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Seeing Aydrian go down in a barrage of acidic arrows, Jayma yips in celebration. "That'll teach you to mess with Pathfinders, lady. May the rest of you devil-loving Thrunes meet the same fate."
When Emdi moves to provide medical assistance to the woman, Jayma is aghast. "Emdi, dear, we went to a lot of trouble to dispatch the woman. I hope you aren't planning on trying to revive her." But when it's obvious that Emdi is about to do precisely that, she calls out, "At least tie her up or something. I don't want to have any more fireballs coming our way if it can be avoided."
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Symeon also moves in closer, using the little bit of training he got as he was just starting to learn surgery about holding down a patient for operations without anesthesia. Though a multidue of burly people would be preferable, rope could do in a pinch. He tries to help the rest of the group with holding the woman in place and adds a gag just in case Aydrian tries to cast a verbal only spell. "We should talk to them, assuming they aren't going to cast spells at us again."
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Arfsnarf sends his fist into the air triumpantly when his acid arrow takes down Aydrian.
Yeeeeeeah!
The party starts in on treating her and the goblin picks up on what happens next.
Ah yes questions next. What should we ask her? Where she keep real Count? Do we have way to make her tell no lies? Maybe I intimidate with these teeth.
The group of heroes team up to bound the unconscious lady and then to provide her with healing. Symeon shares tie her nicely and take away all of her possession. There is not enough space, but the work is decent enough. Aydrian is boiling with anger and is not really interested in speaking to you "You pathfinder dogs! You will pay for that! And you shall never find your precious Count!" he laughs at the end, so you gag her back.
Jayma and Itka head to search the covered space, it looks to be the private quarters of Aydrian. There is nothing valuable there besides... her journal. When you glance through it, it is written in Infernal.
After Aydrian was taken down only the illusory walls disappeared, the ones that Jayma, Arfsnard, and Itka have found before the fight began.
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Jayma sighs at Aydrian's all-too-predictable reaction to being resuscitated. "No good deed goes unpunished my dear Emdi. Let's hope that lashing us with her barbed tongue is all that is left for her."
She then turns her attention to Aydrian's journal. "Oh, it's written in the devil's tongue, how quaint. It's been a while since I've had anything to do with that loathsome language, but given a little time, I might be able to pull something out of this. Shall I give it a go?"
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"Hmp. We should finish here before reinforcements come. That'll have to wait. The Count's probably in a bad way." Once this area is thoroughly searched and everyone is as healed up as they choose to be, Itka gestures southward down the hallway. "Hmp. This way seems good as any. Strong folks want to lead?"
You leave Aydrian founded and head to the southern room, the double steel doors are stuck so it takes Hornbori and Emdi to force them open.
This room is filled with the smell of old parchment. Several shelves along the walls are filled with glass cases, some cracked. Many hold parchments covered with stylized writing and elaborate wax seals though one houses a doll. Its cracked porcelain face watches the door with empty eyes.
The doll seems infused with magic, and could be relevant to some ritual that was made. The size of it matches one of the missing objects from the upper floor.
In this room, there are treaties of historical significance to the Pathfinder Society.
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"This doll seems infused with magic, and could be relevant to some ritual that was made. The size of it matches one of the missing objects from the upper floor."
Emdi describes a Shelynite ritual in which people gather to dance the night away. It's called the Rave Ritual. He ignores Aydrian rolling her eyes.
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Symeon helps to keep the bound and gagged Aydrian company with a few chats about the intricacies of surgery on the intestines and the feel of running your hands along the slimy tube to make sure there wasn't a perforation.
As people move into the other rooms, Symeon follows, taking a moment to look at the doll and the other timent in the room. "A doll and a spider? Hrmm what ritual could that involve?"
You go in and search the room, Emdi finds the doll to be of value, while Jayma discovers treaties, which you pack up.
You listen to Rave rituals, but not too close as it sounds ridiculous.
Jayma uses her spare time to work on the journal. While Symeon tries to identify the significance of that doll, he believes that it was infused with magical power and is channeling it to sustain some magical effect. He believes it to be somehow connected with shadow magic.
Aydrian Thrune describes here her thoughts and events. At first, her schemes were going well as she accepted guidance and support from her shadowy benefactor but suddenly, it all shifted when she heard rumors her recent actions had drawn the ire of Queen Abrogail II. Aydrian sees a chance to turn it all around if she can break Varian Jeggare, who she kidnapped at the advice of her benefactor, and present him to the queen. She’s increasingly frustrated that Varian has resisted the shadow prison attacking his mind for so long and her desperation grows as she feels that her plans are falling apart. Aydrian grew up among the cutthroat political scheming of House Thrune. After witnessing a cavalcade of backstabs and crushed fortunes, Aydrian learned from a young age you either play ruthless politics or you become a pawn. There are only two people she trusts to some extent—her silent monastic bodyguard and her benefactor, though recent events have begun to shake her trust in the latter. Aydrian is a Thrune on her mother’s side while her father, assassinated when she was young, had a connection to Nidal in his family history. This lineage of hell and shadow manifested as innate magical power in Aydrian. In her earlier years, she focused her attention on infernal magic as befits a Thrune, but in recent years, she began to delve into shadow magic. This research put her in touch with her mysterious benefactor, who provided guidance both in arcane pursuits and political maneuvering. The benefactor also provided Aydrian with a shadow crystal that allows them to contact her and empower her with shadow magic.
