Orlando-21
Attacks the hound and deals 7 damage to it.
Selka-20
Stabs into the dark and stabs and misses.
Raven-19
Fires into the dark and misses.
Aeron-18
delays
Varn-9
Delay action.
Tessai-8
Attacks Faxon once more but this time he avoids the blow.
Faxon begins casting another spell and his hand becomes aglow with negative energy he tries to touch Tessai with it.
He fails to touch Tessai but the glowing orb of negative energy remains in his hand ready for use later if he gets the chance.
The hellhound attacks trying to bit Aeron (unless Aeron kills it on his turn)
It gnaws on his leg with a flaming maw.
You can post round 4 actions.
Round 4
Raven wades into melee looking for the hellhound in the arcane darkness. She swings her hammer hoping to connect with the beast, but she fails to connect with anything.
Tessai takes note of Selka's movement, and shifts to flank Faxon, keeping a wary eye on the dreadful energy that emanates from his hand - "You have fully given yourself to corruption, have you not fool?" - she asks in a somber tone, not roaring or shouting this time - "But you have chosen the wrong side - your life will be the dear price to pay. Radiance will send you to Hell..."
This time Tessai aim is true and the blade slides into Faxon's chest and he stands with a dumbfounded look on his face as the magic in his hand dissipates.
"and there I will be rewarded for my work..." he whispers as he dies.
Selka thrusts her spear forward in the darkness once more trying to bring down her target, but between the unholy darkness and the tiefling's reflexes her strike goes wide and misses.
Round 4___________Init 21
Move: Unable to see clearly, he waives his cape and tries to feint the hound anyway.
Standard: for a possible piercing cold iron damage. No miss!
"In pain forever..." - Tessai retorts, shaking her head as Faxon tumbles - "Fool..." - she reiterates, her attention now turning to the hound assailing Aeron.
Ducking down at the sound of the crackle of flames, Aeron wades blindly after the hellhound. Gritting his teeth against the pain of the blisters rising on his skin, he swings his mighty hammer and grin viciously as he feels the crunch of bone.
(squish?)
Aeron on his end manages to finish off the hound.
[ooc]Assuming the darkness lifts...[/b]
Orlando quickly looks around for more enemies; if none appear, he will sheathe his weapons and start searching the place for information.
It does after a few minutes.
The room is a wellspring of information it has maps of the city and notes and plans detailing the entire operation to attack the city. Most of it does little good now but some of it could still be useful. It's obvious that this has been in the planning for years however.
So on Faxon you find:
-A wand
-Masterwork Morningstar
-Magical Bracers
-Magical Cloak
-Magical Ring
-An Iron key
-29 gold
In the room you are in you find a wooden chest.
The wooden chest is locked with a masterwork lock (Disable Device DC 30)—The key you found on Faxon opens it.
Within are various items looted from the ruins over the past several days by the cultists, including 2,310 cp, 759 sp, 122 gp, 11 pp, five silver holy symbols of Iomedae worth 25 gp each, a masterwork longsword, two masterwork scimitars, 450 gp in various fine housewares like silverware and table settings, a wand, and a currently broken phylactery of faithfulness. The chest also contains a sheaf of papers documenting the cultists’ movements around the city. These papers not only indicate that the plan to attack Kenabres was several years in the planning, but that there were a large number of Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth involved. This list of names is valuable to the crusaders—it can’t help Kenabres at this point, but since several of the names on the list include people operating in other cities, the crusaders will be glad to have it.
Finally, there’s a short note in immaculate handwriting—
Faxon,
You did well to report your superior’s mishandling of funds, and I trust that you will continue to serve as loyally in the weeks to come. You need not command the Kenabres Templars for long, for the city is about to die—I only wish I could be there to take part in its murder, for I have fond memories of my Red Morning Massacre. No matter, I suppose, for your mortal kin will all fall soon enough—as I said, Kenabres’s days are short. Vorlesh has already left to meet with our Lord’s daughter in the Abyss to secure a Nahyndrian crystal of the proper purity, and once she has what she needs, she’ ll arrive in Kenabres to finish the job and turn the wardstones fully to our use. You will know when she succeeds, I suspect! Praise Lord Baphomet!
Caladire rejoins his group once Faxon and his hound had fallen. Upon casting a detection spell, he observes several of the items worn by the tiefling shone with a magical aura. He set about to begin identifying the items in question...
wand 1 - unknown
wand 2 - Wand of Magic weapon (18 charges)
Bracers - Bracers of armor +1
Cloak - Cloak of resistance +1
Ring - Ring of protection +1
Varn looks over the collection of magical equipment they loot from the tiefling. He indicates each as he speaks. "There is a wand I was unable to identify. This one is a wand that will temporarily grant magical power to a weapon. These bracers will provide it's wearer with an intangible energy protection. The cloak is similar to the one currently worn by Aeron, and lastly this ring will provide protection to it's wearer."
