C B 380's page

As the group waited, Zane discussed with the others, "Azarra, the Morninglord can grant me a spell that can give you true mastery of the languages of these savages, at least for a time. So you can sound authentic in that regard. And I have another blessing that can make you more...alluring...to those you interact with, which will help our cause as well."

Turning to Ishta, he nodded, "That's a great idea about Delenn...she might know tricks of the arcane to help obscure our true nature to these creatures."

To Ser Armithia and Kardas, he smiled and said, "My friends, I know that subterfuge is not your forte, nor is it mine, so perhaps we can be the hired bodyguards, seeing much and saying little until the time is right."

Kn Nature: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

"Watch out, my friends. These deceptively colorful plants are called leechvines. I studied them briefly in Chel...back home. There are thorns hidden under that brilliant foliage, and the vines will actively seek to grab and hold you while the plant slowly devours you. Whatever that is making noise in there is suffering a cruel fate."

If the group is intent on moving in, anyway, the wizard moves to the back with Kragg, taking out his crossbow and loading, for all the good he thought it would do against the plant.

As Zane and Ser Armithia met up with Kardas and Ishta, Zane recounted the pair's meeting with both Bishop Braccio and Delenn Moonbeam. After the briefing, the priest asked, "What do you two think? Should we help Delenn with her brother? Perhaps she'd be a valuable asset to the city without her kin being used against her for blackmail. And what do you think about Cardona and his newfound interest in governance?"

Malen smiled as Pharasma's grace got everyone looking better once again, though his eyes hardened as the gargoyle moved next to him. As the creatures burst through the doors, the priest found his body under assault through fell magic. He struggled for a moment, his limbs starting to grow sluggish, but managed to throw off the effects.

Will Save: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (4) + 17 = 21

Seeing that Kalem and Bashiel were reliably cutting down the dangerous gargoyles, but unsure of what the new things even were, Malen took a step back from the gargoyle next to him and held his holy symbol aloft, calling down holy fire on the two creatures.

Flame Strike on the 2 new combatants: 13d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 1, 4, 3, 6, 1, 1, 4, 1, 4, 3, 5) = 45Half fire, half holy

Malen sneered at the gargoyle's words, even as the creature made short work of his defenses and scored several hits on the priest. This beast must not have understood how deep his connection with his Goddess was. After Kalem made mincemeat of the enemy, the cleric noticed the damaged Cinnabar and Bashiel had made their way down to the group. Malen moved in between the two groups of combatants and then channeled Pharasma's healing energy again, able to capture all of his allies and exclude the gargoyles.

Channel (heal): 9d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 6, 2, 2, 1, 2, 6, 1) = 28

Merry Christmas to everyone! Hope the holidays have treated you well. It was a busy week with my four kiddos, so I apologize for my absence.

Seeing Cinnabar succumb to the banshee's wail, but the woman surprisingly still drawing breath, Malen reached inside to the more powerful divine gifts Pharasma granted to him. Though he himself had not wanted to bring the 'former' assassin along, the group had decided to do so and she was an ally, however unwilling she might be. Stepping around her and finding the outside of the silent area, he grasped his holy symbol tightly and spoke a few powerful holy words before touching her shoulder, infusing her with awesome healing energy.

Cast Heal on Cinnabar, recovers 130 hp

Zane gladly took the seat offered by the Bishop, worn out after the days of travel after the furious fight at the ziggurat. When the older man congratulated the team on the job well done, the priest smiled, then answered, "There was a strange mechanism inside of a pyramid structure that was producing some kind of waste the alchemist was dumping in the Stojanow. Azarra managed to shut off the contraption after we slew the alchemist. He had also enslaved a conclave of lizardfolk, who we have freed and are finishing escorting them to their original home. Hopefully they will make good allies to our fledgling town."

Malen was taken aback at how truly wild this part of the world was. While he considered himself a well-traveled individual, he had mainly stuck to paths that had been worn by human feet, no matter how lightly traveled they may be. Looking at all the terrifying creatures they quickly passed by, the priest was amazed that humanity had managed to become so dominant on Golarion. The cleric gave thanks go Pharasma and all the deities for blessing humans with such gifts.

As the group descended near the bridge leading to the entrance to Scarwall, Malen looked around to make sure the group was alone before turning to his fellows as they rematerialized beside him. Taking a swallow of water from his skin, he said, "Shall we scout ahead first before we cross the bridge and begin our quest?"