Then you head to the other room, the doors are locked, but you open them quickly.
A strong smell of smoke drifts out of this chamber. Its walls are lined with badly scorched shelves and the scrolls they once contained are now nothing but ashes. On the floor, a torn black cloak with red lining lies on top of a pile of fine ash.
You find a taxidermy spider inside a black cloth bag, it feels magical in the same sense as the doll is.
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Jayma sits down to try and decipher the Infernal in Aydrian's diary. She generally finds sitting still for long periods and reading books to be a major bore and tends to avoid doing so for health reasons. Nevertheless, she persists.
"Looks like our Aydrian is in a little hot water with the queen. If we hand her over to the palace, I suspect she'll end up wishing that Emdi hadn't revived her." She frowns as she tries to work through a difficult passage. "It says here that count Jeggare is in some sort of shadow prison having his mind attacked in some way. Seems Aydrian's been dabbling more with shadow magic lately than the usual infernal magic of the Thrunes." As she finishes up the translation, she adds, "It mentions something about Aydrian being given a shadow crystal that she uses to communicate with her shadow friends and help her with shadow magic. Did anyone find such a crystal anywhere"
Jayma then heads to the other room with the others,...
...but is quickly overcome by the smoke and has to exit the room in a paroxysm of coughing to recover.
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After a lot of coughing, Jayma manages to clear her lungs and wipe the tears from her eyes.
She looks at the stuffed spider that Emdi pulls out of the bag.
"I assume that all this playing about with dolls and spiders is Aydrian's doing. Probably some sort of shadow magic ritual; most likely related to count Jeggare's so-called shadow prison."
She then holds her breath and pokes her head into the room for a quick look before pulling back. "If there's nothing more here, then we better go see what's behind those two small doors on either side of the stairs we came down. Looks like that's the only place left where Aydrian could have hidden the count."
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Symeon also takes a moment to think about what this ritual could have been and how to possibly reverse it.
He then looks at the rooms they've been through so far and says finally, "Let's check up stairs for a moment. There might be more to that one room we missed than we think. Also I want to take a look at the circle where the fake venture-captain was."
You take the spider, wondering about the significance. Arfsnarf, Symeon, Jayma and Itka wonder about the shadow prison and how to stop it. They know that the three items are continuously channeling magic to a place. So maybe breaking that would help...
Three stone sarcophagi, surrounded by candles, stand in this mausoleum that smells heavily of earth. Crude carvings on the coffin lids depict faceless humanoids with arms crossed over their chests. Various bones and skulls lie scattered throughout the room. A large sphere made of shadow whirls next to the northern wall.
When you stop for a moment you believe that the sphere looks like an outline of seating humanoid with pointy ears.
You look at the big amount of bones on the ground and see one that is obviously not matching the rest of the skeletons. There are three sarcophagus and 4 skulls there, and one does not match. What is more you believe this skull also channel magic, just like spider and doll are.
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Jayma looks over the contents of the room, and...
...doesn't notice anything unusually unusual.
She examines the sphere more closely and sees the outline of a humanoid with pointy ears. "My guess is that this is the shadow prison that we're looking for. I can't tell for sure, but that could well be Count Jeggare I see faintly in the shadows within."
She steps back. "If the doll and the spider are continuously channeling magic to the sphere, then perhaps disabling them in some way will release the count. Let me try something."
Jayma takes the doll and places it on the floor. Concentrating, she claps her hands once and says, "disable dolly." She funnels her magic into the doll in an effort to stop it from acting as a magical channel.
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Hmp. Dealings with shadows... Who is the benefactor? Whoever it is, they're powerful and a foe of the Society. Perhaps we should smuggle Aydrian out of here too, so the Society can question her. Hmp. She might be willing to come along if she knew the alternative. Itka resolves to mention this once the Count is rescued.
For now, though: the shadow prison. She watches with interest as Jayma attempts to dispell the magic from the creepy doll. Hmp. If that works, it'll almost be too easy. ...That doesn't seem right. She wouldn't make anything easy. Alarm jolts her mind. Is this a trap?! With a "Hmp!" she casts Shield on herself, just in case something dangerous is triggered.
Jayma puts the doll and casts her spell on it. She tries to dispel the source of magic, at first, it eludes her, magic trying to bypass her barriers spilling like water on the roof. But with every second her barrier was better and more impenetrable, soon the doll was isolated and the magic dispersed. Soon she do the same trick with the spider, you can see the darkness surrounding the sitting figure begins to falter.
