Cheiton lives in a two-story house not far from the Shrunken Head tavern. On the way over there Davor is able to keep an eye on their followers who are content to stay in the distance for now.
Following Cheiton and the rest, Neethan can sense that Davor looks about him cautiously. The wizard assumes the rogue is busy looking out for them and instead relays some quick information to Shalissa in a low voice: ”Talked to a friend in there. Seems there is quite an interest here in Kalabuto for finding that lost ruin. Words have been spread around. More than one expedition is preparing to head for the Screaming Jungle even though there’s some confusion on exactly where to. Hang on to any clues you’ve got about how to find that map in Tazion and about Saventh-Yhi. We might be in for a race, and it can be an ugly one.”
Unaware of the people following them, Shalissa focus on Neethan's conversation as they make it to Cheiton's house "What do you mean? Is there more people here looking for the ancient city?" the elf seems as surprised as puzzled "Yes, let's try to keep the details aside. We need to think on a cover for our trip. Perhaps we should tell we are looking on a expedition to find healing herbs in the jungle for an illness spreading in Varisia right now"
”A lot of rumors, but also some recruiting going on, apparently. The chance of finding Saventh-Yhi would attract attention from at least a couple of powers around here. I bet the Aspis Consortium would go to lengths about this, and they can be very rough. This is also a big thing for the Pathfinder Society who think they have the right to be the one to explore everything.
I hope we can trust Cheiton. Money can buy loyalty. Not to mention any radical tribe wanting to ambush an expedition if not strong enough to protect itself.
Who else know what you know? “
"The people watching us might just be locals. Remember the ones that tried to burn the warehouse back in Eleder? They were all about the Mwangi and how we were stealing everything. What I've been seeing looked mostly like the ways of the thieve's guild that I learned from in my early days. Likely they want information and a cut of the action." He pauses, thinking a bit. "Death doesn't pay. But if the Consortium or one of the others will.... Then they could be dangerous, especially since they are local and know the best choke points and such."
"And we don't want major delays. If we're attacked by locals it'd be best not to kill them, if possible. We don't want the legal entanglements that would bring!"
Not wanting to drag the discussion along, at least not her outside, Father Kerndrew urges caution and discretion. "Let's just keep our wits about us, and our eyes on the goal." When all else fails, generic platitudes are sometimes best.
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Followed by whomever is keeping an eye on you you reach Cheitons house and he bids you inside.
After getting out a msall keg of beer the dwarf sits down next to you and renews your discussion. When he asks you how you plan to find a lost city you show him some of your results from the Library, giving you an rough location of the city.
"I see that sounds good enough. But beware, east of here you finally leave civilization. Behind the border you will only find the tribes of the jungle. xenophobix Mzali, cannibalistic Eloko or even demon worshipping apemen named charau-ka."
" I think the best way too get to Tazion will be following the River of Lost Tears to the lake of Vanishing armies and from there travel along the Upper Korir River until you can cross over to Tazion on land."
Shalissa frowns worried "The Aspis Consortium and the Pathfinder Society? I do not like it... we have to be quiet and faster than them."
---
The tribes dangers do not leave the elf calmer in any measure "The route seems clear, thanks for that Cheiton. Is there anything we can do to win the sympathies of those tribes? And if not, any way to avoid them?"
Neethan follows the rest and settles down inside Cheitons house. When the dwarf starts getting out some beer, the wizard wonders if he’s trying to get them drunk, but in the end, he takes the beer even so. Just a little. He seems thirsty again. It’s not like he has so much info to reveal to the dwarf anyway. Neethan mostly listens and tries to memorize the info Shalissa and the rest tell him about their earlier discoveries. He does not have much experience of the area upriver, nor anything recent for that matter, but he tries to map out the info in his head.
Davor listens to the details. No surprise that there'd be dangerous local tribes. Of course they'd see them as invaders.... He perks up at the mention of the lake of Vanishing Armies. He quietly asks Shalissa, "Could that be the lake where there's a sunken ship? Remember the note from the shaman?"
"You mean the vision where we saw a large creature trying to snap at us coming out of a lake?" Shalissa turns to Davor to remember of the events with Tempest "Maybe. We should be careful"
Father Kerndrew nods along as Cheiton details what he knows, but his mind was distracted. He kept letting this search for the ancient city of Saventh-Yhi peel his attention away from his own church's goals. Indifferent to the conversation at hand, he blurts out. "Curtius! I'm supposed to make contact with a Father Curtius!" He turns to Cheiton. "Sorry. I have tasks of my own to accomplish here, too, and I need to find the Iomedean temple before we leave. Do you know the way?"
