Azvernathi blinks. "That's a church secret..." He pauses, before shrugging. "I couldn't tell you even if I knew. Binding oaths and all that."
"Sounds like your life is pretty crappy" Vantine observes.
"Can't do this, don't know that... Ever thought about a different kind of work?"
"When you are as skilled as I am, such restrictions are not any such thing." Azvernathi says, a generous helping of ego in his tone. He hesitates a moment. "If you let me, I'll show you where the entrance is to the monastery below. Let me go, and I'll never come back to Kintargo again - I swear on my devotion to Asmodeus."
After a moment, he looks around at the Ravens. "I even have a healing spell prepared, and if you're willing to let me take my weapons and armor with me when I go, I'll use it on one of you."
Vantine is dubious, but doesn't know if she should be. So many things to consider in weighing his offered bargain. One could almost write a treatise on decision making with this as the test example.
Vantine frowns, thinking hard on how to respond.
Maybe speak his own language?
She takes her journal, a pen, and ink from her backpack.
"I appreciate your oath, but would you sign a contract to that effect?" she asks.
The Magpie nods at Vantine's suggestion of a contract. "You'd have to leave the city immediately--no stopping by the cathedral first to make a report." After a thoughtful pause, the teen adds, "And promise not to send any messages there...ever!"
Jessi looks to Aisling. With her friend being a lawyer, she trusts the Iomedaean to know if this scheme is anything other than a convenient pipe dream.
Azvernathi snickers, before coughing up some blood. "Of course, if you're willing to sign a contract with me."
"I do not see any reason to release him. I say we throw him down with the others, barricade the door, and set the place ablaze. See how fire resistant theses devils really are." The Raven says, kneeling down to wipe the face-blood from his gauntlet on the clothes of one of the fallen martial artists.
Nyxra stops pacing.
"...I like that idea."
Her smile is that of a hungry tiger.
Vantine shrugs, as if indifferent to the man's fate.
"It's more convenient to find out how to get down below than it is to kill him."
Aisling shakes her head. "No murder. If I keill someone I'm fighting, that's how it goes. But unarmed and surrenedered, no. That's what a Thrune would do." She looks directly at Azverthani for the first time. "I know how your kind treats failure. I think you'll be running for most of your liefe." She's about to offer him a shot at redmption, but she remembers he animated those dead bodies and she decides against it. Some things really are unforgiveable.
"I'd strat running though, in case my friends decide you'd make a better corpse."
"Perhaps we should escort him to the city limits to make sure he's true to his word," the Magpie suggests. To the Asmodean priest she asks, "How were you planning on leaving the city--by land or by sea?"
At the Raven's suggestion, Azvernathi shakes his head vigorously. "No! Don't kill me, please!" He begins speaking rapidly. "Besides, burning down the building probably wouldn't hurt the monastery or anyone inside, and would just get attention from the Church. They'd ask the bodies who'd killed them, and get information on you all. As it is, you can make sure that they don't do that by not burning down the building!"
He nods vigorously at Vantine. "You just have to use the Eye of Aroden amulet on the dead god's statue to spell out 'Irori' in the Azlanti letters. That'll make it move aside and reveal the stairs down. I don't know if they've got any traps down there, but they probably aren't expecting anyone down there either, so opening it now might be a bad idea."
"I'd go south, by land." Azvernathi says, his throat bobbing as he swallows. "There's plenty for someone of my talents to do down there in Hellcoast."
After getting what she wants from Azvernathi, Vantine quickly loses interest in the debate over what to do with him. Her face sinks into fixed boredom, and her turn inward causes her to realize she's very tired.
"I like the idea of escorting him to the city limits. Let's get it done and over with."
The Ravens, questioning done, lead Azvernathi through the Phantasmagorium's corpse-filled halls, and out into Kintargo. As they go, they are forced to avoid a few patrols of CCG and dottari, but ultimately, they make it to the Rust Gate . There, he offers them a brief, businesslike nod, before approaching the dottari who are on watch. Within a matter of minutes, he's through the gates and away - down the Ravounel Road.