Then Hornbori finds the skull and Jayma takes care of it as well.
The sphere vanishes with a screech. A shadowy substance dissipates from Varian’s eyes and he slowly rises to his feet, steadying himself against the wall. Shortly after you succeeded in breaking the prison, Radovan arrives into the chamber. He is breathing heavily and is covered in blood, both his and devils. He looks at Varian and holds his knife ready
"I missed the white roses in Cheliax" says Radovan
Varian looks at him exhausted and says
"the whites are gone, but the red ones would do just fine."
Hearing that Radovan hides his weapon and rushes in to support his unsteady friend. Varian shows a faint smile and greets him with a strained voice.
"You did it, have you captured that witch?" asks Radovan.
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Emdi hold her up like he's starring in Weekend at Bernie's.
"We still need to figure out what to do with her, but I figure she's better in the clutches of the Pathfinder Society than anywhere else. Plus, the protracted journey back to Absalom will give me a chance to fully explain the tenets of the Shelynite faith to her."
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Arfsnarf's eyes light up when Jayma's counteract succeeds and the shadow sphere dissipates. He seems to find the process fascinating.
Whooa, that looked creepy! Were you asleep in there or could you hear us the whole time!
After he lets go of his curiosity and addresses Radovan.
Yes! She was very tough. But we had lots of acid arrows, then we tied her up in the long hallway down the stairs. What, you didn't see her before you came around the corner here?
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Jayma is quite pleased with herself at having successfully freed the count from his prison. "We are all very happy to finally free you from the clutches of that evil woman, count Jeggare. We were toying with handing Aydrian over to the Queen; a fate she more than deserves; but if she can be put to better use elsewhere, then all the better for it."
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Symeon watches Jayma's counteracting spell with a look of interest, noting it for future encounters like this as something to ask if a caster has prepared. "That seemed to be a quite effective strategy for handling this ritual. I'm glad we didn't have to experiment with destroying the objects and can still keep them to study later."
He smiles at the reunion of the Count and his aide, but stays on his toes just in case something happens or some devil or other creature appears and tries to take away Aydrian.
He also makes sure to bring a hellhound with them on the way out of the lodge.
Count looks tired but he responds "It felt like being underwater ... constantly pressured and tormented... I could hear what was around but it felt like a dream and a really bad one."
On your way out you go to look at the missed room.
Bookshelves line the walls of this room and skeletal remains are scattered throughout the floor. Along the southern wall, a headless skeleton clad in rags sits on a velvet sofa, an empty burlap bag lying next to it. On the wall opposite the skeleton, a message in Common is scrawled with huge, crude lettering: “He who steals from me dies by my hand.”
Without much trouble you find a place where there was a skull taken by probably Aydrian. You also find Donatalus Bisby's journals, who was a former pathfinder and describe there last days of Delveheaven.
Outside of Delvehaven, Varian, Radovan, and you all make their way to the venture-captain’s carriage, which Radovan used to travel to Westcrown. Radovan helps the unsteady Varian into the carriage where an aged but excited wolfhound, Arnisant, greets him with happy barks. And then spots Hornbori and waits if he will bring more wurst from his backpack.
Radovan tells you to meet with them at the northwestern gate tomorrow morning. As soon as the carriage leaves, you are almost certain that you saw the red-header lady-devil that brought your message from Queen Abrogail. But very quickly she disappears.
You take Aydrian back to the shrine to rest and wait for morning. You join Varian Jeggare and Radovan as they are about to leave Westcrown with a caravan heading to Egorian. Outside the carriage, Varian, now recovered and finely dressed, says
"I would like to thank you for the rescue. It was one of the worst experiences that I lived through and I am glad that you put stop to it. " he looks at Aydrian
"From how she acted I believe that she was not acting alone, and we need to find out who are her acomplices."
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"Hmp. The accommodations in Absalom ought to loosen her tongue." Actually, Itka suspects that Aydrian will be treated rather gently at the hands of the Pathfinder Society, especially compared to what she would face if she was returned to Cheliax. But perhaps that would yield a better result than the alternative. Once could hope, anyway.
A short while later, a thought occurs to her. Turning to Emdi, she grumbles: "Hmp. I'll have to wear something different to that rave of yours, won't I?" She gestures down at her shabby, frumpy, travel-stained, unevenly-faded black tunic and trousers. But it's so comfy. Hmp! Her practical hiking boots aren't doing her any favors in the fashion category, either.
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The Pathfinders board the Sixwing Drake, bound for Absalom. Emdi disappears below deck to practice his beatboxing; and a Pathfinder on board, Makai Goldenoak, comes topside for completely unrelated reasons.
Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin pulls the group aside. "You were scheduled to return to Absalom for some rest, and I'll respect your wishes if that's where you want to go. But we've just received word of a missing Pathfinder team in Hinji, and we need some more experienced Pathfinders to a rescue ... or possibly a recovery mission. What do you think?"