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Adalan is obviously somewhat shaken by the prospect that this undead man has been trying to scratch his way out of this room for decades, but his curiosity quickly wins out over his discomfort.
"Your dedication to revealing the truth is certainly... impressive," he begins, "and as agents of the Pathfinder Society we will gladly help record and publicize your secret. First, though, can you tell us what this secret is and who exactly it was that imprisoned you? It has been centuries since you were interred, so I doubt there is any immediate danger from the family that feared your knowledge then."
Adalan also tries to ascertain how truthful Marcon's oath was.
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Marcon shakes his head.
"I will not name the specific family at this time, but it is certain that what I know is still a threat to them... since it involves knowledge of a powerful Wish that granted their line complete immunity from taxation for all time, allowing them to prosper financially.
I first became suspicious when suddenly, in what seemed like an overnight transformation, the family’s fortunes changed for the better and their wealth began to steadily grow beyond any projections I had made. My surprise was brushed aside by the patriarch of the family, and all messages I sent to other potential creditors/governments were either lost, or ignored. Being a diligent and dedicated worker, however, I began digging deeply to find the reasons for the improvements... and that is what sealed my fate; by the time I discovered what had actually happened, my search came to the attention of the family, and they decided that since I liked digging so much, I could die buried beneath the city... for whilst their financial future was secured in perpetuity, they still feared damage to their reputation."
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The old knight contemplates the situation.
"This is not one of Tar-Baphon's creations, and I have built my reputation upon upholding the rule of law. We should help his soul to find rest. Any one of us would wish the same in his shoes."
He then turns to make eye contact with Marcon.
"But I am also aware that undeath is a powerful force. If you lose control, we will be forced to smite you, and your secret will die with you. But if you can guarantee us you will cause no harm, then we will do our due diligence to make sure your words are heard."
"Should take him to Lodge when it still night."
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Mara's a little jumpy around the undead after everything's that happened, but none of the necromancer's minions had been quite so...chatty. "I'm happy to escort you back to the Lodge after we're finished here. You can tell your secret to the authorities there." She pulls out her mace and prepares to knock down the wall. "Stand back; I don't want to accidentally hit you as I break this thing down."
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Marcon obediently stands to the side, whilst the party clears an opening.
Once there is enough space, he crawls through, dusts himself off, and bows.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all. I would shake hands, but I don't think that would be a good idea, given my current state. If you intend to explore further down here, be careful - I have heard/seen other undead moving around down here, and they were definitely *not* like me."
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This wide gallery is lined with a colourful mural depicting a figure performing some sort of magical ritual over an expanse of ocean. His arms raised, he beckons to something beneath the waves, and is answered by a frothing, foaming section of the water that hints at a massive shape rising.
To the northwest, stairs rise to another large room. An elegantly carved figure towers over the room, combining the body of an eel with the visage of a horrifying deep‑sea fish and four grasping tentacles.
Adalan, Dran'Thor, Mara, and Thorax are able to determine the artistry of both the mural and the statue is of the highest quality and likely cost hundreds of gold each to construct.
Adalan, Deshacerla, Dran'Thor, and Mara identify the mural as a depiction of Aroden raising the Starstone and the Isle of Kortos from the depths of the ocean.
Adalan and Deshacerla identify the statue as a depiction of Dagon, demon lord of the sea, sea monsters, and deformity.
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Suddenly, with a low moan, two rotting, fungus-and-boil-encrusted human corpses shuffle out from behind the statue!
As they do so, the walls at either end of the chamber explode outwards, as two hulking, rotting corpses that originally appear to have been ogres push through the weakened masonry, eager to taste living flesh...
"Ah." Marcon notes, "These would be what I was referring to. Distasteful!"
The two ogre corpses lunge forward...
...slamming into Thorax with surprising force, pushing him about like a rag-doll!
ZB (-, -)
Adalan
Dran'Thor
Bair
Thorax (-41)
Deshacerla
Mara
PZ (-, -)
Thorax doesn't risk further abuse; he cautiously steps past Mara, then falls back to Deshacerla and patches himself up.
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Mer-Bair looks oddly at the other goblin as he retreats back to the old human, is dat his mommy dere?
But the complicated nuances of adopted goblin familial relationships quickly fade as the sees the hulking beasts bearing down upon Mara, "I goddago saveday!"
He moves forwards, testing the waters to see if the monstrosity retaliates against his subtle movements, and then unleashes a couple whacks at an oozing/rotting kneecap.
for
(+1 if prior swing misses) for
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Thorax high-tails it out of direct harm, and soothes his bruises with an... unmentionable... 'Goblin poultice'.
Bair steps in, his first blow crushing Blue's right knee (although it barely seems to notice), and his second slamming into its abdomen.
