"No! I just learned about them. I've had NO contact. AT ALL! NONE!"
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"Look, I'm just a wizard who had to choose between life in a tower reading, or making a quick gold. Once the nightmares started hitting people in the city, I started researching. I studied creatures that use enchantment effects, and I figured out that all the nightmares and dreams people have been having, the strange visions, and weird compulsions. It's all the same. It's the work of a type of outsider called a pairaka div. I figured that the floodgates of opportunity were open, so when my research lead me to the skill of wand making, I just made a wand of charming." He seem oblivious to his wrongdoings, and oblivious to the fact that he dropped information of import.
Kenton switches to take the back and gets Argentus into a solid bearhug! The man can't help but watch as the party destroys his precious ice golem! The man loudly, and pitifully, surrenders! "OKAY OKAY! I'm sorry!"
"Come on! Why did you mess up the good thing I had?"
Corran punches the grabbed man clean in the nose! He's tougher than he looks, but without magic, he's likely not a threat so long as Kenton doesn't let go... The man tries to break free: , but it's clear he'd have to get really lucky to escape. He then sticks his tongue out at Kenton in puerile defiance. He orders the golem to attack Kenton. It obeys despite the danger: for and ROUND 2:
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Ianthe's arrow immediately begins melting part of the ice golem! ROUND 2:
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"GAH!!!! UNHAND ME YOU MEATY LOUT!" Kenton gets a SOLID hold on the man. ROUND 2:
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Kenton moves effortlessly. This man is not used to melee. ROUND 1:
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Xavien starts a powerful song. From under the tables, the patrons comment on how amazing this place is to have live music with a show! Aurelia takes the brunt of the attack and then brings out a pair of elemental birds of her own! One even hits! Unfortunately, it doesn't hit hard enough to damage the thing. ROUND 1:
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Corran pulls back emptyhanded, but knows that he isn't kidding, that really was a command for a golem. this guy's no joke. Ianthe wants to make this quick, so she hastens the party. Argentus tries to maintain his defense while casting a spell: , but loses the spell! Unfortunately, the golem activates. The eagle shaped ice sculpture animates to close in and protect him! The statue flaps its wings and then unleashes a cone of cold over half the party! Thankfully the patrons are under the table, "Oh, chilled soup? This is incredible!" ROUND 1:
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Though not adept at hand to hand, Argentus does pull away from Corran. "Golem! Protect me!" ROUND 1:
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DM:
Clearly the man has a secret that he wants kept. Government or magician intrusion - it's all the same. This man's secret is worth violence. The patrons immediately duck under the tables, but they make sure to bring their meals with them. INITIATIVE:
ROUND 1:
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DM:
While Xavien doesn't see anything secret within the restaurant, he does see Agentus, the waiter-owner reaching to a spellpouch...
The kitchen has two men cooking, nothing more, nothing less, though they don't seem to be very skilled.
Corran: Each nad every customer is clearly charmed, most likely to think the food is utterly fantastic. You also spot a wand in the sleeve of the waiter/owner.
"Without a reservation?" He looks around. "Only if you promise a big tip for your server."
Approaching dinner time, the party heads over to Savories. This restaurant is tiny, with only four padded booths for diners. The wood of the structure is dark and embellished with gold leaf. An alcove to the southeast contains the restaurant’s main entrance, while a similar alcove to the northeast contains a massive, graceful ice sculpture of an eagle in flight. There are currently five patrons in Savories: an elderly couple and a trio of very well-dressed men in their early 20s. They look like they could be brothers. An oily-haired but impeccably dressed man serves as host and server. Any skill you can justfy about knowing food DC 17:
The food looks fine, but nothing special. Perception DC 15:
You also hear two cooks in the back. Sense Motive DC 25:
Neither of you recognize the name. Grammell then stops and continues, "Take my advice, and drop going after an earl. We'll stay out of your way, you don't get in ours. Deal?"
"Look we aren't professional investigators. We do what we can. Don't press us any further here. You're pouring drinks, so we'll give you one snippet. Like you, Earl Merkondus is a guest of the Mercantile Council, and he has brought us in as special agents to help Yanmass in its troubled time.... It's best if you leave him alone - you don't have the means to take on a man like the Earl. He'll be just fine in the Gilded Bal-" The bard woman cuts him off. The conversation grinds to a halt.
