"It's the same star we found beneath Thistletop, Scoria - that key to that room. We mean to open that locked door later, what if the two are connected somehow?"
Khrondak listens to all parties before interceding. He approaches Scoria and says "We can ask the gods. They shall tell us whether it would be indeed a waste of our time." He then speaks to the whole group. "Come the next sunrise, I can confer with the spirits of my ancestors and protectors of my tribe... if you are willing to wait. In the meantime, I say we go meet Father Zanthus at once."
The stonemason sighs, everyone apparently ready to head back to that wretched island. "If there is a connection by that symbol, we should know what it represents before making judgments. I will stay here and do research on it while you explore the island further - I do not think you will find anything more than what we encountered already, but it is not my place to stop you."
That said, she heads to Father Zantus' with the others just long enough so that they can deposit the wretched knife.
Midori falls into step with Scoria. "Please forgive my presumption. I understand how it feels to have people try to push you into a mold you don't want. If you truly don't want an adventurer's life, then I will accept your choice. Still, your skills are both useful and appreciated by all of us."
She pauses, studying Scoria to see if she's offended. "I am concerned, though that this who thing isn't actually over. So far, every place we've seen with that symbol -and what looks to me like the same style of stonework and construction- has had some form of threat involved, mostly demonic. There may be something bound under that island as well. Maybe even something we can't handle. Still, we are tasked to protect this town, and checking out a potential threat is part of that. I can understand if you don't feel that it's still part of your duty. However, I -and the rest of us- would appreciate your aid and contributions. Please reconsider."
Midori then moves to keep up with the rest of the group.
After discussing matters outside of Das's shop, the party heads to the new Sandpoint Cathedral.
Father Zantus greets all of you with a warm smile, "Welcome back children, and again thank you for all that you have done for the community. Can I be of service?"
Matthias reaches in his packs and finds the wrapped dagger. "Father, we have found a rather ... cursed object and we were hoping you might be able to help us destroy it or even contain it in some way. I believe we have found Chopper's knife. And it is as terrible as its wielder."
"The blacksmith Das may also need your attention. We recovered the body of his son shortly after finding this knife." Bel'Tanis' voice is low and sad as he interjects, but he keeps his gaze toward the ground and doesn't make eye contact with Zantus or anyone else.
Scoria looks at Midori oddly. "You misunderstand. I never said I would not help you - just that it was a waste of our time investigating something that we've already been through. Going back to the island is pointless for that - it is a dead end. We are better off researching what we already know."
When they reach Father Zantus, Scoria relays to him everything they encountered on the island, including an aft description of the statue and chambers underneath the burnt remains of Chopper's home. "Do you have an idea as to what god or creature that statue may represent?" She asks, thinking it over in her head.
Thaddeus merely nods in agreement with Matthias and Bel'Tanis' statements, not having anything to add.
Father Zantus brow furrows in worry at the tale and the sight of the unwrapped evil dagger"Oh my heavens, we must find a way to dispose of such a wicked weapon. I wonder if this is what lead to the Chopper's madness. "
After further discussing the writings found under the island Father Zantus thinks the Chopper was in thrall to the demon prince Pazuzu, lord of the Abyssal Skies.
"I agree, Father. In the meantime, perhaps being entombed in a holy place would be the best way to contain its evil until we can destroy it." Matthias re-wraps the dagger and hands it to the Father, or takes it wherever Father Zantus wishes and places it there.
Bel'Tanis scratches his head at mention of the demon prince, "Pazuzu - that's not a demon lord I've heard of before. That wouldn't have any connection to the altar to Lamashtu we found in the catacombs, would it?"
"Yes thank you Matthias, I will make sure it is secured. I will also research if there is a safe to destroy this foul weapon."
"Bel'Tanis I don't believe Lamashtu and Pazuzu are one in the same or related, other than they are Demon Princes,"Father Zantus says with a look of worry.
