Sabinus's page

Sabinus has a small bat named Tycho as a familiar. Sabinus carries him around in a little wooden (unlocked) cage that hangs covered at his side, appearing like a hooded lantern. Sabninus compulsively touches the hooded cage and occasionally peeks inside to check on Tycho.
- STR 1 (-5), DEX 15 (+2), CON 6 (-2), INT 7 (-2), WIS 14
(+2), CHA 5 (-3); Fortitude +0, Reflex +4, Will +5
HP: 4/4; Init: +2; Speed: 5 feet
Attack Bonus: +5; Armor Class: 18 / 16Tch / 16Fl
Acrobatics +6, Climb +7, Fly +16, Heal +3, Intimidate -2,
Perception +12, Spellcraft +1, Stealth +20, Use Magic
Device +0
- Special: Blindsense (20 feet) (Ex), Flight (40 feet, Good), Improved Evasion (Ex), Low-Light VisionFamiliar (Bat):
- confers +3 to Fly checks
- Deliver Touch Spells Through Familiar (Su)
- Empathic Link with Familiar (Su)
- Share Spells with Familiar
- FAMILIAR's SPELLS:
Witch 1: Cure Light Wounds, Mage Armor, charm person, remove sickness, enlarge person, reduce person
Witch 2: Hold Person (DC 16), Cure Moderate Wounds, lesser restoration, blindness/deafness
Witch 3: Dispel Magic, howling agony

Sabinus Teros was born in Egorian. House Teros is an old noble family of middle standing, presently experiencing economic and political difficulty due to (accurate) perceptions of weak loyalty to House Thrune. Sabinus' parents have maintained a middle class existence working as merchants.

Sabinus was a solitary child, and often bullied. He found solace in exploring the dark corners of Egorian, especially shops specializing in oddities or occult knowledge. Due to Sabinus' obvious high intelligence and intense curiosity about magic, his parents made plans for him to study to become a wizard. They could not afford to send him to Korvosa or Absalom, and politically they couldn't place him with a tutor in Egorian, so they sent him to be tutored by an elderly wizard in Westcrown.

The wizard, Galenos, was kindly but suffering from the onset of dementia. Sabinus' lessons were mostly taught by Galenos' daugher, Galene, also a wizard. Sabinus and Galene became friends, but Sabinus didn't have the patience for the hard work involved in the wizardly approach to magic. He spent little time on his official studies, but did spend lots of time wandering Westcrown looking to satisfy his curiosity about more mysterious approaches to the arcane arts. His explorations eventually led him to an inconspicuous apothecary run by a Taldoran named Myron. Sabinus noticed subtle signs that Myron carried ingredients useful in witchcraft and, through annoying persistence, he eventually got infomation from Myron about the existence of a secret coven in Westcrown.

In time, Sabinus gained access to the all night ceremonies conducted by the coven, led by a Garundi witch named Aapep. There, he learned the rudiments of witchcraft, starting with the healing magics which were the specialty of his mentor. She was a Chelaxian gnome witch named Ersa, and she hoped to influence him in the direction of healing magics to temper his less altruistic urges. In time he joined the coven as a witch himself, and developed his powers in other directions as well.

Several months ago, one of the coven's ceremonies was raided by the Dottari. Most of the witches escaped, but since that night Sabinus has had no contact with any of them. As far as Sabinus knows, the others who escaped have left Westcrown. Sabinus has been investigating who was responsible for tipping off the authorities to the ceremony. He has gotten information that elements in the criminal underground were involved, and seeking revenge has given him an outlet to further practice his witchcraft.

Sabinus is a scrawny young man with dark eyes and prematurely grey hair. He wears a simple dark grey cloak, although fetishes (feathers, bones, etc.) can be seen peeking out and jingling underneath. The only other thing particularly unusual about his appearance are his long fingernails. He can sometimes be seen with a small dark grey bat on his shoulder.

Sabinus is odd and unsociable. He seems nervous even when he is not, he speaks too quickly, and his eyes dart around in close conversation. It is difficult to keep his attention. Sabinus is consumed by the desire for knowledge of the mysterious art of witchcraft, in particular the learning of new hexes. He values personal freedom and is highly resistant to authority. He is intrigued by the secrets of Westcrown and views probing its underbelly as a good way not only to get revenge but to practice and improve his craft. Although he is no crusader for good, he bristles against the rigid order of House Thrune and, also, he believes the criminals and beasts that make it unsafe for people to wander Westcrown at night are severely restricting personal freedom. Thus, although he doesn't think in terms of good and evil, his focus on personal freedom often leads him to align with the forces of good. And joining his cause with others has the added benefit of offering a degree of physical protection while he works his witchcraft.

