Alzireez
"You are too kind, too kind now let me see."
As you show him the box he looks puzzled but then when you open it, at once he looks scared, rushing to the front of his shop he drops a drape closing his shop. He came back and with great care takes the box. Putting on gloves he took large pincers and lifted out one seed. and pulling out a large magnifying glass looking close at it.
"Yes, yes it could only be, such a thing here, How did you come by this. No, don't tell me, whoever it was it must be linked to some great evil. For this Drow City seed, with this in the right place and the right words, one can crack open a mountain and fill it with Drow caves and dwellings."
He moves it in the light.
"I have only ever seen one before and you have six. A king I once sold tea to showed me the gifts that had been given him. One was a screen like this. Dead and old but still like this"
Then he gets up and with great care placed it back into the box.
"Live Drow City Seeds are given to Drew expeditions when they head out to find new lands to live under. they hunt a large cave of the right size, plant one, feed it with souls and evil magic. Then Poff!! a Drow city, dwellings, roads, streets, halls. All ready to move into. They come in boxes of 4 or 6, used as a cluster. So someone is looking to make an underground city"
Khardon stood by, listening with rapt attention. The implications for the seeds were daunting. There was much good that could be done with them, but he knew that the purpose was for evil. These revelations opened up many more questions…
He starts to make some Tea.
"They are near priceless, great drow magics from an age long past. To have a set of live seeds. You can name your price. Me on the other hand will only charge the 25 gold I always do to identify things."
he hads you all a cup of tea,
"Have no fear its not a sleeping draft. If it were me I would would not touch of have anything more to do with them. The drow have dark ways and these things needs souls to feed them so they can grow. I did not ask the king how he got his single seed to grow. Slaves I would suspect were sacrificed on mass. But in business sometimes it's best not to ask."
Warlock Bones is uncharacteristically quiet. His fists clench under the table. There was only one thing that made him genuinely angry, and that was soul magic forced upon others.
Lazastrahd's face was a mask of barely contained rage.
"Thank you for you cooperation, Alzireez." The drow takes out his large coin purse from his backpack. "25 gold coins for the identification, and 175 gold pieces to buy your silence on the matter. You NEVER saw me today nor any other these individuals or anything in our possession.
Do you understand?"
Alzireez looks solum, and slides the 175gp back to Lazastrahd.
"I understand my friend Lazastrahd. But I will take just what I am owned. When you stopped that thug gang from burning me out. I was placed in your debt, and I still am."
Then he smiles
"Also, I am a good man, these things you showed me today are an old evil. The fact you and your fellows seek to end it is all I need to know."
He walks to the back of the shop and opens a door.
"This passage will take you to the back street, I did not see you, you were never here"
Once in the back street, the way is clear for you to head back to HQ or do you wish to go some other place?
The seeds may be priceless, but anyone who'd want to buy them is no one I'd want to sell them too. Warlock Bones resists the temptation to eat the seeds. They'd be safer there, but the others probably wouldn't be thrilled about it. "Quite right Sel. Let's make haste."
Lazastrahd wordlessly collects his gold, stows it back in his backpack, and nods a 'thank you' as the drow and the other agents exit out the back of the shop.
You make you way back to the Agency's HQ once there, the blind drow boy comes to meet you with one of the cooks.
"Fook." Khardon cursed, shaking his head. This was so far beyond anything he had ever dealt with before. Smugglers he understood. Drug pushers? Easy motivations. Racketeering, murders, general thuggery? All had motivations that he could get his head around. But soul-sacrifice to grow underground cities? That was a new one. He took off his hat and held it to his chest, as if though that would help him think.
"Soul magic. That's dark arts if I ever heard it. To Mr. Brook then?"
You make your way to MR Brook's office. In the top of a wing of the building. Knocking on the door you hear a sqwarking sound and the words
"Eneter"
As you come in you see the old Tengu sitting at his desk reading and making notes from a scroll. As you all come in, he puts his notes to one side. And looks you over.
"SO what brings Warlock Bones and company to my door. Have you accedentily turned someone into a cat again?"
He seems to take a particular note of the Drow boy.
"Or a drew boy?"
"You make one little mistake, and it's all anyone can talk about..." Warlock Bones grumbles. It was the last joke this conversation was going to have for a while, and he was determined to make the most of it.
"SO what brings Warlock Bones and company to my door. Have you accidentally turned someone into a cat again?"
He seems to take a particular note of the Drow boy.
"Or a drow boy?"
Lazastrahd instinctively steps in front of the drow boy. "No. Master Brooks."
"We do have these." Khardon said, stepping forth. "Drow seeds. Which we are told require the sacrifice of souls, upon which they will conjure an underground settlement. We seek your expertise in this matter. Along with any knowledge ye have on who, in this city, might have the resources to attain such horrific artifacts."
Master Brooks looks flabbergasted
"Where in the planes did you find there?"
The shock asses and he pulls himself together.
