Woodthorne finally finishes off the outrider, and Dana knocks the other goblin unconscious, ending the battle.
You take your time to loot the goblins of any valuables. More importantly, you find a strange magical rod where the goblin outrider discarded it. Burnt feathers have been crudely tied to the rod but the black sheen of ash covering the rod rubs off easily, revealing a dark wood haft inlaid with silver script.
The inscription reads: "Only those who can command the lesser power of this rod can be trusted with True power."
potions (2), alchemist’s fire (4), tanglefoot bags (2), studded leather, heavy wooden shield, mwk dogslicer, shortbows (5) with 100 mwk arrows, tindertwigs (7), 2 gp, leather armor (4), light wooden shield (4), short sword (4)
Both potions are potions of cure light wounds.
This is a hellfire rod. This black rod inlaid with silver slightly, resembling an unstrung bow. Once per day, the wielder of a hellfire rod can speak the command word to create an arrow of burning fire. Treat this as a ranged touch attack identical to the acid arrowl spell, except the damage is fire instead of acid
The Pathfinders are unable to immediately identify the rod, and cannot seem to read the inscription. However, upon returning to Elidir, Venture-Captain Brackett can help.
"Ah, this must be the Hellfire rod. It was a symbol of the Irrica family's power. Daily one may use the rod to call up fire, but I think it may have had a secondary use, based on the inscription. See here," he says, pointing to the silver lettering, "Infernal. It says, 'Only those who can command the lesser power of this rod can be trusted with True power.' I wonder what that means exactly..."
He looks thoughtful, and slightly concerned, but moves on quickly.
"Your next mission is in Valten. According to the Irricas' will, the locket containing a portion of the true name was willed to a distant cousin, a woman named Delara Adnen. She is a retired Druman Blackjacket mercenary. Travel there and meet with her to either obtain or look at the locket. Please refrain from more questionable means of doing so, because the last thing the Pathfinders need is to annoy one so well-connected. Per the family lineage described in the will, there is one Irrica whose fate is unaccounted for; I shall be looking into this."
You get a different amount of gold for each quest depending on your level.
1st- 100
2nd- 150
3rd- 250
4th- 350
5th- 450
The Pathfinders arrive in Valten without incident. Valten is a small but bustling town, and the group is easily able to locate Delara's estate.
Past the houses and shops clustered at the town's center, a large mansion stands on a hill overlooking the river. A wrought-iron fence encircles the beautifully maintained grounds of the estate, its gate standing open and adorned by a family crest.
Once the Pathfinders arrive at the estate, the butler asks your business before ushering you in to see Delara. After waiting for a few minutes in the elegantly decorated parlor, a muscular, middle-aged woman with graying hair enters the room. She regards the Pathfinders thoughtfully before speaking.
"Good day. I am Delara Adnen. My butler informs me you all wish to see me, though he neglected to give me your names. Have a seat, and we can discuss business."
Delara seems pleased that you aren't in a rush to get down to business.
She looks over to her butler, "Please, bring our guests some refreshments. Tea this morning? Coffee? Something stronger?"
"Now, now. I've seen flattery, and then I've seen flattery," she says, laughing, and looks at Woodthorne. "You've heard of my exploits? What as a Blackjacket, or as an old caravaneer? You seem too young to have heard about the former."
She chuckles again, but good-naturedly, "So, what is it that I can do for you exactly? Family history? The Adnens aren't particularly notable. Or... were you talking about my grandmother's family?" she says, a bit more pointedly.
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Dana bows again.
”We believe that you have a connection to the Irricas, right? We are Pathfinders and are looking into this family and it’s secrets as well as the mysteries which surround it’s demise! We need to know if you have any items that belonged to this family and would be very grateful for any hints that you can give us as this is of utmost importance for our mission!“ Dana says silently.
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"Yes. Your grandmother's family." Woodthorne says a bit apologetically. "Even though they were known to support the House of Thrune, the Irricas were not simpering sycophants licking at the Thrune's boots. The Irracas were a powerful house that thrived despite standing against the Thrune at times. Our organization believes we have figured out at least one way they were able to do so. As my colleagues have said, we hope that you can and will provide the next piece of the puzzle for us."
