Round 2:
Vak
skeletons x 6 attack
Kayosin
Goldilocks
Shalelu
Tsutamu
Fibek
Braydon
Kayosin, you and Vak are on the big one.
He responds to your comment "We guard for Lord Rokuru forever, having failed him by losing his heir."
The skeleton that Fibek (1) and Goldilocks (2) are on swings at Goldilocks.
for
One of the others reaches Braydon and swings.
for
while two of the remaining ones attack Shalelu.
for
for
If he isn't already in position, Ikshvaku slides to flank with Kayosin before bringing his blade around in a flowing strike that smashes into the leader. "What is he saying, Kayosin?"
Kayosin quickly translates, wracking his brain for what it means for his group and Sandpoint.
"But damn me if I know what it's talking about," he grunts as he once again slams his wakizashi into the bones' resistant frame. Then, without missing a beat, he steps back and to the side before uttering a dark word. His gloved left hand stretches out and a sheet of flames washes over the skeleton, just missing Vak.
The cat is hurt and growls.
Another morningstar swing.
As Kayosin's flames strike the Samuai skeleton, something -strange- happens.
The flames wreath the skeletal form, seemingly giving it a flaming image of it's form in life, kneeling in front of a nobly-dressed elderly Tian male, as he accepts a sword...the same wakizashi it now wields.
The form turns to Kayosin and kneels, holding out the weapon. "Though you bear the insignia of my Lord's enemies, please, in honor, deliver his last message and his last treasures to his grieving wife!"
As the blade drops into Kayosin's hands, the flame-wreathed form collapses into the blade sending a flare of energy throughout the cave complex, infusing everyone here as the remaining skeletons crumble into dust, leaving only their battered equipment and the trunk in the rear cavern.
Kayosin stands—dumbstruck—for a second before something about the blade's pommel jumps out at him. Still expecting something to go horribly wrong, he pulls out what appears to be a letter.
The Vudrani staggers back as waves of power expand inside of him. For a moment, his discipline falters, but his training quickly reasserts itself. Dismissing his mind blade, he balances easily on one foot, arms extended up and down, right hand palm up over his head and left hand palm down below his waist. He breathes slowly, with a controlled pace of inhalation/hold/exhalation/hold. Gradually, the power raging inside of him bends to his unbreakable will, and he relaxes. "What was that? I do not understand what happened, but I feel...different."
"I don't know," Kayosin says as he inspects the letter, "but I feel it, too."
My son, my heir. You know now that I have kept secrets from you. You were always a perceptive son, and while you may not understand my reasons for secrecy, I hope that you realize it was necessary. Know that I was not angry with you for opening the warding box – I was angry with myself for withholding the truth from you and forcing you to seek out what I should have given to you. The words I spoke to you were from anger with myself and it shames me to think of them now. I write this note as an apology, and to beg you to leave these secrets to history.
The next few days will be the most important I have faced in many years. If our family's enemies have, as I hope, forgotten us, I shall reunite with you and your wife, and your mother and I shall reveal the truth to you. But if they still seek the contents of the box, I fear that I may not speak to you again. The box holds our family’s greatest treasure, so I have returned it to Kortun's care, and it shall remain in the secret third vault under Brinewall Castle – obscured from our enemies, I hope and pray. I will not grant our foes the satisfaction of killing us themselves – if it comes to it, let my death, by my own hand, be my final act to protect you so that our enemies believe our line ended.
I have instructed Tsutomu to keep this letter from you, delivering it to you only should I fail to return as I hope to. If I can, I will reveal all to you myself. If I cannot, this final missive from a father to a son must suffice as an apology in place of an explanation, and you must destroy this letter, flee to the south, and never return to Brinewall. If our enemies find what I have hidden, there will be nothing here for you. If they do not, they will lie in wait forever for your return.
I hope to see you again soon, my son. But my heart tells me I will not. I am sorry to have failed you. But I am proud of you, and I know you will survive this old man's shame. You are strong, and you must remain so. For if you are reading this and I am gone, know that our enemies will never stop searching for us, and that is why I cannot reveal the truth to you until I know there is no chance of them finding us again.
Rokuro Kaijitsu
Sunday, 29 Desnus, 4687
Braydon's form twists and writhes from the unknown power, partially shifting back and forth rapidly between his rat and human forms in a short-lived burst of rattusthropic energy.
Looking mortified at the lack of control just shown (and secret revealed), he blurts "I..I.. Yargh! What..wha.."
