"I've been at this a while, getting caught here was THE low point of my career. I can head back to Yanmass, change up my cover and disguise, and get back to work. I may not be a fighter, but what I do matters."
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It's finely bound because they're aristocrats... "I'm no combatant. I'd be a liability. As for Navin, I'd be guessing - an educated guess, but a guess nonetheless - that he's at the Sanguine Brothers. Have you gone to the Baron's estate?"
Meir looks at the team, "So, next steps?" Clearly he's recovered from his ordeal enough to focus.
The erstwhile agent takes a massively deep breath as he falls to the ground shivering. When he looks up he is terrified, at least until you reassure him. After the pleasantries are made, he takes some time to get caught up. Finally, it's time to find out what he knows, and what he knows is a lot. "I am beyond confident that Earl Merkondus is behind Yanmass’s troubles, and is an active threat to the cause. Unfortunately, he's FAR too well connected. To move against him now would result in the loss of our Lady's more.... mercurial allies. We need evidence and I've got two leads that have the power to bring him down." Now full of hope and returning confidence, Meir continues. "Neither clue is sufficient independently, but both together
"The second is FAR more dangerous, so let's tackle it second - Tallgrasses Tallgrasses is a large caravanserai about 15 miles west
His energy drops a bit at releasing how much work and danger lies ahead, "I cannot thank you enough. We should divide and conquer, but I owe you my life. Here, take this." He hands you a dark blue
One good thing about the church of Abadar, they don't ask questions; the exchange is purely transactional. Lady Aurelia returns on the morning of 25 Gozran with two scrolls of Break Enchantment... Who's first?
The party makes the 9 mile trip back to Yanmass. there's enough day left to rent a wagon. The good news is that it'll only cost you a whopping silver coin. Magic to return your teammate and your mark is a LOT more expensive. the Chief Numerator is alive thanks to you, but Abadar doesn't offer discounts. It'll cost you 900 Gold coins to bring both men back to flesh with divine magic.
Corran knows that there are a few spells. Powerful divine casters can Break Enchantment, which is known to work on transmutative effects. Arcane masters have perfected spells that turn flesh to stone and Stone to Flesh. Both are going to be.... expensive. Aurelia tosses the entire place. There's little that isn't stone, but she had some interesting items on her.
Ianthe rushes forward to bring forth a powerful spell, looking to finish the medusa off once and for all...
...and when the bolt strikes her she fries, dropping into a pile of burned flesh and scale!
Corran again presses in: . She seems steeled to getting out of here safely. ROUND 5:
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DM: Arisphena: 100
Corran again presses in: . She seems steeled to getting out of here safely. ROUND 5:
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DM: Arisphena: 100
Aurelia presses he same spell , but can't make this one stick.
Kenton keeps his flesh as he rushes an attack before bounding away. Ianthe and Aurelia both hurl magic, freeing her from the webs. She emerges from the flames smoking and burnt, but not dead yet! Her vision returns! She's so close to escape! ROUND 5:
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DM: Arisphena: 96
Kenton keeps his flesh as he rushes an attack before bounding away. Ianthe and Aurelia both hurl magic, freeing her from the webs. She emerges from the flames smoking and burnt, but not dead yet! Her vision returns! She's so close to escape! ROUND 5:
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DM: Arisphena: 96
The spell rocks her back. Nearly overwhelmed, there's little hop for her other than a lucky petrification. ROUND 4:
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DM: Arisphena: 75, Webbed
Missile after missile slams into the medusa, but she's a powerful foe and won't go down that easily. With no way to flee she simply has to take it. Instead of attacking she tries to rip herself free of the webbing.
ROUND 4:
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DM: Arisphena: 66, Webbed
The wounds are slight, and she's still got plenty of fight left in her. ROUND 3:
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DM: Arisphena: 55, Webbed
He doesn't need to see the audience to know that he's inspiring his allies with a courageous anthem. Kenton's blade sinks into her again... But at what cost? Blinded, she lashes out at Kenton
ROUND 3:
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DM: Arisphena: 47, Webbed
Aurelia's missiles lightly wound the medusa, who finds herself unable to flee. Her snakes hiss as they try to work their legendary power on each of you. Blinded, she lashes out at Kenton
ROUND 3:
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DM: Arisphena: 32, Webbed
The siblings both use magic to lock down the medusa. She ignores Corran's spell, but is held fast by Ianthe's! ROUND 2:
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DM: Arisphena: 23, Webbed
Kenton just barely connects, but it's enough to draw blood! Ianthe's spell rocks her just a bit. She steps back to cast a spell, vanishing from sight.... except you can still see the outline as she retreats. ROUND 2:
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DM: Arisphena: 23
Ianthe's spell rocks her just a bit. She steps back to cast a spell, vanishing from sight.... except you can still see the outline as she retreats. ROUND 2:
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DM: Arisphena: 12
Magically inspired, Kenton thrusts his rapier into the medusa!