"Yes, yes you are well informed, The Spider god of the Drow lays them as eggs, well seeds if you will. But as you say they need souls to activate. Say some 6 per seed. Then like spider webs they grow and fill an underground cavern with drow dwellings."
He takes the box and with a spyglass looks closely at them
"These have been pre-primed, I would suspect just one should activate them."
Lazastrahs steps forward and asks, "Do you mean if someone was to die near these seeds, they could potentially sprout a new city at any time?"
"Yes that is just what I mean, one death, close by and... one could place say in a city wall, kill someone near it and that wall would crack that city open like an egg. Or say a large civic site, my gods! the death toll."
"What do you think will be the best way to isolate these seeds from nearby accidental death?" The drow looked to the Dark Arts sage.
"My first thought would be to immediately leave the city!"
Master Brooks looks at the box,
"I believe this box had a seal on it, toping the seed from activating, once opened that seal was broken. One could try and remake the seal but that would take time. You could try to leave the city, but A better way would be some kind of bag of holding. Isolate them from this plane. I believe Eleonora Silverleaf has one"
At that moment you notice the Drow child has been frozen the moment the box was opened and the seeds exposed in the room. Then he choffs once and in his hand is blood.
Lazastrahd kneels down and addresses the drow child. "Boy. Are you alright. What connection do you have with these seeds?"
”Could be his soul linked to them.” The dwarf mused. ”I wouldn’t break the seeds. Too many variables. But aye, let’s get them in the bag right away.”
The boy looks at Lazastrahd and goes to speak but all that comes out of his mouth is blood as he starts to convulse.
The seems to be a gease of the child, the seeds are killing him.
Rounds needed to get to Eleonora Silverleaf
Rounds until the child dies
O dear its going to be very tight so, how will you eather
Slow the Childs death or speed up getting to Eleonora Silverleaf ?
"IT'S A GEAS!" Lazastrahd shouted, fear in his voice. "THE SEEDS ARE KILLING HIM!"
"Get the seeds to Eleonora! I will find a healing to keep the boy alive! Go!"
There is a Inori Temple down the street you will gave to carry the boy and move fast real fast.
Holding the boy, the drow investigator makes a mad dash to the Temple of Inori.
Roll 4d8 please Lazastrahd try and get under 22
Knowing that he’d never make it in time, Khardon shoved the seeds into Seljak’s arms. ”Go! Get it to her before the boy dies or the city gets consumed by them.” He said, with urgency. If there was anyone he trusted to give this his all it was the half-orc.
As Lazastrahd raced to the temple Seljak sprints to Eleonora Silverleaf.
Lazastrahd busts throw the temple door and call out for aid, one of the cleric nurses comes over and sees just how sick the Drow child is, blood streaming from his eyes and mouth, he at one lays on hands.
Seljak runs throw the halls and passageway, the box in hand, boiling over a poor agent reading a book.
"HAY!! WATCH WHERE YOUR GOING BUDDY!!"
But Seljak does not stop getting to Eleonora Silverleaf office he tries to push open the door. But it's locked, what will he do??
The door busts open and you enter her office as you do Ms Silverleaf comes out of a side door tying up a night gown.
"What is the meaning of this!!, if you mean to do me harm I must warn you.."
Then she stops as she sees who it is.
"Mr Kopile, Mr Bones!! explain yourselfs."
Rounds left 5
"You guys know I'm a licensed medical professional, right?" Warlock Bones says softly, as Laz runs out of the room. He hoped the kid would live, but he followed Seljak.
He gathers power for a second, darkness coalescing around him, before he puts his hand up against the lock of the door, and uses a pushing infused void blast into it. Subtlety and courtesy were currently not on Warlock Bones's mind.
Khardon ran…far too slowly. It was clear that the others would have to deal with this. Dwarves were not designed to move distances so quickly.
It takes a moment for her to process then she says.
"Agent Root has it down in the Amary on the floor below. GO NOW!"
Rounds left 4
As you bust into the Amary you see Agent Root unload items from the bag of holding. Its seems to be an arms cash of some kind. She looks up.
"Seljak! What the Hells, you trying to scare me to death, you can have it when I have finished cataloging this"
You have 5 seconds Seljak what ya going to do
@Lazastrahd
At the temple of healing, the cleric works on the Drow boy but her magics fail.
"The child is fading fast, he must be caused for my healing will not help him. I am sorry suggest you say you goodbyes"
5 second tick tock
At the temple of healing, the cleric works on the Drow boy but her magics fail.
"The child is fading fast, he must be caused for my healing will not help him. I am sorry suggest you say you goodbyes"5 second tick tock
Lazastrahd's scream of anguish reverberates throughout the temple, as he hold the dying drow boy in his arms. Not..enough..time!
Seljak roll 1d6 if you get 4 or less the boy lives
his life is in your Hands.
Lazastrahd'The boy is dead in your arms, but then just as the cleric gets up the child gasps for air, the cleric looks astonished but lays on hands at once. HEaling flooding into the frail body.
"It's broken, whatever magic was killing him it's gone. The child is alive but very weak. He will need rest but he will live"