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The norn doesn't object to Erlathan examining the pins, and watches with some amusement as the arcanist tries to determine their properties.
"Let me save you the trouble, young elf." Rowane smiles. "If you agree to be Rowane’s agents, I will provide each of you one of these pins bearing Erecura’s symbol, a halo of runes. While wearing such a pin, you can operate with her authority. In addition, Erecura will help shield you from attracting Dispater’s Attention and from her spouse’s wrath."
"So, do you agree to be our agents?"
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"That's...even better than Artinean's magic," Nella muses under her breath. Oh well; she figured the gnome probably needed the gold.
She looks around at the rest of her companions. "I...don't see why we wouldn't, right? Normally I wouldn't really care anything about taking sides in Hell's business but we could use the extra clout and it'll help us free the Hellknights and Narsino in the end."
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"Right-o," Nella nods. But as the group finishes their discussion with Rowane and gets ready to head out she notices that Obtrivi still needs his pin.
"Whoops, hold on a sec," she calls to her companions before turning to Rowane and takes the last pin from her palm. She turns to the dwarf and kneels down, pinning the pin onto his cloak.
"There! It seems sturdy so I doubt it'll budge even if you have to use that crazy sword that makes the 'BRRRM-BRRRM' sound," Nella remarks. "And it looks pretty good on you too," she smiles as she gives Obtrivi a friendly pat on the shoulder and rises to her feet.
"Okay, I think we're ready to go!"
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Nella blinks and then a confused look crosses her face as well as she wonders why she's trying to kneel down in front of someone that's actually quite tall.
"Er, sorry...I think this place is getting to me too," she mumbles with embarrassment as she quickly straightens up and finishes pinning the pin on Obtrivi's cloak before someone decides to make a joke at her expense.
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"Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!" Artylget and Tholvinus chime in impish chorus.
A fierce scowl from Rowane silences the pair of little devils with a choked-off squeak. The norn pauses, long enough for the imps to grovel before her awesome display of her infernal power.
Then she turns back to you, her sweet smile once again lighting her beautiful face. She leads you to a small mahogany table, several items arranged atop a delicate spiderweb lace cloth.
"Please, also accept these tokens of our appreciation for all you've uncovered already. There's a scroll of vision of hell, a scroll of mass bear’s endurance, and an oil of magic vestment , a wand of volcanic storm , and a lesser piercing metamagic rod."
Burdened with a cornucopia of gifts bestowed by the handmaiden of the Queen of Dis, you depart Eleusys on your way to the Fallen Fastness.
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En route to the Fallen Fastness, you're caught unawares in an ambush in an unusually quiet block of the bustling city of Dis.
You recognize Ophelia Peran, peering out from behind the cover of a nearby building. She's wearing a chain shirt and armed with a shortbow. The hilt of a greatsword rises behind her shoulder. She looses an arrow at Obtrivi. She shouts, "These are the ones Leventi told us to slay. Now! Attack!"
The arrow strikes with incredible accuracy, but fortunately it does little damage to the ifrit warrior.
From atop a nearby roof, a woman in Hellknight plate armor, who can only be Teena Forester, launches an arrow from her longbow at Cirri.
A man matching Kirash Nouri's description of his manservant Narsino Gabet, peers out of a nearby alley, surrounded by a half dozen swirling images. He's wearing a fine breastplate and cloak, and armed with a rapier. He casts a spell, and his blade courses with crackling lightning.
• You have Ophelia’s contract from Yseldra.
• You uncovered proof of Narsino’s freedom by analyzing Kirash Nouri’s contracts.
• You can convince Teena to remember her duty and cease fighting by presenting her Hellknight Order of the Pike insignia that you acquired in the Ghetto of Outcasts to her and succeeding at a Diplomacy, Perform (oratory), or Profession (barrister or soldier) check.
