Farzin’s chunk of stone misses! And Flamel can’t even begin to guess what the story is the nature of this statue. But Flamel can trip it and stab it! Unfortunately, the stab isn’t hard enough to penetrate the statue’s stony skin.
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Filbert furiously flings Farzin’s flinty fragment, fumbling!
Durvin continues to run away, up the stairs and out of sight!
The fallen figure's flinty fists flail at Flamel!
Rax cuts once, then again, and shatters the statue! It crumbles to the stone floor, and all is quiet as the dust settles!
With the statue guardian destroyed, there is little else of interest in the temple.
This room is long and narrow, with three broad, empty pits running in a row down the center of the floor. The pits are 5 feet deep and are lined with bright colors. A close look suggests that they were once filled with fluids, but the liquid within has evaporated over the centuries, leaving a powdery residue.
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Rogvar looks at his shield, seeing a hairline fracture in the steel. "That thing hit like a treant on a rampage. My shield nearly broke. And before we move, do we have any medics amongst us? If not, just give me a moment."
Within seconds his wounds close and he feels comforted.
When they arrive in the new area, Rogvar gives the room a quick look.
Farzin detects no magic, and Rogvar finds no treasure, threats or items of interest.
The next room seems a cheap, shoddy copy of a traditional Osirian burial chamber. The weapons, armor, and shield in the corner of the room were of poor quality even when they were placed here, and they are now rusted beyond any hope of repairing them. Three stone slabs in the center of the room are slightly loose. Pulling them back reveals linen-wrapped humanoid forms that, blessedly, do not stir when disturbed.
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"I think it's a little more involved than that, but sure."
Rogvar takes a few minutes to search each uncovered resting place. "Take a look around. I remember hearing a tale from another Pathfinder about a buried resting place for a rich merchant. Outside of all the traps there were hidden chambers. Might be we'll find one."
The Pathfinders busy themselves speculating about the false Pathfinder as they search the burial chamber. They find nothing of note, and decide to move down the hall. The corridor opens into a long, skinny room, with a statue standing at each end. The two statues depict a pair of robed skeletons each of which is pointing at the other.
Rax rotates the statue's arm, and everyone can hear a clear click from down the hall, in the direction of the temple and the entry hall.
Heading back down the hall towards the temple, there is no obvious change associated with the sound heard.
The floor of this large room is covered in carvings, which serve to glorify a pharaonic figure, showing him leading an army of undead against a city, though it is unclear if they represent an actual historical event. Behind the central personage in the carvings, several other figures lead their own lesser armies of undead. However, their faces have been chiseled out, with text written across their bodies.
This otherwise plain room is rather different from the others, as it shows recent signs of habitation. There is a simple bedroll and a crate of rations, as well as other mundane pieces of standard adventurer’s gear. There is also a satchel, filled with various objects that appear to have been looted from other parts of this ruin. They include an ominous curved dagger with a small onyx gem in its hilt and a mirror decorated with a serpent motif.
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Rogvar takes a moment to study the dagger. He whistles a tune that focuses his mind, allowing him to detect magic in the area. He blocks out the magical auras, such as they are, from the group before focusing his mind.
Should it pick up an element of magic in the air, he'll take a few minutes to study the dagger.
Rogvar finds that none of the recovered items are magical, and that there is little else of interest in this chamber. Their exploration of the tomb complete, the Pathfinders make their way back to the surface. Elrekah sees them come out and remarks that Durvin Gest sure left in a hurry. After learning that the man appears to have been pretending to be a Pathfinder, she gets out Durvin’s permit and hands it over. A careful review of it shows that the requester of this permit was Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir, and the date of approval is almost a year ago, long before the Society got involved with this site. With the exception of the date, this permit is almost identical to the one in the party was given, on the same paper with the same stamps, suggesting it is perhaps someone misusing an actual government document, rather than a forgery.
Unable to explain how such a thing might have happened, Elrekah offers to help out with understanding the carvings inside the tomb, as she speaks Osirian. She looks at the careful etchings taken of the text scratched into the figures in the room with all the carvings, and explains that they seem to say unpleasant things about those people, calling them “ungrateful leeches” and “treacherous scum” and “unworthy of unlife.”
The guards are at first apprehensive, then quite relieved, to hear that the party has dealt with the unexpected danger of the stone guardian, and says they’ll take a very careful look at the permits of anyone else who comes to the site. With that, the Pathfinders return to Venture-Captain Balentiir to report on their findings. Balentiir is deeply concerned that someone has beaten the Society to the site, and even more so when he learns that someone has been feigning membership in the Pathfinder Society. He reassures the party that he will work with government officials to root out the source of the problem and adds that, for now, though, their mission is a success and they have earned a rest in the gardens of the Sandswept Halls.
