Shalazat nods as the Taldane walks off. "He served is country like you did yours." Then she turns to the damaged but resilient and well-trained group of Shadows. "Now, are you ready for your next task?"
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Shalazat turns to you and bows slightly. "Well done, Shadows. And Taldane friend. You've stopped the Drow threat, for a while. Perhaps we can maintain peace along our border."
Shalazat scrambles rapidly up the rope and pulls Zaza up.
Shalazat does not bother to state the obvious but begins running back the way you came.
Your handler sees you dragging Amari back and shakes her head slightly in sadness. Once she confirms that you killed the drow, she nods. "Good. He won't report to others then. We will likely have time undisturbed so that we can wait for Zatinya to rouse." You wait for an hour but no Drow interrupt. Slowly, Zaza comes to.
Shalazat steps back and sheathes her daggers, holding up empty hands non-threateningly. DC 14 perception: While sheathing her daggers, she made a few subtle hand gestures that you can interpret easily in your Shadows sign language: [i]"Your comrade, your call."[/b]
Saul:
Shalazat nods to Amari and Zaza. "Unfortunate that he became involved. How did he end up at the warehouse? Regardless, he is involved now. Keep him close for now and cooperate with him. If he proves a problem, we'll have to deal with him." Seeing Zaza struggle with the map, she shrugs. "I did not know either. Perhaps Hadha or the Taldane will decipher it." The next day, Shalazat wears a hood and modest tan clothing as she walks through town with the Shadows, looking for Saul.
The Shadows conceal the bodies then go to meet Shalazat at the rendezvous point. They find multiple magical objects on the dead Drow. Loot, let's just skip the ID process this time:
Belt of dex +2 Focused metamagic rod, lesser Headband of cha +2 Wand of alarm 45 chrgs Wand of clw 47 chrgs Amulet of natural armor +1 Belt of dex +2 Cloak of resistance +1 Oil of invis x 5 Ring of prot +1 Two fragments of some sort of map that seems to be encoded in strange symbols.
Shalazat greets you in your meeting place, exchanging the code words to assure you she is not a disguised enemy. "I dealt with the other enemies and found these." She holds out two other fragments of some sort of encoded map. DC 20 linguistics: You realize the symbols encode various landmarks in a non-traditional style and find out the Drow discovered a tunnel from the Darklands leading to an abandoned sewer under the town that can be accessed via the town well.
A bird flies to you and speaks the password from Shalazat. "The shepherd is proving most elusive. This confirms my suspicions regarding him. Continue your mission with caution and haste."
Shalazat shakes her head. "Investigating alone is one thing but I would not have you five split up to try to take one of these. If they do turn out to be an enemy agent..." She shakes her head. "We do not have enough intelligence to make such an attack short-handed without unnecessary risk. The five of you should fight together."
Shalazat shakes her head. "We need to move quickly. If anything happens, the Drow will disappear. I will pursue two of the targets on my own. You decide your own course of action."
The guards nod and allow you to continue into town. Soon you find an inn and stable your camels there. You rest then begin selling your wares. Shalazat explains more details of the mission to you "The opening to the tunnel is somewhere outside of town. We were not able to extract the exact location nor the number of Drow who have come through. The prisoner did explain to us, however, that Drow came through the tunnel, captured or killed someone outside of town, and assumed their identity. We must discover who in this town has been replaced by Drow and eliminate the underworlders."
Hadha manages to procure some valuable... substances... for the group to use as it's back-up cover for the mission to Taldor while Zaza struggles to come up with ideas and Amari is mostly distracted and Lo just stands stoically. Agaban sorts out the majority of the trade goods, procuring a sufficiently attractive deal on some local spices to ship to the Taldane town of Alton.
To Zaza's question, Shalazat smiles "My mission is to determine the number of Drow agents that have come through the tunnel and eliminate any that are in the immediate area of Alton. There will be significant room for cooperation between us." She hands Zaza a scroll. "This will prove useful to you for collapsing the tunnel. Be careful with it." DC 26 spellcraft or read magic: It is a scroll of disintegrate.
Your leader nods. "Indeed. That will work well. We leave tomorrow night."
After night falls the next day, you load camels, headed to a nearby town to purchase your spices and find some pesh, as Zaza expected. As you begin heading across the desert, Shalazat explains "Our functions will be somewhat... different. I will be present at times but where my assistance is not needed, I will observe. At other times, I will need to be absent fulfilling a simultaneous objective."
Sorry folks. Would love to provide more substantial updates right now. It's just busy time as I finish teaching my 6 week accelerated course.
Shalazat nods calmly. "Yes I will be accompanying you. This mission is of utmost importance to high command. We will take a scroll with us that is certainly capable of collapsing the tunnel. As for a cover story, we will pose as merchants."
