“Oh no! Vitalis, get up!”
Chance sings a healing song for the unconscious champion, then sustains his phantom orchestra over what’s left of the troop of inquisitors.
◆◆: Cast a spell, Soothe
◆: Sustain a spell, Phantom Orchestra
Edrakk, eager for the fight to end, strides around the unconscious paladin to his head to pour a healing elixir down his throat.
Jisara calls out to Tiarise as the other witch approaches, summoning her own patron's magic to snuff the woman's life out.
"You chose the wrong side, Tiarise! Now you'll die for it!"
Knowing Vitalis will be back up again soon, Thatch reforms into a flanking position with the paladin, his sigils and runes ablaze.
Edrakk moves over and administers an elixir to Vitalis.
Jisara Demoralizes Tiarise and curses her.
Chance heals Vitalis then moves his orchestra.
Chance’s orchestra knocks out enough of the remaining inquisitors that all that remain cannot act as a proper troop and poses a minimal threat.
Round 7
==============
Vitalis (-61) {prone; wounded 1; Fast Healing 12: Round 2 of 4; +2 vs. mental; clumsy 1; drained 1; -1 to attack & damage; 4d4 persistent poison; 6d6 persistent bleed & weakness 1 to piercing and slashing}
Eurleus (-87; +7)
Tiarise (-95) {wounded 1; frightened 1; Curse of Death: Stage 1; fatigued}
Kelaxiax (-14)
Edrakk (-29)
Jisara (-25) {invisible}
Thatch (-17)
Chance (-30)
==============
Vitalis groans and gets back up. He picks up his weapon. "No matter how many times you get knocked down, as long as you get back up, you're still in the game. Let's see if you get back up from this!"
Whack! Vitalis hits Eurleus.
Halberd, -1 attack: 1d20 + 22 - 1 ⇒ (19) + 22 - 1 = 40
Vitalis stands up and attacks Eurleus!
Tiarise shouts to Eurleus ”Fall back to these doors!”
Eurleus nods. She Steps toward Vitalis and does a Flurry of Blows!
Eurleus then Strides to retreat toward the front doors.
The fire in Tiarise’s eyes flare as the bejeweled circlet upon her head likewise glows with profane light!
Tiarise Strides to be right next to Eurleus and she and Kelaxiax begin chanting
”This is it, face the reaper at the sound of your death knell
For your crimes against Cheliax, I sentence you to burn in Hell!”
Suddenly, the chamber erupts in unholy fire as devils seem to appear out of nowhere and attack anything that moves—even the dregs of the inquisitor troop try to beg to be spared only to be struck down by the spell of their own ally. The flames of Hell themselves erupt and scorch any and all that are here!
Failure
Failure
Failure
Success --> Critical Success (Divine Will)
Critical Failure
Critical Failure
As the illusory flames of Hell burn before her, Tiarise and Kelaxiax erupt in a malicious and cruel cackle.
Round 7 —> 8
==============
Vitalis (-130) {wounded 1; Fast Healing 12: Round 3 of 4; +2 vs. mental; clumsy 1; drained 1; -1 to attack & damage; 4d4 persistent poison; 6d6 persistent bleed & weakness 1 to piercing and slashing}
Eurleus (-151; +7)
Tiarise (-141) {wounded 1; Curse of Death: Stage 3; fatigued}
Kelaxiax (-14)
Edrakk (-75)
Jisara (-71) {invisible}
Thatch (-77) {unconscious; prone; dying 2; Stunned (Will saves @ end of turn)}
Chance (-76)
==============
Jisara reflexively reaches out to Thatch, sending her patron's healing magic surging through his body. While she focuses on maintaining her magic, she turns her other energies to protecting herself from Eurleus.
Round 7 —> 8
==============
Vitalis (-130) {wounded 1; Fast Healing 12: Round 3 of 4; +2 vs. mental; clumsy 1; drained 1; -1 to attack & damage; 4d4 persistent poison; 6d6 persistent bleed & weakness 1 to piercing and slashing}
Eurleus (-151)
Tiarise (-143) {wounded 1; Curse of Death: Stage 3; fatigued}
Kelaxiax (-14)
Edrakk (-75)
Jisara (-71) {invisible}
Thatch (-77) {unconscious; prone; dying 2; Stunned (Will saves @ end of turn)}
Chance (-76)
==============
"Need to kill them before they kill me."
Now that Vitalis is standing (not for long), he runs after Eurleus and hits her again. Then he bleeds out again.
◆Stride
◆Stride
◆Strike (Eurleus)
Edrakk, in a panic over all of his injured allies and not being able to reach Vitalis, runs over to Chance (hoping Jisara will heal Thatch) and trying to patch the gnome, before drawing and downing one of his own elixirs.
“Thanks, Edrakk, I… oh, damn it! Vitalis is down again!”
When the red inquisitors’ formation collapses, Chance allows the phantom orchestra to fade away. The bard sings his healing song for the champion once again before picking up the inspiring melody he began at the start of the combat, hoping to give his allies a shot of courage.
◆◆: Cast a spell, Soothe
◆: Cast a focus cantrip, Courageous Anthem
Edrakk heals himself and Chance.
