The creature stays under the stairs and doesn't obstruct you leaving. You need to take care along the deck again, but once outside you realise how warm and oppressive the atmosphere inside the boat was. The wind blows all that away, and the Orc is waiting with her boat, just as amiable and ready to carry you as before.
The trip back to Absolom proper is quick.
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Boram is invigorated with what feels like a great success in infiltrating the smuggler’s hideout and escaping. Not that he wouldn’t like to return and see if they had anything interesting in those chests, but his big friend might not allow that...
Now to save a naga! He’s never even seen one that he’s aware of. He’s heard rumors that they can change to look like a typical person on the street, so maybe he’s even spoken to one! Maybe this one!
Westage is quite easy to fine, being, we'll, by the West Gate.... The day is sunny with a light breeze as you make your way there. A pleasant walk through the bustling streets of Absolom.
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Roumatha can't help but admire the wonders of the human spirit which carved out such a magnificent city out of a wild island as he walks past the sunlit streets. He then sighs as he still misses the simplicity of forest life behind all that glitter. Whenever the halfling pops by with the news from the crowds, Roumatha asks him if he needs company for his next foray into the sea of people but is secretly happy to hear a refusal.
Acolyte => Religion or Lore corresponding to a specific deity
Smith => Crafting or Guild Lore
For several blocks, the quiet lanes of Westgate’s residential neighborhoods feature small houses, low-key cafes and taverns, and the occasional specialty shop. The fragrant scent of tended flower gardens in the warm sunlight blends with the low hum of distant conversation over what would normally be a pleasant boulevard.
But the stone statues—at first appearing only here and there, like odd decorations—now number several per block, and the otherwise plain square ahead is outright cluttered with stone figures.
They take countless forms, from humans and halflings to orcs, lizardfolk, and even stranger, all forever frozen in acts of desperation, defiance, or despair. The quaint, statue-filled square is also filled with people; several dozen townsfolk shout and argue, their voices somehow out of place among the silent statues.
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Boram materializes beside his friends, fresh from yet another neighborly chat, "Well, bugger. Someone's spilt the beans. The lovely woman watering the azaleas back there said it's all the talk - someone's coming to free the prisoner and a mob is planning to prevent them."
He redirects their route into a side street so they can talk, continuing to walk around the block and not getting closer to the square just yet.
"I doubt there's someone else, so apparently we have a welcoming committee. My thinking is that bloodshed is not how we want to proceed, but mobs are notoriously violent. Diplomacy or stealth would be better." He grins, "Or waiting until tomorrow. How patient do you think the mob would be?"
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"The captain didn't think we would get much resistance, but did say how much the people in this area like their 'little tradition' of turning criminals to stone. I think they might put too much value in the statue itself to destroy it. We don't know anything about the case, though, only that the naga was falsely accused - in our sponsor's eyes."
Boram just wants to use a stroll around the block to give the trio of Pathfinders time to talk. Perhaps we should walk to the square and see just how rowdy a bunch we face, but I think that's after we've cogitated for a moment.
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"I just knew it's not going to be easy... It's never easy when the Venture-Captains are involved", Roumatha mutters.
"Boram, our permit is genuine, right? If we threaten them with charges for the obstruction of justice, might it cool off some of the hot heads? Are there any guard members nearby who could lend us their authority?"
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The captain Laughs "Well done initiates, you got me alone quite smoothly. I have a job that could use such skills if you wish it? I have a friend, one most would think quite odd, they are Naga. They were falsely accused of a crime, and sentenced to the Charge of the Gorgon. Unfortunately, they failed to escape and are now one of the many statues in Westgate. I have managed to arrange permission for them to be released from this torment, but I would like you to take care of the details. This should help," She hands Titus a clay pot. "this should remove the paralysis. Also, this," she hands Boram an unmarked hip flask, "A pick-me-up for when you really need to get back on your feet."
"I'm not sure there's a permit involved, my friend. I have the sinking feeling that there was an arrangement that whoever would normally stop us was going to simply look the other way. All I received was 'show your credentials as a Pathfinder, but it shouldn't even come to that.' I doubt the mob will accept that."
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"You are probably the most skilled of us in dealing with angry mobs. Umm.. no offense meant, of course.
Me and Kra'a can try to serve as the muscle, while you may try to either talk them out of it or sneak past them. Would also be great if we could get someone to spill the beans about who the information leaked from."
As you discuss your options, a member of the crowd points and shouts "There! I see them, those are the ones. I recognise that Barbarian fiend."
The crowd goes quiet, we'll, quieter, and three members step forward, the first is an elderly man, with white hair and a very nice walking cane. From his attire you would expect he is a blister or some other similar professional.
Second is a smaller, dark haired lady, a little younger, but still middle aged. She wears a simple cloth gown that marks her as an acolyte of Iomade.
Finally, a burly Smith brandishes a hammer in one meaty fist, and a scowl on his face.
The crowd jeers from behind the three leaders, and you can see that many of them carry garbage, rotten fruit, and what could easily be buckets of excrement.
The old man steps forward. "Good day to you sir. Is this crowd correct? Do you come to take a statue?"
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Roumatha curtly nods to the welcoming committee before the man starts speaking. In his response, he addresses the middle-aged priest lady.
"We are not in the business of relocating works of art. What we have come here to do is to make wrongs right. To help a creature who has been wrongly imprisoned within its own body - with justice blinded by prejudice against those who stand out and don't fit in. Surely, setting an innocent soul free is the least we could do to compensate for the unspeakable torment it has endured."
The acalyte nods at Roumatha's words, "My friends, this man may be correct. If this creature is in fact innocent then a grave injustice has been done, and we must right it."
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"As my friend has so eloquently stated, we were asked to right a wrong. The individual in question was falsely accused and, at the very least, should be allowed the restoration of their normal form in order to defend themselves against their accuser. As far as I know, the Charge of the Gorgon can be applied again at a later date if said defense fails, is that not correct?"
The Barrister looks closely at Boram "You have your facts correct young man. At worst we can re-apply the sentence." to the crowd he says "Perhaps we should allow these people to go about their business."
The Smith still stands, hammer in one hand, looking like he doesn't yet agree.
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Roumatha slightly relaxes and addresses the smith.
"Look, I can see you are protective about the town's decorations and you have every right to want to stroll around those incredibly life-like statues, if that is the custom around here. I am a fellow crafter, you see, though I work with reagents such as ones used for etching on steel, and I definitely can appreciate how hard it can be to carve out this level of fine detail out of stone. But just as the statues and fine items are creations of artisans such as yourself, the living creatures are creations of the gods and they deserve to walk free if they have not done a grave crime - which in this case, again, they absolutely did not."
The Smith looks to the three of you and then nods gently. He too turns to the crowd. "It would be a sad thing to make ornament of an innocent, and if they are not innocent, we'll find it out."
The solidarity of the three leaders seems to calm the crowd, and other than a few perfunctory throws (mostly from kids hiding in the crowd, that don't get near you) the crowd moves off civilly.
The Statue you are after doesn't take long to find. The salve you were given is swiftly applied, and the Naga begins to slowly return to life.
From out of no where, Kra'a and Roumatha feel the Jaws of some creature on their arm. At the same time, the two creatures flash into visibility. Floating balls of red and black flesh with massive maws, and three eyes a piece. The things bite down hard, fortunately for both of you, your armour takes the brunt of the attack.
Char Init
Daemons 22
Bram 8
Roumatha 8
Kra'a 7