RawkNRole knows loot when he sees it ... or not.
Wither puts her hands on the books in the most inconspicuous corner and starts reading.
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The books are incredibly creepy and depraved to read, describing obscene Abyssal rituals, diagrams illustrating with a torturer’s morbid precision the anatomy of scores of creatures, untold annotations, and even decades of tables that closely resemble a shopkeeper’s ledgers. Wither deduces from this deluge of information that Thurl has experimented for years in the creation of Abyssal hybrids—dissecting demon corpses, sewing pieces back together, soldering and animating them with essence derived from Abyssal larvae, and often discarding imperfect creations. Annotations and notes scattered across a dozen volumes reference how he has “devised a technique to rival the creative power of Lamashtu’s womb,” “gone beyond the limited theories he purchased from Aslynn,” and even “discovered how to harness the power of the marilith.” In addition, the ledgers seem to track fluctuations in the price of larvae, the souls of those condemned to the Abyss, which you recognize as valuable planar trade goods. In fact, the texts indicate that Thurl actively participated in the larvae trade.
Valais is deeply unsettled by the discovery stepping away from books and gasping for air.
Several drawers in the bottom of the southern bookshelf contain 20 bottles of fine liquor as well as several potions for emergency use: an oil of magic fang, two oils of greater magic weapon (CL 8th), a potion of cat’s grace, a potion of fox’s cunning, and a potion of cure moderate wounds. Each bottle of alcohol represents a fine vintage from somewhere in Absalom, and each bottle is worth 50 gp on average. A masterwork battleaxe is mounted on a bracket near the stairs.
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"This mission get dark real quick."Arxoias sighs, "Now that we can confidently say there's 99% percent chance Thurl being a traitor to the Society based on the crazy stuff he did, feel free to 'confiscate' his potions and wines."
Arxoias will suggests giving the oil of Greater Magic Weapon to Rogarch and Ekanta . Cat's Grace can go to Mika , Fox's Cunning to the wizard.
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No traps found. The walls here are polished and smooth, unlike the stone block construction elsewhere. The floor bears a strange symbol of concentric circles and compasslike stars, and the entire carving glows with a steady, red light. Writing covers much of the walls, some of it in dark blue charcoal and the rest in deep red paint. A shallow tray along the north wall holds several sticks of steel-gray chalk.
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Ekanta slowly traverses the periphery of the room as he reads the walls, but not that slowly - clearly your humble fighting-man knows the Wicked Speech!
10 minutes later, he addresses the rest of you.
"Thurl has been dealing with a night hag he calls Aslynn; they've been doing business together for nearly 20 years, but these dialogues are recent. Mostly it's tedious haggling, merchant stuff," and here Ekanta's normally-constant sad, eerie monotone deviates slightly into something like contempt. "But this one," He slowly points his staff, holding it by the tip in one hand as though it were a tenth of the size it is, across the room and at a particular corner. "This could be...revelatory." He translates for the others.
After a moment's awkward silence (you get the sense such moments happen rather a lot when he's around), he adds: "Somewhere early on in this mess, the hag calls Captain Thurl 'Prince of Sigils'; she calls him that because she knows it annoys him. I think she's not the only one, either, someone else called him that and he was not at all happy."
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"I mean, he was already cutting up and sewing together evil outsider, so it's not a surprise to see him make deals with one."
If there is no further thing to explore/investigate in this room, she will get ready for the other door.
"Time to put up the Magic Weapon oils we found eariler. I mean, they are so Great that they last 8 hours anyway."
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You open the left door and enter into a corridor. Glass cases, each a three-foot cube, line the walls of this L-shaped five-foot-wide stone hallway. Each sealed alcove contains the slowly wriggling form of what appears to be an oversized insect larva that has a vaguely humanoid head wrinkled in pain.
"Basically I am of those creatures. Thurl glued together my current form with these worm-like beings." horrified Valais tells you and voice changes mid-sentence to inhuman hissing which she doesn't seem to notice
RawkNRole takes a look at the strange creatures. The elemental shrugs and shakes his head not clear on what they may be.
Wither sighs as Owl's Wisdom expires. "Again, I'm getting too nervous..." She murmurs while following the group, trying to keep up with the information.
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You leave the hall of larvae and step into a larger chamber. The popping and fizzing of bubbling liquid echoes throughout this rectangular chamber. To the west, a platform towers fifteen feet over the rest of the room. A steel grate extends from this platform like a bridge to a large metal cauldron suspended by rusty chains above the floor. Steep steps descend around support pillars to the level below and a pair of iron doors to the east.
"This place is where I first woke up after my kidnapping. My next memory was of being in an incubation vat at the entrance where we came down." Valais whispers her memories
RawkNRole looks around as well. His senses delve deep down into the earth detecting even the slightest movement (Tremor Sense 60 feet).
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Arxoias would ask Mr. Soul Seer to check the condition of these larvas and/or the humanoid? within.
"Basically I am of those creatures. Thurl glued together my current form with these worm-like beings."
Ekanta gives Valais an extended stare upon hearing this.
"I take it they had to be pulverized to make such glue? They have met the death beyond death, then; I suppose both you and they are fortunate, eternity in the Abyss being what it otherwise would be for them."
Ekanta continues forward, stoic and vigilant as ever.
Wither steps foreward to take a closer look of the creatures.
RawkNRole checks out his heated opponents.
He knows better than mixing it up with fiery opponents with his bare hands but he steps forward (5 foot step) in front of his mistress and takes up a defensive posture (Total Defence action).
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Ekanta takes one of the hideous shrunken heads at his side and tosses it into the cauldron like some Abyssal carnival-game...
...where it bursts open to reveal a small swarm of very perturbed insects!
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Her familiar tells her about the creatures' immunity to fire and poison stingers which she communicates to the party.
Rogarch steps forward pulling out a scroll She reads the arcane words and three copies of the warrior appear swirling around her. She then drops the blank parchment and flies into an arcane fuelled rage.
Resist Energy: Fire 10 is now active from her bloodrage
RawkNRole is lousy against flying opponents and knows enough not to punch anything that has spent any time in a fiery hot cauldron. The little elemental tries to scare the blue eidolon by pounding his chest in an intimidating fashion. He calls out a threat in Terran before moving to the back of the party. He is mindful not to be adjacent to the enemy at any time.
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Enemy ignores elemental's threat as it doesn't seem to understand Terran.
Wither steps away from cauldron and casts Shillelagh spell.
Green flies past Wither drawing AoO and claws Ekanta. It then out of reach near ceiling. Red notices four identical warriors and flies closer to throw blood from cauldron at Rogarch.