Chance heals Vitalis.
Jisara heals Thatch.
Vitalis charges forward and attacks Eurleus. And the councilwoman falls!
Tiarise and her familiar are the only ones standing, and she is unfortunately keenly aware of how unlikely it is she will survive. She briefly waves the knife in her hand as she Casts a Spell.
She then utters ”A smart person knows when to retreat
You shall pay, when next we meet!”
She and Kelaxiax then completely vanish!
Chance casts a rank 4 soothe on Vitalis.
As the others are taking care of that, Jisara is keenly aware that while Tiarise is physically gone, the two witches are still connected via Jisara’s curse of death!
Tiarise falls to her knees and turns her attention to the devil on her shoulder. She cannot muster the ability to speak; the best she can do is reach out to her companion telepathically:
”Warn Barzillai!”
Suddenly, Tiarise’s body swiftly fades away into a coil of shrieking mist that leaves behind no flesh or blood. Kelaxiax tumbles to the ground along with his mistress’s robes and the items she had on her person. The imp watches as the mist of what was once Tiarise Izoni dissipates. Kelaxiax gathers his mistress’s items as best he can—a dagger, a wand, and a bejeweled circlet—and flies away to deliver the news of his mistress’s demise.
"Well this was not the ideal outcome, but a victory nonetheless. I had hoped to be sure Tiarise and her familiar would bother us no more. I suppose, given our risky gambit, we should be watching our backs regardless. Let's clean this place out and get out of here before Thrune takes notice. Thanks for all the healing, friends. That fight got rough for a while there."
Jisara gives Vitalis a knowing smile, as the spell fades of its own accord.
"I can't speak to the little imp, but Tiarise is quite dead, I'm happy to say."
As the PCs search the Records Hall, they find…surprisingly little. An array of books and records, yes, but nothing particularly interesting. That is, save for two rooms.
The room that Eurleus and Tiarise came from—an office—seems to have been converted into some kind of workshop. Though there is a blanket haphazardly strewn on the long couch in the room. The room seems to have been used to create scrolls, though only two completed ones are here: a scroll of scrying and a scroll of 4th-rank soothe. There are, however, 200 gp worth of raw materials for the creation of scrolls.
In the desk, amidst various other papers, are schematics that the PCs find…disturbing. These schematics are self-made formulae for the creation of a magical ring, a protective cloak, a set of Hellknight plate, and a specially-created staff. Barzillai’s gifts. On the formula for The Dischordance, there seems to be marginalia about the specific spells to be put in the staff. Gathered intel, perhaps?
The other room of interest is the room that the hellcat Megonya came from—the one Kelaxiax invisibly unlocked. The second set of doors beyond are also locked, but Kelaxiax had dropped the key he was using, and it fits into this second set of doors.
Beyond is an indescribable number of papers and records of varying ages—this is apparently where most of the older records are being kept. It is unsurprising that Barzillai would care for these records—those who control the telling of history can twist it in their favor—but what seems more interesting are the newer documents.
As the PCs search through the documents, they find that the newer ones are all very similar: devil contracts. Dozens of devil contracts between Thrune loyalists and various devils. Some are relatively mundane—a slight bit of power in exchange for some strange and esoteric payment. However, there are some that are much more.
While it is stereotypical for one to “sign away their soul,” these are surprisingly rare, and sometimes a creature’s soul is only taken for a set period of time. Some of these contracts, though, deal very much in a being signing away their immortal soul—not for a period of time or any such thing, but truly eternal damnation to Hell. There are some of those such contracts here. It would take hours to go through these contracts one by one to discern their true meaning behind the legalese. But on a not-insignificant number of these contracts (both mundane and “sell your soul”), Tiarise Izoni is signed as being a witness to the deal.
And it is here that it becomes increasingly clear why Barzillai was protecting the Record Hall so thoroughly—he wasn’t necessarily protecting something in the building, but someone. Tiarise is Thrune’s pact master. She oversees the various diabolic contracts of his cronies to make sure they go smoothly and don’t inadvertently disadvantage Thrune himself. Tiarise Izoni is meticulous in her filing of the contracts and it becomes clear that she was a lynchpin among Barzillai’s lieutenants.
Of note, though, are two objects in this room:
One is a contract that is just lying on the ground, out of place. As the PCs try to pick it up to read it, they find that the contract is immobile—it is as if it is completely anchored in space. Luckily, it is situated in such a way that the contract can be easily perused. Amidst the legalese, it becomes clear that this is a contract between Tiarise and a devil for a relatively mundane effect. Tiarise gave away some magic items, servitude of contracted minions, and so forth (not her soul) to the devil, In exchange, the paper of the contract itself would tear off and regrow, giving a set of papers that could be used to find objects. However, a stipulation was that the contract would be magically anchored to a spot of Tiarise’s choosing and could not be moved so long as the terms of the contract have not been voided. And based on the current immobility of the contract, Tiarise’s death didn’t seem to void it.
