Starts here.
I will once I see everyone here.
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Dot
dotting
"Praise Sarenrae, compassionate and merciful."
With your fame greatly enhanced by not only succeeding in the Academy challenge, but exposing it for the trap it was and ending it, you start to get piles of offers to your teams for various missions. Most of them are beneath your notice and desires for riches/justice.
One does stand out however. You receive a note from a Hanoris Dellum of Taldor. It requests that you meet him a the Lion Sleeps Inn north of Zimar. This is quite in the middle of nowhere. The message claims that the mission will both make you fabulously wealthy, and right an ancient wrong.
Zimar is a fair distance to the SE of Oppara in Taldor.
Nope, you get to beat feet, pound hooves, or whatnot (likely a ship since you are in Varisia).
<handwave>One way or another you make your way down there as a group. </handwave>
This takes you south to a small inn located to the northeast of Zimar. Arriving at this less than impressive hostelry The Lion Sleeps Inn, you are left wondering how people of your stature would find yourselves on any mission starting in such a humble place. inside you are directed to a private dining room.
In the room a man introduces himself to you "Greetings, I am the last scion of the Adellas family. This was once one of the great Taldan houses, which fell into dishonor and ignominy. This lead me to further research my roots which revealed to me the location of the Tomb of the Iron Medusa which is the ancient Necropolis of my family. I would like to have someone investigate there to find any information which might restore the honor of my ancient lineage. I am certain that if you can find Infensus Mucro, the fabled sword of Marcus Junius Adella, that the honor can be reclaimed. There should also be vast wealth present, since the family was truly one of the greatest houses at the peak of the empire. Of course given their power at the time, they were also quite capable of setting up defenses of their family tombs, hence my need for very capable investigators. All I will need for you to find is the sword, any other treasures you might keeps. As I am the last of the line, it is my right to offer this bounty since it is my birthright. Are you interested? "
Raphael, proudly wearing the symbol of his faith, even in Taldor, greets their host. He is not accompanied by his angel.
With his strange dead man accent he questions Hanoris Dellum.
"I am always interested in defeating evil, letting the truth show and help the innocent. Why was your family dishonored? Why do you think a sword can help you restore their honor? Why do you need to restore it this way? Why not to start anew, doing good deeds?"
Lucian is not nearly as invested as his divine companion. But he heard a clear job and goal that has a paycheck. "Count me in. Seems simple enough."
"You must not know Taldor. In the empire, your name and your family is everything. I am an honest merchant and do my tithes as expected, but merely because of the name I carry I am looked down upon and shunned by polite company. I would have that remedied. The sword is said to be possessed of intelligence and hence can recount the history of what actually occurred. It is a first hand witness which can clear my name. "
"Clear it from what? What did you family supposedly did?"
"That's the worst part. It was a declaration of Damnatio, so all records were expunged after the family was disgraced. I can't very well defend my family when I don't even what they supposedly did now can I?"
Lucian shrugs. "Retreiving a sack of gold and retreiving a magical creature are both retrieval jobs. I'll take your word for it." As always, his brusqueness is blunt.
"It doesn't make sense. We will bring the sword to you, but be careful with what you wish for. Maybe you will get what you ask for, but not what you want. What can you tell us about the mausoleum?"
Knowledge history:
DC 10: The Adellas were an old Taldan noble family who disgraced themselves and were stripped of their title many years ago.
DC 20: The Adella house symbol was the medusa, said to have been derived from the family’s patriarch, Marcus Junius, who according to stories was so feared by his military subordinates that a mere glance from him would turn an unruly recruit to stone. The three branches of the clan each developed their own variation of this emblem: the howling medusa (Sardisi), the mocking medusa (Voxus), and the cross-eyed medusa (Daellum).
Religion is not relevant, and the man is what he appears to be as far as you can tell, and is not lying.
