Crowe steps through.
Shardra whispers, "Sorry".
"Did you say snacks? Mmmm"
Crowe's brow furrows, his eyes darken, a storm gathers within, "Everywhere, there is a darkness."
Suddenly, from around the corner to the north you see a large lion with a thick, muscular body and walks towards you.
It looks dangerous, but not hostile--yet. Behind the snake is an older man wearing robes, holding a wand or rod of some type in his hands.
"Excellent! More visitors. Welcome. My name is Daegros, and I believe we can be of service to one another."
Shardra stops in her tracks. She was not expecting anyone to come waltzing out. "Daegros. Pleasure to meet you." The dwarf bows in a greeting, but not approaching him. "How can we help you?" She says hesitantly.
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The cries of alarm provoke Edmund to life- he jumps on the back of Kissan and her crafted leather saddle before the pair bound off and into the smoke. Turning the corner and seeing the lion, Edmund slides off the back of Kissan, before flashing her a complicated series of hand gestures.
The shifts his bow in his hand, and says a quiet prayer to Desna.
Hearing the calls, and feeling the weight of the human on her back, Kissan springs forward into the fog and the unknown. Her momentum carries her into the hallway just as the other human-like creatures disappear around the corner.
Why must humans live in small places...
She quickly pads around the corner, only to be face to face with another large cat on the end of the hall. The weight of her rider slides off and she glances back. A series of signals flash and she nods before pressing through the group of human's friends
Find cat. Approach cat.
She steps to the front of the line and crouches, making eye contact with the lion just down the hallway.
Daegros, one of the apprentices, associated with Red. We went through yellow. Still could be worse - we could have been facing Vuzhon
Out loud he replies to Crowe. Agreed. There is the Void .... and the entities that lurk within
”The Void? Well, I have witnessed time like few others and wish the void would exist."
*
Shardra stops in her tracks. She was not expecting anyone to come waltzing out. "Daegros. Pleasure to meet you." The dwarf bows in a greeting, but not approaching him. "How can we help you?" She says hesitantly.
"Yes, indeed you can! Mayhaps you have heard of the fell wizard Nhur Athemon, the infamous exile of Azlant? In my youth and folly, I was foolish enough to serve him as apprentice. Little did I know the depths of his evil! He trapped myself and his other apprentices in this complex, imprisoning us in time itself. But I’ve made peace with my fate, and have come to embrace my existence. But not my fellow apprentice, Togarin! He seeks to undo the time-lock that holds this place in stasis—and doing so would instantly annihilate our mortal souls and turn us into foul necromantic vestiges of our past selves. Yes, it would be an escape, but at what cost?" Daegros looks wistful.
"But if you stop Togarin, I can aid you. You seek others of your kind? Behind me stands a scrying device that will surely find them no matter where they are. Are these acceptable terms? Stop the wicked Togarin, and I’ll help you find your friends!”
"He will not lie to you and surely try to convince you that death is the only path to eternal life. And of course he hates me because I want to prevent his plans!" Daegros says confidently.
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Ignatius does not trust the man. "I'm not comfortable promising you anything. I haven't heard enough to convince me that helping you wouldn't be furthering some wicked end but I can tell you aren't putting all your cards on the table. I think we need to spend some time considering it before taking up your cause."
Daegros clears his throat loudly, clearly not liking what he heard.
"Of course I am not to be trusted. Precision is a virtue and concision is admirable. My offer is a straightforward one: you stop Togarin from destroying the time-lock and I'll provide you the location of your allies. Perhaps, if we establish a collegial relationship, I could even teach the more mystically-inclined among you some of my arcane knowledge. Now, do we have a deal?" he asks expectantly.
”She was used to create a golem! Don’t worry about her!!“ he says with a grin.
The lion suddenly disappears but he does not react at all.
Daegros considers your actions for a moment.
"I will allow you to gaze upon the scrying device to confirm its existence, but not to approach more closely until I have proof of Togarin's demise."
The strange robed man motions for one of you to step into the area where the corridor turns to the north.
Looking past Daegros, you can see a crystal hemisphere inset into the stone wall at the end of the corridor.
”Why can’t you kill him?”
Shardra follows Patrick. "Be careful. This could be a trap" she whispers in his ear. The shaman puts her hand on Patrick and casts a little spell to help him.
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Patrick nearly jumps out of his skin as Shardra whispers in his ear as if he had got a heck of a fright. He's still trying to calm down as she casts the Guidance.
P.p.p.p.p.lease w.w.warn m.m.e next time .... p.p.please. I.i.i.i c.could have a.a.a.a.attacked you. he stutters.