The second item is a lockbox. The lockbox itself is an item of absolute absurdity, as it is a metal-and-wood box made of adamantine and duskwood! The key used to open the door to this room does not open this box, meaning that the key is likely on Tiarise’s person, wherever she went. And the lock itself is a pretty complex lock that has been magically reinforced. Edrakk could pick the lock, but just a perusal shows that it would be very difficult for someone of his skillset—not impossible, but difficult. It would certainly be much easier if he had magical assistance like he did when opening the Order of the Torrent’s door in the Lucky Bones. Likewise, it would be very difficult—not impossible—for Vitalis to Force Open the box, due to the material it’s made from.
A general shake of the lockbox reveals that it's not holding a lot of loose, hard stuff inside; it probably contains a stack of papers.
In the desk, amidst various other papers, are schematics that the PCs find…disturbing. These schematics are self-made formulae for the creation of a magical ring, a protective cloak, a set of Hellknight plate, and a specially-created staff. Barzillai’s gifts. On the formula for The Dischordance, there seems to be marginalia about the specific spells to be put in the staff. Gathered intel, perhaps?
”Well, we knew Barzillai made those gifts for us. This is not that surprising.”
Tiarise Izoni is signed as being a witness to the deal.
”If I had to guess, I’d say she witnessed the deal that Thrune made, and I’d be very interested in finding that out. Again, it’s too bad that she escaped, even if she died afterwards. Maybe we could still track down the body and question it.”
The room seems to have been used to create scrolls, though only two completed ones are here: a scroll of scrying
”Maybe we could use the scroll to scry on Kelaxiax and see where that little devil is. He could tell us where Tiarise ended up.”
Basically, you have a free mourner’s dawnlight fulu that you can use each day.
That fulu could also be useful for tracking things down, but the range is rather limited. Also with the contract immobile getting restocking could be a pain. Although I suppose we could assign a follower to do it for us.
The second item is a lockbox. The lockbox itself is an item of absolute absurdity, as it is a metal-and-wood box made of adamantine and duskwood! The key used to open the door to this room does not open this box, meaning that the key is likely on Tiarise’s person, wherever she went.
”Let’s take the box with us for now. If we can find the imp, maybe we can still find the key. If not, we can try picking it at our leisure.”
In the desk, amidst various other papers, are schematics that the PCs find…disturbing. These schematics are self-made formulae for the creation of a magical ring, a protective cloak, a set of Hellknight plate, and a specially-created staff. Barzillai’s gifts. On the formula for The Dischordance, there seems to be marginalia about the specific spells to be put in the staff. Gathered intel, perhaps?”Well, we knew Barzillai made those gifts for us. This is not that surprising.”
Chance stares at the plans for The Dischordance in surprise. "Right, right, you're right. But look, the spells on the staff - they're mostly the spells that that Jisara and I were talking about adding to it. We suspected that Barzillai must have been spying on us somehow, but it's really weird to see the fruits of that spying in writing. Maybe the imp snuck into the Lucky Bones?"
And it is here that it becomes increasingly clear why Barzillai was protecting the Record Hall so thoroughly--he wasn't necessarily protecting something in the building, but some_one_. Tiarise is Thrune's pact master. She oversees the various diabolic contracts of his cronies to make sure they go smoothly and don't inadvertently disadvantage Thrune himself. Tiarise Izoni is meticulous in her filing of the contracts and it becomes clear that she was a lynchpin among Barzillai's lieutenants.
Chance starts paging through the assorted contracts, scanning the signatures, obviously looking for a particular name. "I wonder if Tombus has done any rethinking of his life choices lately. If he has, maybe it would be useful to have Barzillai's copy of his contract. I'd be interested to see what it says, anyway."
Tiarise gave away some magic items, servitude of contracted minions, and so forth (not her soul) to the devil, In exchange, the paper of the contract itself would tear off and regrow, giving a set of papers that could be used to find objects. However, a stipulation was that the contract would be magically anchored to a spot of Tiarise's choosing and could not be moved so long as the terms of the contract have not been voided. And based on the current immobility of the contract, Tiarise's death didn't seem to void it.
"Oh, this is neat! Do you think we could use it to find specific records or contracts? Or what about that book that went missing when CRIDACH raided the Many-Steps Monastery and massacred the Sacred Order of Archivists? We could use the fulu to find out if The Book of the Damned is hidden here somewhere and steal it right out from under Barzillai's nose!!!"
Jisara holds Thatch protectively in her arms as they search the remaining rooms, but the discovery of the contracts is such a surprise that she sets him down on a nearby desk. She looks through them, carefully at first, but faster and faster as the significance of the contracts and their victory today truly begins to dawn on her.
"This," she says, brandishing one of the papers at the others, her eyes wide, "makes our destruction of the Pass seem like a minor inconvenience. This tells us not just who many of his lieutenants are, but their weaknesses, ones we can exploit."
Edrakk lingers a bit by the schematics, reading each once or twice before starting to gather them. "I-I've been more than a little suspicious about these gifts since we got them, so it might b-be good to go through these to figure out if there are any traps in them. I-it'd probably be in s-some form of code, but still."
