Karethas nods in encouragement to Varkata, "Yeah, nine would be correct if I'm right."
Varkata once again leads with her blade and passes safely through the fiery doorway. The next room is nearly indistinguishable from the former save an ornate gilded scorpion decorating the ceiling and the numbers above the exits. Starting with the portal you just entered, the number read clockwise: 12, 13, 14, 15...
Kzrira takes out several arrows and begins arranging then in groups. After a few moments, she looks to the others. Several are not "primes", perhaps this time it is the imperfect number, the 13 that is the answer since I can break the others into groupings.
Karethas shakes his head, "The pun is that the number has the most numbers that end up with it as a 'product'. So following that idea, twelve is the correct exit. One, two, three, four, six, and twelve all can be multiplied to 'produce' twelve." He counts on his fingers as he ticks off each number.
Varkata says, "Is that it? Or do we subtract the 12 from the three other numbers?" She sighs in frustration, "I never thought it would be a challenge to break out of a vault."
Karethas logic has served you well so far so Varkata leads the group back through the doorway you just entered to find a different room on the return. Only three doors are curtained in flames this time. The fourth opens into a larger chamber where you find ten temple guard in two rows, one row taking a knee and the other row standing just behind, all in golden breastplate armor and aiming crossbows at you.
"HALT, THIEVES!"
Kzrira frowns at the guards comment before turning to Amir:
Must be mistaken, I thought you had given that up.
Amir rolls his eyes at the archer and puts his hands up as he smiles the the guards, "a misunderstanding. Please take us to the Master of the Vault, he will understand."
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"He is already on his way," a guard tells you keeping a steady bead on the intruders with her crossbow. A moment later, the familiar form of Jalal Abdul-Abadar appears. He stops short upon seeing you and seems momentarily at a loss for words.
"How? You have been missing for over a month. How did you end up inside the Vault?"
Amir offers a short cough and gestures at Karethas, "I'm sure my young friend here will submit a treatise one day on the subject which will be quite interesting. For now I beg to know what came out of the scroll when we disappeared..."
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The Vault Master frowns. "Well, we will need your account far sooner than that, but to fill you in since your disappearance- the scroll burst forth with an army of efreet. We have only just repaired the damages to the temple. At great expense, I might add. They did not linger long, but still did a fair amount of damage before flying off to the west."
"We assumed that you had been swept along with them and that the scroll had been destroyed. We found it buried in the rubble after, but given the danger, we decided not to alert the Pactmasters or their rivals, the strange men of Leng that demanded it as well. We hid it in our vaults hoping that it would eventually be forgotten again."
Kzrira nods:
We think the scroll was the connection to another realm, a sub-plane made out of chaos. The effreet were trapped there. When we became trapped, the effreet were freed. To escape, we freed the creatures of chaos who had been forced to create the plane, this destroyed the plane, destroyed the scroll, or so it appears, and returned us to where the scroll was kept, in the vault.
Varkata nods, "That does likely explain why we re-emerged in the Vault. We were pulled into their prison, and had to tear it apart.... Still, for us, I would say there was little more than a week that passed."
Karethas nods in approval, "Good recap." He turns the Vault Master, "Any word on where the army went?
The high priest toys with the great golden key that hangs from a heavy chain from his neck. "Strange, the wards on the Vault should have blocked any gate, but the scroll is far more powerful than anything I've seen before. It is a pity that it has been destroyed. Though considering its dangers perhaps for the best."
To Karethas, he replies, "We would not know where the Efreet had gone except that Katapesh has received the first refugees just this past week. It appears they have taken Kelmerane..."
Karethas' face pales, 'Kelmerane! Have we heard from Faelar? His wife? The Almah? What can we do for them?!"
Kzrira sighs and shakes her head:
Is there a city with worse luck? We destroyed the gnolls, only to have the evil Div take over. We destroyed the Div, I think, and now they have an efreeti infestation. Perhaps abandoning Kelmerane might be prudent at some point.
The Abadarian looks pained, "From what we have heard so far, the leadership was taken prisoner, so we have every reason to believe Almah and your friend's family are alive in captivity."
His expression darkens somewhat at Kzrira's outburst. "Taming the wilderness has never been easy that does not mean that we should just give up. The efreet are powerful, but as you say, someone was able to trap them in the scroll."
Kzrira looks to Karethas and then Amir:
Someone? I thought the someone was Nex, and while we have overcome many obstacles, I am not sure that we are quite as powerful as the ancient archmage.
Varkata growls, "Aye, but that someone was considerably more powerful than we... though maybe a mite less stubborn."
She sighs, "Still, we can't abandon our friends... even if it would be nice if they'd have the good sense to stay saved after you've done it once or twice..."
Or three times.