A servant enters and sets a cup of tea and a plate of confections in front of each Pathfinder before departing.
Delara seems satisfied with your explanation. She goes over to a nearby curio cabinet, opens a drawer, and produces a small box. Inside, wrapped in paper, is a small locket, which she takes out and displays to it those gathered, holding it up in her hands for one of you to take and examine.
"Here it is. I boxed it away, never even bothered trying to open it. Its cursed, like everything having to do with that family. Glad I'm just a distant cousin, as it were. It's for sale, if you want it."
"I'll gladly take gold. I'd probably even accept a good bit of silver. I want nothing to do with the locket. When I inherited it, I was told that the last two people who possessed it died under mysterious circumstances, after a sudden downturn in fortune. I'll pass on that," Delara says, waving her hands dismissively.
Dana looks the locket over, and using one of her cantrips she soon discovers that it is indeed emanating a faint magical aura of necromancy. She also notices a small mechanism that must serve to pop the locket open.
When you begins to open the locket, it seals itself shut, and the reflected image of a ghostly young woman appears on the locket’s surface. She is dressed in a nightgown and has a melancholy demeanor.
"Please, do not disturb my locket. It is precious to me, and I would like to keep the memories within to myself. Who are you, strangers? Have you come to bring me peace at last?"
"Ooo! A ghost!" Reginald says excitedly. "Do you think she's the same woman as the painting we found earlier?"
Orst does not detect the presence of evil here, but the little, ghostly woman does respond to his and Woodthorne's inquiries.
"My name is Althea Irrica, daughter of Rutillo Irrica. Within this locket is a portrait of my beloved fiance, who was killed when one of my family's convoys was attacked, not long before..." she frowns, and seems confused, "Before whatever it was happened to me happened. At any rate, my spirit seems to be bound to the locket. I do not know for certain, but I think you need to help me find my rest." The little projection seems thoughtful, though still deeply melancholy.
"I do have one idea. If you could find my engagement ring and touch it to the locket, so that I can be close to it one last time, I think that might allow me to find peace in the afterlife. I doubt it should be terribly difficult, my parents probably have it back at the manor."
The poor ghost-girl doesn't seem to realize how much time has passed, and certainly doesn't know the cruel fate that was visited upon her family.
Delara is agape at the fact that her dead, distant relative seems to be haunting a locket. But a few moments after Althea's shade finishes its speech, the woman speaks.
"I already sold the ring..." Delara says, trailing off.
Delara seems to be still lost in thought for a few moments, before she answers, "I sold the ring with a few other items to a merchant caravan passing through Valten. I believe their leader was called Arvok. They are leaving town today by the main road, but you may still be able to catch them if you hurry."
She moves over to a desk, and withdraws a piece of paper from a drawer. She grabs her quill, and dipping it in the ink, she quickly writes out a note in a clear script, before continuing, "Here, this note instructs the merchants to give you the ring, and deduct the value from my accounts. Furthermore, you can take the locket, free of charge."
Delara frowns, wringing her hands. It is obvious that she feels bad about the entire situation.
As the Pathfinders get ready to leave to catch the caravan, Delara has a final word of warning, "As I said, when I received the ring and the inheritance, I was told that the last two family members who had owned it had passed away mysteriously after a downturn in fortune. I'm not particularly superstitious myself, but nonetheless I wanted to avoid trouble, so I didn't even handle the ring before selling it. But Althea's story has me worried that the ring's curse may extend beyond the Irrica family. Good luck, and be careful."
The merchant caravan is on the main road and easy to spot, so finding it isn't a problem. Four wagons are clustered next to the road, pulled off to the side so as not to impede traffic. Next to the wagons, several people mill about chatting, while a few armed guards keep an eye on passing travelers.
One of the merchants who seems to be organizing his stock calls out as you approach, "Hail there! You lot need to buy anything? We're about to leave town, and you won't find anything to match the quality of our goods in Valten. What can I do you for?"
"Ah, yes, the ring. You need to speak to Arvok," says the merchant, pointing to one of the other wagons.