Tiarise gave away some magic items, servitude of contracted minions, and so forth (not her soul) to the devil, In exchange, the paper of the contract itself would tear off and regrow, giving a set of papers that could be used to find objects. However, a stipulation was that the contract would be magically anchored to a spot of Tiarise's choosing and could not be moved so long as the terms of the contract have not been voided. And based on the current immobility of the contract, Tiarise's death didn't seem to void it."Oh, this is neat! Do you think we could use it to find specific records or contracts? Or what about that book that went missing when CRIDACH raided the Many-Steps Monastery and massacred the Sacred Order of Archivists? We could use the fulu to find out if The Book of the Damned is hidden here somewhere and steal it right out from under Barzillai's nose!!!"
"I-I'm not sure we know enough about those to be able to find th-them. It's a shame, though; w-we could've used it o-on the key to the lockbox."
After a second, his eyes light up and he tilts his head to one side in thought. "Although... we might be able to use it to find Tiarise's body. If I had to guess, I'd say the imp probably took anything important already, but if she hadn't gone too far we might have a chance. Only one chance, but still."
"I know we're going to lose ground with the imp if we wait but we can't afford to jump into another find unprepared. We should rest and try to locate the creature in the morning. Hopefully, it doesn't go too far."
*
Increased Patrols No Reprisal (Authority too low)
”Barzillai made a desperate attempt to reclaim Bleakbridge, but was thwarted.”
Inquisition!
+5 Authority
”We may have dealt with the inquisitors at the Records Hall, but Barzillai is mobilizing his remaining inquisitors to try to ‘keep the peace.’”
*
”There. Chance’s curse should now FINALLY be gotten rid of. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Shensen teleports away.
Octavio steps up. ”We have a handful of priorities:
“First, and likely easiest, is to try to open that lockbox you retrieved from the Records Hall.
“Second, we must liberate Jackdaw. As a member of the original Silver Ravens, she likely knows the lyrics to The Song of Silver, allowing us to be able to use the ritual for ourselves. She is being imprisoned in Castle Kintargo. Luckily, you do not need to break into the castle itself, merely the northwest spire known as Kintargo Keep. Unluckily, the keep is maintained by the Order of the Rack. But if I know Barzillai, he’s been sending Hellknights to do his dirty work, so it’s very likely that those in Kintargo Keep are understaffed, giving us an opportunity to strike.
“Third, assuming the rescue of Jackdaw is a success, we will need to perform The Song of Silver; if there is any time for us to stop teleportation and increase our odds of damaging fiends, it is now.
“Fourth, Barzillai still has major allies to be taken care of—in addition to Paralictor Ekodyre of the Order of the Rack, he has Corinstian Grivenner, Kintargo’s Asmodean high priest; Aluceda Zohl, vampire, Nidalese diplomat, and Kintargo’s high priestess of Zon-Kuthon that Barzillai somehow managed to get on his side; and the dragon Rivozair, who fought the original Silver Ravens a century ago and was relocated soon before the Ruby Massacre. The unfortunate truth is that none of these lieutenants have made any kind of move since the start of the month, so we have no inkling of their activities.
“Finally, and most obviously, is Barzillai himself. While we have only experienced him as a politicking strongman archetype, he is still the High Inquisitor—a title that did not come from simple politics. Needless to say, the man has bite to back up his bark.
“Now then. Jisara? The lockbox.”
Jisara casts a rank 2 knock on the lockbox and Edrakk goes at it.
Failure
One
Two, Three
Four
Five
Indeed, inside the lockbox was a stack of papers. The PCs start going through them and realize that they are rather sensitive documents that makes something very clear: Tiarise wasn’t just Barzillai’s pact master, she was also his ritualist!
Barb.: Zella
Dis.: Tombus
Mam.: Ahrli
Bel.: Natsiel
Ger.: Eurleus
Mol.: Trex
Baal.: Nox
Meph.: Tiarise
Asmo.: Rivozair
Finally, there is a contract made between Tiarise and a devil by the name of Oughorthan, in which Tiarise sold her soul in exchange for mastery of occult magic.
The mephisto manifestation is a staggeringly complex rank 7 divine ritual that requires a master in Religion to perform the primary check and requires at least 20 secondary casters, as well as at least a dozen willing sacrifices. The ritual takes 3 days to cast.
However, in the aftermath of the ritual, she notes that the Lord-Mayor had seemed to grow feeble and his health declining. Barzillai insisted that this was a known side-effect of the ritual and that he would regain his strength in the coming days.
And sure enough, the Inquisitor was correct, for after some weeks of decline, he had become healthy—healthier than he had been before, in fact. She notes that it was as if the Lord-Mayor’s abilities (though not his appearance) were that of a man 10 years younger. And so Tiarise notes that the ritual to be on the right track towards its intended outcome. However, based on the way it’s written, Tiarise never once outright states that the heart’s harvest ritual was a success, only that it seems to have succeeded.
If you critically succeeded, open the spoiler below
Vitalis unfortunately does not recognize the name Oughorthan.
"Ok, so if we got the box open, I suppose we could forgo tracking down the imp. The gains would likely be not worth the effort. Also, luckily, it looks like most of the beings summoned by Tiarise that are documented in these rituals have already been dealt with, so we can proceed directly to our next task."
