Heading downstairs you find a semicircular room is empty except for a few bookshelves against the walls and a single desk and chair sit in one corner. A huge set of wood and metal double doors stands in the south wall.
Two humans dressed as cultists stand before you ready while a third figure, a tiefling, stand ready to repell you. The tiefling speaks out. "If you're hear in a foolhardy attempt to save Kenabres I'm afraid you're a few days too late. I'm sure we can find a pile of your predecessor to reunite you with if you insist." The horned figure smiles cruelly as he taunt you.
Frederic
Sariel
Davok
Claire
Cultists
Kaeldron
"Fashionably late," Sariel quips, "'N there's still time t'dance."
He selects two cold iron arrows and shoots them at the tiefling.
"These cultists are blinded by demonic lies! They cannot see that their time is at an end when confronted by agents of justice!"
Thundering into the room, fired up by his sister's words, Davok heads for the first cultist he sees.
At the sight of the demon servant, Fredric yells as he charges forward!
"Eat cold iron!"
With his new, massive two-hander, that does seem likely...
At the sight of the demon servant, Fredric yells as he charges forward! "Eat cold iron!" With his new, massive two-hander, that does seem likely... this servant of the Worldwound will no longer trouble Kenabres.
"Fashionably late," Sariel quips, "'N there's still time t'dance." He selects two cold iron arrows and shoots them at the tiefling.
"These cultists are blinded by demonic lies! They cannot see that their time is at an end when confronted by agents of justice!"
Thundering into the room, fired up by his sister's words, Davok heads for the first cultist he sees. A second cultists collapses
"You've got this sweetheart!" Alistair cheers on Claire as she charges forward.
Stumbling backwards the tiefling sneers.
Claire is blinded... permanently...
Kaeldron
Frederic
Sariel
Davok
Claire
Cultists Tiefling -28
Making her way up the stairs, Draghis directs her supernatural voice towards the tiefling.
"Be SILENT!"
Yanking his greataxe out of the downed cultist's chest, Davok charges at the remaining opponent.
Stuck at the top of the stairs, Kaeldron could do little but run down as fast as he could.
Claire shakes her head. "Ow! My eyes hurt! What did you try to do?" she asks the cultist.
"Less talking, more fighting!" Alistair urges, lending her his blessing. "Take 'em down!"
"Oh! Right!" Claire points her blade at the remaining enemy. "In the name of Kenabres, and all that is good and... stuff! I punish you!"
She thrusts her sword forward, driving it towards the cultist's heart.
"Oi! Leave'r alone!"
Sariel shoots at the tiefling's ugly head.
Fredric stares at the remaining tiefling, then shouts:
"The bird has the right of it! Fight!"
As he shouts, he charges, finishing in a brutal overhead swing at the foe!
The tiefling falls over dead, a tiny scorpion crawls out of his pocket and skitters under the desk.
Mwk Glaive x2
Wand of cure moderate wounds (9 charges)
Morningstar
Heavy crossbow
+1 bolts (12)
Bracers of armor +1
Cloak of resistance +1
Key to area N4,
Key for a chest
29 gp
Kaeldron raised his spear...and lowered it. The room was already cleared.
”Most efficient.” He said, his tone full of pleasant surprise.
Davok drags the desk away from the wall to find the scorpion.
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Alistair swoops upon the scorpion and pecks at it!
"Yeah! Take that you filthy blighter! You'll never escape Alistair the Fierce and Terrible! AHAHAHAHA!"
Already used to taking the wands, Claire picks up the magic stick and stares at it for a while, then slips it into her belt. "This is going to be, like, SO helpful!" She claps her hands happily. Then she gasps! "Oh! Alistair! You're so fierce! Get him! Squish that bug!"
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Kaeldron watched, doing his best to not think unpaladin like thoughts. Such as rooting for the scorpion.
Davok shrugs at Draghis.
Sariel picks up one of the polearms, then kneels and slips off his pack, securing the long arm of the weapon to his gear. Then he stands, reclaims his bow, and looks to the door.
"Ready?"
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A mighty battle ensues as Alistair earns his name... in a battle of familiar versus familiar he stands triumphant, even with a few feathers ruffled.
This semicircular room has been outftted with numerous demonic decorations. The green glass lanterns hanging on the walls give the room an eerie glow. A brazen minotaur head hangs from one wall above an altar covered with wavy-bladed knives and curved bulls’ horns, while star-shaped symbols in red decorate other walls. A large wooden chest sits near the west wall.
The area feels foul and corrupted, obviously annointed in service to their cultists demonic patrons.
The tieflings key opens the chest.
Brazen Head
2,310 cp
759 sp
122 gp
11 pp
Silver holy symbols of Iomedae x5
Masterwork longsword
Masterwork scimitars x2
450 gp in various fine housewares like silverware and table settings
Wand of bless weapon (18 charges)
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 it could do do some good.
Finally, there’s a short note in immaculate handwriting—a letter from the lilitu Minagho to Faxon the Tiefling.
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!
Minagh
planes):
Minagho is the demonic ruler of the ruined city of Raliscrad in the Worldwound, and Vorlesh is the woman rumored to have helped open the Worldwound in the first place.
The “Nahyndrian crystal” is a much more obscure subject, you know that Nahyndrian crystals are said to be the crystallized fragments of a murdered demon lord’s life force, though what use such an object could be put to is unknown.