"I am fully convinced my family was framed to let some other noble family off the hook. I just want you to visit the tomb and find out what you can as well as retrieving the sword. You can take whatever treasure you find besides the sword, and there surely will be a lot as my family was very rich and powerful for a very long time. I know the location of the mausoleum, but I am unwilling to part with any information until you agree to do the task. "
"It can't be any worse than the last trap we walked into, can it? Let's do it." Laurel seems to have his expectations a little lower than last time.
"Unless any of my companions say otherwise, we will help you."
Hanoris retrieves a white marble funerary baton from a pouch and places it on the table. He explains that this baton, the only physical object connected to the Adellas he managed to discover in his research, is a key of some sort to entering the necropolis. In fact, this very inn was once owned by the Adellas, and it was in a hidden panel behind a plaque on a wall here that he found the baton. Hanoris then twists the top of the baton, causing the tip to pop open and reveal a hollow inside containing a rolled parchment—the contents of this parchment are reprinted in the Handout above. He believes that in the Adellas’ last days, one of their members wrote the lines on the parchment as a sort of guide or map, in the hope that they could guide future descendents through the wards and defenses of the tomb so that proof of the falsehoods could be found. He hasn’t been able to find more information about the parchment, but he suspected that the “Slumbering Cat” mentioned in the first line refers to the Lion Sleeps Inn. Working from this assumption, Hanoris spent several weeks exploring the lands northeast of the inn, and after some time confirmed his hunch, finding the necropolis in the foothills of the World’s Edge Mountains. He has not had the courage to explore the necropolis itself, but he suspects that both the poem and the baton itself are the keys to entering the ruins.
The Parchment
Set thee off from Slumbering Cat Seeking where the Dead are at Journey north and east apace
To find Medusa’s iron embrace, Follow now the Spider Star Behind the Wall that hides its Face To our Sad, Abandoned Place
If visit ye the Long Deceased Find the Will to Feed the Beast Then Begin where all Men End Light go out and Breath Suspend Egress through the Stony Door After turning Face to Floor
Each Adellan Branch has Room
In its Silent, Musty Tomb
For at least one Careless Soul Wouldst thou fill that Empty Hole?
You have no idea about that reference. You assume you'll probably have to see what is there to figure it out.
"Glad to hear you're willing to help. I hope the venture is profitable for you. I will wait here at the in eagerly expecting word on your progress. "
"May Sarenrae the merciful bless and protects you."
Don't like mysteries do you?
You can go ahead and try.
Tamm tries to remember anything of note about this noble family and its history in Taldor.
"I agree, it seems like an expedition that suits our talents."
It would be a large block of text were I to put it in here (and would take some editing to get it out from the adventure background which includes details I can't include). But to sum up the Adellas family started out pretty decent but declined over the years, and eventually their biggest downfall was when a famous general got crushed by a Quadiran force. The whole of the family ended up in devil worship and blaspheming Aroden.
Truth be told, this guy would probably be happier if he didn't find out what a bunch of low down dirtbags his family consisted of. However that would make for a very short module, and not put and coin in your purses, so he will get his bad news.
Tamm won't share anything that he learned with our prospective employer.
People never want to believe unpleasant news anyway.
To his companions he says "My research indicates that the family may well have deserved whatever dishonor befell it. We should be wary of this sword that Hanoris Dellum seeks, it is likely not to be a weapon designed with pure intent."
Laurel chuckles at Sazzat's information. "The past is rarely as glamorous as we remember it. We tend to weed out all the unpleasantness and pain. No doubt his family did too."
Once you are done talking to Hanoris, you head for the taproom to waste away the evening before getting off to a start on the morning.
In the bar, there are a number of tables. The only occupants are three peasants, likely shepherds drinking ale. As you come into the room, two of them bring you into their conversation making loud, obviously false, but rather amusing boasts. Tales from ridiculous fishing claims, to hunting, to adventuring, all quite clearly fabrications do make the night go by in an amusing fashion.
Eventually though the morose one has had enough of the high spirits and starts to rant "How in the hells can you just sit here and get potted with these strangers while my daughters have gone missing? They've been gone for 2 months, and even the local constable has given up looking. They were all I had, and you sit here making jokes!"