"I wonder about this Heart's Harvest though. If it weakened Thrune for weeks, it must have been very powerful. And let's hope that Thrune has not completed the casting of Mephisto Manifestation. Although, I would think that if he did, Kintargo would already be lost to us. I don't know what Barzillai would wish for, but I know it would be nothing pleasant."
"So, on to bashing more Hellknights' heads and rescuing another ally then."
“Ougorthan is a very powerful devil, who aided House Thrune in the defeat of our predecessors during the civil war. Between Ougorthan and Rivozair - who apparently signed one of these contracts with Asmodeus himself, I’m sure a devil-bound dragon will be tons of fun - it looks like Barzy is on his way to making history repeat itself! So I agree, the best way to avoid the original Ravens’ fate is to rescue Jackdaw so they can teach us the Song of Silver - which looks really exciting just from what we have! - but also so they can tell us how they lost last time and get their help to prevent a repeat.”
Chance pages through Tiarise‘s notes of all of her rituals in fascinated disgust.
Rivozair - who apparently signed one of these contracts with Asmodeus himself,
”Hmm.” Octavio shakes his head. ”Excuse my skepticism, but I don’t think the dragon made a contract with the Prince of Darkness. The last such contract was the Cheliax Covenant, which gave House Thrune the resources to end the civil war and rule the country. If this dragon did make a pact with Asmodeus Himself, I highly doubt it would deign to work beneath Barzillai.”
Barbatos
Dispater
Mammon
Belial
Geryon
Moloch
Baalzebul
Mephistopheles
Asmodeus
"I hate being right all the time," Jisara says, disgusted to have her suspicions about the tooth fairy murders confirmed. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she turns to their next step. "So, we attack the castle and free a legendary revolutionary. Easy enough, what do we know about the place so far?"
Vitalis looks over the list of devil contracts more closely.
[b]"Looking at these names, we've dealt with 6 out of the 9 subjects. The remaining 3 are people named Zella, Ahrli, and Rivozair, who've made contracts with Barbatos, Mammon, and Asmodeus respectively.
Edrakk focuses on the Heart's Harvest. "I-I knew I remembered there was something going on with Barzillai's health. It looks like his weakness has passed, but it m-might not be all bad, maybe t-there's some weakness in the ritual we can exploit to weaken h-him? We'd p-probably need more details on the ritual i-itself, though."
“I think we should take a few days to see if we can get some of our Silver Ravens into the castle before we attempt our jailbreak to find out more about its current defenses. Maybe part of the team tries to replace a couple of the servants, and others sneak in using the old tunnels?” Chance points to the thieves’ maps they found when they took over the Lucky Bones. “And if Jisara can learn that scrying spell, we can use it against Barzy’s minions for even more detailed information the way Tiarise used it against us!”
The gnome drinks his coffee and looks more closely at one of the old maps. “Octavio, your team’s old headquarters is right up against the wall around the castle grounds. Is there anything there that could be useful? A hole in the castle wall, a tree with a branch that conveniently goes over the wall, a forgotten teleportation circle directly into the dungeon where Jackdaw’s being held, something like that?”
Chance starts to put his mug down on top of the map, notices Octavio glaring at him, sighs, and looks around for a coaster.
With a bit of time, Jisara makes her way back to the Records Hall to peruse Tiarise’s contracts, and she indeed finds the contracts she is looking for. And she notes that the contracts for Zella, Ahrli, and Rivozair do NOT have Barbatos, Mammon, and Asmodeus (respectively) as the contracting devils. The devils are names she does not recognize, seeming to be lower-ranked devils. This makes Tiarise’s notes all the more strange.
*
Abduction
+1 Authority
”One of our men got kidnapped, but the Order of the Torrent managed to save them in a swift manner.”
Defamation
”Thrune’s desperate; just using mere propaganda to try to rally his supporters.”
*
Violent Murders No Reprisal (Hei-Fen has been defeated)
Increased Patrols No Reprisal (Authority too low)
Defamation
”Barzillai’s struggling to maintain a hold!”
*
Counterstrike
+1 Authority
Barzillai sends another troop of dottari to attack the Lucky Bones, and the Ravens manage to defend their base.
Increased Patrols No Reprisal (Authority too low)
Dragon Strike
”Thrune’s desperation has gotten extreme; Rivozair has made an appearance. The dragon set buildings ablaze. We managed to get people out in time, but the aftermath is severe.”
*
Arson
”It seems Thrune used Rivozair’s attack yesterday as a cover to set further buildings ablaze. We were so distracted with the aftermath of the dragon attack that we weren’t prepared for this.”
Public Excruciation
”Thrune is going back to his roots: doghousing Ravens on trumped-up charges. We can’t keep up with this!”
Increased Patrols
+2 Authority
”Thrune has finally managed to rally the dottari’s morale to set increased patrols about.”
*
Octavio speaks. ”I arrive with good news for once. We managed to get a map of Kintargo Keep that you can use The layout of several of the floors of the keep are about the same regardless. Additionally, we managed to get a copy of a skeleton key that can be used to open any door in the keep. And if you don’t have any flight or teleportation, we should be able to create enough of a distraction to get you through the castle and into the keep.”
