The next day, as you prepare to return to the chambers beneath the Lucky Bones, Hetamon Haace approaches. ”Thank you for avenging my fallen rose. I wanted to give you these in thanks.” He presents you with a pair of red leather boots of levitation.
”I also want to introduce to two stalwart allies to the Rose of Kintargo.” He gestures, and a man and woman step forward...
Until Hetamon introduced the two new arrivals, the young woman was clearly sizing up the Lucky Bones with her wondering attention.
The woman is of average height but holds herself deliberately to give the impression of added height. She is clearly trying to hide her identity, as she covers her face in a black mask with her ebony waves framing her face; only her distinctly coloured eyes showing through, one a copper-amber and the other a striking emerald green.
"Emerald Rose, I'm charmed to meet you all." She says, holding out her hand to the nearest person. "Hetamon has told me all about your little group you have here. Sounds like you all need a hand to get it off the ground."
Her gaze falls on Adolina and lingers for a moment, before looking over everybody else.
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"Well, isn't that nice." Adolina responds, meeting 'Emerald Rose's' gaze squarely. "I'd say we're more than 'off the ground' at this point but some more help is never a bad thing - given what we're doing. Hetamon, a word please?"
She takes the tiefling aside and looks at him seriously. "Are you sure we can trust these people Hetamon? Absolutely sure? This could be the end of all of us if it goes wrong."
Moving out from behind Emerald Rose is a man who is slightly taller than her, but it's difficult to determine much else because he's clad entirely in a dark green cloak with a matching hood and face coverings. Around his eyes he wears a black mask that actually doesn't do anything other than perhaps to enhance the secrecy look.
He speaks in a forced harsh, deep voice that is obviously not his real voice. He waits for all attention to be on him before speaking, and even then adds a few seconds of dramatic pause before standing up stall and puffing out his rather unremarkable chest and declaring boldly "I am the Songbird ... Of The Night! I have heard your plea for help and will assist where I can."
Still keeping the harsh voice he explains "My assistant Rose and I have been hard at work cleaning up this city since before the Night of Ashes. If it makes sense to join forces and combine our strength ... the Songbird shall SING!" He again continues with dramatic pauses and sweeps of his hand as he speaks.
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Adolina starts humming from across the room and seems to be having immense trouble keeping a straight face.
"I'm sorry..." She says. "It's just... there was an opera on about three years ago, called The Phantom. There's a great song in it and..." She gives up on the straight face and just grind broadly. "Shouldn't your mask be white?"
Declan staggers back a step at the mention of an opera three years ago and says defensively "I never said I was in the opera. Who told I was in the opera? Not that I was in the opera, per se."
He waves his hands back and forth and shakes his head as he says "What? No-Nevermind! What. What is wrong with my mask? It is dark, like the night. From the shadows, I-" Declan leaps forward, jumping in front of ADolina "-burst forth to swoop in to protect my city! From the night!"
Turning back to Rose he extends a hand and says, "Come, sidekick! By my side!"
The Emerald Rose indignantly places her hands upon her hips.
"And which sidekick are you referring to Songbird. Yourself I presume? As my trusty sidekick?" She says, with an edge to her voice, as if he has touched a nerve.
"Last time, I remember that I swooped in to save you from the Dottari when you were outnumbered ten to one?"
Without looking over at Rose, he waves his hands dismissively in the air "I had them exactly where I wanted them. You waiting until an opportune time before jumping in. Another few minutes and I would have them all bound together, begging for mercy."
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Adolina turns to Tajona and Farrina and raises an eyebrow.
"Listen you two, we have one diva in this group already. If the two of you can't work together then this is not the place for you." She says firmly. "Now if you could shelve the 'sidekick' debate for now and explain what you can offer us, then that would work a lot better."
She glares at both the newcomers, and it is quite an impressive glare. Full of aristocratic hauteur and the knowledge that she is right.
Farrina turns to Tajona and raises an eyebrow at him. With a single finger, she makes a circular motion at her temple.
"Aren't you two lovely," she says in a voice dripping with condescension. "The Rose and the Songbird? At the risk of painting myself into the picture, shouldn't you two be on stage somewhere? More specifically, somewhere else?"
Emerald Rose turns back to Adolina and Farrina with a quiet, almost inaudible harumph.
"We will be helpful, we have experience acting against the Dottari and knowledge of the city. We work well together and can talk our way out of a situation as well. You don't need to worry about us." She states with finality on the defensive, fiddling with the tip of an arrow she draws from her quiver.