Perception: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (5) + 20 = 25

Spell List Updated

Thame, perhaps surprisingly, just ordered a beer...or ale, or whatever it might be called. Something that would wash away the dust of the trail without getting him blasted after a few sips.

He nodded almost imperceptibly to Lolito, waiting for a couple answers from Carver before speaking again, "Hey there...we almost forgot to mention it in the hubbub of everything else, but we found the cave at the west of the island you told us to be looking for. There was a door with an elaborate locking mechanism on it. We couldn't remember what the correct combination was to get in...can you refresh our memory?"

Bluff: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30

The wizard dug into the food hungrily at that point, the elder Pathfinder's words having seemed pretty much honest to that point. The wizard didn't think there was much to worry about on this front, but better to be careful.

Thame listened to Carver speak, nodding in agreement at the man's reluctance to leave the colony. If anything that made him seem more genuine to the wizard...only a fool would leave the relatively more safe confines of the colony to travel this accursed island. Or did he just want to stay to sow chaos? This wretched business was awful. He forced a grin to his face, "Oi, I can't say I blame you for that, my friend. It's a nasty business out there, watching these guys hack up the natives. But when we were on the boat you DID say you'd buy me a few rounds after Kragg's establishment was open, and I dare say you've been avoiding that very business since the drinks have been flowing, haven't you?" The wizard chuckled, trying to sound as genuine as he could.

Bluff: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (15) + 12 = 27

Azlanti Spellbook spells:

Burning Hands, Comprehend Languages, Silent Image
Blood Transcription, Detect Thoughts, Know Peerage, Owl's Wisdom
Arcane Sight, Gaseous Form, Heroism, Keen Edge, Locate Weakness, Slow, Tongues

Will copy over:

Comprehend Languages
Silent Image
Detect Thoughts
Owl's Wisdom
Arcane Sight
Gaseous Form
Heroism
Keen Edge
Slow
Tongues

Malen relaxed as the group returned to the Dead Warrens and briefed Priestess d'Bear on the happenings in the complex where the party had rescued Endrin and dealt a terrible blow to the power structure of the Gray Maidens. "We're glad to have helped, Priestess. The Queen's forces will take some time to regroup after all that...I hope we can use that time wisely."

The priest bowed to his superior, more than happy to retire to a room and rest after the long day the group had just had. The feats that had been performed were those that could be sung about by the bards, and Malen was glad that Pharasma Herself smiled upon them.

When they opened the secret door and found the treasures that the Maidens had confiscated in the takeover of Korvosa after King Eodred's death, Malen sighed. Who knew how many items had been wastefully spent in the pursuit of the Queen's power grab within the city? Thankfully, this spigot would now run dry.

Once they had inventoried the contents of the magic bag, Malen went with the others to sweep around the huge complex while his magic eyesight was still active, checking for any other secret doors or other hidden objects (or traps) that might have been missed through the first pass.

The group had done some excellent work here this day, as it seemed Kordaitra had been responsible for the day-to-day running of the Maidens and Tisharue had apparently been the one to keep them on the straight and narrow. And whatever that thing was couldn't do whatever dark rituals were performed on the women. Malen believed it would take the Maidens some time before they recovered from this assault.

Have fun and enjoy your family, Zamanda.

GM, we can just say Malen has a passive 39 on Perception for 1 hour, if you like.

There are some other magical items to ID:

- unidentified Erastil's bow

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26
- unidentified ring

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17
- unidentified potion
- unidentified cloak

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (17) + 12 = 29
- unidentified necklace

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32
- unidentified ioun gauntlet

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22
- unidentified potion x2

Lolito can try to use Perception to ID the 3 pots:
[dice=Perception]1d20+11
[dice=Perception]1d20+11
[dice=Perception]1d20+11

No claim to the headband...my slot is already taken with the phylactery I have.

After the fight is over, Malen retrieved a wand from his belongings and set to work curing his allies of the various damage they had taken during the battle.

Cure Mod (Ilsa): 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (8, 6) + 3 = 17
Cure Mod (Zamanda): 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (7, 3) + 3 = 13
Cure Mod (Zamanda): 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (6, 4) + 3 = 13
Cure Mod (Zamanda): 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (4, 4) + 3 = 11
Cure Mod (Kalem): 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (7, 3) + 3 = 13
Cure Mod (Kalem): 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (1, 6) + 3 = 10
Cure Mod (Kalem): 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (5, 7) + 3 = 15
Cure Mod (Malen): 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (5, 6) + 3 = 14

With that done, he checked over the Gray Maidens on the floor, trying to see if any were still in the land of the living. Some of the others, at least, had seemed intent on trying to save and reclaim these pour souls, and while Malen wasn't of the opinion that they could be brought back from where they had been taken, he respected the others too much to not do this.