corran gives Kenton a boost while Aurelia tries to blind the gorgon: Not expecting the tables to turn she ineffectively turns her head and raises her blades to defend herself! ROUND 1:
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DM: Arisphena: 12
corran gives Kenton a boost while Aurelia tries to blind the gorgon: Not expecting the tables to turn she ineffectively turns her head and raises her blades to defend herself! ROUND 1:
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DM:
Xavien's voiced is silenced. Everyone turns to see the latest statue in the room, your skald! Kenton boldly continues to look at his target, though his blade work doesn't get through her defenses. ROUND 1:
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DM:
Kenton takes
In the opening moments of the fight, each agent resists the gorgon's power. With a snarl her snakes writhe and snap. She also snarls, lashing out with a hidden, poison-smeared, dagger:
ROUND 1:
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DM:
she looks up at Kenton with big eyes, reflecting the dim light of the interior. When Kenton looks at them he sees that the pupils are elongated, slits really. She smiles. "I think you'll make an excellent statue." A magical glamor melts away leaving a woman with hair of writhing serpents.
INITIATIVE:
ROUND 1:
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DM:
DM:
While naturally suspicious, Xavien doesn't pick up on any specific hunches. Kenton places his waistcoat on the girl. She gives a gentle smile, "Food?"
"My name is Aresphana. Thank you. Thank you. Please. Might one of you have food? I haven't eaten in days."
The party collectively picks up that all is not as it seems. While seemingly random, the statues are anything but. They are set up to mimic a famous scene - the climax of Ailson Kindler’s The Broken House of Kriegmoor, in which a wedding meant to settle a feud instead becomes a tragic scene of death. The participants here are all soldiers (actually, they're dressed as Taldan cavalry to be precise) and vagabonds, rather than the aristocrats represented in the novel though... It's missing a few key players though: a brother and sister as well as a priest.... All but Kenton catch the real horror though. One of the statues is a perfect likeness of Sir Meir Dratavis, the missing agent. Before conversation can ensue a meek voice calls out, "Please! I mean you no harm. Please! Don't turn me to stone! I didn't mean to come in here I just needed shelter!" Xavien and Corran both point to the northwest corner as the source. Sure enough a girl of maybe 14, dressed in rags stands there with her hands up.
DM: Within the tumbled walls of the manor, an open space measuring roughly fifty feet square lies choked with stone and timber debris. A mostly ruined roof still clings to the corners, providing a bit of shelter over a wooden staircase in the northwest corner. Among the debris, a dozen statues depict a gruesome tableau of staged death. In the center of the courtyard, two statues have fallen in a duel, amid a frozen circle of distraught onlookers dressed in improvised finery. On the staircase, statues fall over each other in apparent attitudes of grief. At the base of the staircase stand two statues in long, makeshift wedding coats. Most of the statues are half painted, with vivid red paint representing bloody wounds.
Xavien: Xavien doesn't detect any magic, so he advances with a quick spell on the final approach. It's hard to see inside, as it's dark from being boarded up. The entry is the most intact portion of the ruined manor. Two weathered cedar doors lie fallen beneath the heaps of stone filling the chamber above the entry, providing a clear but shadowed passage to the manor’s interior. On the other side of the passage, a lifelike statue of a human soldier stands with its arms extended and a welcoming smile on its face.
Orvestikar Manor was originally constructed of stone and wood, but the manor is almost completely destroyed. The manor’s impressive entry alone remains intact. The former walls are mere mounds of stone 15 feet high. A life-sized statue of a rearing elephant, complete with caparison and saddle, stands in the middle of an overgrown trail near the manor.
Wrapping up the day, the party resolves to finally check out Orvestikar Manor in the morning. The morning of Gozran 24 is drizzly, but warm. Constructed by a wealthy Taldan aristocrat who fell upon hard times in his dotage, Orvestikar Manor is situated at the edge of the Whistling Plains, 9 miles northeast of Yanmass. The manor was sold, but the buyer was killed in a duel and the property fell into legal limbo. It was untended for years and, after a series of particularly fierce winters, its roof and upper stories collapsed. The site has been abandoned for more than 200 years and serves only as a temporary camp for travelers or an occasional storehouse for smugglers. Orvestikar Manor has a reputation for ill luck among the people of Yanmass, who have shunned the site for generations. This manor of stone and wood has collapsed into little more than rubble. The walls are mounds of stones fifteen feet high, while former towers are nothing more than slightly taller ruins. The only portion of the manor that appears intact—and the only readily identifiable passageway to its interior—is a wide gate on its southern side....