Matthias nods and thanks the priest, trying to make up for his rudeness at their first meeting. Once everything has died down, he'll return to the site of Chopper's home, after letting Thaddeus or Bel'Tanis know where he's gone and when he plans to return, just in case.
He'll also try to research that sihedron star as well, looking for any meanings it may have or once had.
Bel'Tanis nods, his face mirroring the worry on Father Zantus'. As the group departs the chapel, the young aasimar looks to the others. "I think I've had my fill for the day. Do you all care to return to Thistletop tomorrow morning and see what might be locked behind that door? I'd like to visit Das in the morning beforehand if we mean to go, perhaps see if he has a bigger sword available." He shrugs at the last, still obviously wrestling with all the emotions the day stirred within him.
"It is foolishness to return to that place at all," Scoria comments to Bel'tanis. "Especially for something like opening up that vault. Correction, that prison. You would release a powerful demon that would slaughter us all to sate your curiosity - that is decidedly irresponsible."
"Presuming it is a demon at all, we could put it down for good so that it's not a threat to anyone ever again. What if leaving it be is more irresponsible?"
Thaddeus seems pensive, but adds his own thoughts, "Sorry, Bel'Tanis, but in this instance I have to agree with Scoria. She holds the key, which potentially means we control its ability to get out. I think we need to do more research or study if possible to find out what this Malfeshnekor is. If it is a lowly denizen of the Abyss, then we can dispatch it easily. We do not know that it is, however, and it could very well be some greater demon lord. Until we have a clue what we might be facing, we are probably best left keeping it contained."
"Even if Nualia might have a second key?"
Matthias sits quietly while the two sides debate. On the one hand, any new information about Thassilon that could be gained is good, but on the other hand, a prison in an evil outpost?
"What if Malfeshnekor isn't a fiend? What if it's an angel? These runelords weren't exactly good people, were they? What if they imprisoned someone who could do a great deal of good? And what if that's why Nualia hadn't opened that door?"
"If Nualia had this key, she would have opened that vault, that prison before we arrived. The fact we found it laying in the dust of that hidden part means she did not managed to get to it. Which is why we should not seek to do what she wanted to do for her," Scoria points out.
"And if you wish for a more permanent solution, there is only one bridge crossing onto that island. Burn it and you prevent anyone from reaching it." She looks at Matthias. "Everything we've come across points to Malfeshnekor to be a demon, not a celestial. Even their name points to that. That prison has held since Thassilon was in power and creature within, if it is still alive, can stay in there. It is only a threat to Sandpoint and to ourselves if we let it out. If you think it is an angel, prove it, and I will give you the key to unlock it myself. But the safety of this town is more important than our curiosity."
"Why don't we see if we can research that name. If it's a demon, a named demon, there must be a record somewhere. I think Ameiko has mentioned a sage living in this town. Let's ask him if he's heard of this 'Malfeshnekor'"
This room is a ghastly scene. The entire wall is covered in
small alcoves although only half are filled with numerous
pairs of preserved eyeballs humanoid tongues, remarkably
preserved. In one corner of the room there is a pedestal with
a dusty tome filled with pictures of bird demons. Scattered
about the pedestal are similar unbound writings.
Bel'Tanis raises his hands in defeat at Scoria's words, exhaustion painted clearly on his face. "Alright. Alright. I get it." He turns to leave but stalls to hear Midori's suggestion. In the end though, he simply shrugs with a shake of his head before turning away again and retiring to his room at the Rusty Dragon without preamble.
The following morning, as the others split their time between Brodert, the Chopper's isle, and their various duties around town, Bel'Tanis wends his way to the Blacksmith's while doing his level best to avoid any roads or paths he thinks Shayliss or her father might frequent.
He enters the smithy tentatively, the sword he'd jokingly named 'Matchstick' (after their fight with Bruthazmus) sheathed and in hand. He waits patiently and without interrupting as Das busies himself with a piece of still-as-yet formless metal.
