Shalosar and Artemois cut down the final undead.
The rock hurled by Huang Tong strikes Durvin Kline of the forehead. He instantly losing consciousness.
One of the guards appears from behind the corner. "What is going on here?!" she screams, confused by the scene before her.
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"Is Durvin the bad guy?" pondered Erred.
"The enemy of my enemy is still my enemy," whispered young Mousedeer. The apparition ◆Circles her Spirit back to the fore and assumes a bewitching ◆Nymph's Grace. "If you are our enemy, your confusion will expose you."
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"This man seems likely to be an impostor. We... saved him." Artemios's tone is a little uncertain about that last part, as he looks at the other Pathfinders continuing to attack him while ignoring the guard. "He was attacked by undead. It happens sometimes when you explore ancient tombs. That's why Pathfinders always send in field agents--a team of field agents--first, to make sure it's safe before we'd ever send in noncombatant scholars. And never alone. And we'd never leave our only weapon in another room.
"Um, you all know he wasn't running away from us, and that he doesn't have anywhere to flee to, right? It's just desert out there."
”This guy’s no Pathfinder!”, Shalosar spits. ”He pulled a fast one on all of us, and he’s gonna pay!”
"Not a Pathfinder, but he said--" The guard begins.
Vermithor tries to slap Durvin awake after Huang Tong's healing. "What were you trying to do back there? Did you know it would unleash the undead?"
The guard stops when Durvin regains consciousness and begins to speak. "I-I w-was looking for treasure." He says weakly. "I wasn't trying to unleash any undead."
"Undead!?!" The guard responds, clearly alarmed. She grips her weapon tightly.
"Is Durvin the bad guy?" pondered Erred.
"N-not a b-bad guy." Durvin stutters. "J-just mis-misunderstood."
"This man seems likely to be an impostor. We... saved him." Artemios's tone is a little uncertain about that last part, as he looks at the other Pathfinders continuing to attack him while ignoring the guard. "He was attacked by undead. It happens sometimes when you explore ancient tombs. That's why Pathfinders always send in field agents--a team of field agents--first, to make sure it's safe before we'd ever send in noncombatant scholars. And never alone. And we'd never leave our only weapon in another room.
"Um, you all know he wasn't running away from us, and that he doesn't have anywhere to flee to, right? It's just desert out there."
HT looks a bit starry eyed as he agrees with Artemios. "The furry one is correct. I think he gets his wisdom from Dragons!"
The guard eyes the talking canine curiously but slowly begins to nod as the kobold speaks.
"If anyone is here under false pretenses, without proper authorization, then we will take them into custody." The guard declares, though she keeps her distance from the party and takes no steps toward making any arrest.
"If there are undead around here, then I suggest we head up to the surface." She pauses to make sure there are no threats nearby.
"Actually," she concludes, "I think that I will head up to the surface regardless. This place is giving me the creeps."
"Are you coming with me?" she inquires of Durvin.
The man, still groggy, looks around and tries to rise to his feet and follow the guard.
After defeating the dangerous creature within the ruins, the party is free to finish exploring the ruins at its own pace and return to the surface when the Pathfinders are ready.
Remaining areas of interest are now marked on the map with yellow as "A", "B", and "C".
Two statues in this room depict a pair of robed skeletons each of which is pointing at the other.
This chamber appears to have once been an elaborate shrine. The centerpiece of the shrine is a 10-foot-tall statue of a lean Osirian man with the head of a sha, holding a brazier of lit coals.
A dull gray aeon stone rests in an offering bowl in front of the large statue.
This hallway reconnects to the stairway leading to the surface.
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HT joins the other kobold. "You were great back there, Vermithor! I'm not sure if Cousin Jinlong could have done any better!"
He then colors slightly, his scales appear to be a bit redder than normal. He lowers his head and speaks softly to Vermithor, "Oh, by the way, I'm sorry I called you 'Vinny'. It's not a proper name for a Dragon but it was kind of a heat-of-combat reaction."
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Erred follows Artemios obediently to the room with the pointing statues. As Artemios plays with one of them, Erred explores the statue at the other end of the room.
”Hey, this one waves too!” Erred waggles the arm, waving at Artemios and the statue at the far end.
”How childish,” mutters Scold.
”And how exciting!” Mousedeer squeals in anticipation.
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"Hey, these things move." Artemios indicates the statues' arms. "Some kind of mechanism? Let's see what it does!" He tries it.
Artemois rotates the arms of the skeletal statue until they rest at the skeletons’ sides. When the arms reach the lowest point, there is an audible *CLICK*.
Then he joins the others as Artemios seems to be trying to move one of the statues' arms.
Vermithor rotates the statue's arms back up. When they reach the highest point, there is another audible *CLICK*.
”Hey, this one waves too!” Erred waggles the arm, waving at Artemios and the statue at the far end.
”How childish,” mutters Scold.
