Innis will curse as Kirzon gets himself in a conflict with the woman in the other room. She summons forth a Mirror image as she moves to intervene.
"Ferista if I was a wise woman between the undead, the locked door, and your precious statue I'd assume you were trying to kill me! By the Gods Stand Down!" Innis takes a chance hoping that her stolen face will grant her a desirable opportunity.
Lililinda dances in place anxiously, wanting to see who is in the next room, but unsure if it's safe to pass by the downed statue, and also curious about the door to the south, but uncertain about opening it and possibly adding to the chaos.
In the end, she decides to be there for her friends, and dashes past everyone and into the north room.
Cassandra, not happy that a stationary...THING managed to dodge her the warrior woman took another strike with her glaive attempting to deal as much harm as she could to the strange piece of scenery.
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ROUND 3
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With statue lying prone on the ground and Boros wrapped around it Cassandra easily hits the statue. The sound of the metal hitting the statue rings throughout the room followed by a resounding Crack! as the haft supporting Cassandra glaive breaks upon impact with the statue.
In the room, things get immediately crowded as Innis, disguised as Elleste, and Lililinda head in even as Kirzon backs out.
The woman who you guess as Ferista pauses the look on her face is one of confusion. "Elleste? What are you doing with these people? Why have you brought them in our sanctum."
Seeing Cassie's formidable weapon snap so easily against the statue, Merelda is glad she didn't try and use her Rapier on it!
Taking action, she sees that Boros is the only one to serious hurt the creature so far...so she spins and maneuvers the whip to try and trap the creature's arms and give Boros a better chance to eat his way through the creature!
Wincing with the strain of the whip in both her hands, Merelda whispers harshly and suddenly.
"Somebody hit it harder!"
"I should think recent events display us as a bit understaffed. Uncouth zombies at our door, more prison than sanctum, such mistakes should not be repeated." Elleste-Innis responds to the woman.
"Oh, yes, Lady Elleste here hired us to help out with your... operation here."
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ROUND 3
Names in bold can act.
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The statue continues to try to claw at Boros but the combined effort of Merelda and Boros keep the statue's arms secure enough that they fail to rip into Boros.
Ferista eyes both you and then looks again at Innis/Elleste "What is it?" you watch her pause confused whether or not to trust you.
The Changeling attempts to lure Ferista into a sense of security with a convincing act...
but cannot fit the other woman's voice.
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ROUND 3
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"Imposter! I knew..it.." Ferista cries out and for a moment stops and then shakes off Innis' enchantment. "No you snake that won't work on me. You and your companions will be punished for whatever you did to Elleste!"
Nicias shoots two arrows at the statue with one missing and the other shattering on impact.
Seeing what happened to Cassandra's weapon, Amigail finds she's got a hard choice to make. "Scream if your snake gets into trouble!" she tells Kirzon before swooping through the doorway to engage the hostile woman in the next room.
Amigail swoops in when Innis's trickery fails, bringing her falcata around to slash at the cultist lady.
for
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Cassandra saw her glaive break in horror, the weapon was perhaps the most precious thing to her and here it was, broken by beating on that damned statue. Cass's eyes filled with tears as she said in a tremulous voice, My glaive...," then the tears dried up as a glare of pure hatred camoe over her. She dropped her glaive and glared at the statue on the ground, "I'm going to DESTORY YOU!" She stepped forward as she pulled out the warhammer she had been carrying. "Take this!" With a vicious overhead swing she brought the enchanted warhammer down at the statue.
The hammer came down with a loud crack of magically hardened steel on stone sending chips flying from the impact.
Lililinda reaches out with a strange word to cloud the woman's mind.
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ROUND 4
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The room fills with Ferista's scream aimed towards Innis after having seen heard through the changeling's elaborate disguise. The scream is enough cause for Amigail to come running into the room as she slashes with her falcata but Ferista is easily able to get out of the way of the telegraphed strike. "So more of your vipers come for me!" she chides at Innis even as she fans away Lililinda's attempt to befuddle her mind. "More parlour tricks! HAHAHA! You must do better than that."
While the others engage with Ferista the rest of you keep on doing your best to destroy the caryatid column. Boros continues to chip and dissolve away at the constructs marble body. You watch as cracks can be seen forming and it is one of these cracks which Cassandra slams down the enchanted hammer upon. The power behind the blow rages with anger at the current condition of her most prized possession and that is more than enough to shatter the statue into several fragments.
Merelda coils her whip and casually retrieves her hand-crossbow from the floor.
"From the sound of it, it seems Innis's disguise has failed finally."
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ROUND 4
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Ferista moves to cast a spell but you watch her fail in frustration with Amigail so close by.
"It would be best for you to give in now, dear." Lililinda says to the woman. "It's really not turning out well for you."
With the fighting still continuing Cassandra didn't have time to mourn her weapons damage properly, instead she kept moving into the next room and dropped her hammer as she realized she couldn't reach the last enemy in the room with it and pulling her longspear out. With the weapon's reach she took a stab at the spellcaster hoping to run her through with it.
No longer threatened by the statue the rest of the party flows into the room much to the surprise of Ferista. The spear from Cassandra takes the wizard in the right shoulder and she cries out in pain. The pain still fresh from the spear she does not even notice Boros until he sinks his teeth in her and begins to squeeze the life out of her.
"Merrrcy. Pleaasee." is all Ferista can squeeze out of her collapsing lungs.
