After Reggie and Dwight make their arguments, Birseko describes his character and finally Quinn shows the benefits of the cooperation with the Society, Erwyn looks at Malika and eventually nods.
”I have to admit that you Pathfinders are resourceful! I am sure you would agree to a joint collaboration with the Aspis. Exclusive rights for the Society are currently not justified!“ he says and crosses his arms.
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Quinn tries to sway the man. "Trust me, the Pathfinder Society and the Aspis Consortium are never going to be friends. We've battled them for decades. And the thing you should know is that the Society keeps its word and has a reputation to maintain. Those snakes in the Aspis Consortium will betray you the moment it becomes more profitable than keeping a deal!"
Your counterpart seems to be not convinced at all!
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"The Pathfinders could probably work with the Aspis - after all, one of our core rules is 'cooperate.' And we've had strange allies before. But the Aspis can't work with the Pathfinders. They're just too greedy and shifty. Sooner or later, however much we're givin' 'em ain't gonna be enough and they'll betray us all. We all seen it too many times not to know it's true," Reggie tosses in.
When Wilhelmina shows Erwyn the documents that you found, you see that his demeanor changes.
Reggie, Dwight and Birseko weigh in as well to push Quinn's arguments.
Erwyn sighs, "It is shocking to see that the Aspis agents have been tracking my finances as a security measure in case their relationship with my Saltroot druids sours." he says and touches his chin.
"Do not understand me wrong! My investments aren’t especially scandalous, but many of them are secret and could damage my reputation for being an unbiased businessperson if made public!"
He continues to read and suddenly is quite shocked.
"I ... I did not know! I did not know that the rare seeds and minerals used to placate my Saltroot druids come from operations throughout the Fever Sea, which inflict great damage on the surrounding environment!"
He hits the table with his fist.
"Good, I have heard and seen enough! I will support your organization and in the next weeks sever my ties to the Consortium!" and with these words he stands up.
Guaril is clearly happy and accompanies you out.
"We need to get a move on" Guaril says with some urgency,"while it seems you got Erwyn smoothly! That was really well done!"
He listens at your remarks regarding Ungala.
"We can try to find Ungala, but her whereabouts are currently unknown and your team will have to track her down!"
"But be careful! Tracking down Ungala is easier said than done. She counts many of Bloodcove’s elite among her enemies, which prevents her from moving about the city openly. Furthermore, a string of recent attacks against her fighters has forced Ungala into hiding, with only a few trusted contacts venturing out into Bloodcove’s streets."
Myth ask around if anyone has information on Ungala but struggles to find any until Reggie and Birseko support and find a civilian who seems to know Ungala.
She seems to decide that you have no ill will for Ungala and says, "I do know where to find her. I can take you to her, you look rather capable, maybe you can be of help."
She maneuvers the group through the city taking head to make sure they are not being followed.
In what seems like no time at all the group is in a completely different section of the city being guided down to a secret room underneath what appears to be regular home.
Upon everyone's entrance Ungala has a moment of frustration with being raided by so many people, but as Fola and Guaril enters they show off their wayfinders and immediately set her at ease.
"Ah, my Pathfinder friends, it is great to see you. You have come at a great time for me. I am sure you have something you have come to me with and I would be happy to help if it were not for my current predicament. Three weeks ago, a mysterious entity began murdering my soldiers around Bloodcove, crippling my operation and forcing my remaining guerillas to lay low. The killer has resisted all attempts to magically discern its nature, and only one victim, a man named Embele, survived one of the attacks. As you can see She points to a body off in the corner being prepared for burial. this is not something I am taking lightly. I do not know exactly where the attacker hides, but I do know where about the attacks have been occuring and can direct you there if you can assist me."
Ungala nods.
”Firsthand accounts from the survivor describe the attacker as a pair of spiked monstrosities, their bodies interwoven in a seemingly impossible knot. Despite its twisted appearance, the attacker moved gracefully, swinging its curved knives so quickly it seemed a blur. Fighting back was futile, for even wounds that pierced its thick hide quickly healed!!“
You can identify the attacker as an adhukait asura.
Dwight remembers a little more about these Asuras!
And during the discussion Birseko and Quinn add some details.
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Reggie piles into the small headquarters along with everyone else and keeps Rowdy by his side. Fortunately, he doesn't mind squeezing in close with the wolf.
"Ugh...ain't nothin' worse than somethin' that don't got the good sense to die when you stab it often and hard enough," he says.
He looks at the smarter folks in the group. "Any idea what might keep it from healin' up? Fire? Acid? Callin' it by it's middle name? A sternly worded reprimand?"
You know some of the abilities!
SPECIAL ABILITIES
- Dance of Disaster (Su) Whenever an adhukait hits with a melee attack during a full action, it can move 10 feet before making its next attack. The adhukait’s normal speed does not limit this movement—it can move 10 feet after any successful hit among its four attacks, as long as it has another attack to make.
- Dual Mind (Su) An adhukait is a single creature with two distinct minds, so it can attempt two saving throws against mind-affecting effects. If either saving
throw succeeds, the mind-affecting effect fails to affect the adhukait.
DR 5/good
While your knowledge check does not tell you anything more about the connection this creature may have to the trapped Asura, thinking about it does give you a nagging feeling you might want to show Ungala the note from Lutebu Alrati.
Taking a look at the note Ungala makes a realization and rushes into another room coming back with a tablet.
"We found this in a raid just before the attacks started, maybe it has something to do with them."
You suddenly realize that this tablet could be the reason that the Asura made it to this reagion! And it still has some power over the asura.
Specifcally, reading a key passage backward while within 60 feet of the
fend as a move action prevents it from teleporting for 1
hour and causes it to attack the reader.
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Quinn takes a look at the tablet, and his eyes go wide. "This could be the key to defeating the asura! If one of us were to recite from it during a battle against it, it wouldn't be able to escape. The longer the chanting continues, the more the asura would weaken--but it would focus all of its energies on the reader!"
Ungala and the Pathfinder leaders are impressed by your knowledge!
"I wish you all the luck in the world!" Ungala says.
* * *
With that the group is pretty confident there is nothing else to learn, before dealing with the creature.
The path out of the town that Ungala has directed you to as the location of the previous attacks, leads by many shops that any lesser purchases someone might want to make in preparation are easily obtained on the way.
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"Why don't Dwight take it?" Reggie asks.
"I mean, I don't like the idea of not fightin' fair, too much, but nobody said nothin' 'bout this thing bein' able to fly. If it can't, then Dwight can stay out of it's reach and read the tablet while we wail on it. Or I can read it, if it's just a matter of readin'. I mean, no offense, Quinn, but I 'spect I'm a bit tougher and harder to hit than, you," he says.
He also takes the bull's strength infusion.