Now left lurking in the shadowy alleyways between Old Kintargo and Redroof, the Ravens need to decide on where they'll spend the evening.
Vantine lets a contented sigh go.
"How about staying at my flat? It's unoccupied now."
Aisling shrugs. "I'mm for getting out of sight sooner rather than later, someon'e going to spot our armour and weapons soon and ask some questions."
Jessibel looks at Vantine quizzically for a couple of seconds before remembering something. "That's right--Narcelia's at the Wasp Nest now! My place is probably empty as well."
The teen bard compares her remaining wounds against the Raven's. With a sigh, she casts her last daily healing spell on her mentor, in an effort to be less self-centered. Though her spell doesn't heal all his damage, she figures the Raven will be good as new after a night's rest.
"I'm pretty much spent," the bard admits wearily. "I'm down to my handful of cantrips--no more bardic performance or healing spells until I've rested."
On the walk back to Jarvis End, the Magpie relates to the others what she knows of the rare scrivenites.
Aisling channles the last of her energy and uses her remaining spells to heal everyone.
The rest of the night passes peacefully after the Ravens settle on their respective sleeping arrangements - the dottari aren't out in as large numbers as might be feared, and the CCG seem mostly elsewhere.
The following day sees a return to significantly chillier weather, though blessedly the winds are relatively calm for the coastal city. The day passes without much to do other than any final preparations the rebels wish to pursue before going into the monastery beneath the Fantasmagorium - and possibly letting Rexus know about the fates of his parents.
When night falls, the Ravens are ready once more to return to the museum, even as the bells of the city (other than Asmodeus' irritating bells) ring out the hour - it is almost time for curfew. Their journey over, however, is unimpeded by the CCG or the dottari. Perhaps they appear to be hurrying home in time for curfew.
Together, the heroes reenter the museum, dark and dank as it was the previous night.
Jessi sleeps restlessly, plagued by a nightmare in which a smirking Azvernathi arrives at her door, the devil-woman Nox in tow, to arrest her. Nox uses her as a human punching bag, undoing all the good Aisling's healing spells had brought her.
When her eyes open, the bard recalls what she knows of the devilbound. When the Ravens gather, she brings her concerns about confronting Nox to the fore. "Can you prepare some spells to make our weapons good-aligned?" she asks Aisling. "Or would it be better to buy some sort of magic oil to temporarily enchant them?"
Vantine goes out early to pick up some provisions for the day. She brings back a big pot of hot broth, cheese, bread, and apples to keep everyone fed.
She waits until the afternoon for her session with her mirror since there is time before it's necessary.
Once they're back inside, Vantine checks the Asmodians left dead from the previous day for anything of use.
As monks, the Asmodeans only have iron pentagrams - holy symbols of their fiendish god.
Aisling decides to say nothing to Rexus about what - who = they found in that place. It's a discussion for its own time, which isn't now. Sh'es no good at lying, though so she keeps discussion to a miminum when he is around. Short answers and few words.
When the Ravens gather, she brings her concerns about confronting Nox to the fore. "Can you prepare some spells to make our weapons good-aligned?" she asks Aisling. "Or would it be better to buy some sort of magic oil to temporarily enchant them?"
"I have one spell that can do that, which I will use when we face her. I can also call holy weapons that should cut through most things."
Vantine keeps the pendants because any money is money. While the others are getting organized for going down below she extends her search to one more sweep of the whole ground floor.
Jessibel accompanies Vantine, both to help with the search and to protect her unarmored friend. To make the search more efficient, the bard casts detect magic beforehand, just in case the party missed any lightly-hidden or unexpected magical goodies on their first pass through Hocum's.
The search isn't exactly fruitful, but the pair discover that the defaced statue of the blood-stained professor is labeled as "Professor Mangvhune, the Temple Hill Slasher." One eye glares out of the ruins that was once the model's face, with a curiously serpentine aspect.
Nyxra keeps her weapon ready for trouble.
Vantine is greedy enough to take the stone from the statue's eye, even if it's a little nasty.