Karethas is deep in thought but distractedly adds, "Nex did not trap the efreet, Andrathi did long after Nex had disappeared."
Kzrira reaches up and scratches Spooky's chin.
Still not sure we are even close to as powerful as Andrathi. Although he died in that chaotic realm, and we did not.
The High Priest shrugs, "Perhaps you underestimate your own strength, but be wary of the efreet. Do not rush into this fight. Find out all you can of the enemy and gather all the allies you can. Sadly, all I can offer is general advice. I have heard nothing of Zayifid or the Kelmarane Temple."
Varkata sighs, "And, of course, there's also the vampires to deal with.... unless the Efreet burned them for us."
Varkata sighs, "And, of course, there's also the vampires to deal with.... unless the Efreet burned them for us."
The priest shakes his head. " I doubt they'd be that considerate. That route would be the quickest and avoid any spies along the way that might warn the genie, if they care. And of course, reopening the road would be a great boon to civilizing the western wastes."
Amir strokes his moustache as the conversation continues, We may also find the vampires in possession of other powerful objects that may aid us. The guardian there did indicate that many other groups had tried to take them on. Perhaps it would be best for us to take our time in town, and then take on the vampires with an end goal of Kelemerane?
Karethas sighs, "I am not comfortable delaying making our way to Kelemarane, but I will bow to what everyone else seems to think is an important task.
Varkata nods, "Sounds like a plan. Good for us and good for the town."
Kzrira nods in agreement.
I think that we should see if we can eliminate the vampire threat and then continue on to Kelmerane.
With that, she takes her now well worn bow from her shoulder.
I agree that we need to look into upgrading our equipment. It has been quite some time since we have been able to purchase anything.
She then looks over at Amir.
And, I really need a bath and a good hot meal. Try as he might, the old rogue's skills as a chef are a little lacking.
Amir smiles widely at Kzrira, I assure you that my hard tack sandwiches are much tastier than what normally would be coming out of those provision packs. Next time I will buy you one of those wizard spoons that creates nothing but tasteless mush.
Now returned to the familiar environs of their home plane, the heroes make their way through the crowded streets of the capital city. Nearly across the street from the Immaculate Repository is the great metal tortoise shell that announces the renown armory of Malthus Feyhew. Though preferring the challenge of crafting armor from such exotic substances like giant scorpion shell and naga scales, the master smith has exquisitely crafted magical armor of steel and mithril as well and Varkata makes an appointment for the next day once Amir has had an opportunity to work his magic in the markets and come up with coin for new purchases.
The Sand Dragon Inn is as you remember it sprawled along the shore of the Golden Oasis and close by the Serpent Gate. The talk among the merchants today and you infer for some time now is the strange events of the past month from the alien ship that appeared outside the harbor and seemed to be quite a cause of concern to the Pactmasters to the efreet assault on the Immaculate Repository and most recently, the news of the fall of distant Kelmarane which had shown some promise in restoring trade to the genie haunted western wilderness and opening new routes north into Osirion.
Karethas' thoughts turn to his dead mentor and he makes plans to visit the CDS and inform them of the loss.
"Perhaps it is for the best that I visit the College alone to inform them of Dean Xobhadi's fate. I have been studying teleportation and have mastered a lesser form. This will allow me free access to the College and might grant me some increased measure of standing there. Amir, if you wouldn't mind looking for a few items for me in the markets, I can provide the coinage." He describes the wand and circlet he is seeking.
"Otherwise, I only wish to obtain some spells for my collection that I think would be useful for us in our further travels, and the College or the Temple of Nethys are probably my best options for securing them. If I can gain access to them, it will take many hours to transcribe the spells to my own book. I am sure you all have other ways you would rather spend your time than waiting for me."
Amir nods knowingly at the wizard and tucks the coin away. We should agree to meet at the Net perhaps in three days?
Kzrira looks to Amir.
Suppose I should accompany you. Make sure that no young whippersnappers make off with that gold we fought so hard to get.
Varkata nods, "That seems fair... For myself, I have no plans beyond buying some quality drink... and some extra aleskins should we be caught away from civilization again."
The nightstalls beckon after the heroes have finished their evening meal and with wares gathered for sale, Amir heads out under the watchful eyes of Kzrira. Varkata decides some drinking is in order and Karethas attends to the rather less enjoyable task of informing the college of Professor Xobhadi's death. The young wizard crosses the Two Penny Bridge and passes the familiar villa which remains dark and empty. The great domes of the College of Interdimensional Studies rises ominously ahead of him and he can see the great telescope shifting as students peer through the clear skies into some mysterious part of the cosmos.
Inside, he finds a more senior student attending the desk than last time.
Karethas stands before the desk with his hands behind his back, "I need to speak to whomever is fulfilling Dean Xobhadi's duties."