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River of the Lost Tears
The river should be reasonable safe especially if if keep to the right bank.
Lake of the Vanishing Armies
Davor is right, the treasure map which the shaman gave you probably points to a spot at the northern end of the lake. But the lake also looks suspiciously like the lake you saw in the vision.
Upper Korir River
The upper Korir River runs straight through the screaming jungle. Unlike many Mwangi rivers, the Korir lacks the dual dangers of crocodiles and hippopotamuses.
Instead, the primary aquatic predators are a variety of lean, elongated gar and constrictor serpents. These serpents suspend themselves from branches overhanging the river and drop down upon water birds and smaller varieties of primates, though occasionally gnome and half ling travelers f ind themselves suddenly chosen for a snake’s evening feast.
Additionally, due to the river’s swift passage from higher to lower terrain, a number of falls and rapids pose further danger, especially at the Uruvai Rocks, which usually necessitate portaging any boats, exposing explorers to potential ambush by various native groups and humanoid tribes.
About the jungle itself very little is known as only very few have ever travelled there. Inside the jungle the golden city of Osibu is supposed to be found but nobody who has reached it has surviived to tell the tale.
The Mzali
Mzali is a city state located somewhere to the east of the lake. Its fiercy nationalistic warriors are constantly raiding Kalabuto and its outskirts and are like to be blamed for that horrible tree you found.
Eloko
Eolokos are supposed to be crocodile like humanoid creatures Which are hunting travvelers and are said to be able to swallow a human in one bite.
Charau-Ka
The Charau-ka are screaming howling chimpanzee-like humanoids who tear in small hordes through the jungle slaying everybody who dares ti stand in their way.
Neethan hears the info, but still has some questions on what is the best strategy for them, and also who is providing supplies for them, if they head out before the rest of the caravan. He asks the rest of the team and Cheiton.
”So, would the best choice be to take a river boat to Lake of the Vanishing Armies, then? Do we go alone or wait for the rest of the caravan? Or should we be more discreet and slip out of Kalabuto on foot as fast as possible, walking along the river? I guess, paying for a trip on a boat, will not be that hard, but we’ll be easy to follow. Walking along the river would likely take more time and others will get ahead of us.
Cheiton, how far are you traveling with us? Or are you just helping us here, but you will stay behind in Kalabuto?
Are we supposed to wait for a message from Kassata, before we continue? We need to resupply for such a journey. Does Kassata provide us with credits to stock up on potions and such here in Kalabuto? Sounds it going to get harder to find what we need later on.”
"I Believe I can be the most helpful when I organize transport for the main caravan. It will not be easy to find so many boats on short notice."
"As for yourself I suggest spending tomorrow to to stock up your supplies and other neceesary item before moving forward to scout the route fourther forward."
Neethan only thinks he got some of his questions answered and does some follow up.
"It sounds like it is going to be a quite interesting journey..." Shalissa frowns worried and updates the others on everything she knows "Taking a boat can help us speed up our initial steps, but as soon as the first serpents start to hang from the trees I do expect the ship captain will want to head back... let's try to buy our own boat, but not get too obsessed with it, the time to find a boat can be spent instead finding our way by foot" proposes the elf.
Davor shakes his head when the suggestion of purchasing a boat is mentioned. "Do any of us know how to handle a boat? I don't. I can swim OK, but if we capsize everything in it goes to the bottom or floats away. I think I'd rather stay on foot, following along the river to stay on course. Perhaps we can get an animal to carry some of the supplies though? Food and water, extra arrows, anything else that would be too heavy or bulky for our packs?"
"Once we know the trail we'll know what has to be done for the rest of our group to follow."
"We can sell our tired carrying animals and buy fresh ones. That can save us some time" Shalissa nods "It is probably a good idea. We can also get a canoe to drag stuff more easily from the shore until we get out of the area best known by Kalabuto's locals"
Shalissa looks again to their dwarf interlocutor "Is there any place we can get a map of the region ahead? Or maybe find some people that know the area and can help us enrich our other maps with new notes"
When you discuss your modes of transportation with Cheiton he agrees with your plan. "It will be possible to catch a ride on a trader traveling along the Lake of Vanishing Armies. From there if you travel along the riverbank you can either hire a few porters or maybe you find a village willing to part with one of their working elephants. Thats the most common animal used here for transporting goods."
