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The elf blinks awake slowly, coughing violently after he does. He sees Sabah and Abdi just above his face, and thinks his head might be in a lap. Just behind them, he spots Jussa and Malluma.
Having re-gained his bearings, but not knowing what to say, he smiles weakly at Sabah and remarks You didn't lend me a dream while I was out. *Cough*. Well, I was in pretty bad shape but thanks to you two I think I'm fine now.
Slowly getting to his feet he dusts himself off as he remembers the bats more sharply.
Where in the nine hells did those things come from? I might make a point to let others go before me as we proceed. Also, Dreng owes me a pint of blood.
You decide to leave the cellar and the secret room and return to the upper level.
The kitchen personnel is a little astounded to see you again, especially with some of you having blood stains on their clothes. And although Heryn Gale is quite busy when you return she notices that you obviously were in a fight.
"Oh my god, what happened to you?!" she asks with great concern and wants to run down to see what is going on.
When you explain to her that you found the secret door she obviously is very surprised about what you found.
Heryn then says "That is truly unbelievable and I agree with you. But to be honest such a matter has to be discussed with a Venture-Captain to align on the next step. I do not know what you want to do now but good luck to you! And please come back and inform us what to do with the room ... I ... I am still in shock ... unbelievable."
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As the group takes the journey back to the surface, Sabah sidles up to Kaliban. As they move along through the tunnel she conjures a bit holy power to treat his wounds.
She then leans with a message on her palm. "I know it isn't much but hopefully it will tied you over until I get some proper potions."
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"here this might help settle your nerves. Being so close to death can certainly cause a certain amount of distraction, and turn the stomach."
Jussa declines the applejack with a rueful half-smile. "I think the smell from the other room is what's turning my stomach. I'm pretty sure that applejack would taste better going down than up. ...But thanks. The moral support is appreciated."
"Just make sure no one goes down there alone, and run like the wind if you hear any squeaking. You, ah, might want to organize a clean-up crew. We kind of left a mess of shredded bats down there." Jussa remarks sheepishly. Bonus if they have a bad cold and can't smell anything. Ugh!
Feeling like a useless tagalong, she follows after the crew to deliver a drink to the unconventional undercover VC.
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As they head back up to the main floor, Abdi notices the slight hitch in Kaliban's step and the still bleeding wounds. He walks up to the man and taps his wand against his back, allowing the healing magic to seal up the wounds and refresh his vigor. "Tis just me, good Kaliban. You are needed to stand before us."
Heryn nods.
“Thanks again and good luck!!“
The group decides to leave the Wounded Wisp and return to the Venture-Captain and you travel back to the meeting point that you received earlier ... and it is still raining.
You are now just steps away from Dreng who looks at you with a smile at first and with some concern when he sees the marks of battle on your clothing.
"You are back. I hope you have my bottle ... and can explain the shape that you are in." he says with a raised eyebrow.
+++++++++++++++
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Abdi grins. "Our most esteemed Venture-Captain, there was a hidden room! When we pulled upon the bottle you requested, it opened to a room filled with ancient Pathfinder lore, but then we were accosted by a swarm of vampiric bats which laid several of us low, but in Pathfinder fashion we emerged victorious."
Dreng is suspicious but opens an umbrella and looks through the documents … his eyes open wide after he reads through the first pages. He asks you tell him everything and wants to know all the details.
After a while he stands up with the umbrella.
"I ... I cannot believe that I have been in this wine cellar so many times and have never noticed this secret door! You Pathfinders might have found something that gives us a taste of our roots." he says with genuine surprise in his voice.
"You had the luck of finding a long-lost trove of documents and by following my directions you will potentially earn some renown in Absolom. This is an important find and you will be the ones to investigate some potentially far-reaching discovery related to Eylysia because you were the ones to stumble upon it." he says with a sly smile.
Then he looks at the documents in more detail.
"The other documents you found that are not related to Eylysia will need to stay with me so that I can begin assigning other agents to decrypt and collate the contents for proper study and comparison to exploits published in the Pathfinder Chronicles."
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And I'm just along for the ride. Jussa's never heard of Impostor Syndrome, but it certainly applies to her. All she does now is remain discreetly tucked under the back side of Dreng's umbrella, letting the words of praise fall on the other Pathfinders in front of him. She's quite proud of them, honestly; they handled themselves well and uncovered some truly remarkable documents. They deserve to be lauded.
Dreng looks confused.
“I sent Jussa because of her expertise in handling mechanical traps and that bridge needed repairs but I just wanted to give you your real mission. Well, this is more important!“
He looks around.
"Hmmm ... yes, go and see what you can find out. Ahhhh ... six people standing next to me with papers definitely has blown my cover!" he sighs and stands up.
