Crawling through the crate and entering the hidden room, the first thing Lily and Esperanza discover is an Ironfang banner hanging from the wall. Even the smallest crevice along the walls and ceiling have been sealed with wax to keep out both sunlight and prying eyes. A pair of bedrolls and scattered waste make it clear that someone has been secretly living in here.
Scattered upon boxes, used in lieu of tables, are numerous communiques written in Goblin. Most are scrawled haphazardly, but a few are penned by a very careful, precise hand. These ones are signed by General Azaersi, and they provide specific orders meant to coordinate the Legion's disparate forces for a perfectly timed assault on Longshadow.
"Well that's not good..... Time to get back to Thorek and the others and warn everyone whats going on."
"Uhhhh.... Thorek.... Thorek.... We found some really incriminating information.... Apparently, the advisors are coordinating with the attack. "
"...and then you add three eggs, and a pinch of cream. Mix it all up and then bake it for--oh they're back!" Thorek blinks at the abrupt report.
"Show me."
Lily looks a bit apprehensive and begins to direct Thorek to the hideout where all the paperwork and Ironfang Legion banner was.
Esperanza simply grabs every document she can, taking greater care with the letters from Azaersi. "Whoever is staying here will surely know we have discovered their hideout, and Thorek will want to read these letters before they have a chance to destroy them."
”We are perhaps better served if not all of us move to the…ahem…undisclosed location. I will stay here and watch for the advisors, distracting them if needed,” offers Undari.
"Oooooo yeah.... Good point lets just grab it all and get out of here before we get found out," Lily says while taking papers and stuffing it into her bag.
"Question is: do we think they Mayor's in on the scheme, or a dupe? He didn't strike me as a fellow playing with a full deck of cards, but I've no head for spycraft."
Undari remains especially alert. The evidence gathered suggests that at least one of the advisors may be a master of disguise almost on par with Lily. Thus, he keeps his hawk-keen eyes ever on the ready, looking for anyone who seems too intent, too focused upon the party's activities.
Owing to the adroitness of Lily and Esperanza's disguises and deception, none of the warehouse workers are suspicious enough to begin spreading talk about the surprise visit. Thus, word seemingly does not reach any of the advisors about the stratagem, either.
As a result, when you return with Mayor Crawbert and Head Sheriff Irontusk, along with a contingent of her men, the secret room is exactly as you left it. No one has entered in the interim. The mayor is aghast at the discovery, and he instructs Sheriff Irontusk to arrest Seneka Volstadt at once.
"Well what do we do now? Especially since they now know the cat is out of the bag..."
Finally getting a good look at the secret room after the authorities head in, Undari considers what type of creatures other than human might have frequented it...
Likewise, Esperanza searches for any additional clues that might be of use.
Thorek is examining the papers alongside the Mayor, and urging him to either arrest or at least bring in the other advisors--perhaps they were unaware of Volstadt's schemes, but perhaps they weren't, and the town could ill afford to let potential traitors run loose.
"Seneka has a boat, aye? We should dispatch a squad to secure it and make sure she doesn't escape that way."
Esperanza discovers tufts of fur clinging to the bedrolls in the hidden room. Although she cannot identify the creatures that left them behind, she estimates that they slept here within the past twenty-four hours.
When she passes the fur to Undari, he is able to identify the source: bugbears.
"Ah," Esperanza says, her tone flat, "of course."
This discovery raises a few alarming concerns. You already knew that the Ironfangs made use of bugbear officers and auxiliaries, as demonstrated by the battle at Camp Red Jaw. However, this means that such agents have already infiltrated Longshadow in advance of the siege. Are these infiltrators related to the complicity of the advisors? Where are the bugbears now?
”How would bugbears be able to move in this place freely? Surely a worker would have seen them, unless there is another secret passage hidden here nearby…” ponders Undari aloud. He then moves to look for any such secret or hidden passages that might facilitate a bugbear egress.
"I mean someone was disguised as me.... Hell if they had the same abilities as me it would be very easy for them to disguise themselves as a human. Hold on wait? Could the advisor be a disguised bugbear?"
The sheriff dispatches a team of dockside guards to keep Volstadt's boats impounded.
Undari, courtesy his keen eyes and survival sense, identifies faint evidence that as many as four beings met in this hidden room at one time. Given the presence of merely two bedrolls, this suggests that the bugbears were meeting with collaborators - almost certainly the advisors.
"Well that explains why they were trying to sabotage us.... Though what do they think they'll out of this..."
"If there are no secret tunnels to be found here, then our best chance of finding answers will be to arrest all of the advisors and question them. My lord mayor, will you be well holding here? With your permission we will find and arrest these traitors."
"That makes sense to me, Thorek, though I would very much like to track down those bugbears the councilors were conspiring with," responds Undari, looking for any tracks left by the bugbears.
Urban tracking is a peculiar thing, as the clues one must seek out are quite different from those of the wilds. Soft soil to hold footprints is scarce, and there are no bent tree branches or disturbed undergrowth to follow. It is a skill that Undari may not have as much experience or training with, but he quickly adapts and overcomes.
Small tufts of fur left behind by the bugbears provide a trail to follow. Most of the fur is at least 24 hours old, and Undari gleans that the bugbears previously traveled exclusively by night. However, he finds fresher fur that suggests they departed not long before Lily and Esperanza investigated the warehouse in disguise. The trail of fur suggests the bugbears climbed atop the warehouse, presumably to travel across the rooftops.
Undari relates what he found, saying, ”I doubt we will be able to track them across the rooftops, but we could try.”
"Let's try and be discrete about it. I don't want to draw attention to the fact that we are on to them."