With my Knowledge check did I know what particular type of business the 3rd V runs?

Will: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (13) + 17 = 30 4 damage, I believe
Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 2114 damage from the Flamestrike

Malen was pleased that he and the aasimar woman had downed the one Maiden so quickly in the hall, even if he wasn't entirely thrilled about inflicting damage on these brainwashed women. Regardless of the circumstances, though, they were the enemies, for now, and there were too many of the women to try to handle them with kid gloves. Surely some would survive, and the group could try to save them mentally in the aftermath.

The priest saw the newcomers when peeking around the door frame an instant before a grotesque feeling washed over him. Through force of will he pushed the magic away, getting only a mild impact, and therefore was able to react well when the enemy priest finished her chant and a column of fire came down and tried to incinerate him. Hopping nimbly to the side and thrusting his magical cloak over his head, the cleric was able to withstand the worst of it. It seemed the Zenderholm had been converted to Urgathoa, which couldn't be good for what was left of the church of Abadar.

Seeing that the group seemed to have encountered much stiffer resistance, the priest carefully went through the motions of spellcasting, calling upon Pharasma to grant a powerful boon to aid himself and his companions against these minions of the Queen.

Concentration to cast defensively: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (3) + 23 = 26

Cast Blessing of Fervor

Rigel frowned as he glanced around at the motley crew in his lounge. He shrugged, though...if some of them wanted to go gather the handwriting of the baker Vitruvio, it would likely narrow down the list of possibles. His brow screwing up in confusion at the dragon's words, he had an epiphany that the creature was a carnivore and likely to not get the point of any plant processing. Seemed like it was going to be one of those nights.

"Sure, we can send someone or a couple folks to the baker's business to buy a loaf." Turning to Zandora, Rigel replied, "No, that's why we need to inquire with the coppers to get the names. Probably be an arrest record somewhere."

Kn History: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30
Kn History: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

Zane thought about his studies of the Moonsea region over the years, trying to harness memories about the Dragonspine Mountains. It took several minutes as he packed up his things, but he finally strung together enough lore to be able to talk intelligently.

"There's a tower overlooking the Glacier of Silver Blades. It was built by an elven archmage after Myth Drannor fell. He is long dead, but a wizard's tower seems a likely haunt for a sorceress."

After gathering his thoughts for a moment, he continued, "Also, there's a volcano known as the Fang of Kortassa on the other side of the glacier. This supposedly housed an ancient green dragon's home and hoard until a clan of orcs destroyed him. History speaks of the riches that could still be in that place."

Not finding it relevant, but thinking it would be interesting to pass the time, the priest spoke of the portals in the Dragonspine peaks. See the first Kn History spoiler.

Zane relayed the information Eberhard had imparted to him, wondering if perhaps the group should head back to Phlan, instead. It seemed the situation was under control, though, if tense, so they might as well try to correct one more situation while they were out all this distance.

The cleric grinned at Ser Armithia, chuckling, "Indeed it is. I'm glad to have been finally able to use it. The Morninglord had to have been getting frustrated with me not using His gifts."

Zane wasn't really too eager to find out what might have been shackled outside the ziggurat, really. Chances are it was really dead, or something bad if it wasn't, after being continually immersed in those waters. Pleasing the half-elf woman remained high on his to-do list, though, so he nodded agreement to her vocalized option before the group headed north.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

Glad to have a rest, even though the group hadn't done too much fighting that day, Zane woke before the sun rose as usual and began meditating, feeling Lathander grant him the gifts that the priest had been presented with daily for many years now. He was glad the Morninglord had seen fit to view him as a worthy vessel for increasingly powerful blessings. He just hoped it would be enough for Phlan's sake.

Once he was ready, he began the complex casting of the divine spell to send a message to Councilor Eberhard, saying, "River's pollution source destroyed. Created by madman Yarash working under Jandark Cadorna. Have truce with lizardmen who were enslaved here. Heading north to investigate further." It wasn't perfect, but hopefully it would get the important information to the Council.

Malen had been unsure of the bloodrager's endgame with the conversation with the demon-thing, but he didn't doubt the man's loyalty to the group. If Kalem's deal could avoid a fight, the priest was more than willing to heap lies upon the creature in the hallway to satisfy its lust for dark news.

