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While on their way to the shop, Nicole shares in hush tones to allies that the drakes are sensing somebody that they cannot see.
"They say that there's someone they 'can smell but can't see... always watching'. We should be careful." she then provides some coins to Vardarel as her contribution to pay for the roast boar, five silver pieces to be exact.
Naldun and Reej do not hesitate to chow down on the boar. Naldun waits for Reej to start eating before he join in afterward. The sweet sauce is a nice bonus. Reej burps in delight as she finishes her roast. "Oh, I'm beat..."
Vardarel uses his scroll and his eyes briefly glow. He scans the bathhouse but he doesn't find anything out of the ordinary. Either they aren't here or they are hiding well.
"Oh man, we needed that real bad. Thanks! You're the best twig I've ever met!" Naldun turns towards Nicole. "You think you could unchain these shackles for us? Then we can get out of here. Take whatever you want in this place, it reeks of... weird chemical stuff. Not soap, the really bad stuff. And a weird fox was thrown in here yesterday."
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"I hope you like that boar we bought for you two. Let me see what I can do with your chains," Nicole says, spending some time examining them.
"Have you heard the name Mother Forsythe?" she whispers to one of them. "What could they have done to the fox?" she asks in her normal voice.
She then turns to her allies. "They loved the boar, satiated them, to say the least. Can somebody unchain these shackles for them?"
While someone works on that, she shares what the drakes have told her about the place they're in.
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Stitch and Meat Wagon are happy to motor on out of the baths with hungry eyes on him "Roasted pig, a decent comparison to burnt goblin for sure." He chuckles, forgetting for a moment that he too is now a goblin.
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Stitch keeps some distance while the ravenous drakes feed. He tries to listen in but doesn't understand their speech. He turns to face Nicole as she translates. "I can probably unlock them, but if they even flash a toothy smile in my direction their on their own!"
His gobbo transformation seems to have added in some lock picking skills, pretty decent ones at that.
With their bellies filled with roasted boar, the drakes sit still as Stitch pops the locks on the manacles.
"Finally!" Reej screeches and stretches. "Naldun, let's get out of here. The sea calls to us."
"You bet! Let's get outta here!" Naldun wriggles free, seems to nuzzle Nicole in thanks. "Huh? No, I don't smell that thing now. But keep your nostrils open, yeah? We're getting out of here before that horrible woman with the mismatched eyes comes back."
With that, Naldun and Reej squeeze through the intake pipes feeding the bath house. You can see Naldun's fin poking out of the river leading out of the city. You are free to investigate the bath house.
Behind the statue of Calistria, you find a small unlocked box. An inscription on the box reads, In case that cursed light returns. You see a few baubles, probably spoils from petty theft. A wooden sculpture of a drowning devil seems much more valuable than the rest.
- You also find 2 scrolls of >Revealing Light<
- You find a Rank 3 scroll of Force Barrage
- A key
- A bottle labelled "Wise-Up" with small gray crystals inside.
A door leads downstairs...
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Nicole gives thanks and waves them goodbye before they enter the bathhouse. "They don't smell it anymore, maybe it’s gone. We should stay alert." Nicole informs them.
"Ah, an antidote for ice tears. This will come in handy." She picks up the bottle and adds it to her collection. She also takes the key and the wooden sculpture, leaving the rest for Vardarel and Professor Bun.
You go downstairs to an unlocked wooden door.
You hear the muttering and blubbering of a woman huddled on the floor. She speaks a Common Taldane language, apologizing profusely to Ambrus Valsin. Every few seconds she grows fur, elongates her snout and turns into a fox/human hybrid, blabbering in Tien. At any rate, she isn't paying attention to you in any way.
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Vardarel looks around, then digs for his wayfinder and brings it out. He activates the light so it shines.
He slowly approaches the woman and tries to calm her.
“Be calm, we cooperate. No need for you to apologize for anything.”
If he catches her attention, he will give the Pathfinder sign for friend.
The kitsune changes from human to vulpine form one last time and shakes her head. “…Mr. Valsin? Madame Li? I’m so sorry that—no, wait. You’re not them. And you don’t look like you’re here to shake answers out of me. Are you Pathfinders?! Are you here to save me?” She is quite flustered, but Vardarel's sign gets her to focus.
