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The acrid stench of chemicals and reagents fills this chamber, and the walls are marred by strange stains and scorch marks. Several tables are scattered about the room, covered in a bewildering plethora of glassware, alembics, retorts, tubes, simmering cauldrons, and smoking beakers full of brightly colored liquids. Scattered pages of written notes in a crabbed hand lie strewn about the chamber. A large alcove in the northwest corner contains a bookshelf groaning under the weight of heavy, dusty tomes and scrolls. Three large glass vats stand against the eastern wall, filled with bubbling green fluid. Floating within the vats are three grotesque objects—putrescent corpses, tubes and wires embedded in their rotting flesh, their skin discolored with decay and chemical stains.
Slaving away over one of the tables is a hunchbacked, haggard-looking man in his 30s, with black hair starting to turn gray, assisted by a animated corpse reeking of formaldehyde and other, less identifiable chemicals, dressed in a crude laboratory smock.
He looks up in annoyance as you peer around the corners of the curtain, snapping:
"Go away! I have no time for interruptions! There is never enough time! If one isn't needing to sleep, one is needing to eat, or attend other time-wasting needs of one's contemptible, parasitic body. Mr Marrow, please show them out..."
So saying, he goes back to work, even as the zombie raises its right arm, and gestures for you to leave back down the corridor that you are still standing in...
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Hisao blinks and then nods and withdraws, pulling Maeron with him.
Outside with the rest of the group he replaces his mace with his blade and whispers Seems like the mad man we are meant to stop. I worry about the corpses in the tubes. I see no other option other than a surprise attack to end him quickly.
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Nodding along Max raises his hand in a halting motion.
"All we have to do is halt the thefts of the bodies. Let me try to talk to this madman to leave...but see if you can get into a position for your ambush if and when he refuses to see reason.
He hasn't directly attacked us himself after all, he has only left guardians to defend his area from other dangers. I must give him a chance to leave peacefully before condemning him to death."
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"Let me see if I can distract and soften him up a bit for you first."
Cacumattus takes a moment to release his discomfort at being in an enclosed space with such necromancy, and allows his natural, Gnomish inquisitiveness to bubble to the surface.
Stepping into the room, he strides not toward Svilennius, but to one of the other workbenches. "Oh, but this is fascinating! How are you preventing the tissue decay? Krosp's Elixir? An infusion of Glenmorrigan's powder, perhaps? No, that would turn bright orange. Is that a Gargoyle Kidney Stone? I've never seen one, outside of a gargoyle that is..."
Cacumattus gradually works his way along the tables towards Svilennius, examining each new alchemical and necromantic object as he goes. He's genuinely interested in them (possibly even slipping a few of the more colourful vials into one of his many pockets ), but also watching Svilennius carefully, and taking note of which objects the human seems particularly protective of. All the while he's keeping up a steady stream of observations and questions, none of which make any actual sense - he's making things up as he goes along - but never giving Svilennius a chance to interject.
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Hisao recalls that whilst the man was not immediately hostile upon the intrusion into his home (After all, he did ask for you to leave, rather than simply attacking), he *was* quite protective of it - Cacumattus wandering in and touching things would undoubtedly be considered deliberate provocation...
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Max walks up to the door and takes a moment to compose himself, thinking of how to approach the situation.
"Alright, be ready for anything."
Pushing open the door and entering the room, Max makes sure to leave enough room for the others in the party to see what is happening (and enough space to sneak past).
Making sure his weapons are put away he calls out to the disheveled man at the work bench, keeping his hands in plain sight in a non hostile manner.
"Excuse me? I am sorry to interrupt your work, but I must ask you to listen to me. I represent a group that was asked to find out what was going on with all the missing bodies from the tombs. I don't think I need to tell you what thins means: The priesthood know about you. Despite your best efforts to remain hidden, despite your sentries that you have posted, your presence has not gone unnoticed. You must understand that while you may only see the remains as parts and ingredients the priesthood see what you're doing as desecration of the final resting place of their ancestors.
Don't worry though, all the priesthood want is for the theft of the bodies to stop. If you stop stealing the remains of their dead for your experiments, then they wont care about you anymore and you will be able to leave peacefully. If, however, you continue in your ways then we will be forced to try to stop you. And even if we fail, there will be more adventurers like us to follow and you will be forced out eventually. Will you stop your theft of the bodies and leave peacefully?"
Hopefully I have gotten though to this man, and if not then hopefully I have delayed him for long enough for the others to get into a good position to attack.
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The hunchback momentarily refocuses, starting in surprise when he realises that you have returned, and grimacing as if he had just tasted something bad.