Clearly he's not used to feminine voices whispering in his ear, even from a dwarf or even light touches. Meanwhile Daegros is really trying to contain his laughter.
Once he manages to regain his composure ... So .. can this device be used to scry on the entire Cosmos? As .. some sort of magical telescope?
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"Let's look for our missing agents first. We can search the Cosmos later," Ignatius says impatiently, eyeing the wizard suspiciously. He grunts in displeasure as his allies move towards the scrying device.
I do not trust this mage one bit. I hope my allies aren't falling for his lies, but magic users are often seduced by offers of greater power.
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"Never trust the promise of power, especially that you do not understand..." Edmund says quietly, as if to remind himself. His voice grows louder from the back of the group.
"If you know our friends location, then speak. We do not have time to parley or deal, nor the trust to take you at your word. If things are as you claim, then tell us of their location. Once found, we may be able to help you. Otherwise, I cannot agree to an alliance without full knowledge of the situation"
Shardra unfortunately doesn't understand Patrick's familiar dragon. 'I wonder what it's saying. I'll have to ask Patrick about it later. Hopefully he'll tell me.'.
Her focus shifts towards the man in front of the group. "Please tell us where our friends are. Once we make sure they're safe, we can talk more about how we can help you."
Patrick will step into the area to have a look at the scrying device.
Patrick sees a powerful array of ioun stones! This crystal hemisphere allows remote viewing of any other room in the Sanctum and is now showing several empty rooms and corridors.
"Never trust the promise of power, especially that you do not understand..." Edmund says quietly, as if to remind himself. His voice grows louder from the back of the group.
"If you know our friends location, then speak. We do not have time to parley or deal, nor the trust to take you at your word. If things are as you claim, then tell us of their location. Once found, we may be able to help you. Otherwise, I cannot agree to an alliance without full knowledge of the situation"
Hanzi just spits on the floor.
Look, I don't care about any of this. I do believe that the others are all gonna tell us a similar story about how YOU wanna end the world and how we should totes trust them....
Shardra unfortunately doesn't understand Patrick's familiar dragon. 'I wonder what it's saying. I'll have to ask Patrick about it later. Hopefully he'll tell me.'.
Her focus shifts towards the man in front of the group. "Please tell us where our friends are. Once we make sure they're safe, we can talk more about how we can help you."
[dice=Diplomacy] 1d20+13
Daegros looks at Edmund, Hanzi and Shardra and shrugs.
"Whether your allies are alive, dead, undead, or something else is of no concern to me. And either you accept or leave. I will complete my end of the bargain and show you their location. But first, Togarin. Listen closely. Return the way you came and step into the yellow smoke. When you arrive, return to the audience chamber. Enter the blue door to the north and continue moving from chamber to chamber. You will find Togarin through the fourth door you pass through, if he hasn't moved by the time you arrive."
He looks at you intently.
”Please leave now and do what you wish but only come back to find your friends if you have what I want!“
As the group departs, Crowe shrugs, "So, we avoid that door and check out everywhere else first, right? Maybe we can leave these wizards to do their own feuding?"
"Sounds fine with me." The dwarf says. "I want to make sure our friends are safe first anyway."
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Edumund's stretched bowstring remains taught several seconds after the last of the Pathfinders turn. Kissan remains facing the mage, a low growl emanating from her lips.
Seeing the others following the apparent orders of the mage, a look of discontentment flashes across the youthful face before a sharp whistle turns Kissan around- bounding off down the hallway. She abruptly turns at the side of Edmund who lowers his bow and backs out of the hallway and around the corner.
"What, in demons name, was that? Are we just going to let this mage command us like that?"
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Patrick falls back to speak quietly to Edmund as well as to pet his cat.
Logic dictates that we will need to deal with them at some time. Let him think he has commanded us ... as you say .... besides, it may well be in our own interests to deal with this .... Togarin.
Although, I am open to ... other suggestions .... and no, I would not trust either of them as far as I could throw them.
Crowe shrugs, "We didn't promise him anything."
"He definitely did not direct me." Shardra responds with a shrug. "I'd rather get a lay of the land first. This place is ancient. Who knows what these mages have been up to during all this time. The other Pathfinders succumbed to magical fog or something, is that right? Thus, we know there are dangers here. We need to make sure its safe."
Shardra then approaches Patrick and whispers, [smaller]"Your familiar was attempting to talk with me, correct? What was it saying?". Shardra puts her hand on his shoulder, more out of a sign of friendship. "Sounded like Draconic? Perhaps you can teach Kolo and I one of these days."
A deep crag tuatara pokes his head out from Shardra's shoulder. "This is Kolo, my familiar. Say hello. He doesn't bite."