"The bird is driven to battle evil, if surprisingly lecherous." says Fredric. He visibly surprises himself as he had not meant to expand much on his thoughts.
"The crusaders can surely make good use of this information. And I would love to destroy these demon cultists. All of them."
"I've ne'er 'eard've 'ese people" Sariel says honestly when he reads the letter. "Who's Vorlesh? Minagh?"
Claire claps her hands as Alistair defeats the dangerous scorpion familiar.
"Oh, well done!"
As the group looks the next chamber and sifts through paperwork she cocks her head to the side. "This letter's like... SO confusing." She passes it to the others to see what they can make of it. "So... This Faxon guy, Minagh, Vorlesh, and Baphomet are all big jerks. But who's the daughter? And what's a... Na-hinny-dun crystal?" She puts a finger to her lip and thinks. "Why do we always find things I don't understand?"
Alistair struts around happily. In response to Fredric he tweets, "You've got NO idea, big guy."
He flutters over to Claire, lands in her cleavage, and wiggles in nice and cozy like. "Yeah, that's the stuff. Best nest ever." He sticks his little bird tongue out at Sariel. "She's mine."
As Claire bemoans her confusion, Alistair sighs. "It's cause you're a little stupid, Claire. It's not like your Mom saw you got a great education, or anything. The Lucky Bar's not what I would call a place of higher learning. In fact, I'm surprised you turned out as well as you did. Probably get it from your Dad."
After a moment he adds, "It's alright. I like you anyway. And if anyone else calls you stupid I'll peck their eyes out!"
"...Why the f*** did I just say all that out loud? Did someone slip me something? Must be the scorpion venom... Damned bug."
Claire pouts a little when Alistair calls her stupid. "Well, that's not very nice to say..."
"That was not very nice to say, Alistair, if partially true. Claire may be oblivious to her surroundings to a near-lethal degree and dangerously naive about the intentions of others. But she is brave and has an uncanny knack for fighting evil. She deserves to wield that blade and I am happy to have her fight alongside me."
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Entering the zone of truth, Kaeldron said rather involuntarily ”Gods give me strength to not skewer this damnable bird. It is disgraceful to be in the company of so loathsome a creature. If not for Lady Claire’s obvious destiny I’d leave it to rot in it’s own perfidity. I...” He trailed off, his face turning crimson. ”...I think this room is under some sort of enchantment.”
"Awww! That's so sweet of you to say, Fredric!" Claire gushes. But at Kaeldron's words she covers up the poor little bird in her cleavage and gasps. "Kaeldron, how could you?! You stay away from Alistair! There'll be no skewering of any kind!"
She looks down at the little bird and coos, "Don't you worry, I won't let him hurt you!"
”You couldn’t stop me if you tried. Fortunately I recognize a servant of the gods when I see one, and as distasteful as it is, I will not harm their servant. I...damn it. I need to get out of this room. You have my sincerest apologies Lady Claire. I would not have spoken so out of turn if I had control over my faculties. I’ll be stepping outside now, lest I say anything else out of turn.”
He hurriedly turned around to leave, but, before stepping out he turned around and said ”I hold you all in the greatest respect. Except for the bird, it is an honor to fight alongside all of you.”
"This isn't even the most heated discussion we've had since we banded together," Davok explains to Draghis.
"That is true. We have had several disputes about appropriate punishments for certain captured demon servants."
"On a lighter note, I am very pleased with my new sword. Twelve pounds of beautifully wrought cold iron. No womder Ragathiel favours such weapons!"
"It is a fine weapon. I am a little bit ashamed that I fantasize about finding a weapon that is bigger than yo--
"Sorry. I'm going to take this equipment and the information we've found out of this room so we can pack it up to return to the stronghold."
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You deal with a small group of cultists on your way to Topaz solution.
A wooden sign above the door bears a carving of a bundle of orange herbs and flowers hovering over a beaker filled with smoking orange liquid. The building’s windows are tightly shuttered, but the front door hangs halfway off its hinges.
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This was certainly a delicate situation. The place might well be trapped. Who knew what perfidity was worked into these stones? What deviant horrors the cultists might have concocted. Obviously it was best practice to take this slowly. To get a lay of the land, to carefully check for traps. To scout it out.
Sir Kaeldron pulled off the front door and walked inside. They were paladins, afterall. They had a very specific skill set. He had spear and shield out in front of him as he detected evil
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Fredric strides in after Kaeldron, eager to apply his skill set.
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Sariel gulps, unslinging his skill set as he carefully steps up behind those with more durable skill sets.
The place has been sacked... and you can still see the large sack in the middle of the room. Six people in leathers with mundane short swords and bows turn as your group enters. Their eyes go a little wide at the more heavily armoured group. "Woah there big guy no need to go tearing off any more doors! We're just waiting for a good time to get clear of this mess, we don't want any trouble."
"Hold a moment.", commands Fredric.
He stares at them, seeking traces of evil.
None of them move but they are confused. They do not register as evil to Fredric.
”We are paladins.” Kaeldron said, with authority. ”And we have reason to believe that there is cultist activity in this area that must be purged. Fortunately for you, I do not sense evil in you’re heart. I suggest you take your looting elsewhere while we go about our task.”
Fredric watches the people carefully, ready to launch himself forward should they turn hostile.
"And you'll have to let us inspect the bag."