Intimidate:
Initiative: Praxim, wererats, Tomaru
Round 1
The wererats rush forward and attack, and Praxim fires his arrow. It pierces the studded leather of one of the attackers, but seems to barely harm its target. The wererats rush forward and attack the elf, one of them opening a flesh wound in the elf .
There is talk of a someone who has made an attempt to assassinate the lord-mayer of Magnimar. Descriptions vary somewhat, but most of them describe a dark-robed female, possibly a half-orc.
The temple of Iomedae purchases evil magic items at standard price, so that the items can be destroyed there. This would be a great place to sell off those items.
Some of the many monuments in the city are magically enhanced, possibly a lasting remnant from ancient Thassilonians who dwelled here. When minor acts of worship are performed at these monuments they grant various boons in the form of enhancements.
The Sczarni, a loose collection of Varisian crime families, have a major presence in Magnimar. They have links to the Scarnetti, a noble family that is also one of the four noble families in Sandpoint and runs the lumber mills there.
Magnimar is no stranger to threats from the sea—between the constant threat of piracy from Riddleport and raiders from the Linnorm Kingdoms, the city’s defenses have had plenty of opportunities over the past century to test their mettle. This large statue depicts the first and most famous of the nautical battles waged in the city’s early days between Magnimar’s navy and the pirates of Riddleport. The battle itself was significant not only for the size of the invading force, but for the pirates’ use of five captured and charmed monsters harvested from the Darklands—four-armed beasts known as chardas. Although only 4 feet tall, the chardas under Captain Jevanna “Winterkiss” Skrinn’s enchantment were a significant force, and had Antholus Kaddren not given his life during that battle in a desperate attempt to break the charms controlling the monsters (and thus turn them back on Captain Winterkiss in a fury of ruinous revenge), the bile-spewing monsters would have helped Riddleport sack the city. Today, the monument exaggerates the actual size of the chardas, depicting them as 30-foot-tall behemoths. Rumors that these monstrous giants are actually petrified monsters persist to this day.
Monument Boon
Practice weapon play for 10 minutes before the Battle of Charda and make a successful DC 20 Intimidate check to gain a +1 morale bonus on all attack rolls made with melee weapons for 24 hours. This bonus increases by +1 for each 10 points by which you exceed the initial check.
Founder’s Flame
This magical fountain of flame was built by Antholus Kaddren—a gift to the city soon after its founding. The monument itself consists of a pedestal that supports a bronze bowl filled with green oil. A nimbus of fire perpetually burns within the bowl, dancing to an arcane rhythm and cycling in color from yellow to orange to violet to blue. Benches surround the remarkable fountain at a safe distance.
Monument Boon
Meditate for 10 minutes before the flame
and make a successful DC 15 Spellcraft check to gain a +1 increase to the save DCs of all fire spells you cast
for the next 24 hours.
Cenotaph
One of the tallest structures in the city, this 10-story, cylindrical monument is called the Cenotaph. Created as a memorial to Magnimar’s most beloved founder, Alcaydian Indros, the monument was meant to be an empty tomb honoring the local hero. As years passed and Indros’s family members and friends passed on, an inordinate number of residents requested to have their bones entombed near or within the monument. Begun as an honor to the great man, then a vogue, the practice has become a tradition and postmortem status symbol for all who can afford burial beneath the stones of the surrounding Mourner’s Plaza or in the later-constructed catacombs beneath the memorial. Priests of the church of Pharasma patrol the Cenotaph and its catacombs frequently, striving to keep the monument free of undead, scavengers, and grave robbers.
Monument Boon
Pray for 10 minutes in the Mourner’s Plaza before the Cenotaph and make a successful DC 15 Knowledge (religion) check to gain a +1 morale bonus on all Fortitude saves for 24 hours. This bonus increases by +1 for each 10 points by which you exceed the initial check.
