Round 4
Given that the others are working the cultist, Raven changes targets to the captain. Moving to G3 in order to get a better shot, she nocks an arrow and fires into the melee, hoping to strike the target.
Orlando despite being a bit shaken by the cold stare of the cultist captain manages to still nick her putting a cut on her arm.
Selka follows up taking another stab at the armored cultist but misses.
The armored cultist grabs his weapon arms and makes a wide swing targeting both Aeron and Tessai (cleave) but both manage to avoid the desperate attack.
The spiritual weapon attacking Raven disapears and the other attacks Orlando.
The captain's injuries seem to be healing already, the cut Orlando made is almost gone (fast healing 2). She attacks Orlando using her Glaive but he avoids the attack.
Raven fires at the captain and misses.
Aeron, Varn and Tessai post your actions for this round.
Aeron ducks beneath the cultist's swing, "Ha, missed me. Now it's my turn." With a grunt, he brings his massive hammer to bear.
The armored cultist takes the heavy blow in the hip and finally collapses.
Round 5
Seeing the blow from Aeron fell the cultist, Raven drops her bow, and rushes the armored captain, trying to grapple her into submission.
"Perhaps, we can take this one alive, and find out about this cult!"
The captain takes a stab at Raven as you rush in but is caught of guard by the surprise move and Raven manages to grab on to her.
Varn's action is before the grapple Tessai is after.
"Surrender!" - Tessai presses in on the captain - "You are defeated - admit it and it will be easier on you!"
With all their enemies down save for the cult leader, who is currently being handled by Raven, Varn approaches cautiously. He eyes the female... "I would surrender..." he says coldly.
She is fully healed by her fast-healing and she wiggles free and manages to escape Raven even with Tessai helping.
"Surrender? So you can do what? Bring me back to Kenabres to face trial? Well I have news for you fools, even as we speak my comrades are looting the burning remains of your city while stepping over the rotting corpses of it's defenders and citizens!"
As the captain wriggles from of his comrades, Varn prepares to cast a spell in hopes of incapacitating the captain; however he must wait until his friends are clear of the blast. "Move away!" Varn shouts!
Seeing that the wizard has something up his sleeve, Aeron withdraws to stand, hammer at the ready, beside the elf.
Tessai is surprised by Varn's commanding tone - the wizard is not usually that imperial in his words, so sensing there may be a good reason for his order, she steps back away.
updated the map
map
Raven also steps back, drawing her warhammer, disappointed in her inability to hold the cultist captain.
Varn unleashes his spells and a cone of flashing colors and lights springs out towards the cultist captain but when the lights are gone she seems perfectly fine.
Orlando then Selka then her again.
Round 5_____
Defensive stance. (AC21)
No longer shaken.
Move action: Sidestep to (G,7).
Standard action: Attack the Captain.
for a possible piercing damage.
But still too tentative...
Selka takes a stab at the cultist landing a good stab.
"You big dumb looking one, DROP that hammer says the captain imbuing her words with magic.
Spell command to make Aeron drop his weapon.
She then moves for the exit climbing on the table and jumping down towards the door. Provoking attacks from Orlando and Tessai and Selka. Selka swings but misses.
for a possible piercing damage.
Cursing their luck, Raven steps after the cultist captain, swinging her warhammer at the fleeing combatant.
Tessai tries to grab the chance, swinging at the captain as she passes by.
Orlando and Tessai miss her as she goes by.
The cultist captain turns around and stabs at Raven as she approaches but she misses.
Raven gets past her defense and strike the cultist landing a solid blow.
She is injured but still standing.
"Why would I want to do that? And don't call me dumb."
Aeron follows Raven to the door.
Do not think you will escape us, evil lady. We will pursue you to the ends of the earth."
sigh...
Aeron attacks through the doorway at the fleeing cultist.
Frustrated at having missed the attack as the captain passed by, Tessai gives pursuit - "Treacherous cur!" - she shouts - "You will not run from here to pursue your foul machinations as you have done so far!"
She moves to take the place left vacant by Raven, attacking the captain.
Varn curses as his spell doesn't work as he intended! He turns and, like his companions, chases after the fleeing cultist. He draws his longbow and puts an arrow to the string as he runs after them!
Round 6_____
Defensive stance. (AC21)
Move action: Runs after the Captain, acrobatically tumbles through Ravens and her square to end up in (A,3).
Standard action: Flank Attack the Captain.
for a possible piercing damage.
Aeron's blow strikes her right on the side of the head and drops her dead.
Aeron lowers his hammer with a sigh,
"You shouldn't have made me do that....You should have surrendered."
He steps back into the room and look for something to wipe his hammer on.
"She deserved it" - Tessai nods at Aeron with a grim look - "There is definitely a link here to what has happened in Kenabres... She said it herself - her comrades - we need to understand what that link is, and move to the surface as fast as possible friends"
She then summons a minor magic effect to increase her sensitivity to magic, to assist her in the search of the corpse, kneeling down next to it to look for both clues and valuables.
Varn nods at Aeron as the large human walks past him. "Trouble yourself not with her demise. She chose her own fate." The elven wizard is very interested in the wand the cultist had used and therefore walks over to her body and immediately begins to search her corpse for any valuables...
The elf's demeanor may appear cold and detached to the human's very recent demise; however, his thoughts become readily apparent when he speaks as he searches the body. "Let us not forget, these cultists are the very reason Kenabres, which is home to some of us, is burning at this very moment. Our families and friends being slaughtered by demons. I have nothing but utter hatred for these fiends."