ZB (-36, -)
Adalan
Dran'Thor
Bair
Thorax (-27)
Deshacerla
Mara
PZ (-, -)
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Her distaste for the undead beast traveling with them barely kept in check. Suddenly two more arrive?! The little gnome has had all she can bear.
Quickly moving to the side to get a better angle, she begins to chant a somewhat familiar tune at this point. A translucent shield appears randomly about Bair. "Kill it!"
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Deshacerla starts to get quite worked up, but retains the presence of mind to ward Bair.
Mara then takes advantage of the distraction provided by Bair to stride forward, and shank Blue in the back, causing it to collapse to the ground in a pile of gore.
The two fungus-and-boil-encrusted corpses then stagger forward, targeting the closest warm body, which happens to be Mara...
...and whilst the first blow is easily dodged, the second catches her completely off guard!
Red then staggers forward, and takes a swing at Bair...
...landing a painful blow.
ZB (-3)
Adalan
Dran'Thor
Bair (-10)
Thorax (-27)
Deshacerla
Mara (-18, please roll a Fort save...)
PZ (-, -)
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"Ew, ew, ew..." Mara is not happy about being touched by the creepy boil-infested monsters. Not that she'd be happy about getting hit by the ogre either, but it would have been slightly less disgusting.
Plus there's the fact that blood is now running down her face and obstructing her vision. She should probably do something about that.
She lashes out at the creature that hit her, then decides discretion is the better part of valor and hides behind Bair while she bandages her injuries.
Emboldened by the safety in numbers, Thorax spins around to flank the Ogre with Bair and Quickdraws/strikes twice!
vs FF
vs FF
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Adalan causes bacon grease to appear under the feet of the zombies...
...but only one falls over.
Dran'Thor then moves forward, and lets loose with a blast of air...
...which stops the corpses in their tracks.
Bair is unable to push through the Gust of Wind, forcing him to swing at the Ogre from the same side as the rest of the party.
He lands a blow, and something cracks, but the Ogre corpse barely notices.
Thorax then moves in, and starts swinging ; his first strike slices into its gut, spraying partially-liquefied entrails across the ground, and his second digs deeper into its bowels.
Deshacerla then channels the anger of Pharasma into Bair and Mara's weapons!
Mara takes a swing at the infested corpse in front of her, dealing a solid blow , before retreating to a safe distance, and bandaging her wound.
The two infested corpses move out of the Gust of Wind, and chase after Mara, but as one had to stand, only one gets in a swing...
...landing a solid blow!
The Ogre corpse then swings at Thorax...
...scoring a light tap on the battered Goblin.
ZB (-68)
Adalan
Dran'Thor
Bair (-10)
Thorax (-36)
Deshacerla
Mara (-20, Fort save, please...)
PZ (-31, -)
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Mara's wound looks like it is festering...
Empowered by the divine fury of Pharasma, Mara's blade carves into the zombie in front of her , cutting through its torso like a hot knife through butter!
Unfortunately, her second swing goes wide, and she beats a hasty retreat.
ZB (-68)
Adalan
Dran'Thor
Bair (-10)
Thorax (-36)
Deshacerla
Mara (-20, Festering Wound)
PZ (-31, -30)
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Adalan steps up the stairs to cover Mara's withdrawal and finally uses his scroll to send a torrent of flame washing over the three hostile undead.
"I would greatly appreciate it if in the future you would respect my colleague's medical efforts and refrain from interfering so rudely," he politely tells the hopefully immolated corpses in front of him as the fire dies down.
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The closer festering corpse takes the full brunt of the blast of fire from Adalan, partially shielding the other two, but the small amount of flame that gets through is still more than enough to cause the heavily injured Ogre corpse to collapse to the ground with a noisome thud!
Adalan
Dran'Thor
Bair (-10)
Thorax (-36)
Deshacerla
Mara (-20, Festering Wound)
PZ (-35, -39)
Thorax rolls underneath the pinkish corpse and strikes twice!
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With the hostile undead defeated, relative peace descends upon the area.
Searching around, the party finds, discarded or forgotten long ago, a pair of Goggles of Night sitting on the floor.
Additionally, behind the statue are scattered offerings: A Shark Tooth Charm, and a silver bowl decorated with a sea motif worth 19 gold pieces.
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Blood dripping down her face and limping heavily, Mara walks up to the (deader) corpse and kicks it. Twice. Where it's balls would have been if it had any. Feeling a little less frustrated, she then slowly makes her way to Thorax. "That...that was not fun. Not as bad as the tree, but not fun. Any chance you've got some extra bandages?" She glances down at her wounds, lips tightening as she sees the edges already starting to fester. "Then I think I'm going to need some serious recovery time."