”And how exciting!” Mousedeer squeals in anticipation.
Erred rotates the statue's arms back up. When they again reach the lowest point, there is another audible *CLICK*.
FUN!
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He then colors slightly, his scales appear to be a bit redder than normal. He lowers his head and speaks softly to Vermithor, "Oh, by the way, I'm sorry I called you 'Vinny'. It's not a proper name for a Dragon but it was kind of a heat-of-combat reaction."
That's ok. Other Dragons can call me 'Vinny.'" Vermithor smiles and asks. "Do you really think Jinlong would be proud? And have you ever met Rhaegal? You said that so well!"
Vermithor clicks the arm back and forth until someone pulls him down in case he breaks it.
In the next room, the little Dragon hunts around the base of the statue, but comes up empty.
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Erred places Durvin’s dagger beside the dull grey aeon stone in the offering bowl in front of the large statue.
”A god of desserts! Yes please!”
”What? No. God no. No this is stupid.” Scold’s scowl gives way to a look of shock for the first time.
”Brilliant, Erred,” cries Mousedeer. ”And also phenomenally stupid. This could get interesting.”
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"Deserts. I said deserts."
"Oh, watch out! There's a trap. Dunno how Kline never triggered it..." Artemios sheathes his sword and gets out some lockpicks. "I can jam this, I think."
Artemios nearly falls onto the trapdoor. He manages to avoid that, but doesn't disable it either.
"Ha.. oops. Let me try that again."
"Oh, I'm embarrassed. That was actually very easy. It probably would have been harder when it was new and in better shape."
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Artemios manages to disable the trap.
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Erred looks sheepishly at Artemios as he collects Durkin's dagger from the offering bowl. "I... we already have a desert outside.".
The younger spirit Mousedeer inspects the dull grey aeon stone left in the offering bowl with skepticism. "That was anticlimactic. Best leave that stone behind. It could still be used by a magician but that's not you, Erred."
Erred follows the crew to the corridor with the trap, and with everyone's help avoids falling afoul. Vermithor is very keen to return to the surface, which makes sense, but Scold demands to take one last look at the colored powder pits along the way. They drop by enroute to the surface.
Scold sifts through the powder in each of the pits using her Telekinetic Hand cantrip in case anything was left behind. As she works she curses Set for failing to show up. "No wonder this place was abandoned."
Having completed their exploration of the ruins below, the Pathfinders return to the surface.
Upon spotting you, the guard, Elrekah, grabs her weapon and strains to look behind you, making certain that you weren't followed."[/b]
"Are there any more undead down there?" she asks, trying to appear professional and prepared.
Once satisfied that there is no imminent threat, she explains. "Both your permit and the other's looked legitimate, so I didn't have enough to make an arrest. Nevertheless, he seemed happy enough to accompany one of my fellow guards to the nearest town. I am sure that the national authorities will work things out in time."
"I suggest, if your work is done here, that you head out too." she adds, eager to get back to taking a rest.
Upon your return to Sothis, you are greeted by Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir who requests a full report.
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”Well, we found some undead, some religious carvings, and this one thieving scumbag posing as a Pathfinder!”, he reports to Balentiir. ”What was his name? Durvin Kline? Keep an eye out for that guy!”
Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir shakes his head as he listens. "Someone posing as a Pathfinder, feigning membership in the Society?"
"And calling himself 'Durvin Kline', of all things?" Balentir repeats.
"That's what he said," says Nadia, "but it's probably a fake name."
"We fought a big mummy!" says Artemios.
"I am relieved both to see that you appear to be largely unharmed by your fight and also that you have dealt with this unexpected danger." Balentir replies. "As for our false 'Pathfinder' with a fake name, Let me reassure you that I will work with government officials to root out the source of this problem."
"For now, though," declares the Venture-Captain, "you have earned a rest in the gardens of the Sandswept Halls! Enjoy it while you can, for I here that Venture-Captain Calisro Benarry will be making port in the morning. Rumor is that she will be taking on new passengers--you!"
”A ship? No more deserts, I hope”, asks Shalosar. ”Get me outta this sand pit!”
Shalosar gets his wish...
Perhaps, as the universe's way of delivering a reminder to the fetchling his wish, a splash of salt crashes over the bow of the Glorious Payoff weeks later. Guiding the ship is Calisro Benarry, deftly steering her ship through a hidden channel. She carefully navigating through the barely visible rock and coral that protrude slightly from the water’s surface.
Behind the Payoff, a slightly smaller ship—the Sea Sparkle—follows, making every effort to follow Benarry’s course as closely as possible. Off the port hull, the deep green of the Garundi coast is illuminated by the late afternoon sun.
“See those gulls?” Benarry shouts over the flapping of the sails, “that’s the sandbar we’ll be dropping you off at. Barely sticks up over the waves, but the seabirds flock over it to feast on crab.”