When Kalem launched his attack on the beast, Malen wasn't terribly surprised, though he suspected the demon was, from the looks of it. Excluding the demon, he called upon Pharasma to wash away the remaining hurts of the group after the magical missiles struck the tiefling.

Channel (heal): 8d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 2, 1, 1, 4, 5, 2) = 21

Thame scowled as the group was treated like a red-headed step-child upon their return to the colony. Was this the thanks he was getting for risking his neck with these others for the sakes of these fools? Utter and complete rubbish!

Thinking about it, it probably would be a good thing if the colonists were a bit suspicious of one another. Hopefully it would encourage them to take precautions that would deter the stalkers from claiming victims from amongst the populace. Although it could very well be stalkers that were playing the blame game, muddying the waters to keep their identity hidden.

Thame offered, after Lolito had given a progress report. "Also, we managed to eradicate a cave full of cannibalistic gillmen and the bug-demon they were worshipping. And we believe we found a dead ally of the stryx on the nearby island. Hopefully giving them the location and the man's belongings will solidify our friendship."

Zane frowned as he heard the lizardwoman tell of the mercenaries taking off with all the gold. The priest lamented the fact that the gold was gone, surely, but more importantly he was upset that those evil men had escaped and would surely visit their brutality upon others in the future.

If we stay overnight, I can prepare Sending and contact Councillor Eberhard in the morning. I'd much rather continue either on to Mirabel or back to Phlan to bask in the glory of our triumph over the Stojanow.

Malen sighed as he settled in for a wait. He'd likely survive another encounter with the barrier...he had done so once already, after all. However, it seemed a ruinous waste of resources.

In the end, the need for haste seemed to outstrip the need for resources. Plus, he had a wand just for such an occasion. Steeling himself, he attempted to cross the barrier.

Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

Force Damage: 13d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 4, 4, 5, 6, 2, 5, 4, 2, 5, 1, 6) = 4924

Hissing after taking a beating, though less so than previously, thank Pharasma, Malen performed the healing he had meant for himself and Azarra, feeling just a little less than perfect after the Lady of Graves' blessing.

The priest was a little distraught when the aasimar started speaking to the assassin, shaking his head when he caught the woman's eye. "Where to now, my friends?

Once their enemies were routed or dominated, Malen calmly waited until the force barrier subsided. After the initial damage he had sustained he had no desire to try his luck at that whirling fury again.

Seeing that most everyone else had been fully recovered by Pharasma's healing, he called upon a couple quick blessings for himself and Zamanda.

Cure Mod on Zamanda: 2d8 + 10 ⇒ (3, 7) + 10 = 20 30
Cure Light (Sanctuary) on Malen: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13 [ooc]19[/dice]

Seeing the huge Mantis assassin being spoken to by Ilsa as a plaything made the priest a little uncomfortable, but he also regarded it as karmic justice. Surely there was balance in this cold-blooded creature turning her blade upon her fellows.

Zane can feed an enormous amount of people if he fills his 3rd and 4th level slots with Create Food & Water. We have any survival experts?

We should definitely cross the river to the north and get on whichever side we need to end up on. It'll be slow going with so many, but also probably less danger, too.

Zane followed the lizardmen to the teleportation pad, eyeing it with distrust. They seemed to be wanting to carry this out, though, and honestly having another ally relatively close to the city couldn't hurt anything. Or at least a truce.

The priest didn't really have time to process the motion before they were standing in another area of the pyramid (hopefully), now in a room full of the lizardfolk. Zane lowered his weapon, wanting to seem as peaceable as possible as they walked towards the seer of the group.

He listened with interest and sadness to the elder's tale, allowing Azarra to speak for the group before offering, "Perhaps I could help with the injuries of your folk, as well, as we meant no harm to your people. The Morninglord is compassionate and will spread His healing to you, if you will allow it."

Shaking off the effects of the light finally (he supposed his companions were more adept at dealing with such things), Malen moved forward and past Kalem, watching him adeptly dodge the attacks of the spiritual weapon of the enemy caster. His allies had taken a beating, but had given back just as well. Now it was time to let the enemy's mistake truly sink in.

The priest held aloft his holy symbol, calling upon Pharasma to grant him the power to divinely wash away the hurts of his friends. He smiled as he felt the warmth flow through him, knowing that the others felt it too, while he kept such healing energy away from the remaining enemies, hoping to be satisfied at the demoralized looks on their faces as their violent ends were washed away as though they hadn't happened.