Indros cul Vydrarch
The towering marble sculpture called “Indros cul Vydrarch” depicts the legendary battle between Alcaydian Indros and the great Vydrarch.
Monument Boon
Recite the poem “Upon a Serpent’s Grave” in the original Aquan while standing before the monument, then attempt a DC 15 Perform (act, oratory, or sing) check. Success grants a +1 morale bonus on all weapon damage rolls against creatures with the aquatic subtype for 24 hours. This bonus increases by +1 for each 5 points by which you exceed the initial check.
The Fifth Wind
This massive stone weather vane stands amid the docks, its windsocks towering above surrounding buildings so as to give all of Outcast’s Cove an easy method of determining wind speed and power. The sides of the stone pylon that supports the windsocks are carved with complex images of air elementals and cloud dragons in fierce battle.
Monument Boon
Observe the patterns on the pylon and watch the windsocks cavort above for 5 minutes, then attempt a DC 15 Survival check. Success grants a +2 morale bonus on Survival checks for 24 hours, and prevents seasickness for the duration of any sea voyage begun while this bonus persists.
Our Lady of Blessed Waters
Seerspring Garden, a park boasting a spring of crisp, clear water, marks the northeastern corner of Keystone. The park itself is a fine place to relax, but its most striking feature is the bronze, strangely verdigris-free statue of a lithe woman that stands at the center of the water. The statue is said to be an image of the spirit believed to linger within the Seerspring, but none in Magnimar know who built the mysterious monument.
Monument Boon
Spend 10 minutes in prayer to the spirit of the Seerspring, then attempt a DC 15 Knowledge (religion) check. Success grants a +1 morale bonus on all caster level and concentration checks for divine spells for 24 hours. This bonus increases by +1 for each 5 points by which you exceed the initial check.
Mapstone
This corner of Seerspring Garden is dominated by a massive block of marble that protrudes 3 feet from the ground. The top of this block of stone has been meticulously carved into a scale model of the city of Magnimar. Touch-ups and additions to the carving are performed yearly to show the rise and fall of buildings in the city by artistic sculptors from the Church of Abadar using stone shape spells.
Monument Boon
Meditate for 10 minutes before the Mapstone Monument and make a DC 15 Knowledge (local) check to gain a +1 morale bonus on all Will saves for 24 hours. This bonus increases by +1 for every 10 points by which you exceed the DC 15 Knowledge (local) check.
The Celwynvian Charge
A gift from the elves of the distant Mierani Forest after Magnimar sent a delegation to secure a trade alliance, what was originally nothing more than a curious stony seedpod has, over the decades, grown into a tree-shaped sculpture as tall as a two-story building. Although the Mierani trade alliance never blossomed in the way Magnimar’s founders had hoped, the strange tree sculpture the elves gifted the city does every year, growing real leaves that bud and fall at the appropriate times of year.
Monument Boon
Meditate for 10 minutes in the shade of the Celwynvian Charge and make a DC 15 Knowledge (nature) check to gain a +1 morale bonus on all Ref lex saves for 24 hours. This bonus increases by +1 for every 10 points by which you exceed the DC 15 Knowledge (nature) check.
The Guardians
Just within Twins’ Gate stand the Guardians, one of the city’s larger monuments. These 200-foot-tall colossi depicting the young heroes Cailyn and Romre Vanderale face each other with burning staves held high, forming a giant arch.
Monument Boon
Meditate for 10 minutes below the arch and make a successful DC 15 Knowledge (arcana) check to gain a +1 morale bonus on all concentration checks for 24 hours. This bonus increases by +1 for every 10 points by which you exceed the DC 15 Knowledge (arcana) check.
Mistress of Angels
This fine marble sculpture of Ordellia Whilwren, one of the founders of Magnimar, shows the beloved cleric of Desna looking out over the Varisian Gulf to the horizon, as if she were scanning for threats to the city.