Tears well up in the kitsune’s eyes. “You have no idea how long those horrible people kept me like that, riddled with whatever poison they plied me with. Or drug, or whatever it was. It doesn’t matter anymore! I’m safe!” She gives a barking laugh of delight, and then seems to realize her fatigue and embarrassment.
“I—sorry. Pathfinder Field Agent Kiiruba of the Lantern Lodge, at your service. I’m hardly in a shape to help you find the rest of my team, but I’m so glad you’re here. I know where those Daughters of Cocytus base their operations—one of my specialties is having a keen sense of direction, even if I’m drugged up. I can give you directions there. I know that at least Jespya never got a chance to leave that place—they’re probably dead now. If you’ve got a place where I can lay low and rest, I’d really appreciate that too. It’s been a rough few days.”
Kiiruba rushes forth to embrace each of you, thankful for your help. She wants to answer as many questions as she can while she is still lucid.
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While Kiiruba is hugging the others, Vardarel takes the opportunity to quickly hide his wayfinder again.
“We need the directions to their base. Anything you can tell us about them and the invisible creature that spies for Forsyth would be helpful. We need to get you someplace safe, but do not intend to allow this to go unanswered.”
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Stitch pokes his head into the room and looks over the situation, watching curiously as the kitsune bounces between forms and mutterings "Ah, the kitsune, check another one off the list, one left to find." He checks her over for anything immediately perilous to her health while asking a pair of related questions.
"Does their base have a name? Is it below an inn or bar or something?"
Once/if the woman returns to crazy town he mentions to the others "I'm concerned if we leave here with her and bring her somewhere safe that our invisible friend will be following us... if you catch my drift? They could pass that information on and make that place much less safe!" He shrugs, letting the others decide what to do with that.
"The smell?" Kiiruba shakes her head. “I remember some scary human woman. I think she might be a changeling, based on her differently
colored eyes, but I’m not sure. There was also someone — or something —that I couldn’t see. I remember horrible, wicked laughter, but it sounded so strange and distant.” She groans and rubs her ears.
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- Tanno Kembers is a human man who made a living as a self-taught tomb robber.
- He first came into contact with the Pathfinder Society at a dig site in Nex, which he reached before the Society did.
- After assessing his skills and artifact collection and determining his willingness to work toward more noble ends, the Society gave him a field commission.
- Tanno is skilled at disarming traps, and is wary of potential foes at all times.
Selia Torossel
- Selia is an elf historian who specializes in the Chelaxian Civil War. She is perhaps slightly overzealous in her desire to uncover the truth of what brought Thrune to power, a dangerous topic of study.
- She is strongly affiliated with the Grand Archive faction.
- She is a novice practitioner of divination.
Jespya
- Jespya is a halfling martial artist, a skilled unarmed combatant with a reputation for bravery.
- They joined the Pathfinder Society after their partner died in the field.
- They are one of Marcus Farabellus’s favored pupils for their efficient yet overwhelming combat tactics.
- They were assigned to this mission as protection for the other, less combat-capable agents.
- They requested not to be resurrected in the event of their death.
Kiiruba
- Kiiruba appears to be a human woman, but she is actually a kitsune who favors her tailless human form.
- She is proficient in diplomacy and emissary’s duties and dreams of seeing the world.
- She was recruited to the Society through the Lantern Lodge. This is her first mission after completing her Confirmation in Absalom to become a full agent.
Nicole only quietly gasps at the poor situation of their fellow agent. "Apart from rest, let us know if you need anything else, she offers.
“Oh, right! She directed me somewhere? I don’t remember too much, just that I was in a courtyard of some kind. There were some cells, like a prison, maybe?” She shudders and mumbles a bit.
"Sorry, I need... um... somewhere safe? I- I can't stay here."
Kiiruba nods as Vardarel explains the situation. But it's clear she's using all of her focus to pay attention to you rather than the Venture-Captains.
