can that skeleton open doors? Does anyone know mage hand or open/close?
the short passage to the south ends in a wooden door with another inscription:
Inside the stone chamber, there are four doors - each facing a cardinal direction. The entire chamber seems strangely cold. The ground is dirty and dusty and its easy to see that at least a dozen individuals have walked towards the southern and eastern doors. No one seems to have approached the western door. This room is also lit with a small oil lantern that hangs from the ceiling. There is a small amount of frost on the lantern's glass panes.
i can channel the dark lords energy to heal the undead. Be thankful our lord has given me this gift. I lay my hand on his forehead and let the negative energy flow into Loran, branding him briefly with Asmodeus' star on his head.
|
|
It is obvious that the two doors with the beaten trails are false doors, and probably dangerous. The inscription above the doorway indicates as much.
I believe the Westerly door is our destination. But it may still be dangerous.
Can we do a perception check to notice anything about the door or the squares around it? I'll take 20 from as far away as I'm allowed to, never entering a square without Izzbit going before me.
there does seem to be some faintly pulsating violet tinge to the door and perhaps 5 ft. out from it. however no one from your group seems able to identify it. Having no way to identify it, but having an Izzbit, you send him forward towards the door. He approaches the door , brazenly, as undead are wont to do. He seems fine though. Standing there in front of the door. if anything, he shrugs at you Forsythe.
|
|
Soft padding approaches the group from behind, as well as a light, zagging back and forth through the hallway. Squinting into the light, you see the form of a bird of prey, with a brightly illuminated anklet.
Ise checking for traps on my pathway:
Making a contended sound, the bird alights on a finely dressed man's shoulder.
Ah, my allies. I apologize for my dalliance, I do hope I have not kept you waiting.
The man's features are sharp but rounded, almost catlike, and as he walks you can see a confidently moving fur-covered tail. He takes Temperance's hand with a bow. Only when his hand is in yours do you notice that his hand is on backwards.
I am Victor, and I do hope we will be seeing a lot of each other in the near future.
His features quicken as he raises his lips from your hand.
Now, what is this about a door?
I cast detect magic, concentrate for three rounds, and roll spellcraft
the door, indeed the room, fails to radiate any magic, save for what is on the other Bound among you. Whatever the faint, pulsating, violet stuff is coating the door, its not magical.
|
|
Welcome -- assistance, even if late, will be useful in this dungeon I estimate.
It appears to me that the "puzzle" of this room has something to do with fire and ice. The clue above the door says "Fear not their icy derision. Instead, fear only thy Infernal Lord."
So I think cold is supposed to be good, and fire bad.
But I don't know in what application. So I propose Izzbit opens the door, and our healthiest (OOC: most HP!) person attempts to go through.
Very well. I'll do it. Have your 'Bit open the door.
::waits::
saunters towards the door.
Leo, you definitely feel a numbing cold try to overtake you as you pass through the door, but you feel alright as you're naturally resistant to the icy depths.
there's something coating the door. it must be natural, since its not radiating magic. by process of deduction with your knowledges, you know its likely some kind of fungus.