Monument Boon
Meditate for 10 minutes before the statue and make a successful DC 15 Knowledge (religion) check to gain a +1 morale bonus on all Initiative checks. This bonus increases by +1 for every 10 points by which you exceed the DC 15 Knowledge (religion) check.
"We can't stand here trading blows. Come with me." Tomaru casts Fly, grabs Praxim and flies up then away. He moves toward a crowd and out of the neighborhood. Or as much of that as I can in one round.
Cast defensively
Round 1
Tomaru casts Fly and carries Praxim upward 20 feet.
Praxim relaxes, not offering Tomaru any distractions in his new vocation as pack mule.
"Coincidence, or guards for the clock tower cult?" he whispers once out of earshot of the were rats.
"I'm no expert, but I would say opportunists. We didn't do or say anything that would indicate we were checking into the clock tower."
Round 2
The rats don't give chase.
As the group have an evening meal together, Rhianni uses the opportunity to let the others know what she has discovered,
"Let's get back to the others. We can try again tomorrow."
"We can offer the evil masks to the church of Iomedae. Though we might want to be careful as that bounty is very specifically for us."
"I am not comfortable with that rumour about someone trying to assassinate the mayor of Magnimar, either," Lym says, her eyes widening. "A woman in dark clothes, possibly a Half-Orc?" The Wizard gestures at herself. "That falls a little too close for comfort! Do I need to start wearing white to preserve my liberty, perhaps?"
Lym shudders briefly.
"In any case, we should be alright with selling those wretched things, so long as we do so with a modicum of secrecy. As long as we do not announce the exact source, nor allow just anyone to see us hand the items over, we should be alright. ... Hopefully."
"If the Church if Iomedae wants to destroy the masks, and they realize that we took them off the Norgorber cultists at the sawmill, they aren't going to thank us for helping destroy evil masks, then call the authorities because we destroyed evil cultists. It should be safe."
"Should we keep some masks in case we should need them and to study them?" asks Rhianni. "But if we should get rid of them, then I see no reason why we can't let the Temple of Iomedae buy them to destroy them, Praxim is right." she says before adding under her breath, "hopefully."
"You know, if the Sczarni are involved with the sawmill, perhaps those wererats were no random occurrence. I wonder if I might be able to discover more about the Sczarni's role in this affair, after all I am Varasian and should be able to contact them quite easily." she says. "Though you can never be too sure, even among your own." she adds with a certain trepidation.
Toxim, at least, will tell of their experience.
"While I concede that the Sczarni are a potential source of grief for us, I suggest we focus on the trouble we know we have already." Tomaru says indicating the masks. "If we are going to turn these over, I think we should do so sooner rather than later. If that goes well, then we can continue to look into the clock tower and the potential of having gained the Sczarni as an enemy."
Shrugging her shoulders, Rhianni follows Praxim and Tomaru, gesturing Lym to follow. "These two are eager to right the wrongs and look into the clock tower." On the way over Rhianni buys a silver dagger.
Tomaru takes the cue from Rhianni and also purchases a silver weapon. A starknife if there is one, a dagger otherwise.
Already in possession of blunted silver arrows, Praxim has no purchases to make. However, if they are going to sell the masks, he would like to purchase a flying potion.
"They are not entirely alone in this," Lym says, her voice brittle with what seems to be suppressed anger. "There are things going on that sicken me."
Lym prepares a full suite of combat spells, but is also armed with silver.
Here's the plan
1- sell masks to temple of Iomedae
2- go shopping
3- investigate (raid/siege) clock tower
4- count loot and xp
Attendants at the doorway of the Temple of Iomedae are there to greet you. When you tell them your business here, they direct you to the back of the church, where you take the stairs to the 2nd level, and onto Brother Pietre's armory.
When you show him the collection of masks, Pietre barely raises a brow, but doesn't outwardly inquire about how you came to have the masks. He offers 750 gp for each Skinsaw mask, and 6000 gp for the Reaper's Mask.