Khrondak notices Bel'Tanis frustration as the fighter walks away from Scoria, unable to convince the stonemason. He follows Bel'Tanis to the Rusty Dragon, where he too retires for the night.
The Shoanti wakes up early to watch the sunrise and make his prayers, following his morning routine of adoration to the sun, his tribal totems, acenstors and, last, the Lord in Iron. Intrigued by the prison under Thistletop, he asks for divine help and plans a divination ritual to take place later that same day.
After finishing his daily prayers, Khrondak has breakfast with Bel'Tanis and hints at his intention. "I will look into the matter of Malfeshnekor, Bel'Tanis. Like you, I would much rather destroy whatever evil lies beyond that door than let it abandoned for someone to find it. Scoria and Thaddeus may think us having the key is enough to prevent the likes of Nualia from opening those gates, but you and I know better. I shall seek guidance and let you know what the gods tell me."
He accompanies Bel'Tanis out, but instead of goig to the Blacksmith, Khrondak goes next door to visit Daviren and check on his horse. He spends the morning watching him train the animals and helping him with the stables, giving extra attention to the horse Daviren gave to him. The two men have lunch together sharing tales of Daviren's adventures and Orc raids in the Cinderlands, and then Khrondak leaves to buy some items for his ritual.
A quick visit to the market provides him with all he need, and he goes back to his room at the Rusty Dragon. Khrondak opens the window, sits down on the floor with a brazier before him, and throws in some incense and a handful of small animal bones, letting the fumes rise to his nostrils. Finally, the man utters a plea to the gods.
Das sighs as you approach, "Well hero, what can I help you with?"
Bel'Tanis you detect the man's has soften a bit since the last meeting, but you can Das is a man of little humor.
Khrondak, Daviern greets you as you approach the stable he grasps your arm, "Welcome back brother, your stallion performs well in it is training, it is truly a fine beast. So tell me, what of these goblins at Thistletop."
Khrondak your mind slips into a trance like state, fires burn all around you as you walk on a plain of ash, in the distance, you can hear the rhythmic beat of Sklar-Quah tribal drums. Suddenly a giant of a man stands before, he wears blacked plate mail with a full helm in the motif of a bear, and welds a massive flaming greatsword. You look on in wonder, then the giant-man thrusts his greatsword at you and shouts, "WOE". The sword dissolves in liquid sliver metal and races to you, you can not move as it consumes you, burning your flesh, you scream in agony.
Then suddenly you find yourself back in your room at the Dragon. The candles have burnt low leaving you in the gloom of the room.
Midori will track down Brodert Quink.
"Sir, I hate to interrupt your studies, but we've come across several rather interesting connections to possible Thassilonian ruins, under both Chopper's Isle and Thistletop. There's a report of a being the goblins of Thistletop seemed to worship and that -a cleric of Lamashtu- was trying to release, a being called Malfeshnekor. do you have any information as to what this being might be, or can you direct us to someone who might be able to help?"
Matthias begins the morbid task of cataloging the scattered writings of the Chopper, trying to find how the madness began.
"Good morning, but, uhh, please just call me 'Bel'Tanis'. I was wondering if you were taking any comissions presently?" The young aasimar draws Matchstick then and lays it across a workbench. "This worked well enough for cutting through troublesome goblins, but it's too small and light for me. Would you be able to fashion a similar sword, but much bigger- big enough to need both hands to swing?" As he explains his idea, Bel'Tanis' voice slowly grows more and more eager as Das' understanding nods draw more excitement out of him. "I'm also hoping you could make it really sturdy. It would need to be strong enough to handle being invested with magic. And could the crossguard be fashioned to look like waves splashing out from the hilt? And could you etch anything into the blade itself? I was thinking maybe the inside edge could maybe look like fins?" He stops himself suddenly, his cheeks flushing slightly red with embarassment. "I'm sorry, I'm getting carried away. It's just- well, my dad was a fisherman." He looks plaintively up at the blacksmith, unsure how to read the gruff man's expression.