"Cute." is the only response to Xavien's move. "Fine." Grammell returns to do the talking, "Look, we were hired because supposedly there's a cult claiming that the Prince has been reborn. We also got word that some knight or other went missing. We've found nothing in our investigations thus far. Seems like it's a lot of spycraft, propaganda, and nobles playing the commonfolk like chess pieces." Xavien (and anyone else beating a SM DC 18: The man is picking his words carefully, but you don't sense any deception.
"Conversation about what exactly?" This comes not from the ostensible leader, Grammell Taychar, but from the tall severe woman who goes by Embla Hightune.
Before a fist is thrown, the lure of combat hasn't yet taken their minds. They're... open to it. Two of the three simply.... stare at Corran. There's a dull-witted giggle out of one of them, hard to tell which. The leader immediately snarls, "ENOUGH! No games. What're you here for?"
At the use of magic, the leader snaps, "Don't escalate, remember the job!" The bartender then chimes in, "NO OFFENSIVE SPELLS OR I'LL CALL THE GUARDS!" ROUND 1:
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DM:
The nearest lap is the dirty warpriest of Gorum. He IMMEDIATELY shoves Ianthe off his lap calling her all manner of slurs, "Don't think your wiles spares you from the back of my hand!" The other patrons clearly can tell when there's a brawl breaking out as they dash to the other side, making sure to fetch their drinks for the entertainment, and their coin purses for the betting...
ROUND 1:
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Kenton:
Whilst telling jokes, Corran overhears “Have you seen the weirdo in the red bird mask? I have! Yesterday at sundown he was crouched at the top of a building over by that old theater, watching the street. Creepy fellow, but I guess if he was gonna do more that mope about, he’d have done it by now. I hope.” Unfortunately, they're out the door before he can breakaway to follow up.
"Right, you didn't ask me anything about how they work only for Merkondus. I didn't tell you that I think they're just here for an easy paycheck - they're no partisans, except the cleric who gets in a fight almost every night. And you didn't ask me if I was looking right at the five of them. Nope." He puts a nice bottle on the table, "Yours if I don't have to call the guards."
Kenton doesn't get much of a reaction from the bartender when asking about Dratavis. When he mentions the Bravos though, the bartender winces. Sense Motive DC12:
His eyes flash towards a table in the corner. There you see a stern Taldan ex-soldier-looking-type, a grimy woman wearing the trappings of Gorum, a rather typical looking bard (though she must be at least 6' 2"), and a pair of twins who look like they've seen a fight or four. With a swallow, the bartender promises, "No blood or I'll call the guard. They pay their tab like any others."
The party has no trouble finding the inn.
Xavien doesn't get any real leads on aasimar specifically. They're rare enough, but there are still a couple dozen or so. No one has seen anyone of Dratavis's description though You do manage to get a bead on Merkondus's hired help. The Kozan Bravos are led by a stern Taldan ex-soldier named Lieutenant Grammell Taychar. they are known to send the back half of the day at the Whistling Wyvern.
With a nod the Enumerator begins the process of cleaning up the room (and recalling the acolytes to help.) The Grand Uncle ends up being a dead-end beyond a single scrap of information. It's the kind of place where a lot of people go to give and take anonymous jobs of less than legal bearing. After asking - and it takes some silver-tongued icebreakers - you get only that, "There's been a lot more activity with the so called 'Twilight Child', seems like they're making a name for themselves in the cult business if you know what I mean..." But follow up beyond that is nil.
The Chief Enumerator winces a bit at Xavien's somewhat crass description of the circumstances around the woman's death, "she was a local ....feature. The woman had some outlandish ideas about a great many things. Mayhaps they weren't all fantastical..." Palliettor is at a loss to explain the ram. ------------------------ the chief Enumerator spares no church expense on interrogating the fallen. Once complete, he offers this report, "The rogues explained that they received their contract from a figure in one of their usual haunts (a seedy tavern called the Grand Uncle). Their employer was cloaked and hooded, but the rogues realized that he was an aasimar, not a human. Further, they spotted their employer attempting to conceal a strange round cap with an attached veil. That's all I could get out of their spirits."