"Unfortunately no maps of the jungle are available. your description of the route is the best I have seen in quite a while. it might even be good enough to give you a fighting chance to reach that place."
"Elephants?" Shalissa laughs joyful, covering her mouth timidly with a hand "I have never gone in such a mount, it is going to be fun!"
"Ok, I think the broad strokes are covered" Shalissa will help Cheiton cover the details of their trip, including buying food, renewing ragged tents, etc.
"I am going to have a walk and find a few regents for the Goddess blessings" the elf looks at the paladin at that point "Do you wish me to accompany you to the temple and visit Father Curtius? He might have some of the most common ones I need"
Seems the team will have to do with what they already have in the form of resources.
Plans are being drawn up for what to do tomorrow, and Neethan takes the advantage to open his spellbook and study some spells he’s been working on.
Father Kerndrew ponders things a moment, then offers a suggestion. "It sounds like Kalabuto is our last civilized spot for a bit. Perhaps we should take a moment and spend what we've collected up until new, and bring that wealth into the wild in the form of usable resources, instead of just banking it."
Calling it a night you retreat into your rooms thinking about all the things you want to buy tomorrow with your hard earned money.
After an uneventful night you wake up, and get ready to go down for breakfast, when you realize your belonging has been searched. You immediately realize that your research notes and Yarzoth Journal are gone.
Rushing down to the main area you also find that your host is no longer in the house. A quick search of his room shows sign of a struggle.
Having found someone has gone through his belongings, Neethan lets out a loud curse. Luckily, his spellbook is still there, so it must have been a selective search rather than burglars. He immediately suspects Cheiton selling out on them, and only signs of a struggle allow him to give the dwarf the benefit of a doubt. The dwarf is gone though, as are their notes about how to find the lost city. The competition is escalating, clearly.
”Have you found Cheiton? Do you know what has happened? The notes are gone, but we know what they said, right? Do we try to find Cheiton, or just leave as fast as possible?”
Davor quickly checks his equipment to see if anything else was stolen. "We probably remember enough about the notes to continue. But we don't want them in the hands of our rivals. And we have to find and rescue Cheiton. If we actually find the thieves they all should be killed so they don't come after us. We don't need another group of enemies!"
"Oh dude... there is no honest men remaining... do we have to set watches even at civilization?" Shalissa looks befallen at the incident "I am not sure if we can reach Tazion without the notes. Even if we do, we might need them to interpret the map there or even to avoid traps or unlock its doors..."
The elf will call Athyra to look for tracks and any clues remaining home.
Searching Shalissas room provide now new evidence. the doorlatch was easy to open for a competent thief and they just searched her belongings. You also realize they searched the room of the others as well.
Once you put Cheitons room to a through search you also spot some traces of a fight. There is a small amount of blood on the doorframe and you find a piece of coarse red cloth which might have been used to bind him.
Shalissa's breathes deeply "The sole thought on what could have they done... ohm... this is horrible..." the elf frowns and endures her face to avoid crying.
When the piece of red cloth is found, Shalissa picks it up "What do you think? Is this perhaps from the attackers? We need to to find Cheiton, it seems he might be in danger... Perhaps someone might know who might be the owner"
Davor examines the cloth,
"The cloth is coarse, and red isn't a color a rogue would wear other than as a disguise. It might give us some guess about who the thieves are working for? Any chance Athyra's dinosaur can get a scent and track with it?"
Having searched the house you decide to go back to the shrunken head to meet up with Athyra and the others. Coming downstairs you find the room mostly undisturbed apart from a few moved chairs, likelyto make room for people carry and person.
Seconds later Shalissa steps up to the main door and tries to leave the premises when a blast of fire hits her straight in the face. Davor who is only shortly behind her is also caught in the radius of the explosion.
Always keeping to the back of the team, saves Neethan from the worst of the fire blast. Even so, he takes this very personal. Not only had the intruders gone through their belongings and stolen the needed notes; they had also left a present for them. Why? They could just as easy have hurt them in their sleep. Was it just a warning? Neethan is pissed off either way.