Khrondak gets up feeling a little light-headed. He sits on the bed and takes a few deep breaths to recover from the ritual. A terrible vision, indeed. Thaddeus and Scoria were right. He walks up to the window and stares at the setting sun, mulling over the vision, trying to remember the details.
After dedicating a few minutes to figuring out the divine message, the Shoanti steps out of his chamber and goes sit at the communal room, waiting for his allies to stop by the Rusty Dragon so he can share the news.
Brodert looks a bit shocked at your mention of demons and evil cults so close to Sandpoint, he adjusts his thick glasses, "Oh..oh..my this is not good news, but I am afraid evil cults and demons are not something I am well read on. Perhaps you could try somebody in Magnimar or Riddleport?"
You spend until late in the afternoon gathering and coping the madness of the Chopper's writings. Although there are no more physical threats on the island, the place still leaves you with a sense of dread. You also have made some sense of the insane mind of the Chopper...
1. It appears the shortly after he found the dagger under his home, his decent into madness began.
2. There after he took to the worship of Pazuzu and begin his killing in his name.
3. Some of his writing also appear to be dated after his death, is it possible the chopper is not dead? Or was he careless in his dates?
Das looks rather bored at your description of your new weapon, and crosses his mighty arms across his chest, "Yes, Yes that is fine hero, I can do the design that you speak of...but for the love of the heavens, I have a forge to attend to. Come back in two days and I will have your weapon ready for you."
Khrondak you know that the warrior represented Gorum himself, and creatures of liquid metal are known servants of the lord of fire.
"Uhh- o-ok. Thank you very much." Bel'Tanis stutters a bit through his brief embarassment, then regathers himself and nods. "Two days. Understood." He leaves and makes his way to the chapel and spends the remainder of the day performing his duties for Father Zantus. At the end of the day, he at last retires to the Rusty Dragon and, finding Khrondak at a table in the common room, takes a seat beside the larger Shoanti with a nod and a smile.
Matthias pours over the letters and tries to place them in chronological order, but the ones dated after the death of Chopper disturb him greatly. He gathers them up, taking all he can find, and leaves the Chopper's lair, heading to the warm comfort of the Rusty Dragon. Once there, he'll order something strong, as he definitely wants to not be sober for a while.
Khrondak welcomes the young Aasimar to his table and offers him a drink before announcing the news. "Gorum has spoken, Bel'Tanis. It seems that at this time, the gate should remain sealed. Let us trust Thaddeus and Scoria with the key, and when the time comes, we'll return to finish that threat once and for all. It will not be today, though." He sips from his mug watching Matthias enter the Rusty Dragon.
Bel'Tanis nods, accepting that his Shoanti friend knows better and more of these things. He adds, "The others will probably be glad to have the confirmation."
As Matthias enters, Bel'Tanis flashes another genuine and broad smile, welcoming the would-be historian to the table. He smiles fades though as he sees the tightness in Matthias' expression. "Everything alright, Matthias? You look... well, unnerved."
"No, I'm fine, fine. Wait, no. I found some of the Chopper's writings. It is.. disturbing to say the least. He found the knife and it began to twist him. He collected eyes and tongues for this demon lord and it just fed upon itself. The worst is... Well, you'll think I'm crazy, but some of the notes are dated after his death." Matthias downs the rotgut in his hand and holds up the glass for another.
Midori arrives at the Rusty Dragon shortly after her conversation with Brodert Quink. "Mr. Quink had no information on this Malfeshnekor. He suggested checking in Magnimar or Riddleport. I'm wondering if there might also be information at the Twilight Academy in Galduria?"
After hearing Matthias comment on the Chopper's writings, she pauses, looking uncomfortable, and says "Um...Is it the same handwriting?"
She looks around the room, cautiously, then lowering her voice, says "If the knife was part of why he became the Chopper, and it's influence was strong even after his death...why did he take the boy there, anyway?"