"You find me in the grand lodge. Now go and solve this puzzle!" he says and walks away.
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“I sent Jussa because of her expertise in handling mechanical traps and that bridge needed repairs but I just wanted to give you your real mission. Well, this is more important!“
Wait--what? Jussa is stunned. She had no idea he'd paid that much attention to the wet-behind-the-ears newbies beyond choosing them for the piddly little things that experienced Pathfinders were too busy to do.
She's still trying to sort out this disconnect between reality and her perception (the praise itself all but forgotten), when Dreng walks off, taking his umbrella with him. The cold, pouring rain pelts her back to the present. Shaking her head to clear it, she observes wryly: "So...We have to go dig around in Arkath's mausoleum, don't we? Grave robbing. Joy."
MAUSOLEUM
You depart to check the lead involving Arkath. Details left by Selmius Foster indicate the location of Arkath’s burial site: a plot of land in Eastgate operated by the faith of Asmodeus.
A fence surrounds the necropolis grounds, and although members of the faith of Asmodeus and city guards routinely patrol the property, you know that it is still legal to enter the grounds to respect the departed. You can see citiy guards patrolling the area.
Arkath’s crypt is the northernmost structure on the map that you found in Selmius documents.
While the gates into the necropolis are left open to those paying their respects, the doors of all the mausoleums are sealed with sturdy stone slabs.
You are in front of the gates to the necropolis when you suddenly see a man in robes and a large pendant with the holy symbol of Asmodeus approaching. The man is holding up his hands and it is visible that he has lost several fingers.
This seems to be a mid-ranking cleric of Asmodeus and based on your knowledge he has the responsibility to watch over the tombs of the honored remains of friends of the church. You also know that especially for clerics of Asmodeus guarding the sanctity of the tombs is the cleric’s primary responsibility, but each cleric has different motivations and sometimes evil goals.
You know this guy! Durward is his name you believe. A former street thug, Durward lost several fingers and toes — and almost his life — before finding refuge among Absalom’s Asmodean priests. He enjoys his position of privilege and the powers granted to him by his god.
But you also know that Durward is ruthless in persecuting those who do not follow the rules and believes the strong should always be in a position of power.
The man approaching shouts out loud "Who goes there?!"
"Who are you all?? Be happy that you are still standing here and have not been blown to bits by Asmodeus' might you strangers!"
He looks down to you and steps uncomfortably close to Abdi.
"Do you want me to express my obviously superior thoughts or are you making in your pants and will be leaving!"
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Oh great. This blowhard. Ego stroking ought to work. Blech! Putting on her most innocent expression, Jussa cocks her head a little as she responds with drippy obsequiousness. "Surely such a strong man like you wouldn't feel threatened by little folks like us. Can't we come in to pay our respects? Please?"
Durward looks at Malluma "Ha, what?! You have not even answered my question about who you are! Then money it is ... where is your contribution to the church?!"
The man looks at all of you and his intonation does not change to the better.
He seems almost insulted when he sees the few coins.
Kaliban feels that Durward is an elitist, believing that his dedicated service to Asmodeus has put him in some kind of superior gang in Absalom.
Because he considers the necropolis to be his turf, Kaliban knows that the group must convince Durward to allow them access to the mausoleum containing Arkath’s remains.
Kaliban knows that Malluma was on a good path and showing allegiance to Asmodeus would suffice to let you see pass. Or Jussa could praise him some more.
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Yes, I understand this now... most might view you lackey or extortionist. But, no... You care the Keeper of the Gate and dispenser with your duties with diligence and zeal. A paragon, truly.
The Prince of Darkness, may be protect us, obviously works through you, my man.
I would not feel safe walking thru ground if it weren't for you vigilance and protection.
Durward looks at Kaliban, "Ha, ha, ha! So you are ok! Keep your money!"
The man looks at all of you and his intonation changes to the better.
"This plot of land in Eastgate is dedicated to the faith of Asmodeus and used as the resting ground for those that have served the dark prince, the most powerful of the nine archdevils that inhabit Hell."
He specifically looks at the strong fighters in your group and continues "If you do not respect and obey me here then you are welcome to start a fight ..." and his view wanders to the east where you see two city guards routinely patrolling the area around the property.
"... but this is the favor I ask of you: Show respect to the lord of darkness and provide the church with a share of what is to gain. You seem trustworthy so I will grant you permission to access the mausoleum you seek." he says with a stern look.
"But the sooner you are gone the better." and then he turns around and walks away.
++++
You start walking to the mausoleum.
Arkath must have paid a substantial sum to have his remains guarded here as the mausoleum houses only 24 sarcophagi and the names clearly mark many of the other deceased as nobility.