Varn eyeballs the bracers. "I would very much like to claim the bracers at the least. And I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested in the other items as well; however, I am not greedy and believe the items should be used by those who would benefit from them the most."
Sorting through the papers, Orlando is amazed at the information.
"This is astounding! The planning for this took years!"
He shuffles through even more.
"And the names! Hidden agents, even in other cities! And..."
His face goes white at reading a particular note.
"And, they aren't done yet. They plan to turn the wardstones and murder what's left of Kenabres."
"That's not good. We should get this back to the Defender's Heart."
Tessai steels her jaw as they peruse the contents of the documents found - "This is as grave as can be" - she mutters - "We already suspected this, but here lies the confirmation that the attack on Kenabres has been in the forge for a long time... And we understand the reasoning behind such long term planning - it is worse than we could ever expect" - her eyes gleam with anger.
"And it wrenches me to see so many Templars involved in such foul dealings" - the tiefling shakes her head
Nodding at her companions' assessment, she continues - "We need indeed to pass this information to those at the Heart - something must be done about these grave news before it gets out of hand, if it hasn't already"
Looking around, she finishes - "Let us search this den of evil thoroughly - any further clues regarding their plans, or even regarding who has wrote this note may prove invaluable. Also any usable items will be important for the war effort here in Kenabres"
Tessai begins a thorough search of the area, urging the others to do the same, looking for anything that can be salvaged, and of use to themselves or those at the Heart.
You find a Minotaur head made of brass that radiates magical energy.
This is a brazen head a cultist magical item that can cast unhallow once per year.
There is nothing else of note here other than what you found.
Varn removes the bracers from the dead tiefling with a derisive sniff. He then removes the armor from his waist and tosses it to the ground. "How glad I am to be rid of that." He slips the bracers around his wrist and cinches the leather bands tighter to fit his forearms.
Upon finding the minotaur head, he glares at the item. "We should smelt that down into scrap, or destroy it outright. Such an unholy item has no right to exist." He picks up the damaged phylactery and examines it. "This, however, I may be able to mend. We should take it with us, I will alter my spells tomorrow to include a mending spell that may well repair this item."
In response to the plans and notes, he sits quietly for a moment to contemplate before speaking. "Indeed. We must bring this with; however, we should be very careful as to whom we allow privy to this information. Given the sheer numbers of crusaders involved, there are likely many traitors still within their midst." He then indicates the notes speaking of the Wardstone. "I believe this answers the question on how important our journey to the tower should be. We must find any surviving magi within Kenabres, they will be needed to thwart such an attempt."
Orlando frowns at the brass minotaur head.
"Leave it. Let's get these papers back to headquarters right away. The sooner we get these papers analyzed, the better chance we have to stop the enemy plan."
Following along with the others, Raven scouts ahead a bit as they make their way back to the Defender's Heart. She is looking for any signs of trap, trouble, or incident to steer the group around.
As you return to the heart, Irabeth approaches them with a grim, worried expression.
"My friends your arrival at the Heart couldn't have been more timely, come, follow me to meet with a man named Quednys Orlun to find out why. You might recognizes the name, he's the head librarian at the Black Library. He wandered into camp a short while ago barely alive."
"We will meet your librarian," Raven says with interest, "but then we must palaver about the maps and plans we found. There are issues with the Templars that you will find of interest, I believe."
Raven hurries along to follow Irabeth.
Irabeth talks as she walks leading you to the Inn. "It seems the library has fallen, but there is some good news. The first descendants have been contacted and they will arrive in force soon to reinforce us...Those three knights that came in have been coming in and out of camp several times and they found the enemy stronghold in old Kenabres (a district in town). By their count pretty much every cultist and demon left in the city apart from a few stragglers are gathered there. The knights are urging me to attack and I am considering it...One thing at a time however we need to decide what were going to do about the library.
At this point you arrived at the Inn room were Aravashial and The librarian are talking alone.
Irabeth takes you into the room and sits down.
The old librarian regards you as you enter. Quednys Orlun is an aged and angular human with an eagle’s talon tattoo on his cheek. Founder and head librarian of Blackwing. These the ones? he says regarding Aravashial who nods.
"Alright then, I'm Quendnys Orlun founder of the Blackwing library. I was witness to the stand of the mages who were there when the attack began and of their downfall at the hands of a worm that walks. I will give you all the details later but the short version is that luck spared me as I was buried under rubble and survived but I believe the wizards were all killed. I had to wait until I got a chance and I escape to come here. The man made of worms took a few book and left and he gave the order to the cultist with him to burn the rest. If you could I would ask you to try and stop them."