Erlathan
Obtrivi
Alexander
Riddywhipple
Nella
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Ophelia Peran (orange)
---
Alden
Zarta Dralneen
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Teena Forester (red)
---
Cirri
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Narsino Gabet (pink)
"Cirri, give me that!" Riddywhipple ignores Cirri's squawking and grabs Nouri's contract. "Narsino Gabet! You are no one's property! We have Kirash Nouri’s contracts and they are null and void. Do not attack us!"
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Erlathan eyes the scrolls and rods with stars in his eyes. "It's about time we found some magical goodies! But... I'd think fire spells may not be our best bet here in Hell. And the rod just lessens my capability to form precise arcane shapes with my hands. Take it, Cirri."
"An ambush, hmm? I'd expect nothing less from Hell's cowardly denizens!" The elf calls out. "Come on, friends. If diplomacy fails, we'll need to be... quick on our feet!" He reaches into spell component pouch and grabs a shaving of licorice root. He tosses it in the air, and before it can hit the ground, Erlathan chants a spell, watching the root burn into sparkling arcane goodness.
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Riddywhipple convinces Narsino to stand down, drawing the man out with the hope of liberation from his unfair and illegitimate infernal contract.
Obtrivi rips the arrow from his shoulder and vents his frustration with a roar of rage.
Concerned that the team won't be able to convince the other attackers to call off their ambush, Erlathan casts haste.
• You have Ophelia’s contract from Yseldra.
• You uncovered proof of Narsino’s freedom by analyzing Kirash Nouri’s contracts.
• You can convince Teena to remember her duty and cease fighting by presenting her Hellknight Order of the Pike insignia that you acquired in the Ghetto of Outcasts to her and succeeding at a Diplomacy, Perform (oratory), or Profession (barrister or soldier) check.
Erlathan
Obtrivi
Alexander
Riddywhipple
Nella
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Ophelia Peran (orange)
---
Alden
Zarta Dralneen
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Teena Forester (red)
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Cirri
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Narsino Gabet (pink)
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Nella stares hard at the scroll of Vision of Hell that sits upon the table.
Is...is this some sort of a joke? Are we being trolled? I feel like we're being trolled.
It's rather unlike her but for a brief instant she really wants to flip the entire table. But as she takes a deep breath and slowly exhales, the moment passes.
"Most of these aren't anything I can make much use of, except for the rod and the Bear's Endurance scroll, same as Cirri. But if you want to hold both of them then feel free."
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It's all Nella can do to keep herself from hitting the deck as arrows suddenly start flying at them from all directions. Recognizing the form of Ophelia Peran peering from around a nearby corner she reaches into her pack and pulls out the contract Ysrelda had given them.
"Ophelia Peran! We visited with your contractor Ysrelda and convinced her to turn possession of your soul over to us," Nella calls out, holding the furled scroll aloft. "You're no longer bound to Leventi or his orders. Stand down!"
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Nella waives Ophelia Peran's contract for her soul, telling the woman to stand down. The woman immediately complies, and she seems shocked as she does so. Her eyes express her slow realization that the strange cleric must indeed control her soul.
Up on the room in her Hellknight armor, Teena Forester can scarce believe her lying eyes. Both of her companions have ceased their aggression against their foes. Will she be next?
• You uncovered proof of Narsino’s freedom by analyzing Kirash Nouri’s contracts.
• You can convince Teena to remember her duty and cease fighting by presenting her Hellknight Order of the Pike insignia that you acquired in the Ghetto of Outcasts to her and succeeding at a Diplomacy, Perform (oratory), or Profession (barrister or soldier) check.
Erlathan
Obtrivi
Alexander
Riddywhipple
Nella
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Ophelia Peran (orange)
---
Alden
Zarta Dralneen
---
Teena Forester (red)
---
Cirri
---
Narsino Gabet (pink)
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Alexander shouts in his most authoritative voice, "STAND DOWN!"
Direct towards Teena, [b]"This doesn't need to end in the needless shedding of your blood. Stand down or Flee it makes no difference to me, but save your life or continue to attack us and die where you stand."
I am going to assume that this much dialog will take a full round.