Other than token manners of idioms and idols, there is no sign of Aroden worship in town...
Xavien still comes up with nothing...
Corran, frustrated at how quickly the party struck out, steps outside into the sun and takes a deep breath. No one, even the erudite Xavien knows a thing about Xan. It appears that progress is narrowing.
Xavien sees that most of their behavior, words, even attire is based on the worship of Aroden. Only Aurelia seems to make any headway, and all she gets are friendly (too friendly) invitations to next week's services. Corran pokes around, but finds little else of note. If these people are a dangerous cult, it certainly doesn't show.... The frustration of flailing in your investigation to find the missing agent begins to take it's toll. Momentum begins to fade. Evil divs wrecking dreams, a supposedly dangerous cult that appears benign, rumors of a reborn monarch, and a political rival in town is just seems to get in your way.... The only clear lead left is Orvestikar Manor. It's supposedly the home base for the increased bandits. If Desna smiles you'll either find your agent, or bring law to the land...
The only hunch that Xavien picks up is the nearly sickly sweet welcome. They truly believe that somewhere out there the long-dead Prince Carrius of Taldor, whose nobility and compassion for the Taldan people allowed him to resurrect himself during Taldor’s greatest hour of need." No one seems to know where to find him, but they definitely believe it to be true.
Forewarned, the party approaches the bower. The circular building is 120 feet in diameter, 40 feet tall, and topped with a domed roof painted sky-blue with wispy white clouds. Other than occasional ornamental stonework, such as cornerstones and other accents, the Encircling Bower’s walls are made of crumbling brick. The theater’s small stage entrance is blocked with stone on the inside, and its other two entrances are 15 feet wide. The entrances lead to aisles that bisect sweeping arcs of benches around the nearly circular stage. The auditorium is paved with well-worn brick, but most of the upper floor is made of wood. The theater’s lower level is 15 feet high throughout, carved from stone, and floored with large, durable ceramic tiles. There is little organized activity at the moment.
"I think, perhaps, there is little for me to learn. My purpose here is simply to make sure you stay on target, and this cult is most definitely the target." With a snap of his fingers, he vanishes.
"I do not see the badge of Martella Lotheed upon your garb. Nor did the citizens of Meritt know that you planned to topple Bartleby from the start. I'd say we each have our secrets. I simply bid you beware before you enter."
The masked man gives a bow once you're out of the street. "We finally meet. I am Xan. Our interests align. Know that you are headed to the belly of the beast. The cult is far more than it seems. Your petty politics are but a momentary concern. Just know that the Risen Prince is an abomination. If you know what is wise.... you'll cleanse it from this world."
Xavien actually has no hunches, though it is a bit odd for masked men to beckon heavily armed people into an alley. DM:
On your way, you are approached by a strange man. He's tall, Taldan, and keeps to the shadows. He leans out of an ally long enough to see that he's wearing a leather mask that makes his face look like a bird, and that he's beckoning you into the ally. The Bower is right around the corner...
Lady Aurelia recalls what Xavien does not, The Encircling Bower is a defunct theater downtown. It's not far.
the interrogation continues. In the end it doesn't seem like he's got much. It leaves the party a bit stymied. Retreating to a more normal restaurant, they consider their best leads. There's a missing agent, and that's a problem. There's a div targeting loyalists, and that's a problem too. There are also whispers of a cult, perhaps the most worrisome, at least in the briefing a cult that believes the prince to be reborn.... You could check out The Bower to follow up on the Cult. That seems like a solid option. The other most likely avenue is Orvestikar Manor, though who knows what you'll find there...
There doesn't seem to be anything else to find. "Simple, I noticed a few of the names from just being local, and it was enough to make me cross reference. they target Loyalists exclusively."
Corran: A sensual pairing of seduction and destruction, pairakas embody the corruptive nature of unbridled lust. Pairakas spend little time in their true form while on the Material Plane, choosing to cloak themselves instead in alluring forms to seduce potential victims, ruin relationships, and foment obsession. In its true form, a pairaka’s body is a foul landscape of blazing rashes, oozing pustules, and taut blisters suggestive of the corruptions it harbors, bodily and spiritually. Pairakas pride themselves on perversion. They love nothing more than turning lovers against one another or destroying the bonds of friendship. Pairakas feed off this slow torment and savor each broken heart or disappointment. They use lust and sexuality as their primary tools, wielding taboos and carnal appetites to sever once-friendly relationships. Pairakas also use their seduction to spread disease, charming victims into physical contact. Just as all other divs suffer a weakness, pairakas cannot stand the color red. They never wear the color or enter a place that is painted red, and they always attack creatures that are garbed in clothes of a crimson hue first.
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