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“Aeliah not completely abandon idea for diversion, Tricksy Man.”
Aeliah says a brief prayer to the Hunter for additional speed and takes a hold of Umbrato’s elbow.
Assuming she can’t attract the others’ attention without giving their position away, the druidess steers the invisible sphere past the relevant table, switches the mugs between Messieurs ‘Have’ and ‘Have Not’ and waits for the fun to begin.
Tee, hee!
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Just as the guards start forward to act on the cleric's order, Aeliah gets an idea...a devilishly, wonderful awful idea...switching the mugs just before both men turn back to the bar...
The man seeing his previously full mug empty and his partner's previously empty mug full, thinks the worst of his drinking buddy and puts his fist in the other's eye. "Bill Huggins, ye be a cheap cheating scavenger and a scallywag to boot!"
Stunned but not dazed, he gathers himself and throws a punch back. "That's a cowardly cheap shot, Bob Turner, and Eh'll not be a standin' for it..."
The other drunks see it and yell, "Bruggage!" and they join in on the fisticuffs as well...and it spreads out into the Main Hall behind the clerics who look on in terror as this breaks out into a Barroom Blitz!
A Good Old Fashioned Barroom Brawl! Round 1 - The bold may post!
Umbrato
Mivvy
Drunken Revelers
Clerics
Izlin
Thaddeus
Hamish
Guards
Aeliah
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Quietly and unseen, Mivvy tosses a mug of ale at one of the clerics...while it misses wide and hits the bar nearby, it does splash said cleric with ale and distracts him...
"Who threw that?" he says as his attention is turned momentarily to the drunken patrons...
A Good Old Fashioned Barroom Brawl! Round 1 - The bold may post!
Umbrato
Mivvy
Drunken Revelers
Clerics
Izlin
Thaddeus
Hamish
Guards
Aeliah
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Considering his options, Umbrato frowns. 'Most of what I can do in this situation could cause them to perish...no need for bloodshed right now...'
'If I move too quickly, I'll leave someone visible...even briefly that could be bad.'
With a motion to his companions, he urges them to move through if a gap appears. Remaining still, he readies to move forward with his companions.
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Umbrato, as quiet as a mouse, sees a small gap just west of the distracted grey cleric and he motions the group to follow him closely...
The drunken revelers in the entry hall, as well as the Main Hall, start to mix it up, even brushing up against the clerics and guards...the grey cleric moves to intervene with the reveler whom he thinks threw the mug...
A Good Old Fashioned Barroom Brawl! Round 1 - The bold may post!
Umbrato
Mivvy
Drunken Revelers
Clerics
Izlin
Thaddeus
Hamish
Guards
Aeliah
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The guards get tangled up with some of the drunks can’t make their way over to where you disappeared...
With the guards and clerics distracted and caught up in the brawl, you’re able slip quietly by unseen and make it into the Main Hall...where you find the brawl has spread to with mugs and fists, along with the occasional drunk, flying around with reckless abandon...
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Sticking close to Umbrato, while you move unseen, you still have to duck and dodge from fists and mugs flying through the air...
While you're able to dodge through most of the brawl in the Main Hall, Thad and Aeliah are each struck a glancing blow from a couple of thrown mugs...but are able to shake it off and press on...
Following Umbrato, as you near the door, Mivvy magically opens the door to where the High Priestess was said to be entertaining. As you enter said door to the Oratorium, you think it best to close the door behind you...
Drunks and prophets are using this mid-sized speaking hall to give testimony in verse, soliloquy, and song. A long stage faces out to a shallow and wide room with notoriously bad acoustics. A collection of round wooden tables cram up the remaining floor space. The quote from Cayden’s Placard is carved across the front of the stage. Saphira can be found here listening to the blathering prattle of a Taldan jester (the great Arnaud Deschamp, Glory of the Empire, Ear of the Crown, Wit of the Opparan Court himself...she is seated at the able due east of the door you entered...
Aside from Saphira and the jester, there are ~10 additional revelers here, most of them clerics or temple guards, who are all raucously participating in the jester’s crude (but amusing) speech about the state of relations between Absalom and Oppara...