* Reroll *
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Cirri calls out a suggestion that someone show Teena Forester the Order of the Pike Hellknight insignia the paladin Devin Madras had given to you when you freed Teena's former companions in the Ghetto of Outcasts.
Alexander orders Teena to stand down, but it doesn't sway the Hellknight.
A nervous Ophelia Peran, one hand on her greatsword, approaches Nella and examines the contract the cleric holds. "You own my soul. What is your will?" The woman drops her sword arm and seems resigned to her fate, subject to a new master's whims.
• You uncovered proof of Narsino’s freedom by analyzing Kirash Nouri’s contracts.
• You can convince Teena to remember her duty and cease fighting by presenting her Hellknight Order of the Pike insignia that you acquired in the Ghetto of Outcasts to her and succeeding at a Diplomacy, Perform (oratory), or Profession (barrister or soldier) check.
Erlathan
Obtrivi
Alexander
Riddywhipple
Nella
---
Ophelia Peran (orange)
---
Alden
Zarta Dralneen
---
Teena Forester (red)
---
Cirri
---
Narsino Gabet (pink)
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"HELLKNIGHT TEENA FORESTER!!!!!!!!!!!" Alden voice thunders across the street. His voice taking on an authority he hasn't truly exercise since his sojourn in Hell started.
"Teena Forester. Hellknight of the Order of the Pike. I am Alden Darkcrown Thelas of the Hellknight of the Order of the Crown. Recognized Representative Armiger of the Pathfinder Society and Order of the Gate. I call upon you to remember your oath and stand down!" he brandishes the Order of the Pike insignia taking no care to show any attempt to defend himself.
"Your companions has being freed from unlawful imprisonment, your oath found to be given unlawfully to one who has deceived you. As such for the honor of the Order that you represent, Stand down!" his voice thunders once more down the streets.
"There is no Honor in continuing this battle. Especially one which tarnishes your very oath and order to do so. Stand down and submit to the law. Receive fair trial and redeem yourself." he pauses to let her absorb his words.
"Stand with us to see that the law is served and the guilty punished." he ends his speech as he looks to see her reaction. Should she resist, then it shall be by his flail she falls. The oath demands its.
#07-25 Reinforced Alliance: You sided with the Order of the Gate Hellknights. Word of your deeds spreads among Hellknights, granting you a +2 bonus on all Diplomacy, Bluff, and Intimidate checks against members of a Hellknight order.
Armiger (Fame 20, 2 PP) Though still a loyal Pathfinder, your service to Cheliax grants you admission into a Hellknight order of your choice with the rank of armiger. You gain a +3 bonus on Diplomacy checks made against Hellknights of any order or rank.
Hellknight (Fame 40, 2 PP, Armiger) Your continued loyalty to Cheliax and your Hellknight order earn you the honorary rank of Hellknight (or signifer if you are a spellcaster), granting you a +3 bonus on Intimidate checks when wearing heavy armor. This rank is granted independently of levels in the Hellknight prestige class. (Not used)
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Presented with her insignia from the Order of the Pike and subjected to the call to duty from an impressive fellow Hellknight, Teena Forester is speechless.
She lowers her bow and then lowers herself nimbly from the roof, no mean feat for a woman in Hellknight plate armor. She holds out her hand to Alden and clasps his forearm in a fraternal embrace. "Well met, Brother. Thank you for reminding me of my duty to the Law."
Teena Forester sighs and her shoulders fall. "Having betrayed my oath and my comrades, Devin, Aurora, and Ria, I have much to atone for. And perhaps my first task should be to beg their forgiveness."
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Attracted by the sounds of the recently concluded combat, a pair of erinyes devils appear.
"Halt, in the name of Dispater! Put down your weapons and explain yourselves!" one of the devils demands.
"You have disturbed the peace of this great city and broken the law. Unsanctioned violence will not be tolerated. You have the right to remain silent until torture convinces you otherwise. Everything you say, do, or even think will damn you to eternal prison within the walls of Dis-"
"Wait, officers!" Ophelia interjects. She retrieves a rolled up piece of parchment from her satchel. "We broke no law. This is a bounty declaring these people wanted criminals."