“As I explained earlier, Vidrian—you might have known it as Sargava not that long ago—needs explorers to chart the trade routes to the south that they couldn’t use back when it was ruled by Cheliax. Simple enough bit of adventuring, but the new nation’s been having trouble with the Free Captains of late. Turns out when Vidrian broke free of Cheliax, the locals stopped paying the pirates protection money, and now they’re the number-one plunder target in the Shackles. What’s more, the pirates have set up a blockade preventing our ships from making it down to Vidrian to assist.”
“Thankfully, we’ve got someone on the inside. Stella Fane, a Free Captain with ties to the Firebrands and the Pirate Council, has been in contact with the Society. She and members of the Society’s leadership have put together a fairly clever plan to help the Society’s ships pass through the pirate blockades unharmed. The Wind and the Waves willing, the Payoff and the Sparkle can sail to Vidrian, no problem. While we’re doing that, I’ve arranged transport for you to Port Peril to meet with Fane and get her to sign this contract making the whole thing official—she may be a pirate, but she’s the kind that holds to her word. You’ll need to avoid drawing too much attention until after the deal is done. Once she’s signed the contract her friends in the Pirate Council will ratify it and there won’t be much the lesser captains can do. Be careful. Anyone looking to put a stop to this need only ensure that contract never gets signed.”
"Now, if you have any questions, I suggest that you best be quick with them! I am happy to answer yours questions," Benarry suggests. "But, only as long as you can spit them out before the Payoff starts to leave this sandbar behind!"
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Vermithor narrows his eyes at the Captain. "How do you know we can trust this Free Captain? And what do we do if the pirates try to stop us?" The Dragon seems to guess the answer to the second question as he swings his flail idly.
”I’d say it’s our job to find out if we can trust her”, Shalosar replies. ”And if they try to stop us, they better have some spare hook hands and peg legs around!”
Vermithor narrows his eyes at the Captain. "How do you know we can trust this Free Captain? And what do we do if the pirates try to stop us?" The Dragon seems to guess the answer to the second question as he swings his flail idly.
"I trust Stella Fane to keep her word." Benarry confirms. “But one can never be too certain, I be supposin'.”
"And if some pirates try to stop you, then you simply stop them from stoppin' you!" The pirate woman adds with a grin.
“Stella Fane’s a recent figure on the Shackles scene, as is her ship, the Risen Albatross," she continues. "Word is, the Chelaxians bought her crew out from under her and tossed her overboard at sea. Some say she died and it’s her ghost sailing the waters and sinking slaver boats and Chelaxian ships left and right. I don’t believe it myself—never heard of a ghost that could put away as much rum as she’s been known to, that’s for sure.”
”I’d say it’s our job to find out if we can trust her”, Shalosar replies. ”And if they try to stop us, they better have some spare hook hands and peg legs around!”
"Aye! That's the spirit!" Benarry declares approvingly.
HT looks at Vermithor. "We are Dragons. Pirates will be ill-advised to get in our way"
"Well, then I trust you are ready to deboard?"
"The boat will be by later. Just wait on the sandbar off yonder. But first, you need to get there! So, it's time to jump overboard and swim!" Benarry instructs the party as she brings the Payoff into dangerously shallow waters.
You find yourself in the the waters of Port Peril, off the shore of the island of Crescent Harbor. The water’s too shallow for the Payoff to get closer, but it’s calm enough in the lee of the sandbar that the party has no trouble swimming to the island's shore should it so choose.
The crate also holds a flask of labeled "lesser bravo’s brew" and several dirty, cracked bottles.
"I be, Hlar!" The woman declares as she beckons you aboard. She shifts around sacks of shellfish and crab traps to make room in the cramped vessel. "Ye must be Pathfinders! Bennary said ye'd all be accomin'!"
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Despite his resident spirit Mousedeer's concerns at being abandoned in the middle of the ocean, Erred nods at Benarry and obediently jumps overboard. Paddling away from the Payoff, he soon finds sand underfoot.
Erred wanders on to the sandbar, listening to the sound of water breaking gently against the sand. It is such a peaceful sound in contrast to the near-constant whining of his resident apparitions.
"More sand," growls Scold.
"Yes, more sand. Do you think the tide is rising?"
"It is rising," advises Mousedeer. "But you're already wet."
Erred nods. He gazes at the island in the distance, where he sees construction on the shoreline. He turns back to the Payload to see if his fellow Pathfinders were following. The sun twinkles brightly on small waves, but it is not as hot as the desert was. He sits down in the shallows to draw patterns in the water with his finger.
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"...can I stay here?" asks Nadia.
"Nope! Hold on!" Excitedly, Artemios leaps over the ship's railing, the cat clinging to the back of his armor and screaming until the plunge into the water silences her.
"All the dangerous places we've had to go, and getting a little wet is where you want to stop?"
"Hey, hey I found something!"
Artemios takes out his crowbar and pries the crate open. "Look, look, I found--"
"--something!"