(1) If it looks like a serious combat and he doesn't yet have mage armor up, Sabinus will do that. He'll enter combat with his sickle in one hand and wand of cure light wounds in the other.
(2) He'll get within 30 feet while staying out of melee range and use the misfortune hex on the toughest looking opponent.
(3) If the hex worked, he'll cackle as a move action to continue the misfortune and use the slumber hex on the target.
(4) He'll move into an advantageous position and repeat steps #2 & #3 on next toughest opponent. And continue repeating on new targets as appropriate.
(5) To the extent his misfortune and slumber hexes expire or he loses targets for them, he'll use evil eye on foes in melee (-2 to AC or -2 to attack if party prefers). He'll try to cackle to maintain the evil eye, but if that isn't possible he'll use evil eye repeatedly on the most dangerous foes (since it doesn't have the once per target limit, although it does need to target a different ability).
(6) If allies or himself need healing, he'll use a move action to cackle to keep misfortune up and use the healing hex (or wand of cure light wounds if he already used the hex) on any wounded allies.
(7) He'll heal himself with the wand as necessary.
(8) He avoids melee combat and will attempt to disengage if so engaged.
(9) He'll retreat if his death or the defeat of the party are imminent.

None used today.

"Aberian’s Folly consists of three distinct regions—the manor itself, the dungeons below (the Nessian Spiral—a place even I would hesitate to try to enter), and the manor vaults named the Asmodean Knot. The entrance to the Nessian Spiral is beyond a well protected door just east of the dinner table, while the entrance to the Asmodean Knot is hidden elsewhere. If you happen to stumble upon it, I’ll pay you 2,000 gp for its location!"

"Too bad the Mayors diseased son couldn't join us." She looks around quickly to make sure the Mayor is far distant, and goes on, snorting an odd laugh, "It's really too bad about the lad, quite ugly and breaks out in burns at the slightest glint of sunlight. That's why he's always trapped in the attic, don't you know. Why just last summer, we tried to explore the manor attic to see the mayors secret harem, and the Mayor promptly ended the gala and ejected over a dozen of us! Can you believe the nerve!? I suppose he was just too ashamed of his poor son to let us wander around up there. I mean what else could possibly have caused him to react so? It seems very clear to me."

Rasdovain: "I do love a good mystery, in fact I've had one troubling me recently, that perhaps someone with your good taste would have an opinion about?" She admits to you that she’s particularly concerned about one of the newer hires—a servant by the name of Sian who’s been missing for 2 days now along with a relatively valuable bust of Asmodeus. Crosael worries that Sian has stolen the bust and fled into the city to pawn it. "I just get sick thinking about it. Terrible isn't it?"

When conversing with the Mayor later in the evening, he does let slip something interesting about his home. For the past few days, he’s been growing increasingly frustrated with “phantoms and gremlins,” by which he means an increase in minor glitches and troubles with the lights, the fireplaces, the hot water, and other magical enhancements in effect on his house. He suspects that some sort of magical pest or mischievous spirit has gotten into the works—nothing to worry about, but he’s afraid it’ll set him back a fair amount to have it fixed later in the week.

When conversing with Oberigo, Sabinus's charm and the man's obvious indulges in the free-flowing drinks loosens his tongue. "The Asmodean Knot, unlike the rest of the manor and the Nessian Spiral, is said to be contained wholly in a... *hic* pocket dimension accessed from a special mirror hidden somewhere in the house. Isn't that amazing!?" he titters. "Also, he says, "the guardians of the Asmodean Knot—and you can be sure there are guardians—are likely to be a mix of devils and shadowy undead, if rumors hold true. Now, whether or not this bespeaks a link between the Asmodean Knot and the shadow beasts that prowl Westcrown at night, as some suggest... I truly *hic* cannot say."

"Supposedly, there is a pit fiend is imprisoned deep under Aberian’s Folly, a gift years ago from the House of Thrune and the source of the manor’s extravagances, such as its hot water and self-lighting fireplaces. Chances of the pit fiend escaping its imprisonment," says Vourne, "are remote—Andoran is more likely to reclaim Cheliax’s respect than that devil is to find its way out of its Thrune-built cage. What do you think of that nonsense?!"

Ailyn steps forward and Janiven moves out of the way to take a seat near Arael. Smiling conspiratorially she begins, "Thank you for having me. I've heard some of your exploits and tip my hat to all the good you've accomplished so far. The Pathfinders used to have a lodge here in Westcrown, decades ago, and shortly after the lodge was sealed, the shadow beasts came to terrorize the streets of Westcrown. I believe there's a connection with those two events. I believe I have discovered proof while researching Delvehaven, the pathfinder lodge in question, in the libraries of Skyreach at the Great Lodge in Absalom."