One of the erinyes devils snatches the scroll and unfurls it. She glances over the parchment for an instant before grinning and declaring, "Indeed, you are valid bounties to be captured or slain as necessary."
The other demands, "Cease resisting, now, in acknowledgement of the bounty hunters' claim."
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"Ow.. ow... my leg... ow..." Cirri pulls out the crossbow bolt. "Well, I'm glad we managed to end this without too much viol- eep!" Cirri notices more fallen angels show up and bark demands.
Cirri moves closer to the devils. "Okay, hold on. Let me see the bounty paperwork."
"Uh huh... uh huh... in section 25, paragraph 4, it says we are guilty of trespassing. But this is a public street... Wow, this part's pretty vague."
"Do you know how hard it is to pin Rowane's pins to dragon scales?" RIddywhipple yells from the back.
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"Let me see that, Cirri," Erlathan grabs the bounty papers and begins combing through them. "Hmm, I actually think it's subsection 66.6 that has the proof. It also contains a corollary indicating we absolutely must be spared from your capture. See? It's right here." The elf points to a line on the paperwork.
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Nella takes a deep breath and slowly exhales; she should've figured that fighting on the streets would draw unwelcome attention. But then again, it wasn't like they'd been given much choice.
"This...is all a misunderstanding," Nella replies as she slowly raises her hands upward and approaches one of the erinyes. "We are here under the lawful authority of Vetrivides and Lady Rowane to investigate matters concerning one Leventi's business practices. You'll see that we have proof of this by our pins," she gestures towards her robes where her own badge is displayed, "and by this writ from Vetrivides."
"Based on the initial writ, we're still within our allotted time to carry out our investigation. And our other companions are important character witnesses to our investigation."
She pauses for a moment. "There was just some...confusion regarding soul contracts and who is bound to take orders from who. But I believe our proof of legitimacy should supersede anything that is written in those bounties. We've done no wrong."
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The erinyes cops follow Cirri's finger on the page and peer at section 25, paragraph 4. They shake their heads. "That's a legalism. 'Trespassing' in Dis means transgressing the law, as in 'punish us for our trespasses, as we punish those who trespass against us'."
Erlathan steps up to the cops and points to subsection 66.6. They frown in concentration, ignoring the elf's legal analysis. But then one of the elf's chin tentacles brushes across the last line of the document. "Eureka!" one of the devils exclaims and gives Ophelia a hard look. "This bounty is still pending approval! Leventi shouldn't have dispatched you on an unsanctioned seek-and-destroy mission."
Riddywhipple and Obtrivi display the badges from Rowane. The pair of devil cops exchange a look, not yet convinced of the team's own legal authority.
Then Nella approaches the erinyes. They shrink away slightly, wrinkling their noses at the sudden mysterious, unidentifiable cloying stench of goodness. Before they can give it much thought, though, the cleric presents her own badge from Rowane and the writ signed by Vetrivides.
Their eyebrows raise. "Looks like you all have some serious connections at City Hall. Very well, you're free to go. Keep your noses clean and stay out of trouble, hear?"
The pair saunter off, twirling their night sticks, back on the beat.
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Zarta had backed against a nearby wall, frozen, at the start of the ambush.
After the erinyes depart, the venture-captain comes forward, her expression stoic, and approaches Ophelia. "I recognize your face. You were part of the team that abducted me nearly six years ago on orders from Cheliax."
Zarta leans in close to the woman's ear and speaks in a sinister stiletto-like whisper, "Our shared experience being bound to obey and powerless to resist a tyrant’s will is all that keeps me from slapping you for what happened years ago."
Composing herself, Zarta turns to you. I leave Ophelia’s fate in your hands. I'm willing to see the shadowdancer slain or released."
Zarta stalks off, but after only a couple of steps, she stops and looks back over her shoulder. "Or you could offer her the opportunity to assist the Society as a first step toward making amends." She gazes at the defeated woman, an unspoken challenge in her bright eyes.