Arkath's sarcophagus is one of the first you see after entering the mausoleum. It is quite simple but very well made. His name is engraved in Taldan. There are no obvious religious symbols to be seen.
You believe that some strength is needed to open the sarcophagus but that you can jointly remove the upper section to peer into it.
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Darzus only nods at the stern mans instructions as they are allowed to pass. Better to say less at this point.
Wow, this guy is really into his little kingdom of the dead. I wonder who controls him with this illusion of power. No matter...
He quickly dismisses the thoughts as they enter the mausoleum.
Looking at Arkath's sarcophagus with determination, he says Well, let us see what secrets this stonemason took to the grave on behalf of Eylysia. I suppose it's possible we'll uncover more than we bargained for, but we'll have to sort that out later.
The dainty elf gestures suggestively at Malluma to approach the sarcophagus cover.
The rest of us can help push, but I think you're the real muscle!
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Whew! I thought for sure he'd be more trouble! Jussa is relieved that she doesn't have to stroke that nasty ego any more; she feels dirty enough as it is. Unconvinced that he'll really leave the Pathfinders in peace (especially considering what they're about to do), she does her best to surreptitiously keep an eye on his whereabouts, as well as the locations of the guards.
Keeping her voice low, she urges the others: "Do it quick, before he comes back! I'll keep watch." She knows she'd just be underfoot for this task.
Jussa does not see anyone.
Together you start to move the upper section of the sarcophagus and it is obvious that some of you are not really happy with this act ... disturbing the peace of the dead sometimes comes with harsh results.
But in this case you find darkness, dust and the skeleton of a humanoid being that is resting peacefully in his grave ... you see that the interior of Arkath’s sarcophagus is otherwise empty. You assume this to be the stonemason’s long-dead skeleton.
You something shiny behind the skeleton's teeth. You remove a coin from the skeletons mouth.
This apparently is a simple coin and resembles ancient currency. A little chip at the side of the coin shows intricate gold and platinum wires within.
PATHFINDER’S COIN
PRICE 1,500 GP
SLOT none
CL 3rd
WEIGHT — lbs.
Aura faint divination
This apparently simple coin, usually styled to resemble ancient currency, hides intricate gold and
platinum wires within. This matrix, carefully modeled after fragmentary Azlanti coins, causes the
Pathfinder’s coin to rise an inch into the air and slowly spin in place if placed atop a wayfinder. In
addition, when levitating above a wayfinder, the coin can be given a message of 25 words or fewer.
This message repeats in the speaker’s voice the next time the coin is floated above a wayfinder. Only
one message may be stored at a time, and once it is triggered, the message is expended and a new
one may be recorded.
CONSTRUCTION COST 750 GP
Craft Wondrous Item, identify, levitate, magic mouth
You return to the Grand Lodge and find the VC.
You tell him what you found and show Dreng the coin.
“Ahh! I know these coins…. “
Dreng uses his Wayfinder and places the coin above it. The coin levitates above the wayfinder, and you hear a message in a male voice.
"The path and chamber are complete, hidden behind the nameplate of the requested aspirant and guarded by the word you requested. Fimbrik will add more."
The VC hands you the coin.
“Do you know where to go next?!“
You all decide to go to Fimbrik's home first and his address was noted in the documents you found.
FIMBRIK's HOME
You all arrive at the Arcanamirium's campus in Absalom’s Wise Quarter.
Fimbrik's home itself is an impressive stone dwelling reminiscent of what one might expect from an eccentric wizard’s home.
A brick step leads to Fimbrik’s front entrance, which is locked with a rusty lock.
Numerous stacks of newspapers—roughly 2 years’ worth of monthly copies—are piled around the door and crammed into a thin slot at its base. Each rounded corner of the building has a large window, allowing creatures to look into the structure without difficulty.
You ring the bell and knock but receive no answer. In general the house does not look like it has seen many visitors recently.
You begin to walk to the first window on the left of the front entrance.
D3. Bedroom
A bed and desk occupy this room.
Then you walk to the window on the right of the front entrance.
D4. Study
This study contains a round table surrounded by chairs, and the walls are replete with tome-laden bookshelves.
An elderly gnome garbed in noble attire with a dapper rounded hat on his head and a can tipped with a brilliant glowing gem in his hand is standing in the room. It seems as if he is perusing his book collection.
You walk around the house.
Suddenly, you see a second person walking inside the room to the north-east (D2) ... and that person looks identical to the gnome you just saw reading!
And that second person is walking around and then sitting in a chair and reading a newspaper. To your surprise the gnome in the north-eastern room notices you and smiles. He gives a tip of his hat before continuing to read.