"How about you tell us just why your group is going to be successful? Got anything lined up?" She says turning the tables back on Adolina, not shying from her glare.
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"The Temple Hill Slasher is once again no more. Thanks to us." Adolina replies. "As to our other successes... well, let us simply say that there are many. We have allies in key areas of the city. And I fully intend to worry about you until you give me a convincing reason not to. That is my role. Two people appearing out of the blue in masks are not conducive to trust, even with good references. Still, we have something you may be able to help us with."
"If you will consent to a small precaution then there is a job we have to do. If you are willing to help us then that would serve to establish trust between us." Adolina offers. "If not, then I wish you both the best in your crusade. Kintargo needs defenders now, regardless of anything else."
Tanjona just rubs his face with one hand.
Rose looks to Songbird but it is impossible to read her expression behind her mask. Taking a moment, she looks back.
"That is an impressive feat, we had started hearing about the Temple Hill Slasher and were beginning to look into it ourselves. Glad to know that its dealt with. We will take part in this trial, as you put it, and we will then decide if we still want to work alongside you afterwords. Think of it as a trial period for everyone." She states, holding out her hand to shake on it.
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Adolina shakes firmly. "Then meet us at the corner of Fishmongers Row and Wharf Street in thirty minutes. Try to be inconspicuous. You will be blindfolded for the last part of our journey and that is non-negotiable. We will see you then."
Once the two 'vigilantes' have gone she turns to look at her companions. "Well? Capable bodies are useful and I can't fault their sense of drama..."
"Drama's overrated, Hon," Farrina says with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Their sense of fashion on the other hand ..."
She doesn't clarify what she thinks of their sense of fashion as she ponders the newcomers.
With new companions in tow, you return to the chambers beneath the Lucky Bones. Using the magical scroll of knock, you are able to bypass the warded door and move on to the next section of the dungeon.
Beyond, an L-shaped hall extends. Several doors are set in its length, including double doors on each end.
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"Let's start from that end and work back down the corridor." Adolina suggests. As the group advances she draws upon the strange well of power that now resides inside her, establishing links to Tajona and Farrina. She refrains from attempting anything with the newcomers, just in case.
She examines the door, just in case, and then incants a brief word to Kurgess, asking the Strongman to protect her.
A long mahogany gambling table sits at the center of this chamber, surrounded by richly carved chairs fitted with silk cushions. Shelves carved into the walls hold old broken bottles, while benches with padded seats sit against the walls under these shelves. All of the furnishings are moldering and decaying... as is the skeleton of a halfling clad in dark leather armor and clutching a handful of bone dice, slumped in a chair at the northern head of the table.
As you enter the room, a faint milky shimmering dances in the air around the halfling corpse, then quickly coalesces into the ghostly form an attractive but wild-eyed halfling woman. She smiles sweetly at you as the bone dice her skeleton touches float into the air and spin before her. She speaks in a soft, musical voice: “A wager? A game? I’ve waited ages for a game. These bones are lucky tonight! Will you wager part of yourself for my secrets, my friends?”
The halfling giggles with delight. "Of course! I'm Guildmistress Lorelu. The game is odds and evens. Each time you win a round, I'll pay you with knowledge--answering any one question you pose to me. Each time you lose, you must allow me to taste some fragments of what I lost when I died--I'll take some of your life essence. What do you say?"
"Of course!" Lorelu says.
"Of course! I'll start with odd! How many throws?"
Lorelu rolls twice, for a total of 14. "Dang! Very well, you may ask a question!"
"Some of the more tenacious acolytes of the pipe linger on, their hunger for oblivion replaced by hunger for flesh. Plus, the river runs below us now, and its dark currents have brought in new visitors below our feet," the ghost hints cryptically.
"Let's try evens this time. How many rolls?"
Lorelu rolls three times for a total of 21. "Bah! Alright, ask another question."
The ghost's expression softens. "Such kindness from those I would likely have counted as prey in life. I...don't remember much of that time. It's like a dream. But I miss the sun. Let the dawn kiss my bones one last time."
She puts the dice back on the table, seemingly having had her fill of the game as she awaits your response to her request.
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Adolina looks at her companions, slightly surprised to have actually been told how to end the ghost.
"We can do that." She says gently, getting up and moving around the table to the ghost. "Is there anything you'd be willing to tell us about this place before you go?"