"Well, yes of course. It was on our list anyway." Affirms Orlando.
He turns to his teammates. "Right?"
Never one for book learning, Raven bites her lip and says, "Shouldn't we be saving people instead of books? Who cares if they burn a few books anyway, especially if the townspeople aren't around to read them? Seems to me we should join Irabeth's attack on the cultist base."
She shifts her weight from one foot to the other, unsure of herself "But I'll do whatever you guys think is best..."
"We still need more time to prepare for the attack, it could happen tomorrow at the earliest and I'm still not sure if I want to trough with it at all. Either way you have time to go tonight or tomorrow. You should still be able to make it before the attack happens. I might be able to spare a few men if you need the help."
Irabeth talks as she walks leading you to the Inn. "It seems the library has fallen, but there is some good news. The first descendants have been contacted and they will arrive in force soon to reinforce us...Those three knights that came in have been coming in and out of camp several times and they found the enemy stronghold in old Kenabres (a district in town). By their count pretty much every cultist and demon left in the city apart from a few stragglers are gathered there. The knights are urging me to attack and I am considering it...One thing at a time however we need to decide what were going to do about the library.
As she walks, Tessai listens to Irabeth's words - "I can understand their urgency - I have felt it myself. At each step of the way thus far it seems we uncover a tangle of webs and treachery that transform the demonic attack on Kenabres into something much more perverse - I am sure we would all like to strike back in repayment" - she turns to her companions with a smile and a nod - "Even more than we have done so far"
Never one for book learning, Raven bites her lip and says, "Shouldn't we be saving people instead of books? Who cares if they burn a few books anyway, especially if the townspeople aren't around to read them? Seems to me we should join Irabeth's attack on the cultist base."
She shifts her weight from one foot to the other, unsure of herself "But I'll do whatever you guys think is best..."
"Knowledge is and will always be power Raven - if we start neglecting that which sets us apart from the demons, the collective knowledge, the learning, and what it can do for us" - Tessai approaches the ranger, and places a hand on her shoulder, smiling - "Then we will be moving in the exact opposite direction we want to thread"
"We still need more time to prepare for the attack, it could happen tomorrow at the earliest and I'm still not sure if I want to trough with it at all. Either way you have time to go tonight or tomorrow. You should still be able to make it before the attack happens. I might be able to spare a few men if you need the help."
The tiefling looks at the gathered group she has began considering as friends - "I think we should give it our best try. Whether it will be best to move on this task right away or not, it is a matter we decide as a group, as well as if we will venture it or not - we are all equals, and our decisions should be made as such. You already know my opinion"
Raven readily agrees with Tessai "We will set out where you wish. I was just...oh never mind." She smiles and listens rather than speaking or trying to sway the decisions.
"As much as it sickens me to say so, what are a few more deaths after the scores that have already fallen. The loss of the library would cost us irreplaceable knowledge. We should save it if we can, but I think we will need some rest before we make the attempt."
Tessai nods at Aeron - "Let us take a rest then, and depart come first light. We could all use some respite from the recent events, and who knows? Maybe even a quick ale? I know I would enjoy it" - she smiles.
"So in the mornign then...We have plenty of drink, we can get you some. If any of you have any wounds I can arrange for some healing as well." says Irabeth.
Varn listens grimly to the news of the fall of the library. He scoffs at Raven's words; however, before he has the opportunity to speak on the ignorance of her words, Tessai educates the young scout. "The Library indeed must be saved; however, if the burning has already occurred, there is not much we can do now. We must travel there first thing after we have rested and save what we can... This is a severe blow to the city. If the worm creature retrieved the wrong book, this could spell disaster for the city and perhaps the rest of Absalom. I must consult with Aravashnial about this." He looks at the others. "I will seek you out shortly..."
Orlando nods.
"Aye, I would not be averse to a rest as well. Our spellcasters even moreso I suspect. Very well, let us resolve to meet here at dawn to clear the Library."
Raven nods at the others, a bit embarrassed over her gaffe with the library. She agrees to make camp and leave at first light to investigate the place of learning.
Raven gladly agrees to share the list of traitors with Irabeth and brings Orlando (who I think had the papers) along to show the champion their evidence.
Orlando lays the papers out and gives a quick overview of what they found.
In particular, The Note.
You rest up for the night and morning comes. This is the morning of the fourth day after the attack.
Irabeth is troubled by the note.
"Red morning massacre?...Minagho? This letter was most likely written by her. One day she came to Kenabres and killed 62 people at random before vanishing in a puff of black smoke. She was also the one who infiltrated the ranks of Yaniel's followers and murdered her. The rest means nothing to me but is likely important I will have this matter investigated.