Jilia Bainilus speaks next. ”I know I shouldn’t have to say this, but please do not conduct a mass jailbreak; the vast majority of those imprisoned are criminals I and my predecessors personally oversaw the imprisonment of. Releasing them would cause more harm than good.
“Additionally,” Jilia points to a room on the map ”This is the records room; that is where they store documentation such as a catalog of prisoners.” ”And I happen to know that there is another door in that room that leads to here. That is where more sensitive documents are stored. We have no knowledge of exactly where Jackdaw is being imprisoned within the keep, so that is likely to be your first stop.”
Octavio nods. ”Finally, we have received other information: rumors of a being called the ‘First Warden’ that rules the oubliette level below the Keep.”
With the distraction created by the Silver Ravens, as well as Chance’s invisibility sphere and telepathic bond, the PCs make their way to Kintargo Keep.
When the PCs enter the keep’s foyer, they come face-to-face with a very unexpected obstacle: a trio of 5-foot-tall barricades have been erected to block off the front door, with each barricade having metal spikes pointing inward toward the door the PCs came through. And beyond is a contingent of four Hellknights of the Order of the Rack. Vitalis notes, however, that none of them seem to be signifers (spellcasters), so it is unlikely that they have any ability to see through magical invisibility. For once, Vitalis is glad that signifers are a relative rarity among Hellknights.
Fail
Fail
Success
Success
Crit Success
The PCs, with a little difficulty, make it past the barricades and the Hellknights seem to have not noticed them.
With the Hellknights behind them, the PCs make their way to the records room just down the hall. They encounter no one else on their way there.
With a couple minutes’ perusal, the PCs find that the records in this room only seem to go back about 40 years—Jackdaw likely would’ve been 70-ish years ago, so the necessary information on her whereabouts is likely in the secret room Jilia mentioned. It takes a bit, but the PCs eventually find the secret room.
A thorough search of the room finds two documents of note: the first is a file dated 4640 AR, which details the imprisonment of one “Jackdaw.” No information is given about the prisoner, but it is detailed that they were kept in the southeastern oubliette in Kintargo Keep’s lowest dungeon level. Additionally, it states that the prisoner was to be overseen by something simply called “The First Warden.”
The second item is a contract—not the magical kind, but the mundane, legally-binding kind—between Barzillai Thrune and Paralictor Kyrre Ekodyre, dated 17/9/15 . In the contract, Paralictor Ekodyre promises her aid of the Thrune, and in exchange, Barzillai promises Ekodyre all of the resources of the Order of the Torrent once that order has been “disbanded.”
To most of the PCs, this is simply an unsurprising show of corruption among Thrune and his lackeys, but to Vitalis—a Hellknight—this document is much more damning. The promises in this contract go against the Measure—the Hellknights’ set of laws and strictures. Paralictor Ekodyre has committed an act anathema to the Hellknight organization to further her own selfish greed and ambition.
If this were made public, Ekodyre would be dishonorably discharged and hunted down by the Order of the Scourge—or perhaps even her associates in the Order of the Rack—and her branch would be broken up and her Hellknights relocated. The Order of the Rack would no longer have a presence in Kintargo, and it is likely that no Hellknight (or, at least, no Rack Hellknight) would work with Barzillai Thrune ever again. And knowing Hellknights, once this would be made public, their actions to rectify the mistake would be swift.
Chance casts another invisibility sphere, and the PCs make their way down Kintargo Keep to its lowest point.
The PCs descend the steps to find themselves in Kintargo Keep’s maximum security cells—all empty, it seems. Knowing that their goal is the southeastern oubliette, Chance casts his final invisibility sphere the PCs make their way through the halls.
This room is a strewn mess. There is a single wooden table with a single chair, as well as various foodstuffs that have long since rotted from the passage of time.
Of more pertinent note, however, is the room’s inhabitant. A single humanoid figure lurks in the room: a knight in dulled and gray armor that bears the pentagram of Asmodeus. Beneath the armor, however, is a figure of desiccated flesh that has all but completely rotted away, leaving little but bones and little bits of hair and skin behind. Despite the being’s appearance , they seem completely unarmed. They do, however, lean their back against the only other door in the room.
”Now now,” The knight says, a vaguely feminine voice echoing over the Keep’s stones. [b]”Do not just stand there; I can tell when a single door has been opened.” The knight lets out a whistling chuckle. ”We do not normally allow visitors, but I suppose I can make an exception. Please, come in. Tell me what news you have of up above.”
I will leave it up to Vitalis, as the resident Hellknight, to decide what to do with this information (use it to blackmail Ekodyre, or just make it public and let the damage occur on its own). But for now, I’m advancing things, because y’all now know where Jackdaw is.
What do you do?
Vitalis has no plans to let an undead creature live but it may spill information before he dispatches it. He enters the room. "News? I can tell you don't get out much. How far do we need to go back?"