The jester’s performance is loud and bawdy enough to keep everyone’s attention on him rather than the brawl going on in the Main Hall...
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Taking a short breath, Hamish summons a pair of drums and begins a slow methodical beat to protect his allies and break out anyone who might be fascinated if Izlin's theory is correct.
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Other than some gear on his friends and some weapons on the guards and clerics in the Oratorium, Izlin detects no magic in the room. As a precaution, Hamish summons a drum and plays a countersong to ward off any adverse magic, but it appears no one inside this room has been affected...
The jester, in appreciation to Hamish's most excellent musical talent, tips his cap in appreciation and dances a jig to the beat of the drum, while singing tripe quips of bawdy nature in tune with the music...
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Sliding out another scroll as he glances back towards the door, he frowns. "It's possible she'd be fine with a direct approach. It's also possible she would interfere with our needs."
Turning to Hamish, he inquires "Are you any good with the fairer sex? Perhaps you could work your wiles on the clergy and gain her blessing for us."
Looking around the room, he smiles. "Looks better in here, but judging by what me ran into outside, I suggest you use caution."
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Hamish looks wounded and gives his best faux pout, ”Oh Umbrato, am I not fair enough for you? I’ll have to try harder.”
After he winks at the masked scroll user he adds to the group, ”Our mission is unchanged, talk to Saphira and learn what she knows. She isn’t being magically or musically enchanted, so I also agree we should come clean... and that way we can let her know about the enchanted clerics outside. I’ll tell her if you all wish, but I’m probably not the absolute best with words. I tend to be a bit direct sometimes.”
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Hamish moves up to the Priestess, "A thousand pardons Ma'am, but there are some major issues here and we've been sent to help. I'm Hamish, a pathfinder agent. We've discovered strong evidence of a demonic influence from this location. So we stopped by to check it out and... well this is hard to say but two of your clerics out there were obviously under some sort of enchantment and claimed you were busy and not to be bothered. The guards seemed just as confused as us about this, so we snuck past everyone and see that obviously the clerics were lying. Between the enchantment and the lie about you, we are definitely sure something is happening here. Can you help us out with any information about oddities you've seen so that we can look into the issue?"
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A worried look comes over the High Priestess. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage...I personally have not noticed anything odd as late. Demons in Cayden's Hall? And affecting some of my clerics as well? How did this come to be? Those clerics were not under orders from me to deny anyone an audience...we will hold them for examination and questioning. Charles, send guards to secure Brothers Alden and Jernigan for interrogation...and then send for Brother Dunnamast to meet me and these Pathfinders in the Shades room...
"Come, follow me to a room more suitable for such talk..."
She rises and exits through the easternmost door of the Oratorium...
The brawl is starting to wane, however the High Priestess puts the kabosh on it immediately. "ENOUGH!" Her voice carries even above the din of the brawl...the drunken revelers look her way and, seeing it's the High Priestess, they hide mugs behind their backs, uncurl their hands from fists while putting them in their pocket...and look sheepish towards her. She looks imperiously at them for a moment before continuing. "You will desist and clean up this mess...or I will put a ban on any alcohol consumption in Cayden's Hall for the next month...your choice..." She turns without looking back, the assuredness of a woman who knows she will be obeyed...and you notice she is right in that assumption...
She leads to a smaller circular room just south of the Main Hall, bids you be seated. Once seated she says, "While we await Brother Dunnamast, I'm sure you have more information about these demons. Who is your source and what else can you tell me about them?"
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While Saphira awaits a reply from you concerning her query about the demons, Izlin tries to get a read on her...
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While still under the cover of the invisibility sphere, Aeliah takes the opportunity to remove the minor bruising and swelling from Tad and herself.
“Aeliah been caught out by: ‘this safe situation – no need to heal’ before, Brother Dawnflower.”
She raises her CLW wand to the 🐸, like it’s a yard-glass. “Have one on the Hunter.”