Braydon focuses his thoughts and emotions into regaining control and calming his mind, regaining fully human form.
"That..was unexpected. Please excuse my..in..indiscretion."
He bows deeply in apology.
Shalelu studies Braydon suspiciously. "Are you all right?" she asks, her hand resting lightly on her longsword.
"Did you not feel that? When the leader fell, something happened here, and we were changed. Braydon's change was simply more visible than mine."
"I was touched by Erastil in some way. I have not figured it out completely yet."
The elven ranger nods and her hand drops away from her blade. "Let's head back to Sandpoint, then. I know a shortcut to the main road. We can make a transport to drag this stuff back as well. Is anyone hurt?"
After studying the Shalelu, the object of his affection, Fibek tries to discern if Shalelu is similarly affected by the effects he has noticed happen to the group.
"Shalelu, I feel touched by Erastil, but totally unlike what I have been told to expect in my clerical training. Have you been through anything like this?"
"The leader wounded me, yes." Ikshvaku puts on a startling burst of speed for a moment, before slowing down to keep pace with the rest of the party.
Braydon eyes Shalelu's reaction, and notices something missing - surprise. Clearly, she knew he was a were-rat before this incident..
"It..seems you were..informed about my condition. No matter, it is true - I'm a were-rat. I'd informed.. my traveling companions before.. we left the city. But that is..the first time in..forever that I lost control. I have no idea what happened, but..it was very powerful."
That out of the way, Braydon turns his attention to the situation at hand.
"What did..it mean by 'the insignia of my Lord's enemies'? I don't carry any..markings save my..holy symbol. And what does that letter say?"
Braydon then turns to fussing over Vak's wound, cleaning and tending it before applying some healing magic.
Muttering "Who..knows what filth those blades have..been in?"
Shalelu chuckles and smiles, bowing politely to Braydon. "I understand why you're an inquisitor. Yes, I was informed, because, having dealt with such, especially around Wolf's Ear, it was hoped I could give some good advice. Having seen you, I don't feel you're a threat...in THAT fashion."
"What did..it mean by 'the insignia of my Lord's enemies'? I don't carry any..markings save my..holy symbol. And what does that letter say?"
After what seemed like forever of silence from the dark-scaled sneak, Braydon seems to draw him back out. He gives a half-shake of his head before answering, "I... um... I actually think that has to do with my blade, not a mark we all carry."
Kayosin hands the note to Braydon as he continues, "My dad was Minkaian. Well, he wasn't really my dad, but he raised me. I don't think many people really remember this, but a handful of years ago, he was found murdered in Sandpoint." He shrugs, "No one knows why, and the sheriff never seemed all that motivated to dig very deep into it. But this blade," he holds up the wakizashi he fights with, "was found buried in the Old Man's chest."
He points to the exotic runes along the blade, "My guess is that the creature in that cave recognized these. But I still have no idea who left it in my Old Man's body."
His eyes, calm but carrying a coldness at the mention of his Old Man's murder, follow Shalelu as he talks about the events of his past.
..But I still have no idea who left it in my Old Man's body.
"Someone who wanted a..message sent. True or fal..false message. But they wanted..someone to know who to think..it was. That is confusing. If that..blade..belonged to the enemy of that..skeletal..thing, that would make it our..ally? Or, at least an..enemy of your enemy?"
"Kayosin, what does the note say?" "Ah. There is one who may be able to answer Braydon's question, yes? The last Kaijitsu in Sandpoint...Ameiko."
"Pardon..pardon the question, but I am new here. Your adoptive father, was he related to this Kaijitsu Ameiko? If so, another piece would be fitted into this puzzle."
"I'm pretty sure he wasn't. He always seemed like some kind of old soldier more than anything else."
"Soldiers work for someone, though. May..maybe we should inquire when we talk to this Ameiko."
Braydon muses for a few moments...
"Many threads..and so unraveled. I too had a mentor..from Minkai. He said he was..a warrior. Sam..samurai, as I recall. So many signs point..that way. I find it..hard to be..only coincidence."
"I guess I wouldn't be surprised to find out he or his family had worked for the Kaijitsus... I just don't think they were related. Like.. by blood or anything. At least not that I know. But you're right about the threads." He taps his wakizashi. "There does seem to be a theme emerging all of a sudden."
"I am intrigued by the 'Kajitsu Lore'. Unraveling it will tell us much."