"For future reference, reverend sir," Lym says, bowing deeply, "though I sincerely hope the matter will never arise again, what is the proper method to destroy such foul things?"
Rhianni smiles waiting for the priest to answer Lym's most pertinent question.
Tomaru leans into Lym and whispers "Perhaps they could also be of help with the book?"
Pietre responds, "It is like destroying anything else, just more difficult."
"No, I don't know of any wererats."
Seeing the priest reticent to answer further questions, Rhianni waits on Lym, Tomaru and Praxim to finish.
If there are no more questions, Praxim is interested in purchasing a few healing wands for the group (not sure if we have one at the moment). Assuming the temple sells such things, Praxim is content to offer them his patronage.
He'll presumably have to look elsewhere for his flying potion, however.
How many Skinsaw masks did they sell?
"Brother Pietre, can you help us decipher this as well?" Tomaru shows him the journal. "We think it has information on the cult. We haven't been able to decode any of it ourselves and we'd like to have it to show to the authorities when the time comes."
"What is this?" Pietre takes the book and skims through it. What cult do you mean?"
Well, if they're giving us 750 per mask, they'll trade two masks for the two wands.
"I'll look after one of the wands for you, I can cast such spells." says Rhianni.
Well, it isn't exciting at all, but Praxim picked up an amulet of natural armour and ring of protection, both +1.
"A cult of Norgorber. They've been performing ritual murders for some nefarious purpose for some time in the town of Sandpoint, and we tracked them to this city. We took these masks off of them when they objected to our curtailing of their activities."
"As I said, we believe the journal has information on the cult."
Pietre looks aghast as he hears your words. "Yes, I believe we can find a way to decipher this. It'll probably take several days, though. How long will you be in Magnimar?"
"Well we do still have some business to attend to. We'll be in town for a few more days at least."
"Yes, we'll be here a while I think." agrees Rhianni.
"I shall do my best then. May Iomedae light your way." Brother Pietre gives his farewell.
Tomaru gets a silver starknife in case they run into those wererats again. He's ready to take on the clock tower now.
Rhianni searches the town to buy a special bag to carry her items and scrolls, searching to buy a Handy Haversack and a couple of scrolls of fireball.
Praxim got +1 amulet of natural armour, +1 ring of protection, +1 mighty composite longbow, and a scroll of fly.
He's also ready to take on the watch tower.
You make your way through the decrepit streets of Underbridge until you reach the clock tower.
Hidden beneath the grimy, blackened goliath that is the Irespan, leans a decrepit and sagging clock tower, a dying structure of weathered stone, wood, and rusted metal supports that teeters to an unlikely height of over 180 feet. High above, near the tower's roof and barely 5 feet from the Irespan's stony belly, a tangle of scaffolding sits near a section of the structure that has fallen away. The tower's clock face is frozen in time, defiantly proclaiming it to be 3 o'clock, while above, a stone statue of an angel, her wings crumbling, leans precariously, almost as if she were preparing a final leap from her decaying perch.
Double doors on the side of the clock face look to be the only entrance at floor level.
"Flying or not yet?" Praxim asks the spellcasters, pulling out his newly-purchased scroll.
"I'd say you'd save it, for when we really need you to fly. I think we should at least try the doors first? Sometimes the most obvious is the right way of approach?" says Rhianni as she works her way around the bottom of the tower, searching for any secret entrances down and around in the floor. "Of course it doesn't stop us from looking for another entrance, maybe through a tunnel or something." As she looks around she says as an afterthought, "I've got some magic that might help us unlock the door if its barring our entrance. Hmmm!", she continues her search. "Oh and someone keep an eye on the masonry above to make sure it doesn't start to fall."
"Indeed, save the flight for when it is strictly necessary," Lym agrees. She casts a brief cantrip as the group approaches the building.
"Yes, my friend, let's keep it simple for now."