Channel (Heal): 8d6 ⇒ (6, 1, 3, 4, 3, 3, 5, 6) = 31

Level 6: Wizard

HP +5
Base Attack +1
All Saves +1

Skills:

Appraise
*Linguistics (Draconic)
Spellcraft
Bluff
Kn Arcana
*Kn History
Kn Dungeoneering
Kn Geography
Kn Nature

Spell Slots added:

1 2nd
1 3rd

Spellbook additions:

Invisibility Sphere
Water Breathing

Rigel glanced about, making sure no one way paying any undue notice, then reached down and felt the impression in the Starling's chest, touching the marks in the wound. Regardless of what he found, the self-titled investigator then quickly snatched up the woman's mask, taking a look at her face before swiftly moving away from the corpse.

Before Bashiel took off to check out the openings, Malen called him over. "My friend, those assassins like to cloak themselves and strike from the shadows and under the shield of the arcane. Let Pharasma grant you the ability to see under their disguises." Casting a quick divine blessing, he touched Bashiel and imbued him with a powerful vision that could see through such things.

Cast True Seeing on Bashiel.

Zane heard the councilman's name and groaned, having hoped that the man wasn't THAT corrupt. Upon the clarification that it was Jandark, it made the priest feel better, though not much more so. The cleric was an amiable sort, but he had come to the opinion that Phlan would be better off if the young councilman decided to seek his fortune and power elsewhere.

When Azarra was looking to hand off the journal, Zane accepted it, having spent much of his youth reading of the history of this area of the Moonsea. Skimming through it, he read eagerly, briefly forgetting where they were at.

Kn History: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22

After a few minutes he closed the book, shaking his head. "This Yarash was a madman. He sought to turn these poor lizardmen into sea creatures to go search through an artifact called the Bell in the Depths. The Bell was supposedly once in Northkeep, a stronghold of men on an island in the Moonsea long ago. It is said that it was unassailable, and this created such a rage in the monstrous races that thousands of their priests and shamans gathered on the shores of the Moonsea to bring the wrath of their dark gods against the men of Northkeep. Those fools met a terrible end for disturbing their gods, but the terrible beings also cast Northkeep into the sea, the entire island sinking beneath the surface. The Bell sometimes rings, being heard as far away as Hillsfar."

Finishing his summary, he again shook his head. "Crazy. Let's see if we can find where the poison is originating from. And if we encounter any of the lizardmen we can tell them of what Yarash was doing to their cohorts."

Malen eyed the pit with trepidation as Zamanda's foot went through the fake log. Not as physically gifted as the rest of the group, and loathe to burn a blessing of Pharasma's over a pit, he waited a moment on the other side of the small chasm, thinking. "Can one of you fellows carry me over to the other side, by chance? I fear I am not nearly as nimble as our two lady companions."

If not, then Malen will cast Wind Walk and fly over there and coalesce on the other side.

Rigel rolled his eyes at the tooth fairy's mention of the baker and his possible menace. "I never discount that anyone could do something bad if given enough motive. But when one of the fellows is literally involved in organized crime, I'm thinking an investigation would probably need to start there. My opinion, of course." The young man's stance and tone make it perfectly clear that his opinion was the only one he cared for in this instance.

As Zandora decided to go ahead and possibly search the Starling's backstage area, Rigel nodded. "Makes sense. I'll go have a looksie at the corpse and see if there's anything obvious on it that shouldn't quite go to the morgue yet." Looking over at the minotaur and the halfing, he said, "You two want to keep an eye out for the coppers while I perform our unofficial crime scene once over?"

Regardless of the answer, he got up and stepped around the minotaur before taking a small potion from his belt and quickly quaffing it, becoming transparent and disappearing from view. Once invisible, he quickly moved to the Starling's corpse and looked for any kind of valuables, going so far as to gently rub over the corpse to look for anything concealed on the legs or torso.

Stealth: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (5) + 15 = 20
Perception+Inspiration: 1d20 + 14 + 1d6 ⇒ (14) + 14 + (1) = 29

Kn Local: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30

Do I know a Vitruvio?

Rigel looked down at Zandora's hand idly touching his own, sneaking a glance at the fairy before slightly arching a brow. Relenting, he nodded his assent, thinking it couldn't hurt to include the little man. If they remained friendly, chances are the little creature could get into a lot of small places that the pair of them couldn't.