"They all seem to be the same person. I guess he planned to make the boy his... apprentice killer. But the lad was too strong and Chopper couldn't turn him. So he killed him. The writings are.. Well, they're damnable disturbing, actually. I just want to drink and not think tonight. Another of whatever this is, please Miss Kaijitsu?"
Midori looks relieved. "I'm glad that it wasn't that poor boy. Still, the notes continue after his death? For How long?"
"Several days, nearly a fortnight. But I no longer wish to think about that right now. Now I wish to drink."
"How did the Chopper die even? Maybe it was faked? But if so, why leave his precious dagger behind?"
Matthias shakes his head. "Tomorrow. Tonight is drinking."
Thaddeus spends the majority of his time performing duties as a member of the Sandpoint guard, and his evenings working on learning the spells that were in the spellbook they received. Nonetheless, he makes time to stop for his evening meals at the Rusty Dragon so as to spend some time with his new friends. "Hail, friends. How are you all this evening?"
Khrondak comes to Matthias aid as Bel'Tanis and Midori push on the Chopper subject. "Let the man be; there are times to reflect on the deeds of monsters, but dinner is not one of those times." He sees Thaddeus approaching and invites him to sit with them. "We are fine, Thaddeus. I was just telling Bel'Tanis that you and the stonemason were right about keeping the vault under Thistletop locked. Gorum sent me a vision of woe, and it has changed my mind. We should leave that matter alone for the time being."
Bel'Tanis looks down in embarrassment, "Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to press. I was just thinking out loud." He eats quietly from then onward and lingers in the common room until most of the patrons have retired for the night. With the room mostly empty, he helps earn his keep by sweeping the floor and wiping down the empty tables before heading up to his own room for the night. He offers Ameiko a bright smile as he goes.
Well if we're not dealing with Malfeshnekor tomorrow, we'll be dealing with it soon enough. Maybe once Das finishes with my new sword Ameiko knows someone in town who could invest it with magic straight away.
Day 40, 30th of Lamashan
Skinsaw Murders, Part 1
The winds are getting colder as winter begins to make its return along the gulf. Life in Sandpoint has returned to normal after the latest round of unpleasantness. People go about their business as almost nothing happened. If the townspeople only knew how close Nualia was to releasing a demon, things may not be so calm. But she hardly seems to be a threat to the town any more with her henchmen either slain or incarcerated in Magnimar by Justice Ironbrier. As to her whereabouts only the gods know.
During the latest month you have spent time training, learning new spells, craft minor magical trinkets, working and commissioning new weapons. Basically living a quiet life. For some of you the quiet life appeals to you, others are beginning to chafe at the constant boredom.
However the quiet life is about to end.
Thaddeus, Sheriff Hemlock summons you immediately as you arrive at the garrison to begin your watch shift.
"Thaddeus welcome, I'm afraid I have need of you and your companions for a sensitive matter, last night a horrible murder has takin place, it seems to be of ritual nature. Please gather your friends and meet me at the saw mill."
Over the course of the month, Matthias spends part of his time consulting with the town guard, training them in spotting and preventing criminal and anti-social behaviors, as well as examining old files for possible connections and new leads. He finds himself feeling happy for the most part, but inevitably his days off lead him back to the Chopper's haunts. He finds himself walking the paths of the murderer, examining the murder sites and returning to the lair. He feels the presence of the murderer more fiercely than he did before, and more than once he wonders if he himself is becoming too immersed in the sordid affair.
Thaddeus takes the order easily and readily, with a hasty "Yes, Sir!" and a salute he makes haste to find the others. He does not run, mind you, as a running watchman could cause concern amongst the citizenry. He just walks with a prompt yet measured pace. He gathers the others in nearest to furthest before returning to the garrison, allowing him to inform them of what little he was told thus far, so that they may be prepared for an investigative mindset.