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Jamir visibly relaxes as soon as Zurnzal tells Jamir and Craggark that he is a recent hire by Torch's organization; his trash-talk about the Aspis Consortium helps improve the halfling's disposition.
The little swashbuckler shrugs. "Well, yes and no. The Society wants the items we find, that much is true. But the Venture Captains simply pay us in gold instead, and the wages are more than fair. The quartermasters in every city have a decent storehouse of common equipment magical and mundane if we wish to purchase it from them rather than taking our chances in the local markets, and if we want to purchase one of the specific items we recover for the Society, we need only wait long enough for the Society's wizards and priests to be able to duplicate it. If you were with the Snakes, I am certain you can see how many arguments - how much bloodshed - this policy allows the Society to avoid. Can you imagine a party of adventurers brought together for a mission - often never having met before, and unlikely to meet again afterwards - successfully completing the job assigned to them without injury, only to fall to fighting among themselves over who gets to keep the shiniest of the magical baubles looted from some poor bastard's corpse?"
Jamir shakes his head with a chuckle. "No, I am perfectly content with the arrangement. I will happily accept good coin for the chance to use my sword-arm to put down nasty creatures, thank you, and spend my pay how I please. Besides, the Society hands out plenty of goodies to us as complete more successful missions. Healing wands, potions that allow a fellow to fly through the air like a bird -- why, after one has completed as few as -- " the halfling counts in his head for a moment -- "eight missions, the Society's priests will call your soul back from the Boneyard and raise you from the dead, requiring no payment whatsoever!"
Zurnzal politely declines Craggark's overtures, and nods to Jamir. "That makes a lot more sense, and indeed, I had my doubts about all the aspersions the Aspis cast upon the Society. Still, Grandmaster Torch seems like the kind of fella who knows the value of good information, and appreciates not only loyalty, but folks of our ilk." He gestures to Craggark and himself
Meanwhile, Katswiri's takes a few rounds to cast Lesser Restoration from her scroll, and suddenly Obahar's eyes do focus and he shakes his head to try and clear his thoughts. He reaches a hand out, almost as if to convince himself you're real. His voice is soft and broken, holding none of the confidence and timber that you heard the previous day. " Pathfinders, right? Wh-what happened? ?"
Suddenly his eyes go wide and he lurches off the table and ducks under it. "Where is that vile creature with the horns? It bit me...again and again!"
You are able to calm Obahar down, but he is far from fully recovered from the mental damage he sustained under the disembodied head's assault. When you reveal your clues, he gets very frustrated at his inability to provide useful information, but then he has an epiphany, "I still have my notes and my books! They can help you!" And he gestures at his desk.
The portents reveal it would be Weal in the next 30 minutes if you accept Zurnzal's offer.
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"Obahar, we have uncovered considerable information about the Dungeons of the Ever-Dying. They are located to the east, past where the Seven Crypts used to be. Also, the Sarenrite clergy had tried to cleanse the Dungeons in ancient times. We also retrieved this journal from an alchemist who had been visited by the Div; there could be a clue in here."
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Katswiri gives a sigh of relief as Obadhar recovers somewhat from the spell. "I wasn't sure if that would work, but I'm glad you're alright Obadhar. It looks like Zurnzal was likely telling the truth."
Katswiri will still use her Seer powers to examine the near future, looking for imminent betrayal by Zurnzal. After a minute, her eyes refocus. "Taking Zurnzal's offer will have nothing but benefits for us in the near future. It looks like his offer is good. The long term drawbacks of offering the support he has requested are beyond the current limits of my sight."
"Dungeons of the Ever-Dying? Of course. There's that transcription from a Sarenite's tomb in that volume of...what was it called again? I have a copy here...where is it?" He starts shuffling through the paper's on his desk, but his efforts slacken the more he digs, until finally he looks up in embarrassment. "What am I looking for again? Perhaps you could look through this yourselves...I don't seem to be myself quite yet." He rights the nearby chair and moves it to the corner to sit down. "Go ahead. Sift through what's there. I imagine you can find what you're looking for..."
There are piles of maps, notes, copies of official city surveys and at least a handful of thin volumes in sight on the heaps of papers on his desk. It might take a while to look through it all.
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He bows curtly to Zurnzal. "Excuse us briefly, my friend, while we consult with our other two companions..."
Once out of earshot of Zurnzal and reunited with all his companions, the rogue says, "Maybe we could unravel this ourselves...but what if all the information is not here? Or what if this guy or Torch removed some info so that we can't? He doesn't appear to be the patient type so he won't stick around just in case we need him. In this instance, I say we take the proverbial bird in the hand..."