The experienced shadow turns to Agaban "We are heading to a small border town, Alton, where we will both find their agent in Taldor and put an end to their infiltrations."
Shalazat inclines her head coolly at Zaza's joke. "Unfortunately, Shadows rest only when the shadowed does." She recites the secret proverb that you all learned early in the days of your training. "The dark elf broke much faster than he expected. An arrogant fool. They have a route from the Darklands up into Taldor and have been infiltrating both our countries through it. You will find it and collapse it."
Shalazat finds you after you've rested for several hours. Serenely, she states "You're going to Taldor."
Shalazat nods slightly. "We will do what is required." She grips the bound dark elf by the collar and drags him away into a separate part of the cave. You find yourselves with time to breathe, eat, and sleep after your mission.
When you pull the hood off the dark elf, Shalazat's brow rises almost imperceptibly, an uncharacteristic earthquake on the normally impassive terrain of her face. "What is this you have brought me?" she asks in an extremely calm voice.
Shalazat nods solemnly to Zaza's question and Amari's response. "That is possible. It is your job to find out." She glides silently into a nearby corridor.
Shalazat nods calmly to Amari. "The news is ill. Somehow, the monks have been enchanted. They have attacked anyone who has neared the monastery. We do not yet know why or how this has been accomplished."
Shalazat nods serenely. "That is well. You will be rewarded as promised. Further, give me your daggers." She holds out her deceptively small and delicate hands to receive your weapons. She then bows to you. "I will have the hilts covered in copper before you leave."
The Shadows return quickly to Fort Hashbaz (1 day) from whence they travel back to their base by boat, taking their newly-purchased camels with them (6 days). Upon return to the cave in the desert, Shalazat greets them with a serene expression upon her face. "How have the winds carried you?"
Your handler calmly replies "The guards will not know the password nor will they know your mission. But all you need accomplish is a meeting with the commander and your password will take you from there." She nods slowly to Zaza. "We will observe with great interest. The enemy most recently countered a movement of our troops between Fort Seleukka and Fort Perez."
Your handler nods at Amari's question. "In a sense. We reward our operatives for excellent work. Here is an explanation of how the rewards for this mission will be determined." She hands you a roll of parchment. Parchment: Mission completion by Desnus 15th: 1500 gp each Each enemy operative captured alive: 500 gp each Determining identity of any Taldane contacts in Qadira: 250 gp each Determining identity of primary Taldane contact in Taldor: 250 gp The above considerations will be used to determine the base reward for the mission. An additional 10% (not compounded) will be added for every 3 days early the mission is turned in back here at base. 10% will be deducted for every 3 days late the mission is turned in.
Shalazat nods at Zaza's intelligent question. "They will be trained not to be taken alive but if you can bring them alive, that would be far preferable. Only be wary that you do not lose your lives attempting to preserve theirs."
When the new team finishes with the quartermaster, they turn to find Shalazat standing behind them. She bows respectfully. "You four will journey together from now on. The commanders of the forts will recognize your authority if you privately give them the code phrase 'The river rises daily.' If you succeed in completing this mission, we will have new hilts for you. Can I provide you with any other assistance?"
Shalazat bows her head to you. "You have done well, sister. Do not be troubled. Here are your next choices. Head to the quartermaster for inspection." DC 25 Sense Motive:
Shalazat does not seem troubled by the departure of Basheer and Drakar from the Shadows. Shalazat motions for you to enter a side chamber holding an incredibly compact and well-stacked armory. A dark-skinned dwarf beckons you in. "Lay out everything you found for inspection."
Mission descriptions: Wooden mission: A Taldane team is suspected to be in the northern desert, observing Qadiran troop movements. Seek and destroy. Wooden mission: Recent intelligence reveals Taldane military scholars have been researching an ancient tomb near the border. Yesterday, a known Taldane agents passed through a town with 2 days travel of the tomb. Copper mission: A Chelish diplomat is suspected of feeding information to Taldor. Find out whether or not he is guilty and whom his contact is.
The turns around and nods at Zaza. She places a hand on the ifrit's shoulder and speaks softly "This is the way of those who serve in the Shadows." She turns to the rest of you, waiting for your report from Lopul.
Without turning to face you, the woman who oversaw your training speaks in a soft voice "The desert winds brings four, but 2 quartets left. Report."
Still on fire, the orc drops to the ground and rolls around attempting to extinguish the flames
but the magically-enhanced alchemical fire continues to burn.
The flaming brute attempts to extinguish the flames
failing to do so.
The berserker near Cyrus attempts to free himself from the webbing, successfully ripping the strands that bound him. He glares death at Cyrus and hefts his greataxe, preparing to strike.
Hefting his greataxe, a second orc berserker surges toward Cyrus. . |