Allustan aka Navior's page

"The proteans are creatures of pure chaos," Allustan says. "Natives of the Maelstrom. The Wind Dukes fought against the Queen of Chaos and her chaotic hordes. It stands to reason that their would be proteans among such an army. The Queen of Chaos may have been some sort of protean lord, but no one really knows for sure. It was a very long time ago, at least back as far as ancient Thassilon, and like so much else from that time, most of the details have been lost."

Allustan is a bit surprised to see you back so soon, but he eagerly takes a look at the sketches Fredrik made of the letters. "Very interesting," he says. "Looks similar to the language of the proteans, I think. Perhaps an archaic version of it, or a related language. A simple comprehend languages spell ought to decipher them."

He casts the spell. "Ah, let's see. Are these sketches in the same order as the source? They would just appear to be random letters with no real meaning to them. I suppose that would fit the chaotic nature of proteans."

Allustan shakes his head. "Not that I've noticed. But then, I have a tendency to keep to myself apart from an occasional game of dragonchess at Lazare's, so I could easily miss that sort of thing. Certainly no one has come here inquiring about you."

If Freddie owes him any money for the work, he will pay Allustan now.

20 gp

Allustan takes the money with a nod and gives Fredrik back the shard. "I'll be happy to answer any further questions you might have. Come see me any time."

Navior, did Freddie get a close enough look at the glyph in the final chamber, where the statue spoke those words. If so, then he will describe the glyph to Allustan. If not, then he will draw on his eidetic memory [int 20] and describe it from memory.

INT check, if needed 1d20+5

I was pretty much assuming that he took a good look at it, so he can remember what it looks like regardless of the roll.

Allustan listens carefully as Fredrik describes the glyph and then gets Fredrik to draw it for him again. With the drawing of the glyph in his hand, Allustan says, "Wait here a moment." He then gets up and hurries back into his house.

It's several minutes before he emerges again. "That would be the glyph of Zosiel, one of the warriors present at the battle of Pesh. I'm afraid I don't have much information on him. A fairly high-ranking lieutenant in the Wind Dukes' army. There is a book...now, what was it called? Oh yes, the Chronicle of Chan. It might have more information about Zosiel. I could probably requisition it from the library at Kaer Maga, but I'm afraid it would take time."

You make your way across town to the home of Allustan. You head across his garden and up to the red and blue house. You've barely knocked on the door, when it opens and Allustan steps out. "Ah, there you are! he says. "I was starting to wonder if you were coming back. I have some information for you about your glyph and strange artifact. Wait here one moment."

He goes back inside the house and closes the door. A few minutes later, he comes back out with several papers and leads you back to the garden. He sits down on the large tree stump there. "Right now, let's see." He flips through the pages, which would appear to be notes he's taken. "Ah yes. The glyph you drew me is the personal sigil of Icosiel, one of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa. They were a powerful race of elemental beings who are said to have once dominated an empire that spanned worlds. Eventually, these paragons of law clashed against the Queen of Chaos, a primordial being. Who exactly she was, nobody can be exactly sure. There are several possibilities. However, in the great final battle on the fabled fields of Pesh--a location that no one's quite sure where it actually was, somewhere on Golarion though, oh and nothing to do with the drug Pesh; just an unfortunate coincidence in naming... Where was I? Oh yes! In the final battle on the fabled fields of Pesh, seven of the most powerful Wind Dukes employed a weapon called the Rod of Law, that shattered as it struck down the queen's demonic consort known as the Wolf-Spider. The Rod of Law became the Rod of Seven Parts, one of the most legendary artifacts in all of folklore.

Allustan looks up from his papers. "I must say, you've made a very exciting find. It's entirely possible that you've stumbled across the tomb of one of the Wind Dukes or one of their servants. Now then, I don't think the tomb is Icosiel's himself. This glyph was on the remains of the apparatus you discovered, yes?"

From the folds of his voluminous robes, he pulls out the shard you left with him. "This is a piece of a substance very similar to obsidian, although not identical. It is not native to this world. When full, the apparatus you described would have looked like a large mirror and this substance would have been where you would expect to find the mirrored surface itself. However, it was clearly not actually a mirror. I suspect it was a transportation device set up to teleport those who step into it to a specific predefined location. The apparatus had the symbol of Icosiel on it either to indicate it belonged to him or, more likely, that its destination was somewhere associated with him, probably his tomb. Thus, the tomb you entered is probably the tomb of one of his servants. Did you see any other glyphs while you were in there?"

Allustan picks up the drawing and studies it intensely for a few moments. Then he nods. "Excellent. It may take a day or two to track down, but I'm confident I can work out what this apparatus thing was. Check back with me tomorrow and I'll let you know if I've found out anything or if I need another day."

Allustan takes the shard and looks at it while listening to Fredrik's description of the pedestal. "Very interesting," he says when Fredrik is done. He turns the shard around in his hands, looking at it from each angle. "I will be very happy to investigate this for you. I'll need you to draw me the glyph on the pedestal, as exact as you can remember it. I have some parchment and ink inside. One moment, please."

He returns briefly into his house and comes back out a minute later, carrying a piece of parchment, a bottle of ink, and a quill. He heads over to a tree stump in the garden and places the items down there.

Hee! Avatar is the actual picture of Allustan from the adventure.

Allustan nods. "Most definitely," he says as he strides towards the garden. "I have a sizable library and make it a point to answer questions as thoroughly and factually as possible. More obscure information may take a day or two to uncover, but you do not need to pay until I have the answer for you. Naturally, if I am unable to provide you with an answer, there is no charge. If you wish proof of my credentials, you can ask around for references. I am well-known in these lands and there are many in town or in Korvosa, Kaer Maga, or even as far as Magnimar who will undoubtedly vouch for my authenticity."