She goes on to explain that, as much as she would want to explore Delvehaven, she cannot—she’s not officially here on Pathfinder business, and if the society were to find out that she had taken the exploration of Delvehaven into her own hands, she would be in a lot of trouble. Yet if, perchance, another group not directly affiliated with the Pathfinders were to enter the old ruin—say, a group of heroes eager to combat the shadow beast legacy—Ailyn would be able to make a formal request to have Delvehaven investigated again. Unfortunately, one cannot just simply walk into Delvehaven. While the House of Thrune no longer actively guards the site, they transferred that responsibility to Westcrown’s mayoral office. Worse, the fact that the House of Thrune has been engaged in an act of rewriting history (either by destroying existing documents or changing them to suit Thrune’s preferences) means that reliable information about Delvehaven has become incredibly scarce. Ailyn knows that there are several powerful magical locks and wards on the lodge placed there by the House of Thrune to prevent entry, and her research has shown her that keys to the locks and documentation relating to those wards exists in only one place—Aberian’s Folly. Further, the House of Thrune’s devotion to order and tradition all but ensures that these keys and documents are kept in a complex, twelve-sided puzzle-box container known as a Chelish Crux, and that if it has been secured anywhere in Aberian’s Folly, it is likely to lie within the manor’s vault—a place known as the Asmodean Knot. Unfortunately, her research in the significantly sized libraries at the Grand Lodge in Absalom hit a dead end after that, and so she has come to Westcrown to continue her investigations.

Arael steps along Ailyn, "The banishing of the shadow beasts from the
city’s nights would be one of the greatest accomplishments the Children of Westcrown could do to earn the love and support of the city. If a method to achieve this goal, or even just clues that might point to such a method, are hidden in Delvehaven, an expedition to the old Pathfinder Lodge is very tempting indeed." He gives you each a significant look, "Who better to mount such an expedition than the you, the heroes who, with the defeat of the Bastards of Erebus, are already well on their way to becoming the city’s saviors?

Janiven joins the other two, "While the urge to simply walk over to Delvehaven (the sealed lodge) and start poking around and exploring might be tempting, such a plan is foolhardy. Not only are the wards and guardians left by Thrune likely potent and deadly, but without doing the proper research on those protections, it’s very likely that a blind exploration of the site would trigger one of many alarms that would alert the Chelish government, resulting in a swift reprisal that neither we nor the Pathfinders can appreciate or deal with."

A better plan, and the plan Arael, Janiven, and Ailyn put to the group, is to find a way to infiltrate Aberian’s Folly and secure access to the Chelish Crux and thus the keys and documents hidden within. With these, an investigation of Delvehaven can be made with greater safety and efficiency. Ailyn says, " I admit that the Pathfinders have long been curious about the exact details of the House of Thrune’s interest in the lodge (as well as the nature of the wards they placed on it), and if the Torchbearers can secure the contents of the Chelish Crux, the Society will pay handsomely for the service." As for how the Torchbearers can infiltrate the home of one of Westcrown’s most powerful government officials and have a good excuse to spend a fair amount of time searching it, Janiven has come up with a bold, unorthodox, and brilliant plan. She shoots Lucon a guilty look, "All you have to do is become actors!"

Janiven rolls up her sleeves and launches into an explanation of what she calls, The Infiltration Plan.

Mayor Arvanxi is a lover of the theater, and in particular, the Theater Mortrescci—plays where not only the cast’s reputations, but their very lives, are on the line during each performance. A cross between a play and a bloodsport, the Theater Mortrescci—more vulgarly referred to as the “murderplay”—has become one of Cheliax’s fastest-growing forms of entertainment. Mayor Arvanxi’s favorite play in this genre is a notorious work known as The Six Trials of Larazod, and as luck would have it, a prominent director is preparing to cast and direct this play with aims to perform the full and uncut version for the first time in years as part of the celebration of the newly reconstructed Nightshade Theater in Westcrown’s Parego Regicon—the central island where the city’s nobility and the traditional seat of government are located. If tradition holds true, and if the performance of the play pleases the mayor, he’ll invite the cast and crew to his home for a banquet and party—a gala event that would give undercover agents of the Children of Westcrown a singularly perfect opportunity to explore the manor.

Janiven runs down the attractions of this plan, ticking each one off on a finger as she goes:

- As guests invited to the mayor’s home, the heroes-asactors don’t need to worry about hiding from his guards or sneaking into the house.
- Mayor Arvanxi’s obsession with and respect for the theatrical world would grant the heroes-as-actors a huge advantage in squeezing information from him.
- The mayor’s parties have a well-known reputation for running long—sometimes over the course of days—so the PCs should have an excuse to remain in his home for more than enough time necessary to get the job done.
- The mayor will doubtless require the PCs to come in full costume from their performance, and since they’ll be playing adventurers and the like in the play, that essentially means they’ll be able to walk right in to his manor fully armed and armored, no questions asked.
- The mayor and his staff celebrate hard—it shouldn’t be long before he and the majority of his guards are so drunk and distracted that they’ll be in no condition to ask questions if the PCs slip away for several hours to look around.

Handy Haversack. Scroll of chill touch. Scroll of vampiric touch. Scroll of false life. Scroll of command undead and ray of exhaustion.