Innis weighs the gamble in-front of her.
Amigail readies a strike should the cornered wizard try to cast another spell.
for
She does not seem to be lying at this moment as her face turns from scarlet red to pale white with the oxygen being cut off from Boros' deathly grip.
"Hold yourselves for the moment friends I think this one is ready to chat. Oh and can someone fetch the 'other'? "
Sighing with restraint, Merelda reloads her hand crossbow, and moves to listen at the unopened Southern door.
Lililinda follows behind Merelda, in case she needs a hand.
Kirzon secures Ferista who is happy to be breathing while Nicias brings back Elleste from the other room. Ferista shows no emotion when you drop her apprentice beside her.
The southern door is locked but remembering a ley you took off Elleste earlier you try uour luck and it fits perfectly in the lock.
The Changeling decides to question Ferista
"Your apprentice fallen, your guardian destroyed and you now chained with in your own sanctum. While I do not need your life think not for a moment that I will hesitate to whisk it away if you do not tell me what I want to know. These cultists what are they after!"
Once the prisoner is bound, Amigail loiters near the doorway between rooms to keep an eye on Kirzon as well as the upcoming interrogation.
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Holding and petting Cinder her giant wasp, Merelda moves closer to the bound prisoners narrowing her eyes as she approaches.
"Yes...I can have some fun with these sister. Let me have them and Cinder and I will teach them to respect the goddess! Revenge will be ours at last!"
Deciding to stay out of the unpleasantness about to occur, Lililinda stays at the south door when Merelda joins the others with the prisoner. She takes a deep breath, listens carefully for a moment, then turns the key and opens the door, just a crack, as quietly as she can.
The gnome being ever curious moves over to the door while the rest of the party preoccupies themselves with the prisoners and pushes it forward. Inside she finds that the room contains a comfortable bed and a small wooden writing desk and chair. An open leatherbound tome sits on the desk and on top of it sits an unfurled scroll held down by a small skull made of pale green stone. An unlit hooded lantern hangs from a peg on the wall next to the table.
The statue still radiates magic but you find nothing else of out of the ordinary. There are no hidden cavities or alternating magical auras as you poke around the fragments.
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Ferista seems intent on saying nothing until the Sisters of Calistra begin to work her over. The look in Innis’ eyes however tell her that these are not idle threats. ”That you bested me and my worthless apprentice means you are truly formidable opponents. I will not attempt to deceive although after hearing my story I hope you will understand my dilemma in telling you what I know.” She pauses to gather herself and you see that she is drained by more than the battle you just fought. ”The cult you are after is bent on revenge against the Primogen Crown and the noble families of Taldor. They are led by my half-brother Azrenar the full heir to House Varza. He seeks revenge for their actions against our family.
House Varza was once part of the ruling families having a claim to the Primogen Crown. That is before they betrayed us and sent their butchers to murder our kin. Our names were erased from any claim and those who were able to survive were forced to flee and hide amongst those who were our lessors. For four generations we have struggled to survive finding ways to get by while those who slaughtered us pretended like we had never existed.
Azrenar came to me almost two years ago came to me and told me he had finally found a way to punish these families. Something that was fitting for the grievous injustice we had suffered. When I asked him what it was he only whispered that ‘Scythe Mother had given him a vision and that the fools of Taldor would indeed suffer.’ I pressed him for more information and he told me to have patience. I did not see my brother until almost a year to that date.
He came to me for my support and I could not turn my brother away so I told him that I would. He then told me that they had consecrated a temple to the Scythe Mother far below the city within a vaulted cavern. I offered the mortuary here as a safe house for his followers and for my support my brother promised me a position of power and gold that I could never dream of.
Once again my brother disappeared, but true to his word his followers began to find their way to my mortuary. One of my brother’s lieutenants, a halfling named Pelren, began to visit too often for my liking. Once a month we would see him come to pick up a vile shipment of small parts. If he wasn’t serving my brother I’d have nothing to do with him. Pelren is generous enough with his gold, but this trade in small parts is quite distasteful— and if word got out it would be bad for business. It’s disturbing to see piles of little arms and little legs and little limb-less torsos in the morgue.
Then two weeks ago my bother paid me an unexpected visit telling me that he was finally ready to exact revenge on the families of Taldor. He spoke almost in reverie that the Scythe Mother had shown him the way, spreading a plague he calls the Reaping Sickness upon the city and then, when the people cry for succor, my Azrenar will heal them! Azrenar will soon be more popular and powerful than the king. He has then asked me to provide refuge for his followers shortly after they strike and disperse the disease.
As I can see from your current state his followers were successful in letting the disease loose in the city. Do not try to hide it your eyes betray your current health. My brother did not tell me the cure but in his love for me he did leave the information I needed to find him in case I fell victim to the disease.
The entrance to the temple is only accessible from one place in the city. It is located in an abandoned reliquary dedicated to that harlot Admiral Naratha in the Quickfall Abbey. When you enter the reliquary you must call the name of the watcher, Chevreshnekar. My brother’s instructions were as follows:
Call the watcher by name or risk immediate
death. Kneel before the twice-slain harlot and lift
your gaze to reveal the hidden sign. Seek the
bearded squire then touch silver to the second
sign to open the way.
I know you think my brother is evil, but I ask you to spare him. The real wrong was committed by the noble families when they butchered my own kin for no reason other than jealously.”