Vitalis has no plans to let an undead creature live
Vitalis steps out from Chance’s invisibility sphere to be seen by the undead creature. As he does so, the undead cocks her head.
”For one, that is a very interesting motif for a Hellknight; I do not recognize your order.”
She then chuckles. ”As for ‘how long,’ I’m not actually sure, truth be told. Time starts to lose meaning when you do not see the light of day. Last I kept track it was Forty-six…fifty-…three? Yes, 4653 AR. From then I just stopped bothering to keep track since the days blended into the nights.”
"It seems this creature doesn't distinguish between the different Hellknight orders to determine allies. Also her knowledge of events is over 50 years old." Vitalis thinks to himself and communicates telepathically to his allies.
"I'm a Hellknight from the Order of the Torrent. The order was established in 4644 AR although I joined much more recently. You've been down here a long time. Has no one come down here to update you on current events? Surely someone comes down. I've been informed of the prisoner you keep. Someone must be feeding her."
"But if it is news you seek, Barzillai Thrune has taken control of the city and rules with an iron fist. Some rebels are fighting back and Thrune has instituted daily reprisals against the citizens of Kintargo until the threat is contained. The outcome is yet to be determined."
"So tell me creature, are Hellknights allowed to pass through this way?"
"I'm a Hellknight from the Order of the Torrent. The order was established in 4644 AR although I joined much more recently.
”’Torrent’? Well, that explains the fish motifs on your armor.”
You've been down here a long time. Has no one come down here to update you on current events? Surely someone comes down.
”Unnecessary. Further people merely creates points of failure for my duty. No one has come here in the past…however long it’s been. Truth be told, it has made things rather boring.
I’ve been informed of the prisoner you keep. Someone must be feeding her."
”Yes. That person would be me.”
"But if it is news you seek, Barzillai Thrune has taken control of the city and rules with an iron fist. Some rebels are fighting back and Thrune has instituted daily reprisals against the citizens of Kintargo until the threat is contained. The outcome is yet to be determined."
”Ah, so House Thrune’s covenant with Lord Asmodeus still goes strong.” She shakes her head. ”Well, perhaps not ‘strong’ if a rebellion is occurring.”
"So tell me creature, are Hellknights allowed to pass through this way?"
”Unlikely. But it depends upon your business with the prisoner. And considering you seemed to be using magic to conceal yourself, I am skeptical of whatever you say next.”
Vitalis telepathic reaches out to his allies for aid since lying in not one of his strengths. "What should I say? Or is it time to attack? Does anyone know what she is?"
Still invisible, Chance pipes up telepathically. “It’s a graveknight! A militant undead, bound to its armor and curses those who wear its armor to revive the graveknight. It’ll be bound to an element relating to its death and can control that element through its attacks. There’s no way to know for sure what this particular graveknight’s element is, but with the Asmodean symbol on its armor I’m going to guess it’s fire.”
“I don’t know how much more information we’re going to get from it, but maybe you could ask it on whose orders does it guard the prisoner? It can’t have been Barzillai, it was too long ago and it didn’t even know there was a Thrune ruling the city.”
”I think it might actually be a lich. And do you hear these whispers? I think they’re coming from the undead, and we should try to maintain our distance as much as possible.”
When she points it out, the other PCs then notice what she’s talking about: subtle murmurs and whispers echo in this room, despite this entire floor being seemingly deserted.
but maybe you could ask it on whose orders does it guard the prisoner?
The undead chuckles slightly before saying ”That’s need-to-know.”
Frost Vial, Moderate x4 2 (all 4 bomb coagulent alembic)
Spiderfoot Brew, Moderate x2 1
Blight Bomb, Moderate x6 2 (2 bomb coagulent alembic)
Elixir of Life, Moderate x4 2
Mistform Elixir, Moderate x4 2
Camouflage Dye, Greater x4 2
Blisterwort x3 1
Yellow Musk Poison x1
Stupor Poison x3 1
Scarlet Mist x2 1
Galvanic Chew x2 1
1 left in reserve
From inside the circle, Edrakk quietly sighs. Undead, figures. I had prepped for just fighting Hellknights, but of course. I hope you're right about the fire, though. I did manage to get some more powerful frost bombs.
I can turn invisible on my own, if someone can get her to move away from that door and distract her I might have long enough to get past it. She knows we're here, but not how many of us.
I can turn invisible on my own, if someone can get her to move away from that door and distract her I might have long enough to get past it. She knows we're here, but not how many of us.
Alright. I think talking is over. I'm going to challenge her and she should move from the door. But if she's charged with guarding the door, if you open the door and make it seem like someone got past her, it may throw her off balance. Hopefully it's not locked. But if it is, you can still handle it.
”That’s need-to-know.”
"Then it seems we have nothing left to discuss. Let's relieve your boredom by talking with our swords. My name is Vitalis, Knight of House Tanessen, Master of Blades, Champion of Shelyn, Hellknight of the Order of the Torrent, and Leader of the Silver Ravens. Do me the honor of naming yourself before I destroy you." Vitalis raises his weapon in a fighting stance.
If this graveknight doesn't notice you, attack at an opportune moment to catch it off guard. If it does have elemental powers, its offence and defense may be the same. Lets see what it does and if you can counter it.