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Aroden scowls. "If Torch sabotaged us and removed information so that we are forced to be indebted to him, then I would rather abandon the mission and report failure rather than accept his help. For the pleasure of ruining his scheme. I will not play the part of a pawn for any chessmaster. If it is merely a matter of saving time, or if in fact the information was never originally all there, then I will go with a majority vote. If you have reason to believe, Mythryndyr, that Zurnzal has destroyed or hidden the evidence that we need, then he is our enemy."
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Jamir shrugs. "Zurnzal seems like a decent enough fellow. He may not be particularly idealistic - he has a job to do, and appears to be as concerned about his compensation as he is about doing it well - but I certainly did not sense any malice from him. He is very straightforward, and I do not believe that he is subtle enough to be a thief. In addition, let me put it to you this way: do any of you believe that, even if Zurnzal did take advantage of his arriving before us to snatch a few pages from our poor friend's desk, the leadership of the Society would restart the conflict with the Shadow Lodge rather than allow Torch to assist in combating a greater threat? I am no fan of the Shadow Lodge, but I am also well aware that my opinions matter little when the great powers of the world are at play."
He shakes his head. "I understand and appreciate your rectitude, Aroden, but I vote we accept the man's help."
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"In addition, let me put it to you this way: do any of you believe that, even if Zurnzal did take advantage of his arriving before us to snatch a few pages from our poor friend's desk, the leadership of the Society would restart the conflict with the Shadow Lodge rather than allow Torch to assist in combating a greater threat?"
"If I thought Zurnzal were manipulating us to force us to accept his help so that we owe Torch a favor, then I would abandon the mission. Not restart a conflict with Torch, just walk away and not play his games.
I think you may find that Torch 'standing alongside' the Society might not mean he is assisting the Society in combating a greater threat but rather is seeking to be present at that situation to exploit it for his own advantage. I don't know and that is what worries me.Regardless, you have voted, so we will accept the deal. If I actually thought Zurnzal had stolen papers to force us to accept his offer, I really would have abandoned this mission and left you all to your fate. As it is, I think you are choosing expedience and convenience over honest effort, but at least that is not being played by Torch."
Zurnzal pokes his head in the door: "I couldn't help but overhear your exchange--not that I was being nosy, but your raised voices were pretty easy to hear. And while I appreciate your reservations, it sounds like we have a deal."
Zurnzal then draws his short sword and quickly uses it to prick his thumb before resheathing the blade.
He then uses his blood to draw a simple dagger design just below his throat, and beckons Katswiri to do the same.
life if faced with abduction.
Zurnzal nods his approval. Then he looks Katswiri right in the eye and speaks clearly and slowly, making a point to carefully mouth the words in her view.
"I know that the Dungeons lie 'beneath the Red Canals,” which is a reference to waterways that have existed since ancient times—though possibly under different names. I heard this repeated by several of Veshtahz’s victims."
He then reaches into his pack and pulls out what appears to be an ancient tablet. "I also know that the Dungeons fell under the domain of General Menetashtor, an infamously cruel general who served the Pharaoh of Forgotten Plagues" The tablet shows the general’s troops being assigned “permanent duty” at the Dungeons.
"I also learned that the Dungeons were once cleansed by Sarenite priests, who recorded the cleansing but later tampered with their own records to obfuscate knowledge of the Dungeons." Zurnzal hands over the altered document as proof.
"While that may not give you direct knowledge of the location of the Dungeons, it is all that I've learned. I imagine it should be enough to piece together its location. And Grandmaster Torch will be in touch with the Society about the bargain struck today."
As Zurnzal heads for the door, Obahar quickly says, "Thank you for saving my life." Zurnzal merely offers a grunt and a nod as he walks out.
After waiting a moment or two for the sound of Zurnzal's footsteps to fade, Obahar turns to the party. "I think I know where these dungeons of the always dying might lie..." He rummages on his desk for a minute or two, then pulls out an old map. "These are the 'Red Canals.'"
Obahar then turns to a map of contemporary Merab. "Hmmm...that would mean the most likely place for an entrance would be " He points to a location on the map that is maybe a twenty minute walk from your current locale. "It's an abandoned shrine to some unknown diety lost to the sands of time. There really isn't any other older structure still remaining in the area...right?" His excitement and vigor at recognizing Zurnzal's clues quickly fade, and sits back down. "I could do with some rest. Please do let me know if you find the Dungeons. I'd love to hear a full report of what you find...but your report can wait until tomorrow. Good luck."