Lucian is amused by the boasts but keeps his peace, intent on getting thoroughly drunk while he reads. But he's only starting to feel his head swim when the missing daughters are mentioned. His male curiosity piqued, he drifts over. "Why, that sounds terrible. Do you have any idea what happened to them?"
"I have no idea. I wish I did. Seems to happen that people go missing around these parts every so often. I just don't know what I did to offend the gods so I'd lose both my daughters. "
Lucian frowns. "Got any leads? I'd love to help, but I need a little something to go on."
In the middle of his own fish tale, Laurel looks at Lucian. "I do believe we already have a job, my friend. Come here while I show them the fish we fried."
"Sorry, I have nothing. But if you see anything about them in your travels, I would appreciate if you could let me know. The innkeeper can get word to me. "
"We'll keep our eyes open and tell you if we see anything that might be a clue, but, as my friend said, we already have a job." Tamm tells the man.
"Do people disappear around here often? I wasn't aware that this was a dangerous area." he probes the man for any more information.
"There's been tales around here of people going missing for ages now. Nobody has ever figured out why, or where they go. "
Unless there is something else you want to do at the Inn (there's no more information forthcoming from the shepherd), you will hit the sack and head for the Tomb in the morning.
You leave the Inn and travel about 35 miles to the NE.
The necropolis itself sits in a hidden dale in the foothills of the World’s Edge Mountains, surrounded by a 15-foot-high wall made of tightly fitted gray stone blocks. Wider sections resembling castle watchtowers are spaced along the wall.
Spaced equally around the wall between these towers are 10-foot- diameter iron discs decorated with the leering medusa face of the Adella family crest. Sturdy vines make for easy climbing.
At the inn...
Raphael will summon, on his room, a Vulpinal Agathion, and ask the fox-like celestial all he knows about the Adellas, their necropolis, and the magic sword.
Raphael Aid Another rolls for an extra +2
At the necropolis...
Raphael asks Mu'aqquibat The Protector to fly around the necropolis and over the wall and report what she is able to see inside.
Read the spoiler for Sazzat for the knowledge check results. There's no extra specifics about the sword or necropolis.
Flying over the place the eidolon sees sever buildings spaced about the interior of the walls. They seem to be quite old and rather worn with age. There is no movement or signs of life.
Raphael turns to his allies.
"I cannot fell but sorry for our employer. Yesterday I contacted a celestial, and he told me ..."
From the DM: But to sum up the Adellas family started out pretty decent but declined over the years, and eventually their biggest downfall was when a famous general got crushed by a Quadiran force. The whole of the family ended up in devil worship and blaspheming Aroden.
"So his family turn to darkness when the light of my people dazzled them. A pity. But let's see what specifics we can find, and if we can retrieve his family sword. But be careful, as devil's influence will be around. And if the sword is dangerous, we will try to destroy it, or at least leave it in a safe place."
Oddly you see no doors.
Lucian grimaces. "It's always outsiders now. I miss orcs and goblins. Well I'll trust you to tell me what I need to know and where to slice. Speaking of magic, is there any in this area?"
Raphael looks for Magical Auras.
Plenty of magical auras abound. Seems to be conjuration and transmutation.
"Be careful, this place is magically warded. "
He flies over the wall after casting Communal Protection from Evil on Everyone.
Mu'aqquibat the Protector will start carry everyone inside.
How large an area is surrounded by the walls?
How big are the towers?
Tamm examines the large crests on the wall. Are they somehow warded against rusting?
Towers are 25', wall is 15'. Things do appear to have worn some with age, but there is no outright rusting.
Tamm uses his overland flight to rise up high enough to survey the graveyard.
Cognatogen: (14 hour duration) +4int, -2 str, +2 NA
Enchantment Foil: (14 hour duration) +4 saves vs enchantments
Overland Flight: (14 hour duration)
Alchemical Allocation: (12 hour duration) Potion of GMW, +3 enchantment on 50 quarrels
Resurgent Transformation: (14 hour duration) triggers at 25hp
Delayed Consumption: (14 day duration) Universal Formulae