Karethas stands before the desk with his hands behind his back, "I need to speak to whomever is fulfilling Dean Xobhadi's duties."
"Yes, regarding? You must know Dean Sufraz has been particularly busy since Dean Xobhadi's disappearance."
"Tell Dean Sufraz that Karethas ibn Faradin has word concerning Dean Xobhadi."
The student shrugs and dutifully writes the message on a bit of parchment placing it in the box. It takes only a few moments before Dean Sufraz appears from nowhere. The master wizard is somewhat more powerfully built than Xobhadi, but Keleshite with a long gray beard and wearing a violet turban.
His eyes do not look friendly. "Ibn Faradin, I remember you. I had heard you had returned and somehow lured my colleague into another of your foolish escapades. Xobhadi was tight lipped about the nature of your relationship. I only found out afterward that you were playing with some artifact of Nex. A disaster that anyone not blinded by ambition would have foreseen. So you have returned. Where is Xobhadi?!"
"Dean Xobhadi, in his wisdom, realized that I had matured in my time away from the College and that I had progressed far in my practical knowledge of the Arcane and it's application. He admitted the historical and practical value of the artifact I had discovered and he was also wise enough to recognize the possible danger it posed if it was allowed to fall into the wrong hands. He advised my friends and I about the artifact and privately provided me tutoring.
Karethas sighs deeply before continuing, "The "wrong hands" turned out to be the Aspis Consortium, who kidnapped him in order to blackmail us into giving it to them. My friends and I attempted to rescue the Dean, almost succeeding, but the representatives of the Aspis Consortium murdered him. They managed to activate the artifact with knowledge obtained from the Dean's corpse, releasing the efreeti army which damaged the Great Vault."
The dean gives Karethas a sour look. "It would seem that the devils are in the details... Where have you been this past month? Where is Xobhadi's corpse and the artifact now?"
Karethas keeps his face impassive, "It's not something I'm willing to discuss in the waiting room, perhaps we can move to someplace more appropriate?"
If the dean agrees, then Karethas will continue. "The artifact in question was the Scroll of Kakishon, a topic Xobhadi had researched extensively. I don't know where the body of the Dean is located, but his head was removed and kept animated by the Consortium. They encroached into the Great Repository when we were retrieving the scroll and used his head to activate it. In the process, they released Jhavhul and the army of efreeti that were trapped within Kakishon by Andrathi." Karethas pauses for a short moment as he considers a new idea, Perhaps that was their goal all along. He pauses again for a beat before continuing, "In any case, we were transported to Kakishon and were trapped there along with the Dean's head for the past month. I have brought the head with me so that it may be returned to his family. I hope it gives them some comfort to have a portion of him to lay to rest. In the process of escaping the demiplane the scroll and the realm itself were destroyed."
The dean leads the way to one of the empty classrooms off the entrance hall. When Karethas reveals the well decomposed head in a can, the dean steps back turning his head and making a gagging sound. "Son of Misfortune! YOU are responsible! All you touch is ruin! I accept the Xobhadi's remains such as they are, but begone now and NEVER return, misbegotten fool!"
Karethas' eyes narrow. His voice is steady, although his words drip with venom. "You are the fool! To assume that a foolish young man cannot mature into a capable practitioner and the source of valuable information is the definition of shortsighted. Stay here in your monument to your own "wisdom" and stare at the stars as momentous events come to pass around you. An ancient army of efreeti has been unleashed upon the land yet you dismiss me, an eye witness and source information, and put your head in the sand. I only pray that your shortsightedness does not come back to haunt you and the rest of the judgmental fools in this college. Good day!"
The dean looks rather pained at the mention of 'heads in the sand', but does nothing to stop the young wizard as he storms out.
The others enjoy their night back in the great city and rest well into the next day recovering from their exploits. They awake ready to begin resupplying in earnest.
The next day, Amir drops the ladies off at the Dawn Gate to look at acquiring their items of interest while he heads across town to the Twilight Gate and the Peculiar Emporium to start working on Karethas' long list of magical scrolls.
The labyrinthine multi-level structure cluttered with stalls and cloister proves totally befuddling to the old rogue at first not to mention his rather weak understanding of the spell list Karethas has entrusted to him. His persistence eventually pays off though and he locates the easiest spell- detect undead. Not long after he locates a near cache at Master Pooj's Scriptorium- dimensional anchor, dimension door, and ice wall. That is as good as he can do for the day though before he wearily checks in with Karethas that evening.
The next day, having obtained their gear, Kzrira and Varkata join Amir and the paper trail proves less elusive. Together, they manage to find the rest of the requested eldritch scrolls in time to join Karethas for a late lunch at the Golden Net.