"Let think a minute if I know the name...and let's not be too hasty. The Starling is dead as can be already, and this is information that might be more profitable to us not in the authorities' hands. I wonder what that ritual was...maybe that could give us some more insight." The young man stared over at the lifeless corpse of the singer for a few moments, clearly in thought.

Unsure of what terrible things the crazed alchemist might be capable of, but knowing that his Rashemi friend couldn't possibly take much more of the gruesome display of the...whatever it was, Zane called upon a healing blessing from the Morninglord, then stepped forward to touch the swordmage and deliver the magical healing to him.

Cure Crit (Air Walk): 4d8 + 8 ⇒ (1, 5, 3, 5) + 8 = 22

Cast, then move to deliver. Taking +2 to AC from BoF

Malen accepted the scrolls gratefully from Keppira, looking them over to make sure he understood their intent. Upon looking at one, he inquired, "Mistress, where will this Word of Recall take us to, should we have need of it?"

Once his question was answered, the priest remained silent and contemplative, thinking of things he could purchase to aid both himself and the group in their task tomorrow.

Purchases made and ready to go.

I'm buying:

Necklace of Adaptation - 9,000 gp
Pearl of Power (4th Level) - 16,000 gp
Wand of Cure Moderate - 4,500 gp

Total spent 29,500 gp

Zane smiled back at Azarra after he and Ser Armithia followed her instructions and turned the valves that shut off the flow of the awful scum that was being dumped into the river. The smile quickly turned into a look of concern as the half-elf stated that the stuff could very well be backing up inside the pyramid, looking down nervously before saying, "Let's continue on this level, then and see if we can find it's source. If it's just going to back up into the heart of this place, it might find its way back to the river eventually."

Malen listened intently at the back and forth, then tried to summarize. "So, try to gain access to the prison by using the derro tunnels. Attempt to free Marcus Endrin and any others that might be deemed politically valuable. Capture or kill the second in command of the Maidens, if she is in her quarters. Take out any others that seem like leadership, and recover any documents we can that could potentially be used against the Queen or her cohorts."

When it seemed that Zamanda was using the information the group had found in the Arkona estate in order to extort the guild master, the priest smiled thinly but otherwise said nothing. Pharasma didn't usually take sides, but Malen personally was always thrilled when the karma wheel worked its magic.

Full aware that he is out of his element in the room with the mechanism, Zane stood near the opening, mace in hand, ready to call out to the others and delay an intruder should something try to come in and stop their observation.

Malen didn't take offense at Bashiel's statement, being nearly as surprised at the paladin that the Pharasmites were the only faith actively working against the Queen. The priest supposed he couldn't question it much, since he was also working against the monarch, but he had always considered himself something of an outlier from the city-going clergy.

The cleric waited patiently as Kroft had her asides with his party members who had personal business to ask about, knowing that their worry was truly genuine and for good reason in these times. If his parents still lived he'd inquire about them, as well. He'd once wondered whether he would see them again in the afterlife, but once he had dedicated himself to the Lady of Graves he had likely written off such a future rendezvous. Still, he hoped they were happy with their after life, saying a quick prayer of thanks to Pharasma for judging their souls to send them on their way.

Once everyone was ready to proceed, Malen walked along with the others to where the guards blocked their path. When silence reined for a moment, the priest spoke up. "Blackjack. Let us pass, my friends."

Malen was glad to see that Korvosa still stood more or less intact as they approached from the sky, having half expected to see it in smoking ruins. He was letting his imagination and dreams have too much leeway with reality. Mentally asking for forgiveness for blasphemy, in case those thing's were Pharasma's visions sent to him, he descended with the others outside the Dead Warrens where they were approached by Kroft.

Having remembered that Zamanda's father was an arbiter (and of the rift between her and the man from their brief interaction years before), the priest listened with sadness and despair to the current state of Korvosa. It seemed the Queen was in full control at this time, ruling by fear those who might otherwise try to escape her yoke. It might be truly up to this small band to remove that knife from the city's throat so it could breathe again.

Malen's jaw clenched as Bashiel asked Cressida if the woman could trust Keppira, but he knew it wasn't personal. With everything going on with the city and the assassins, it was best to be very careful with their plans and trust. Assuming Kroft answered in the affirmative, Malen made ready to enter the Warrens with the newfound password.

Zane nodded to Azarra that he had heard her, but continued to follow Ser Armithia, hoping the gold elf had a plan of some sort. The priest's eyes widened in alarm as the paladin started talking to the lizardman is some strange, hissing language, Zane lowering his weapon to look less threatening as Ser Armithia bowed.