You like to play with fire, do you? Well, I can play that game too!
He helps Davor and Shalissa recover even if he is not well versed in healing. They need to get their stuff and get after whoever did this. Neethan’s initial thoughts about heading for the Lake of the Vanishing Armies without the notes are gone. Getting a revenge on someone who has used magic upon you, was almost a religious subject at The Academy. It was not for the meek.
The wizard makes sure he has his gear with him.
A survival instinct kicks in as Shalissa sees a deflagration coming and covers rolling over the wall "Oh, shun!"
Quickly recovering she looks at Neethan boiling "What was that?! We need to be extra careful here..."
"And we need to save Cheiton, it was our responsibility and anyway we need him" the elf makes a gesture to exit again, but this time reels back "Can you check that Davor? We need to get out and check if someone has seen something"
As soon as the blast of fire explodes in Shalissa and Davor's faces, Father Kerndrew darts to the window. He stops just to the side of it, and moves cautiously to peer out. "Is everyone okay? Is this a trap or an ambush?!?"
Surprised by the violent attack you quickly gather your wits and check for signs of an incoming attack.
Fortunately this only proofed to be a glyph of warding cast on the door. When you check the door to the backyard you find a similar symbol there.
When it is clear that this is no Mzali attack the neighbours come rushing out to help yu caring for Shalissa and Davor.
"Just a trap. Set to scare us or slow us down. We need to find Cheiton, save him if possible. A scrap of cloth isn't much of a clue though!"
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“Alright, we need a plan. We can start by asking the neighbors around here. Maybe they have seen something, or know where Cheiton or that Zenji girl with the charms might be, Kibi was it? Even if she’s involved somehow, she might not be with those who broke in here, but another faction. She could have her reasons to help us. We can ask at the Shrunken Head after that.
My friend, Cefas, the halfelf I met yesterday, can maybe know more about the rumors and which faction that might be behind this. We can go seek him after the inn.”
Neethan is good a reasoning, but not the most diplomatic of the bunch, so he’d prefer if someone else with a smoother tongue approached the neighbors and the patrons/innkeeper of the inn.
"Let's try it out Neethan" as people begin to flock to see what happened, Shalissa softly takes Neethan's hand and pulls him to come with her "Bring that piece of cloth"
She directs himself to the neighbors approaching "Have you seen anyone around the house? Do you know about anyone wearing this piece of cloth?" she pays as much attention to what they tell to what they do not want to tell.
"Please, also answer the questions of this man" she pushes Neethan forward.
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Neethan is suddenly pushed forward by Shalissa. He’s not really used to the attention and also knows that they will recognize a colonial and may not like it. He tries his best.
”Yesterday, we just met Cheiton, the dwarf living here, but he invited us in and was going to help us. Now, it seems like he has been kidnapped during the night and fire traps set outside the house to damage the neighborhood. Has anyone seen anything last night that might lead us to find him or those who might have done this crime?”
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Pushing each other to the front in an almost comical display Neethan and Shalissa start questioning the neighbours.
Unfortunately since all this happened during the middle of the night, not a lot of people are able to provide concrete evidence.
"Its these damn Mzali rebels. I am sure they are just preparing another attack on the city, just last week they burned down the farm of my brother on the other side of the river.". The owner of the shop a few blocks down the road is very open in his opinion who did all this.
When you keep asking for more details a young woman can tell you that she saw a man standing in the shadows watching Cheitons house later in the evening. "He was a small, dark haired, and he hid his face under a hood."
When you show the piece of cloth to the woman she quickly remarks. "I don't thing this is from a piece of clothing it is much to heavy and coarse to be worn, especially in this hot weather. this must be from a piece of equipment."
The neighbors seem to blame the Mzali rebels, but Neethan has his doubts. Those rebels are rumored to be crazy and ruthless. Why would they have left the rest just sleeping? No, this was a little more sophisticated.
When a young woman points out the red piece of cloth is hardly from someone’s clothes, Neethan takes a second look at it. Is it stiff and without holes, like from a sail? Is it jute, like from a sack? He smells on it to see if he can have a guess.
Was it left behind for a reason, to give them a clue to follow to another set-up ambush, or just dropped?
Neethan voices his questions to Davor hoping the added info can give the rogue a lead to study the cloth one more time.