"Have mercy. Give us a chance to aid you," Ophelia pleads. Her fellow agents, Narsino Gabet and Teena Forester nod in agreement.
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Cirri and Obrivi make the command decision to treat Leventi's agents with compassion, even welcoming them as friends.
Cirri hands Nella her wand, and the cleric uses it to heal the wounded magus.
Ophelia looks sad. "I am yours to command. But I beg you, let Narsino and Teena have their freedom and do what they will with it."
Narsino asks, "May I have your leave to meet with Kirash?"
"I'd like to rejoin my comrades, thank you, "Teena says, itching to go. "They're in the Ghetto of Outcasts, right?"
"And I must obey anyone who holds my contract. If you destroy it, then I will simply vanish to the Boneyard," Ophelia says. "But first, we will aid you as we can."
The trio empties their pockets, handing you a potion of blur, a potion of cure moderate wounds, and a potion of barkskin .
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"We go to bring a miscreant to justice and you all have suffered enough." Alden looms in his armor, its darkened highlights catching the glow of his surroundings enhancing the already menacing effect of his armor.
"Go meet your friends as you wish but know that for this, joining the society to redeem yourselves would be a good start. In this I''m sure my companions will be willing to acccept such a compromise, wouldn't you agree my Lord Alexander and Milady Zarta."
"We have someone I"m eager to meet and I would appreciate we be on our way now. Afterall.........." Alden pauses as he shakes out his flail.
"Someone has taken all these trouble to waylay us at every turn." his grip tightens.
"We mustn't keep our expected host waiting."
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"Oh yeah, it might actually be for the best if we go ahead and part ways here," Nella agrees, nodding at Teena and Narsino. "As long as you're sure the two of you will be okay, anyway."
She then turns to Ophelia. "If you'd like a chance to help make amends for what you did to Zarta then we'd welcome your help when we go meet Leventi. But even if you don't, I'm happy to release you to the Boneyard."
"Soul contracts really aren't my usual style anyway," Nella adds with a grimace.
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Alexander takes a few moments to ponder Ophelia's fate. Not wanting to allow an enemy of Zarta and in all likelihood the Dark Archive faction to go free, he muses.
"So it is this otherwise insignificant piece of paper that will determine your fate?"
Alexander turns to his companions... "As for the other two, I would see them go wherever they wish to go. I will abide by whatever choice the rest of you can agree upon."
Alexander's darker side comes to full form...
"No... crimes such as yours do deserve punishment... and I see no greater punishment than oblivion. I vote that we destroy your contract immediately!"
In regards to Alden's recruitment... Alexander will offer them an introduction to the Society if they wish it.
"Yes, Alden is correct. The Society is a great way to do the work of the world and various realms with a modicum of respect and honor. I would agree to make the necessary introductions if you are so inclined."
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"Like Riddy and Nella said. No one owns anyone." Cirri pipes up. "Narsino, Kirash didn't mean for you to be his price for power. And it's not binding, anyway. Go! Don't forget the Pathfinder Society helped you!"
"Teena, you need to talk to your fellow Hellknights. They miss you. And you have a responsibility to fulfill. Go."
"Ophelia. I said, no one owns anyone. If you wish to go to the Boneyard, we'll rip this contract into a thousand shreds." Cirri almost tears it right then and there before pausing. "But if you want to join the Society, and redeem yourself, at least a little. Maybe we should do that now."
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A wave of conflicting emotions flows across Ophelia's face. "Sending me to the Boneyard would be a release, but given the grave mistakes I've made, I would likely find myself damned to Hell anyway."
Trembling, she contemplates an uncertain future with the Pathfinder Society. "Is there a path to redemption in serving your Society? If only it were true..."
"The Pathfinder Society is a lot of fun." Riddywhipple lands on Cirri's shoulder. "Plus the Grand Lodge all the snacks you could eat!"
Ophelia, as a spirit, doesn't really eat.