You take a look at his map to confirm his information, and indeed, everything in the shrine's immediate vicinity appears to be newer construction; it's doubtful there'd be any easy way down into the Dungeons from anywhere but the abandoned shrine.
An abandoned shrine to an unknown deity sits where the Dungeons of the Ever-Dying are supposedly located. The people of Merab go about their business in the surrounding area—a relatively unremarkable market and temple district. None of the citizens come close to this shrine, and a few make warding gestures as they hurriedly pass by.
After a brief search, Robyyn locates a secret door behind the crumbling altar. Beyond is a passage that narrows to the point that everyone but Jamir has to squeeze to get through. But after a short time the tunnel widens a bit and affords easier passage to the larger party members.
The crumbling, twisting tunnel leads deep beneath the streets of Merab past layers of previous occupation before winding down the side of a large cavern. At the bottom, a twenty-foot-high windowless structure occupies much of this space. Stairs lead to platforms on the west and south sides of the building, but no other entrances are visible from here. By the time you spot the arrow slits of the southern chamber, you notice there are no lights coming from inside, and nobody has shot any arrows at you...yet.
Katswiri notices that all of the other party members pause as you approach the building, their brows furrowing in consternation.
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Jamir pulls a sunrod from his pack and cracks it against the ground, moving it to his off-hand once it begins to glow. He checks the straps on his buckler and draws his rapier, eager to move forward.
"In my experience, people chanting in abandoned underground dungeons are rarely up to something beneficial to the community, and are probably Asmodeans. It's true! Did you know that the entire state religion of Cheliax is literally devil worship?" He shakes his head in mock disbelief. "My friends, we must put an end to this dark ritual, whatever its purpose may be!"
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Aroden doesn't make any purchases. He does cast Light on his sword, as usual.
He casts Heroism and See Invisibility on himself upon hearing the chanting, and uses his wand of Mage Armor (wand at 37).
"If there are Asmodeans, or other fiend-worshippers, I will stand against them. If you wish to scout, Mythryndyr, you may do so. Keep in mind that I can cast a spell of Clairvoyance or Clairaudience to see or hear on the other side of a wall or closed door if you wish."
Mythryndyr makes nary a whisper of sound as he approaches the structure.
The stairs ascend five feet to a wide, open platform with stone doors to the North, East, and South leading into the building. Narrow pillars support a stone overhang 20 feet above. The door to the East appears to have a good lock, while the other 2 doors do not appear to have locking mechanisms. The sound of chanting comes from beyond the locked door.
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Robyyn crinkles his brow as people turn on their light sources, but he says nothing, used to this particular problem that most humanoids have. As soon as he hears the chanting, he activates his wand of mage armor and casts see invisibility on himself.
He approaches with the others, curious to hear what Mythrynyr reports.
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Katswiri laughs slightly at Craggark's statement.
"...no. Though my glasses to make it easy to forget sometimes, I can't actually hear anything. Well, other than those three memories from another person in a distant time, that is. Chanting, you say? Hmmm....."
When Myth heads out to scout, Katswiri will turn to her other companions. "I will protect us against evil before we enter. I will need to wait to cast the spells until we have finished scouting the interior by mundane or magical means, however, as the spell only lasts a few minutes."
Mythryndyr does not detect the trap as he quietly picks the lock, but he does feel a satisfying click as the last of the tumblers fall into place.
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Robyyn-bot moves up to his spot on the end of the line of your classic pincer formation, and with a nod, Mythryndyr slightly cracks the door and peeks in.
Eight stone pillars stand around this room. At the center of the room, a five-foot-diameter spiral of twisted arcane glyphs is charred into the floor. Broken bones stained with blood encircle the spiral, and an onyx gem sits in the center.
He sees three men chanting. All wear chain shirts. The one with the Red tunic & the one with the Blue tunic have both whips and morning stars hanging from their belts, while the one in the green tunic has a dagger & a whip. Each wears a strange holy symbol.
Almost as soon as the door opens, they stop chanting, and turn their heads as one, looking at the door. The one in the green tunic shouts: "Destroy the Interlopers!"
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"Cease your synchronized summoning and yield, fiend-followers! We will be interloping long after your souls have been judged by Pharasma and sent to the Hells!"
Jamir does not actually expect any of the chanters to surrender, so he does not wait for a response. He runs into the room and thrusts his rapier into the green-garbed cultist, apparently the leader of the trio.
The halfling swashbuckler boldly dances in and stabs the leader, his rapier penetrating deep between the cleric's ribs. The injured man lets out a gasp of anger at the attack.
The cultist in the red tunic casts a spell, and a Burst of Sound assaults the group outside. The he moves up to support his leader, pulling out both whip and morningstar.