You walk over to find Arvok tending to his horses. He greets you kindly, and then reads the letter from the Delara carefully.
You notice that Arvok is wearing a ring suspiciously similar to the descriptions they have heard of Althea’s ruby engagement ring.
"That's the one!" Casovir squawks from his perch on Reginald's shoulder. "He's wearing the cursed thing already!"
Arvok glances down at his hand, and seems genuinely surprised to see the ring there.
"Now how did that get there?" he says.
As he says this, the ring begins to change, and in place of a ruby ring, the merchant now has a hideous, red-eyed serpent wrapped around his finger, which begins to laugh in a sort of slithery cough.
"Yesss, lisssten to you your massster, little bird. Sssnakesss eat birdsss, you know. And I'm afraid Arvok ssshall be keeping the ring, foolisssh creaturesss. And I ssshall be keeping him," the snake says in a hissing voice, "Kill them, Zeverit."
The merchant doesn't seem overly shocked by this, and smiles at the serpent like it is his friend. You notice his hand move to his belt, where a longsword hangs in a scabbard. Hostilities, it would seem, are imminent.
The ring-serpent is a raktavarna, a type of rakshasha.
Made up of smoke, blood, and gold, raktavarnas are the least of the rakshasas—they are born not from humanoids, but from the souls of rakshasas who failed utterly in their previous incarnation and who are thus reborn from a serpent’s egg.
They have several special abilities.
Change Shape (Su) As a full-round action, a raktavarna can take the shape of a handheld object, most often an ornamental light, a one-handed weapon, or a piece of treasure. If the rakshasa remains stationary in such a form, it can attempt Stealth checks even while being observed. It can remain motionless in object form indefinitely, but reverts to its true form as soon as it takes any action.
Master’s Eyes (Su) A raktavarna can designate a single creature as its master as a standard action. If the raktavarna is a spellcaster’s familiar, its master is automatically that spellcaster, and the raktavarna cannot change this. As a full-round action, a raktavarna’s master can observe the world as if looking through the raktavarna’s eyes. The master must concentrate to maintain this link each round. The master’s visual senses are suppressed for this time, and he uses the raktavarna’s darkvision, detect magic, and regular eyesight to observe the world. This ability has no limit on range, and functions even across planar boundaries. If the raktavarna is slain while its master is using this ability, the master is stunned for 1d4 rounds (no save).
Poison (Su)
Bite—injury; save Fort DC 13; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Wis plus modify memory; cure 1 save.
Each time a victim takes Wisdom damage from this poison, a modify memory effect causes the victim to forget the previous minute’s interactions with the raktavarna, as long as the raktavarna is no longer visible or is in object form. The save DC is Constitution-based.
These terrors drift through society, passing from hand to hand as weapons or strange tokens from foreign lands, curiosities brought home by traders and emissaries and given to leaders as tribute. In this manner the raktavarnas gain entry into corridors of power throughout the world, and what they see, their foul masters know. A raktavarna’s servitude to a master ends only when its master decrees, or (more commonly) upon the master’s death. Little disconcerts raktavarnas more than having no master, and when they are cast adrift in this manner, they seek a replacement as soon as they can.
These foul creatures also have a number of spell like abilites: including charm person, commune, comprehend languages, detect magic, detect thoughts, and suggestion.
They also have DR 5/good or piercing, and SR 17.
Round One Xiao (up), Dana (up), Reginald (up), Arvok (not yet up), Regis (not yet up), Woodthorne (not yet up), Orst (not yet up), Zeverit (not yet up)
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"Ooo, a raktavarna!" says Reginald excitedly. "I've read about how they disguise themselves as trinkets, but they're actually a type of evil outsider known as rakshasa! It's probably charmed the merchant to act friendly - you can see his relaxed posture at the raktavarna's transformation. Did you know that raktavarnas also can duplicate the effects of spells such as Suggestion as well as poison a person with their bite and make them forget what they just saw?"
As Casovir pecks him, Reginald stops his lecture. "Ouch! Oh, right!" he exclaims. "Friend Arvok, don't move! There's something dangerous on your hand!" he says to the merchant, but his words seem to carry more weight than they normally would.