Jessibel holds out a hand to Vantine and asks to hold the jewel so she can give it a quick examination.
Vantine drops the stone into Jessi's hand.
"Pretty. I doubt it was originally part of the statue. That would be odd."
Jessi nods at Vantine's words as she turns the gem around in her hand. In the end, the two young ladies decide it's probably not valuable...unless it's worth thousands of gold pieces!
With that done, the Ravens find the device that Azvernathi had pointed them to - the Eye of Aroden on the chest of the dead god's statue. With a few quick turns, they spell out "Irori" on the small dial around the symbol.
With a slow groan, the statue slides northeast, up against the wall. Where once it stood, there is a spiral stairway of wrought iron leading into the depths of the Fantasmagorium. An oddly steady light illuminates them from below.
A quick peek from Jessibel does nothing to better her understanding of what the lights flickering below might emanate from. She stands at the top of the staircase listening for any bits of talking or movement from below.
"The lights are continual flames I believe. Convenient for us if they're portable." Vantine whispers.
Aisling nods. "Truee, but I have my own light." She says a brief prayer and the tip of her sword starts to glow like a torch. "Stealth isn't going to work if we're all together, my armour will be too noisey. The other option is for oen of us to sneak ahead and scout, but that's risky."
Assuming nobody volunterers, she moves forward to take the lead. Antying trying to harm them will have to get past her first.
When they descend Vantine takes up her usual position near, but not at, the back. She will also cast Mage Armor.
The Ravens descend into the monastery below, where they find a massive library illuminated by continual flames that are suspended in the ceiling. Bookshelves - both freestanding and wall-mounted - rise to the forty-foot ceiling above, with moveable ladders allowing access to the high shelves above.
Bloodstains mar the floor here and there, and some of the shelves bear signs of recent battle. At the foot of the stairs is a large, somewhat strange rune inscribed in a circle.
In the center of the room stands an odd being, made solely from paper and silken bookmarks, save for its "face," which is itself a book. It turns to face the Ravens. "Greetings, intruders. You are not permitted any further, and I am unfortunately forced to inform the leader of those who are defiling this place that you have arrived." Despite its words, it makes no move to attack.
The Magpie frowns beneath her half-cowl. "What do you mean that you're 'forced' to inform the leader of those who invaded this place that we've arrived? Are you under a charm or dominate effect? Because, at first glance at least, it appears that you're a willing accomplice of the Asmodeans and their redactors!"
"Nothing so primitive. I formed a contract with these... knowledge-destroyers. Thus." It spreads its "arms" simply. "I will protect this place should you attempt to go any further... or interfere with the books here."
It gestures at the shelves, some few of which are only half-full, or entirely empty. Presumably the redactors have been doing their work.
Aisling gives a quick nod to the symbol of Irori - not one of her core gods, but not Asmodean etierh and taht seems importatn right now.
When the thing speaks to them she halts and tries to reason with it. "Alritht, we're not moving any further forward. Can we stay here for a moment and ask questions? What is teh nature of the contract you have made with these book destroyuers? I would think anyone who destroys books is not on yuour side at all."
"My contract was twofold. In exchange for a copy of The Inward Facing Circle, I was to aid in the scouring of this monastery - which is completed - and remain here to guard the work of the these... desecrators for either ninety days or until they are finished." The scrivenite replies.
Jessibel's teeth clench below her mask. She looks toward Aisling and Nyxra, awaiting the cue to attack this (partially) willing accomplice of the raid on the secret order's headquarters.
Clock's ticking--we don't know if it's already telepathically informed Nox or the other Asmodeans that we're here!
"Does your contract requirement you inform anyone immediately? Maybe you can wait a while? After all, we're here to save the books here, not interfere with them."
"Alas, I have already informed the overseer of your presence, as it is my duty to ensure the protection of this area, and permitting these infuriating creatures to be surprised would run counter to that." The pages in the outsider's book-like head flutter in what sounds like a sigh. "I have also informed her that I will handle it, however, so she will not likely attempt to send any aid. Sincerest apologies, intruders."