On the trek back, Kayosin takes a few moments during one of their breaks in the march to further inspect the chest.
"Here's my thoughts on getting back to town," he mutters to the group as he works. "Let's have a chat with Hemlock first. Turn in the ears and debrief him on everything we've found." He pauses as he looks really closely around the seams of the box, checking for triggers. "Then we can go find Ameiko."
"I am thinking we do not tell him more details about the cave, yes? Not until we talk to Ameiko."
Kayosin looks up from his work, a slight scowl on his face. "Why not? I'll admit that his handling of a few incidents in the past have been dicey if you ask me." It's clear from his emphasis on the word 'incidents' means he's talking about the investigation on his Old Man's murder. "But it seems to me that we're holding an object that created a threat to everyone in the marshes. That seems like something we should bring to his attention. Plus, making it public only helps our case. If he tries to take it or keep it under wraps, we can always just tell the story to Ameiko. The story gets out either way."
Ikshvkau shakes his head slightly. "But it is a family matter for Ameiko, yes? And perhaps we will learn something more from her about it."
"Agreed. And I think Ameiko should definitely be making the call as it pertains to the chest. I was just suggesting we don't hold knowledge of the chest back from Hemlock, and that we should touch base with him first."
"Of course, we should let Sheriff Hemlock know. And, perhaps, Father Zanthus. We should, perhaps, escort him out here to be sure there's no other necromantic energies in this area. But as for the chest and it's contents...it seems to belong to Ameiko's family. It should be turned over to her."
5 cure light wounds potions
2 cure moderate wounds potions
3 potions of lesser restoration
a r9ing of climbing
a wand of identify (19 charges)
a MW chain shirt
a MW cold iron wakizashi
11 Desnan candles (fireworks)
4 skyrockets (fireworks)
5,820 GP
421 PP
various pieces of jewelry (560 GP)
Fibek nods, and assures Shalelu: "We should come out here to make sure the evil is purged. I can even perform a blessing if it is needed."
The elf is still a bit flustered and wishes to talk to Shalelu. Archery talk is the best he has:
"Shalelu, I am working on firing my bow faster. Can you show me the grip you use when firing quickly?"
Ikshvaku nods. "I am sorry if I have misunderstood you. We are in agreement on the proper course of action, yes?"
"No need for apologies," Kayosin says with a wave before continuing. "Hey, everyone take a few steps back. If this thing has some kind of trap, only one of us should have it sprung on us."
He waits until the group gets twenty or thirty feet away before muttering "Here goes," and sliding the key into the ancient chest. He lowers his goggles onto his eyes, covers his mouth and nose with his cloak, and leans slightly back before turning the key.
After a few seconds, he tentatively leans forward. A muffled whistle sounds from behind his cloak, "You guys should come see this."
The Vudrani leans over Kayosin's shoulder, then straightens, nodding his head slowly. "Yes...I do not think that Ameiko will have to worry about money for some time. But why are there fireworks here, I am wondering. It seems odd, for they are not great treasures like the rest of what is here."
"I don't know," Kayosin says with a grin, "the goblins sure seemed to think they were valuable."
He stands back up, "So we go to see the sheriff, then?"
"Keep the authorities apprised. Good idea!"
You all make it back safely, stopping to pick up your horses, and fill in Sheriff Hemlock on the situation. He pays you the bounty and thanks you for your help.
"Kayosin, you seemed quite interested in speaking with the Sheriff before any others. Have you perhaps had some issues with Hemlock in the past?"
When you arrive at the Rusty Dragon and present Ameiko with the treasure...and especially the letter...she seems...odd. She sits studying the letter for an hour, turning it over and over, examining it from all angles.
Eventually she surfaces from whatever deep thoughts were keeping her so uncharacteristically silent and asks her halfling partner Bethana Corwin to fetch Shalelu, Koya Mvashti, and Sandru Vhiski.
She then turns to your group and says "Will you stay as well? You're already involved and have proven yourselves quite competent. I'd like your assistance in, well, an adventurous trip to Brinewall. I MUST learn more about this Rokuro. He must have been my grandfather. I wonder why father never spoke of him...maybe because of this argument mentioned in the letter?"
"Brinewall, I'm in. Will Shalelu be coming?"
"Ah! Koya Mvashti is a friend of yours, too? My family has known the Mvashtis for many years. I believe that a trip to Brinewall could be...interesting." And if Koya decides to travel, well, I shall go with her in any case. Ah, Grandma Niska, how did you know?