Assuming that Lorelu's remains are pretty much dust and/or bones, Adolina removes her cloak and forms a make-shift bag to hold the remains. "Stay here." She tells the rest of the group, "I'll be back in a minute."
As she departs she leans in to whisper in Tajona's ear. "I want to keep the secret of where we are a little longer. Don't let them leave until I get back."
Then she proceeds upstairs and out into the pale sun and breeze of a kintargo day. Holding her cloak-bag she lets the wind blow the dust away.
"Be free Lorelu." She says. "And may there always be games, wherever you find yourself in the future."
"Some of the old traps remain in place. Stick to a steady path to cross to the master's office. Erring on the side of caution may yield greater rewards," Lorelu says.
Adolina gathers the halfling's skeleton and places it under the light of day. She hears the ghost give a wistful sigh before the sound fades away on the wind, her spirit put to rest.
Lorelu’s nonmagical equipment and gear have long since rusted or decayed away into uselessness, but her magical treasures and coins remain: 240 gp, 119 pp, a bejeweled silver ring worth 1,500 gp, a Small suit of +2 shadow leather armor, a ring of protection +2, a circlet of persuasion, and a partial deck of illusions containing only the eight spade cards.
Like a magpie snatching a dropped coin, Farrina's deftly retrieves the circlet to hold it up. "I've seen one of these before," she says. "I've always wanted one." She blinks innocently at the others as she places it on her head. "No one minds, do they?"
Declan pulls enough of his hood back to reveal a similar looking circlet sitting atop his head before leaning in to whisper into Farrina's ear "I highly recommend it. Not that you needed the added charm, of course."
"Flattery will get you everywhere," Farrina replies with a grin.
Rose hangs back staying quiet trying to get a gauge on how this group of rebels operates and trying to gain some insight as to where they are, not that it gets her very far.
"Shall we continue? Sounds as if we should be cautious?" She pipes up from behind. "Mind if I join you up front Adolina? I can call you Adolina, yes? I can help keep a sharp eye."
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"I always appreciate a sharp eye." Adolina replies politely. "Tajona you should take the ring, I have a spell for that now. Perhaps we can get the armor resized. It might be useful one day."
With The Rose keeping a sharp eye out Adolina goes to the next door along the corridor and gestures in invitation to the crazy lady vigilante.
Although this room is over sixty feet across, its seven-foot- high ceiling and curtained alcoves give it a claustrophobic feel. Squat rows of columns clutter the room’s central space, while each of the seven alcoves is divided in half by a moldering curtain. To either side of this curtain in each alcove sits a once-luxurious divan, next to a simple wooden stool and a low table supporting a grimy hookah.
Three ghostly creatures suddenly rise up from the divans. Each ghostly, emaciated figure’s mouth hangs agape in an endless howl, and its abnormally long arms almost touch the ground!
Without a second thought, Rose draws her longbow with practised speed and an arrow whistles through the air piercing the ghostly creature's flesh.
"Beat that Songbird!" She calls out with a laugh.
"Oh for the love of Milani's mound," Farrina says with a roll of her eyes. "I hate undead."
Arcane words follow and everyone feels their heart rate increase.
The Songbird pulls out his rapier and moves alongside Tanjona, as he does he begins to "sing". Where most traditional songs are soft and melodic, Declan's are not that at all. Instead of singing, Declan begins screaming a litany of words to is allies in measured phrases.
In a loud harsh voice Declan screams "Those who died, are justified!"
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With allies close by Adolina actually feels rather prepared for once, and very grateful for the fact that she recast her shield before entering the room. She snaps a link onto the Songbird, since he seems to coming closer and rubs her hands together - a ball of light forms between them and Adolina waits for the undead to close.
Tanjona brings his trident down and waits for the enemy to close.
Emerald Rose lands what should have been a devastating hit, except the incorporeal undead seems barely fazed by it! As the creatures converge on you, Adolina unleashes holy energy. Two of the creatures take the full brunt of it while the third resists. Tanjona misses with his trident.
One of the ghosts unleashes a terrible howl of need that shakes you to your core! The other two reach for Tanjona, filling him with pain as well as an urgent need.
Tanjona throws off whatever horrible malaise the ghosts try to bring—for now—and pivots to thrust at one of the ghosts.
Despite his several precise stabs, his weapon is not magical, and is therefore useless.