"Hmmm? What? I thought I asked Mr Marrow to show you out? I am Svilennius. Please leave; you have invaded my home, and I don't particularly care for the distraction that you provide. I am not, at heart, a violent man (although I will defend my home if pressed); I simply desire to restore life, after a fashion, to the fallen... true, I have only had limited success to date, but the process can be perfected, I am sure - think of it; restoration of a body's elan vital without having to resort to forbidden, tasteless Necromancy, restoring mind and function in a tireless new form through pure science, a form perfect for exploring the intellectual arts! However, I can't do that whilst my former brothers, those thrice-cursed Pharasmins up above, keep sabotaging my work... they don't want me to successfully exploit a loop-hole in their precious dogma; but I can prove that Alchemy is not the same as Necromancy, in the eyes of the Lady of the Boneyard! They will be forced to acknowledge my discoveries!"
The man then sighs.
"I don't have the time for this... I just can't keep failing my love like this..."
When he hears what Maxwell has to say, he snorts.
"Their ancestors? The priests of Pharasma inter anyone who pays in the crypts above. No-one outside the Church Hierarchy ever knows what *actually* happens to the bodies once the internment fee is paid; outsiders are usually not allowed within the Ossuary. The only people that I would be distressing are those hide-bound Orthodox-Pharasmins upstairs, more worried about their reputation than anything else... and that thought pleases me, given what they did..."
A cloud crosses his face.
"Besides which, until I perfect the process, the results more often than not are... unpleasant. The reasoning, however, is sound. Did you know that this part of the complex was once the retreat of the Chymists of Life in Death, a Pharasmin Sect dedicated to using alchemy to achieve what they were forbidden to do with Necromancy? I am merely trying to rediscover their work..."
In light of Cacumattus' addition, however, his expression relaxes slightly.
"Still, perhaps you aren't stooges of the ones upstairs; surely if you were they would have told you more... How about this: Relocating would have its advantages, but I don't want to leave all of my notes and equipment here; however, if you can find me an exit to the surface that does not involve passing through the upper levels of the Ossuary, I would consider it. I might even reward you..."
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Maeron takes a step back, whispering under his breath to the other Pathfinders.
"We can't honestly consider helping this man, or allowing him to flee after what he has done? Need I remind you all that both Zarzuket and Tenderstump gave their lives so that we could reach this point. Allowing this mans crime against them, our employers and the very laws of nature to go unpunished is inconceivable."
Judging from his tone, it's pretty clear that Maeron would rather die to provide this man even any form of assistance.
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"But is he truly an evil one?"
"No, Maeron, I've not forgotten, although we don't know how much of this place he really controls, and thus how much of the responsibility for their deaths he bears. Driving him out will fulfil our bargain with the Pharasmins, and I'm not opposed to making a little extra on the side; as for the laws of nature, well, I've always thought if them more as guidelines.
"However, I'll not betray the Society or this group; I'll back whatever course of action we decide upon."
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Looking over at Maeron with a troubled look on his face, Max says in hushed tones "I am genuinely sad for the loss of both Tenderstump and poor Zarzuket, but this man was not responsible for the actions of those insect swarms. Murdering him will only lead you down a dark path."
To the rest he says "This is a tough situation, but we can use whatever rewards Svilennius gives us to make reparations to the priesthood for his body snatching. As much as I dislike the undead personally the law is on his side. I can defend myself, but I wont kill him just to make myself feel better."
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I do not think corpse stealing is a... lawful activity Hisao shrugs, not really caring about the law at all himself.
Turning to the scientist turned necromancer Hisao asks Can your workers climb down a cliff? We found some thieves that tunneled in from the outside, perhaps you could leave the same way?
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The man looks thoughtful.
"They would need careful orders, and it would be easier with some rope, but I think that it would be possible, yes..."
It takes about half an hour, but eventually, the lab is essentially packed.
He then starts fussing around the canister again, and after about ten minutes, nods with satisfaction, and pulls a lever on the wall adjacent to it. Crackling electricity plays through the fluid within the canister, arcing from electrode to electrode, and causing the body to twitch spasmodically. after a few seconds, he flips the lever again, and then pushes a button on the side of the canister, canister it to split open with a hiss, splashing water across the floor, the body hangs limply from its restraints for about a minute, before its limbs begin to twitch spontaneously, and then it stands up.
"Excellent." The hunchback moves over and undoes the straps, and ushers his newest creation out into the lab.
"Mr Marrow, dry this one off. I have packing to finalise..."
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Maeron stands to one side, watching the hunchback warily. While making it clear he is not happy with this course of action, the elf values his allies opinions enough to respect their decisions. Nevertheless, he has no intention of helping or actively supporting the decision. Instead he remains watchful for any potential betrayal.