”I will track them as best I can from above, then return and let everyone know what I find,” says Undari, adding, ”Don’t worry, I will keep a low profile.”
Undari heads outside, transforms into a (regular-sized) eagle, and flies up to the roof to look for clues of the bugbear’s passage.
Undari's keen eyes trace a likely path for the bugbears, looking for sturdy roofs of buildings close enough together. This probable route leads towards the gilded roof and steeples of the Abadaran temple. Given that Banker Soloman Zane is one of the mayor's suspicious (and certainly former) advisors, this is quite curious.
Repair City Walls: Craft (Stonemasonry), Knowledge (Engineering), Profession (Stonemason). Can be done up to 3 times, adding 10 Defense Points each time.
Internal Defenses: Craft (Alchemy, carpentry, stonemasonry, traps), Diplomacy, or Knowledge (Local). Can be done up to 3 times, adding 5 Defense Points each time.
Militia Drills: Intimidate or Profession (Soldier). Can be done up to 3 times (once with primary militia, twice with volunteers assembled by the mayor), adding 10 Defense Points each time.
Reinforcements: No check needed to call in Chernasardo Ranger allies, but they will take 2d4 days to arrive. To train slaves freed from Ironfangs, requires Perform (Oratory) or Profession (Soldier). Followers from Leadership or similar feats/features can also be applied. Each contingent adds 5 Defense Points.
Siege Supplies: Profession (Baker, cook, farmer, or trapper) or Survival. Can be done up to 1 more time, adding another 5 Defense Points.
Townsfolk Readiness: Diplomacy, Heal, or Profession (Soldier). Can be done up to 2 times, adding 5 Defense Points each time.
Undari returns quickly and informs the group of the likely destination of the Bugbears. ”Let is go there quickly to investigate,” says Undari, after casting Beast Speech so he could communicate properly in Eagle form. ”I will watch from above until you arrive and let you know if there is any additional suspicious activity,” he adds.
"Well done, Undari. Hemlock Harriers, with me!"
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"This is going to be very interesting. I think we are going to catch them off guard. Undari really foiled all the effort they went through...."
You arrive at the grand portico of the temple of Abadar, finding a squad of three deputies hemming and hawing in front of the building. Despite their orders to bring the three advisors into custody, they clearly show trepidation about storming into the house of a god.
Undari watches from above, Eagle eyes alert for any malfeasance.
"You three! Watch the exits and make sure no one slips out!" Thorek barks at the waffling guardsmen. To his companions he says a bit more quietly, "Let's take them alive, if possibe."
Whispering a prayer to Angradd, the warpriest's dorn-dergar is soon wreathed in golden flames as he marches up and through the doors of the temple.
You step into the temple to find a scene of carnage. A trail of bodies leads up the nave towards the altar. The Abadaran clergy lie where they fell, blood soaking their robes and cassocks.
One of the acolytes, propped upon a pew nearest the altar, struggles to move. Still alive, he beckons for your help.
Esperanza stands stock still in the entryway, shocked by the sight of the temple-turned-abattoir. She is stirred into movement again by the acolyte, and she rushes to his aid.
"Sacred flames... Thorek swears softly, taken aback at the sight of the carnage. Stepping into the temple, his eyes alight on the wounded priest.
"Esperanza, stay back. The wounded are sometimes used as bait. I'll help him."
"What happened here, priest?"
The acolyte struggles to speak even as the healing energy washes over him.
"Hor...horrible beasts...they slipped in through...the windows. Slaughtered everyone..."
He feebly raises his arm and points towards the apse, at the far end of the temple behind the altar.
Esperanza stops and looks back at Thorek, frowning, but does not approach any further. Her gaze follows the wounded acolyte's arm, looking for any sign of imminent danger.
A cursory glance reveals nothing among the nooks of the temple, besides the slaughter strewn about. However, following where the acolyte points, you see a single figure at the very rear of the temple, just beyond the altar. He is dressed in the regal robes of a high priest and stands with his back turned to you.
Lily carefully follows behind Esperanza. "Uhhhh..... This is really creepy. What do you think is going on," she whispers into her ear.
Undari/Eagle makes another circuit outside the temple, looking carefully for any activity around its perimeter, then lands for the moment at the entrance, seeing for the first time the devastation within.
”What has happened here? Did the Bugbears come through this way?” he squawks.
"I think our saboteurs know they have been discovered," Esperanza replies.
Esperanza holds her glaive at the ready and advances on the figure, moving to put herself between them and the acolyte.
"Get between the pews," she whispers to him, before addressing the "priest." "It's over, 'Zane.' Surrender, or it will not go well for you."
Following Esperanza's gaze, Thorek's eyes narrow and he too closes on the figure. "All this slaughter...for what? To eliminate the town's healers? What did the Ironfangs offer you, to turn your heart to the side of the monsters?"
The high priest offers neither movement nor reply to your accusations. As you draw closer, his head lolls back, revealing his ashen face. You see that his throat has been slit and his body, dead for some time, has been suspended by wire.
With the speed of a treacherous viper, the wounded priest and two of his "dead" brethren rise to unleash a surprise attack. The hunted bugbears become the hunters as they emerge from their hiding places to hurl sharp darts at you.
The "acolyte" you tended repays your kindness by plunging a blade into the back of Esperanza's leg.
One of the others looses a bolt from a hand crossbow that catches Undari off guard.
Worse still, one of bugbears hurls her missile with such deadly aim that it manages to find a chink in Thorek's armor.
A wave of unease washes over you as the strange, fell-looking bugbears make their sudden appearance.
"Bakhold! Forræderi! Ved Angradd hellige flammer slås slaget sammen!"
"Ambush! Treachery! By Angradd's sacred flames, the battle is joined!"