Having received a request for aid from Valais Durant of the Radiant Oath faction, the party has gathered aboard the Merry Mayfly, a ship headed toward Xin-Edasseril. En route, their ship rendezvouses with another vessel, the Lightbringer. The Lightbringer’s crew escorts the Pathfinder agents below deck, to a meeting in the captain’s cabin. The ship’s interior is lit by lanterns that hang from the ceiling overhead, swaying back and forth along with the motion of the ship.
After a brief welcome, Valais Durant begins the mission briefing. “I need your help for a task that requires both great risk and discretion.” The aasimar woman gestures to a green-eyed Varisian man, who flashes a sly grin framed by a thin mustache. “This is Guaril Karela, a prominent figure among the Sczarni,” she continues. “The Sczarni maintain a smuggling ring, providing freedom to those chafing under the oppression of Belimarius, the Runelord of Envy and ruler of Edasseril. Demand for such services is high,” she pauses and casts a somewhat disdainful glare toward Guaril, “allowing the Sczarni to extract hefty sums from desperate patrons.”
“I find the practice rather distasteful,” Valais sighs. “However, collaboration with his operations grants the Radiant Oath some measure of oversight in ensuring proper treatment of the refugees. Further, I have Guaril’s personal assurance that the Sczarni will not demand more in payment than their clients can afford.”
“Transportation’s expensive,” Guaril chimes, his tone oily. “Not to mention paying off border guards and harbormasters. It’s dangerous work. Certainly, you wouldn’t expect my people to take such risk and not be properly compensated, would you? Or have you forgotten that Belimarius has placed a price on my head?”
“Not the first to do so, I’m sure,” Valais notes wryly, before continuing, “Belimarius and her minions began to suspect Guaril’s intentions the last time he was in Edasseril. Now, they seek not only his head, but those of his known associates, including those among the Pathfinder Society. It is not presently safe for them or Guaril to venture within Edasseril’s borders.”
“I had a number of clients ready to go, before leaving Xin-Edasseril,” explains Guaril, now more business-like. “Most of the arrangements are already made. All you need to do is make contact with the clients. Give them the time and place for departure, then escort them out of the city—with their payment,” The Sczarni stresses. “You’ll get a hefty cut of the payment you secure as compensation for your hard work.”
“I prepared a client list,” Guaril says, handing over a sheet of scrawled paper. “Memorize it. Then, tear it up, burn it, chew it, swallow it—whatever you do, get rid of it! If Belimarius gets a hold of it, it’s a death sentence for anyone named on it.”
Valais next hands a set of travel papers and a merchant’s permit to each of her agents. “You’ll be entering Xin-Edasseril disguised as merchants,” she explains. “These papers – legitimate ones, not forgeries, mind you - will allow you passage in and out of the city for five days before they expire. At dawn on the fourth day after your arrival in Xin-Edasseril, the ship Rolanna’s Prayer will arrive in a bay just outside the city, called Shard Cove. The boat can accommodate five clients, providing an excellent opportunity to escape undetected. One of the clients, Flitch, knows a secret tunnel to Shard Cove.”
“Once the clients are aboard ship, return to the city. Any remaining clients that you weren’t able to smuggle out by sea will have to be smuggled out of the city with you, which means you’ll have to get them past the guards at the docks. Your ship, the Merry Mayfly, must depart the docks once your papers have expired.”
“The clients are expecting to deal with me,” cautions Guaril. “But as that’s not possible, and as it’s now a few days past the window when I was to make contact, the clients might need some reassurance to go through with the job.”
Giving the Pathfinders a stern look, Guaril then warns, “While you’re in Belimarius’s back yard, be careful. You are foreigners in Xin-Edasseril, and Belimarius has eyes everywhere. Don’t do anything that would draw unnecessary attention to yourselves. The last thing you want to do is tangle with the authorities. The runelord’s forces are well trained and quite capable. Keep your wits about you at all times and your blades sheathed.”
“We cannot afford one of you being arrested or interrogated. Pay any bribe required to remain free. I don’t want to further expose any part of the operation,” Valais concludes. “Our goal here is to bring hope and freedom to as many souls as we are able. It is risky, but hope and freedom are worth the price. Do you have any questions for us?”
Though he's trying to put a brave face on, Guaril can't help but give a slightly anxious sidelong glance at Valais after Rax's outburst.
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"Hmmph", muses a powerfully built tattooed half-orc.
"These clients may not be in a trusting mood by the time we make contact. Is there a token or sign we can share that would prove our allegiance with you and the Sczarni? With the level of danger we are walking into, anything to expedite collecting our charges would be welcome."
Guaril considers Karsus’ question a moment, then replies, ”Not really. I didn’t set up a sign or something for them to recognize, because I thought I’d be the one talking to them. So you’ll just have to convince them to trust you.”
“Of all of them, Themolin must come with you,” Guaril insists. “He’s paying more than all the other clients combined.” His response elicits a glare from Valais, who asks the party, ”Anything else you want to know?”