Professor Bun Bun knows the Chelaxian navy was fond of building prisons along the coast. They would become dumping grounds for prisoners, some criminal, some political, some wartime. They did try to build one in Hinji, but it was closed down as the prisoners suffered gruesome deaths, all with faces of pure terror. Cheliax considered the prison cursed and abandoned it. Residents nicknamed it Hell's Light.
With your diplomatic gestures, you're able to keep Kiiruba calm enough to avoid any odd behavior on your way back to Junianis manor.
Some of the assistants are already preparing a room for her to rest. It isn't long before Kiiruba curls up fast asleep on a bed.
Lady Junianis greets you in one of her waiting rooms filled with snacks. "Did you want to sleep for the night before looking for more agents? I do know where the Hell's Light prison is located. Maybe you're prefer the cover of night?"
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"I agree to take a good rest as well and continue searching tomorrow?" she wait to see fit the others agree. She is just kinda worried about the last agent that they need to find, though, the longer it takes for them to find the last agent, the lesser the chance they might find and rescue the agent alive, just like what happened with the first two agents they found.
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"Me and Meat don't need any rest yet, besides, we run on rocket fuel and WD!" Stitch grins, his yellow teeth still look the same as before his transition, only slightly pointier now.
"Cover of night is good for me, but I don't know about Nicky here, or the Buns?" He tries to remember if poppets or rabbits can see in the dark.
Stitch knows changelings are the offspring of hags, usually noticed by their mismatched eyes. Eventually they felt drawn to their hag mother's voice.
Stitch is ready to go now.
Nicole would rather sleep now.
Vardarel doesn't need to rest. He is told about a temple to Abadar that sells scrolls at a decent price and is open all day and all night due to the variety of visitors.
As some of the attendants arrive with bedding, Lady Junianis waves them off. "Best of luck to you. No one travels to Hell's Light. I pray for your return."
Vardarel makes a quick stop at the Temple of Abadar during its night hours. The cleric on duty exchanges pleasantries, trades his money for two scrolls of See the Unseen, and an ad for daily services and tax preparation.
You reach the entrance to Hell's Light. It has all the markings of an abandoned prison: barred windows, cracked crumbling walls, and a weathered spot in the shape of Chileax- someone must have ripped off the insignia, hoping to sell it somewhere.
The entryway is unlocked and contains a table and few chairs, but not much else. A hallway has two obvious exits. A jail cell to the West and a Courtyard that is South of you.
Vardarel hears people milling about in the courtyard. He hears someone barking out orders beyond the closed doors.
He hears nothing from the jail cells.
Stitch hangs back while the rest of you search the rooms. You find very old, worn furniture. Decades old chairs and tables, recently dusted. This is likely used as a meeting room of some sort. The wall has a map of Hinji with some areas marked in different colors. It's most likely some kind of turf map, indicating who has control of what neighborhood and what is heavily contested.
Approaching the prison on the west, you are stopped by an iron gate with a good lock.
Stitch feels like he's on fire, slipping his picks through the lock. The Professor gives lots of tips and advice, too.
So why hasn't he made much progress? This lock is really good.
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Stitch shakes his head, clearly flummoxed by the lock "I definitely got lucky with one of those, this thing is complicated." He looks down at a bent lock pick, reminding himself to fix that later when there's more time.
He climbs back on top his beast of burden and does a quick segway-like U turn back towards the courtyard. "Frontal assault? Seems messy..."
Meat Wagon responds with a ever growing stream of thick black smoke, clearly excited by the possibilities there.
Leaning behind the doorway, you carefully open it to reveal...
One woman stands above the others. Her deep purple dress and wild black hair draw you to her most distinct feature- one green eye, one blue. She raises a hand to her chin, tapping it with her razor-sharp nails. "And who is this? Someone stupid enough to walk into my home? Or more test subjects?"
An orb of purple light hovers near her. "Oh who cares? I caught a whiff of fear from them. Let's eat 'em!"
One human woman stands near the entrance, holding a torch in one hand and a hammer in the other. She must have been repairing something. She gulps as the other woman mentions test subjects.
Stitch and Helsing set their sights on the enemy immediately and spring into action.
Stitch
Helsing
Purple
Bun Bun
Vardarel
White
Skull
Nicole