Absent of filter under normal circumstances, Aeliah blurts it all out, like a Grog Pit groom half-way through his stag night.
“Chief contact a demonologist called Xersus Abergris. Him said used to work for Accidental Priest called Baldimar Trud.”
Aeliah takes careful note of Saphira’s reaction when she says Trud’s name.
“Xerxus found minor demonling going through him’s tanar’ri notes recently. Abyssal-scum say he heard voice of his master – fat, ugly, stoopid flying demon called Graz’ith Ur Maurgith coming from Cayden’s Hall. Seems weird, yes?”
The druidess also looks for a reaction when she calls Graz’ith Ur Maurgith ‘fat, ugly & stupid.’
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High Priestess Saphira frowns upon the mention of the demon's name. "That it most concerning...I myself have not heard of that name, be it demon or otherwise.
"Brother Baldimar? Of course I knew of him...he was our foremost expert on demons before he died, though he kept much of his research to himself...but he was always ready to answer a question if needed. I'm afraid I know nothing of a secret archive. Brother Dunnamast was his ward though and Baldimar left everything to him; hence, the reason I summoned him here to speak with us. By Cayden's Codpiece, what could be keeping him? Ah, here's Charles now...but where is Dunnamast?"
The man she sent to fetch the cleric and shoots the High Priestess an apologetic look before speaking. ”I’m sorry, m’Lady, but we couldn’t find Brother Dunnamast anywhere...and I didn’t want to keep you waiting...”
She turns pale at the words. ”No...Brother Dunnamast is missing? The demons, perhaps? It can be no coincidence he’s missing at this particular time,” she says as turns back to you. ”Perhaps you Pathfinders can find him? I admit, we’re poorly equipped to face demons without our demonologist...surely you can help us?”
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'No alcohol in the hall of Cayden?! She is a stern one!'
"Well, that is certainly a troubling development miss. We shall add it to our to do list then. Would be safe to say we have your blessing then to search the entire facility without encroachment?"
Without waiting for an answer, he turns to the errand boy. "You know where your brother was last seen?"
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High Priestess Saphira bows graciously, saying, "Yes, of course, you have full access to Caydens' Hall. We are grateful for your assistance, it will not be forgotten...I'm not sure where he was last seen however..."
Charles intercedes in answer to Umbrato. "M'Lady, one of the guards saw him earlier this morning in the Cask Room...but when we searched, we did not find him there..."
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Saphira smiles at Aeliah. "While this temple is home to a tavern, and Cayden wouldn't have it any other way, I'm a high priestess to Cayden first and appearances must be observed...
"Thank you and good luck with your search. Please report back to me when you find him..."
You approach to find two guards at the entrance to the Cask room; it's obvious they've been informed of your status as they step aside to let you enter and begin your search...
This relatively large storeroom is packed with bottles, casks, and kegs of various libations necessary to maintain the hall’s eternal festivities. Toward the back, a descending flight of stairs connects to deeper cellars filled with various types of wines and liquors. There are three cellars
in all (each identical in dimension and function to the area on the map).
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Mivvy shakes the wand, looks it up and down, polishes it on her shirt sleeve then holds it to her ear. She frowns for a second, "Wait, it's speaking to me. What was that? It said, 'tell the fellow with all of the little knives to shut up.'" She jerks her arm out from her body, holding the wand well away from her, "How rude!"
She shakes her head and gives Izlin an exaggerated shrug, "I am sorry, good fellow, this wand can be a little testy sometimes. Pay it no mind."
Then she taps the demonologist with it again.
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Izlin covers his heart in mock offense. "Made that purchase by yourself did you? That explains the substandard merchandise. Maybe Hamish or I should accompany you next time so the tradesman doesn't direct you toward the shoddier items. You should not allow yourself to be so taken advantage of." The tiefling then leans toward the bard, "I'm guessing that's not the first time she's held a 'little test- ....what? Too far?" He waves Hamish off.
After the second attempt, "Aw...there you go. See. I knew you could eventually do it." He looks to the others, no longer playing the foil. "Seriously, have we a way to counter any possible poison?"