She'd almost forgotten about Marcon in the heat of battle, and starts as she sees him standing next to Ulthun. "Oh. Right. We probably should cover you up or something." She sets her pack on the ground and digs through it, eventually producing a cloak which she throws at the ghast. "Here you go. Put the hood up. If anyone asks, you're one of the other mercenaries that decided to join us for fun and profits. Hopefully the goblins didn't bother counting how many people already left."
Thorax admires Mara's work. "I think you good! And most Goblins don't know how to count anyways."
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Mara easily distracts the Goblins, who don't even notice the stench!
Consequently, you are able to sneak Marcon back to the Lodge with relative ease.
Upon reporting back to Drandle Dreng, he listens intently to your story and nods eagerly at all details, but the story of the undead prisoner causes him to stare wide‑eyed.
"I had heard rumors of ancient places beneath the city where living prisoners were entombed, but up until now did not have any direct evidence!"
He then nods to Marcon.
"I will make sure to find a place Marcon can safely tell his story; I can definitely help him evade detection until then. In the interim, I have many questions..."
So saying, he slowly walks Marcon away.
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After the party has a brief chance to rest, those who agreed to help the Goblins are summoned back to the Playhouse, whilst the rest of you have a chance focus on other projects, until it is time for your next mission!
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Each of you receives a letter instructing you to catch a ship up to Karlsgard, in the Land of the Linnorn Kings; it quickly becomes apparent that Thorax is not joining you on this mission, but there is a new face in your midst to replace him!
The journey takes several hard weeks at sea, and you are quite happy to arrive back on solid ground, even if it is in the cold North.
Travelling to the Iceferry district, you are greeted by gnome named Lirall, who prominently wears a Wayfinder. After letting you into the Lodge, she selects one cord labelled “Office” from a bundle of coloured cords near the door. The loud howl from a dog echoes throughout the building, followed by a trio of scampering, blue‑skinned goblins dashing down the hall. A large husky bursts into the hallway, snarling at the goblins until a tall half‑orc emerges a moment later and lays a calming hand on her back. He gestures for the party to follow him into a meeting room, seemingly ignoring the goblins.
Venture‑Captain Bjersig Torrsen begins explaining the situation, his dog Mahki sitting attentively nearby. As he speaks aloud, the half‑orc punctuates his words with phrases in a sign language.
“Apologies for the ruckus. The Frostfurs are talented scouts, but they have an adversarial relationship with Mahki. She doesn’t particularly like them either.
To the reason I called you here! The Grenskuldr family traces their lineage back to the storied warrior Grehunde the Sun Chaser, a Linnorm King who ruled over the city of Jol and whose victories in battle were legendary. The family still has a lot of influence. I’ve asked them to help out the Society, and they’ve asked for a favour in exchange. That’s where you come in. Are you familiar with Valenhall?”
“Grehunde the Sunchaser never got to sail off to Valenhall — she died in what she planned to be her last battle. Her gorget was passed down to her descendants, most recently Hlavard Grenskuldr, also a Linnorm King. Hlavard was an impressive warrior in his youth, but a month ago he sailed off toward Valenhall to set up a shrine to Grehunde there and finish her journey. He planned to ensure the gorget found its final home in a place of honor. Unfortunately, something happened to his ship, the Shoreseeker, along the way. Merchants report that the ship is still partially above water, but they didn’t get close enough to find out what happened. While his children respected Hlavard’s decision, they would rather not have their father’s body and the priceless family heirloom at the bottom of the sea. I’d like you to find the ship and retrieve Hlavard and the gorget. I’ve arranged a ship for you, the Wandering Hearth, to follow the Shoreseeker’s path through the Steaming Sea.”
He then smiles toothily.
“Any questions?”
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"The captain of the Wandering Hearth is Eynilla Vriggdahl, a larger-than-life Ulfen woman, who has been plying the sea lanes around here for decades. If any of you have any skill at sailing, she will probably put you to work, but other than that, she will most likely just ask you to stay out of the way."
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Bair boards the ship with amazement in his eyes, "SHIP MISSION!!!!" He stumbles along behind the group, barely keeping up as he looks around. He nods his head at the goblins once things are calmer, "How u doin? Dem dawgsrjerhks."
He listens to the briefing and turns to the shivering lady, "Sistah, ya be fahn. Steahmin seawahm."
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Mara tilts her head, curious. "You said the ship was still partially above water. Were there really no survivors to report what had happened? What makes you so sure Hlavard Grenskuldr is dead?"
Accidents at sea were common. Accidents that didn't sink the ship but still somehow killed everyone on board, including a Linnorm King, (who by definition would be no slouch at combat), were less so. Even an old warrior was still a warrior.
Anything that could take down a man who had once singlehandedly killed a linnorm was not something Mara was particularly eager to face.
She does look sympathetically at Sister Hannah as she shivers. "I'd say you get used to the cold, but...you really don't. Take missions further south when they're available, and otherwise just bundle up as best as you can. If you need a better coat or something just ask; I've got money to spare."