Magical gear:
-Her glaive is masterwork and magical
-2 unknown wands (one is spiritual weapon obviously)
-2 unknown potions.
Also:
-She carries a bejeweled book of prayers devoted to baphomet.
-2 flask of alchemist fire.
-1 vial of antitoxin.
-She wears a golden key on a necklace around her neck.
-She has a masterwork chainshirt.
-You find a folded piece of paper in her pocket.
Hosilla,
You will remain, for the time being, in
Kenabres, but know this: the city’s days
are numbered. Seek a place of safety—the
underground den of your mongrel lackeys should
suffice to keep you safe from the devastation
to come. I shall assume command of Drezen
shortly, and once Vorlesh has finished with
the wardstone and Kenabres is no longer of
interest to us, you are to return to my side.
Excellent news regarding the salvage of
Yaniel’s sword from the reliquary as well—bring
it with you, for I believe this weapon could
be quite useful once we corrupt it. Before you
leave for Drezen, stop by the three safe houses
(Nyserian Manor, Topaz Solutions, and the
Tower of Estrod—the passphrase remains “I’ve
new material for the archives,” for now) to
ensure no evidence remains behind.
May Lord Deskari and Lord Baphomet watch
over you!
S. V.
Varn casts a spell to allow him to see the magical auras of the items and will examine them in an attempt to determine their magical properties. He hands the note off to Tessai. "This looks promising...."
Varn identify:
-Glaive unknown properties
-Wand spiritual weapon (8 charges)
-Wand cure light wounds (6 charges)
-potion shield of faith
-potion invisibility
The others (Anivia, Horgus and Aravashial) who had stayed in the kitchen arrive as well.
Horgus looks down at the woman and is disgusted by the blood and gore. "Ack! I've had more than enough of this place...Are we near the surface yet?
Varn looks up from examining the magical items at Horgus' voice; there was something in his voice that did not quite feel right. The elf watches Horgus closely for a moment. He narrows his eyes and places a hand on the hilt of his dagger. "You know this woman. You've seen her before. Tell us how you know her and do not lie!"
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Horgus is surprised and raises his hands in a defensive posture "I don't know her...But I might have encountered a woman at a ball that shared a likeness to this woman once before...I believe she said she was a cousin of Kando Nyserian, a local noble."
Varn watches Horgus suspiciously as he speaks. "I do not sense any deception; however, why did you seek to cover your recognition of this woman? Do you recall the name she gave? And what do you know of his 'Kando Nyserian'?"
Wincing from his wound, Orlando sits down to read the note.
"Ah! Now this is interesting. A secret cell working in Kenabres; and a perfect opportunity to roll them all up! Hm. What is this 'Yaniel's Sword'?"
Raven reads the note and scratches her head. "I can't make heads or tails of any of the names on this. Do any of the rest of you know who these people or relics are? I am guessing this will lead us to the secret cultists if we can figure out how to follow it."
"Because Kando Nyserian is a business partner of Horgus and he didn't want to say anything that would implicate him with the cultist, isn't that right Horgus?"
Horgus glares at Aravashial. "I wasn't going to say anything until I had investigated Kando myself, using my own resources. If he was working with the cultist I would have turned him in of course but we don't need to go trowing about more false accusations now do we? She was most likely lying about her identity when I met her."
Some of you might recognize some of the names in the note.
During the Fourth Crusade, a paladin of Iomedae and renowned demon slayer named Yaniel spoke out against the Mendevian crusaders, accusing them of negligence and sloth, and claiming these faults were what allowed Khorramzadeh to invade Kenabres and damage the wardstone. Her accusations cut too close to the truth, and in a moment of weakness her superiors threatened to excommunicate her. Instead, she said she would enter the Worldwound and fight the Fourth Crusade on her own, with only her magic sword Radiance for company. The church was happy to see Yaniel go, she was thought to have been slain. Yet when she returned to Kenabres 2 years later, leading a small army of crusaders she'd rescued, both Yaniel and her superiors had changed. For her part, Yaniel had shed her pride and insubordination, and had gained a new appreciation for the difficult decisions leaders are forced to make. And the church leaders had learned that sometimes the truth is exactly what you need to hear. Alas, Yaniel was assassinated before the year was out, slain by the lilitu demon Minagho only a week into her second personal crusade. Her followers managed to return to Kenabres with Radiance, but Yaniel's body had been taken. The sword had gone dark after Yaniel's death, its magical powers apparently lost, and so the crusaders elected to place it in the Gray Garrison reliquary on display.
Founded as a city-fortress during the hubris of the First Mendevian Crusade, Drezen was overtaken by the demonic hordes of the Worldwound ] now it stands as a demonic monument to the foolish naivety of those early crusaders. Drezen was overwhelmed in 4638 AR, a wave of raw chaos washed over the city turning most of its citizens into hideous beast-men creatures who turned on each other in a wave of cannibalistic fury. After the slaughter finally stopped the corpse were taken from the city then into the ice cliffs that mark the Crown of the World, from these corpses arose the foul winter wraiths who are capable of freezing a man dead with but a touch
"Everyone listen to what we found in this note. I'm not too familiar with the names, so sing out if you know one!
"Ahem.
Orlando reads the note out loud.
"Hm. I think I remember the story of Yaniel and her sword."
"I'm guessing that Kando Nyserian lives at the Nyserian Manor mentioned in the note. And nobody is accusing Horgus of being a Cultist. He's had many chances to stab us in the back already. What interests me more is this mention of a sword. I don't see one laying around, maybe we should see if we can find it"
Aeron limps off to poke about the two adjoining rooms,