The undead chuckles. ”Well, I actually don’t fully recall what I was once called. But for now, I am simply Kintargo Keep’s first warden!”
Round 1
==============
Edrakk
Vitalis
Chance
The First Warden
Jisara
==============
"Very well, First Warden."
Vitalis moves up, makes an attack on the First Warden, and then moves back again. He hopes to draw the Warden further from the door.
◆Stride
◆Strike
◆Stride
. If any creature made invisible by this spell uses a hostile action, the spell ends after the hostile action is completed.
"A lich? Are you sure? OK then!"
Chance takes a couple of steps into the room and draws Reprisal before beginning to sing.
"Warden, it seems like you're wasting your undeath!
I'm not saying I want to be in your mouldering boots
(and I really don't)
But if I were, I wouldn't spend my time down here guarding a single forgotten prisoner,
Waiting for a band of brave rebels to do me in!
Not me!
If I were a lich, man, biddy biddy biddy bum,
I'd build a great big castle surrounded by a moat
Someplace many miles away from town
A lone drawbridge would be the only passage in
And I'd never ever ever let it down!"
Just before the invisibility sphere drops , Edrakk draws his cloak over himself, turning himself invisible on his own, before sneaking into the room a bit.
Edrakk turns invisible and moves up.
Vitalis moves forward and attacks the First Warden before retreating. Unfortunately, his attack bounces off the Asmodean undead’s armor.
Chance sings and moves in.
The First Warden notices Chance (who makes no effort to Sneak over) and Jisara (who is now no longer in the invisibility sphere) and chuckles. ”Ah, so there is more of you. Interesting.”
The First Warden raises her right arm, and as she does so the PCs notice her upper arm right beneath the armor covering it, as it doesn’t go all the way around. They see that the undead’s arm has completely rotted away, leaving only bone. However, they notice something wrong with the two bones of her upper arm (the radius and the ulna). And as she begins waving her arms to Cast a Spell, it becomes clear when her strange ulna begins glowing: the First Warden has replaced those two bones in her arm with wands!
Chance notices that she casts a 4th-rank noise blast.
Critical Failure
Success --> Crit Success (Juggernaut)
Critical Failure
Success
Success --> Crit Success (Juggernaut)
The First Warden then Strides a bit forward.
Round 1 —> 2
==============
Edrakk
Vitalis
Chance (-1)
The First Warden
Jisara
==============
Edrakk, no stranger to accidental explosions in his own lab, has no trouble shrugging off the noise. Quietly, he adjusts the shoulder straps on his harness, before slowly making his way to the door.
Chance sticks a finger in one ear and wiggles it around. “Did anybody else hear a mosquito go by? Or maybe it was a gnat? Hey, that gives me an idea!” Chance casts his own 4th-rank noise blast, avoiding the area near the cell door.
“Now, where was I? Oh, right!” The gnome picks up the melody of his courageous anthem once again.
“I’d fill my conservat’ry with lutes and harps and drums
And would finally have the time to play them all
As years go by, I’d learn to be a one-man band
But each performance of mine, be it song, or speech, or mime
Would be for me alone in my empty friendless hall
Lonely is the undying man!
Ahhhhhh
If I were a lich, man, biddy biddy biddy bum…”
◆: Cast a spell, courageous anthem
Vitalis shakes off the sound blast. "I'm not impressed. Clearly age has diminished you."
Vitalis steps within range, spreading out a bit to avoid clustering for another area spell, and attacks the Warden twice.
Jisara moves into the room and casts caustic blast at the First Warden.
But Jisara’s spell seems completely ineffective.
Thatch Strides over.
Edrakk continues sneaking toward the door.
Chance sends his own blast of noise at the First Warden.
But the First Warden seemed to resist the damage??
Vitalis rushes forward and attacks the First Warden, but the undead’s is very well-armored and Vitalis cannot seem to connect.
And as Vitalis lingers near the First Warden, the whispers that surround her become louder and distracting.
The First Warden smirks as she glances over at Chance, and suddenly another noise blast (albeit a bit weaker) echoes out at the exact same spot that she had send it before!
Failure
The First Warden perks up and snaps her head around to look at an empty wall—or, more accurately, directly at Edrakk. ”So that’s your game plan.”
The First Warden incants “My Lord, grant me the prowess needed to maintain vigil over my ward!” as she Casts a Spell—a rank 6 heroism!
And in a sudden burst of speed, the First Warden charges back toward the door!
The undead then snaps her fingers, which causes runes carved into the bones of her left hand to glow, and a mace materializes in her hand out of nowhere! She then swings blindly at where she heard Edrakk!
”A jailbreak? Well, I did ask for something to break the monotony.”
And while Vitalis no longer hears the whispers as intently, Edrakk is instead bombarded by the loud whispers surrounding the First Warden.
Round 2 —> 3
==============
Edrakk (-21)
Chance (-5) {Deafened: Round 0 of 1}
Vitalis
The First Warden (-7 from “1” attacks [before resistances]) {Heroism +2}
Jisara
==============