The wizard then turns to the crowd again. ”There was a small girl who also guided us to this area. She’s about nine, ten years old and sells wooden charms. Maybe called Kibi-something. Have you seen her around? Do you know where we can find her now?”
Father Kerndrew berates himself under his breath. "We knew we were being watched. How could we let ourselves sleep without setting a watch for ourselves? It's foolish; so basic. How did that get past us?!?"
He looks at the others, a determined look on his face. "I need to spend some time at church," he says, simply. "The local clergy may have some insight, and I need to refocus my head. I'll look for you at Cheiton's or the pub later."
He sets off to find the local church of Iomedae.
Shalissa hears with interest what the neighbors have to say "That burnt farm, is it far away from here?"
Very interested on what they have to say about the questions regarding the small girl, Shalissa also asks "Does any of you seen Cheiton acting strangely as of late? Do you know of anyone that might have wanted bad to him?"
"A small native girl. I don't believe I somebody like her comes here often. You say you met her on the eastern approach? I suggest you ask for her in that area of town."
When Shalissa ask the shopowner about the farmer she finds out that the man lives a few hours outside the town in the southeast. The farm was attacked by a group of Mzali warriors a few weeks ago. As Neethan can confirm this is a common occurence in these lands. Luckily the man was well prepared and only lost a few of his stored supplies and some livestock.
The shrine of Aroden is located on a small hill behind the main harbur, giving a nice view on the town from above. You ask around for Father curtius and are led to a small cell in the dormitory. Inside you find a old white haired man in knightly armour sitting in solemn prayer in his cell.
When Kerndrew enters his cell he stands up and greets the paladin. "Iomedeas Blessing stranger. What brings you to this humble place."
Neethan tells Shalissa what he knows about the crazy Mzali warriors and their constant troublemaking in the area. Seems they are still at it, attacking anything like a civilization. He expresses his doubts that they would be behind the search and the (possible) abduction of Cheiton. The Mzalis would have killed everyone they consider an intruder to this land.
Kibi doesn’t seem to be found around here, so the red piece of cloth is still the only clue so far, if it really is a clue. There is something about it though. Neethan thinks he has seen something similar before but is not sure. He gets an idea.
”Listen, The Shrunken Head tavern is by the riverside, close to the docks. I’d like to visit the docks first to ask around about this piece of cloth, then we can go to the tavern. If we have no luck in finding more clues, we might need to go back through the town to where we found Kibi before, to search for her.
Perhaps being the only one in the team that has been here before, Neethan is eager to lead them to the docks.
Davor agrees with Neethan. "Remember that Kibi found us. I'm sure she was working with the thieves guild. Probably not a trained thief and almost certainly not part of the group that raided Cheiton's home. I'm thinking she was just a trained kid to find marks for the guild's attention. Her fake charms should have been just to see if we had lots of coin that they could steal. That they searched our stuff and took what they did.... Someone from our competition got here ahead of us."
”Let’s go, then.”
Unless someone disagrees or something else comes up, Neethan takes the party to the harbor. He looks around first for anyone that seems to follow them with too much interest, and then looks for any deckhand or harbor worker that doesn’t look too unfriendly or busy.
Finding a helpful soul, he approaches. ”Hard work in the harbor, as always. Tough, when it’s so hot and humid. Maybe you have a few seconds to look at this piece of red cloth? Any guess what’s it used for or from where it comes?”
Shalissa follows Neethan to the harbor tavern "Attending what you say it would seem perhaps the thieves guild is stealing our notes to sell them to a potential competitor? That would explain why they were only interested on the notes and did not try to kill us. But why to take Cheiton?"
The elf tries to help in the interrogation "This is important to us. A larger expedition is coming after us and what we tell them about people here can affect a lot on how they deal with the town after us."
”If Cheiton is known to be good at arranging expeditions, he can be useful to whoever is planning to do one, or at least unavailable to help us while he’s gone. Let’s just be careful we’re not walking into any ambush to capture us too.” “, Neethan answers Shalissa, while negotiating with the workers at the docks.
Going back to the riverside area and its warehouses Neethan is able to leadyou to some local craftsmen he knows from his former time on the town. It takes a bit but the third person you are asking is able to help you.
"I think I have seen this before. You see this pattern here. Thats typical for the city of Bloodcove. The use it often for sails or packaging."