"I have made my own investigations into the Cult of the Twilight Child, as I have become concerned that the cult is tarnishing my faith’s good name. I can confirm that the Cult of the Twilight Child has nothing to do with Abadar’s faith. Further, I'm now become worried that the cult’s objectives are more ominous than they appear on the surface. I have a strong feeling that these assassins are related. I don't have much now, but I can pass on any information that I have now." He looks at the corpses, "Should we ask them?"
"Tell me what you know about the Cult of the Twilight Child"
Before long, Xavien shrinks to normal size.
Corran knows not the name, but he knows the artistry. There's a goldsmith who lends his hand to both arms and armor. His name is something like Oster Cullin. He's a young man of Chelish ancestry, but lives in Oppara. That likely means the weapon is untested, but undoubtedly of masterwork quality.
Aurelia's pack gets to work. In the chaos only a single bite and trip connects, but the assassin is clearly not long for this world.
Without missing a single beat, the Chief Enumerator stabilizes the final assassin. "If you need to question him of course... I thank you for your aid, and I apologize for the mess in my house. Please, whatever they have is yours. Additionally, I have a personal gift fort your efforts." He grabs a heavy crossbow off the wall. It has a heavy wooden stock decorated with ornate golden filigree. "It's known as the Scofflaw Hunter"
When in doubt, go with the sure thing. Ianthe, looking a little different than normal, launches a trio of magical missiles into the remaining assassin. the chief enumerator casts a spell that massively and literally increases Xaavien's presence in the cathedral. ROUND 2:
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DM:
Kenton makes two quick hits, with one nearly hitting the heart. The second hit draws too much blood for the man to stay in the fight. The erstwhile assassin collapses! ROUND 2:
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DM:
Xavien moves to defend his charge and delivers a telling blow in the process! Without breaking Corran's heart.... the assassin freezes in place! The free assassin ignores the foes around him and stabs at the Chief Enumerator:
The paralyzed one breaks free after losing precious seconds. ROUND 2:
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DM:
Without breaking Corran's heart.... the assassin freezes in place! The free assassin ignores the foes around him and stabs at the Chief Enumerator:
The paralyzed one breaks free after losing precious seconds. ROUND 2:
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DM:
Aurelia piles on the numbers, looking to thwart and overwhelm the assassins. While the wolves fail to wound them, they do make it harder to get to the would-be target. ROUND 1:
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DM:
Xavien starts a song to make everyone see red while Kenton channels it into a solid strike. Ianthe launches a trio of missiles at the other assassin. The Chief Enumerator offers up a Prayer to Abadar. It's not a plead, but an invocation of divine power! ROUND 1:
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DM:
Abrun hears the music, but doesn't let it inside him. It's not his style.
DM:
Before your very eyes a pair of assassins in black leather armor shift into view, their invisibility collapsing under their attack. CLANG! The enumerator has plate under his robes!
"ASSASSINS!" he shouts through a clenched jaw. INITIATIVE:
ROUND 1:
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DM:
"You dodge my question, so I'll speak plainly. Who should rule Taldor?"
"But unite behind whom sir?"
The party heads to Yanmass’s temple of Abadarto follow up with the Mercantile Council member who serves as the temple’s high priest, Chief Enumerator Abrun Palliettor. Although located in the low valley between Yanmass’s two hills, the soaring roofs of the city’s temple of Abadar tower over all others in the city. Designed by a renowned Taldan architect in an airy, elegant style, the temple took nearly a generation to build and almost emptied an entire quarry in the Fog Peaks of its rare, gold-hued stone. Acolytes ring the key-shaped chimes in the temple’s tallest towers to signify holy celebrations, and the temple’s canny high priest, Chief Enumerator Abrun Palliettor, is a popular figure and member of the city’s influential Mercantile Council. You arrive just as he is dismissing the trio of acolytes. He brings you into the main room. "Tell me outsiders. What do you think of Yanmass thus far? And be honest, we are in Abadar's house."
"Can't say that I have...." He seems very much not interested in conversing. |