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Company of Chaos - All Around Golarion
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<blockquote data-quote="Lwaxy" data-source="post: 5741299" data-attributes="member: 53286"><p>No trap door opened up under Dimira. Instead, the 2 statues to the left and right of the brass doors began to move. Their heads turned with a screeching sound towards the bridge and for a moment it looked as if they were to attack in some way. But then they returned to their original positions. </p><p></p><p>"Interesting," Samin muttered, checking the statues from all sides. "They must be made so they do not attack anyone leaving. Guess we now know what took the skeletons out here apart." </p><p></p><p>"W-whatever."Mook followed Dimira oh her wolf, now that she knew the way back she was eager to get out as quickly as possible, and she didn't like walking in wet clothes. </p><p></p><p>Zamin and Zaza insisted on checking out the last room upstairs while Cajun went with Teltz to get Dimira's half insane brother. Dimira had explained about the wood golem and the key they found needed to be inserted into its back to turn it off. Not a problem if you knew what to look for. The equipment the townspeople had stored here for them earlier were gathered – they had earned it after all – and not too soon after, everyone was out of the crypt in the early hours of evening. </p><p></p><p>A loud screech and a wicker greeted them. Wilbur the hawk and Bjön's horse were happy enough to see their masters back. The dead horses out here had been mostly eaten by scavengers, but even without the stench, no one wanted to camp anywhere close to the crypt. Dimira and Roldare barely stopped long enough to gather bedrolls from the entrance as they left. </p><p></p><p>The night found them not too far up the slope, sitting around a high burning campfire, checking what they had found or been given in the crypt. The maps the bandits had and the notes attached to them were of special interest. On the one Samin and Zaza had found was “The amulets are entombed with Kassen and Asar." They already knew what amulets it referred to. Both Kassen and his long time enemy and former friend had described them in detail. They had been called back from the dead when the robbers stole them from around the corpses' necks. </p><p></p><p>This seemed significant, as it meant someone else knew about the crypt and its contents, and the amulets alone could not have justified sending a bunch of men risking to wake the dead. The other note was a tattered handbill inviting anyone interested to meet at a place called "The Ranger's Lament." Teltz explained that this was a popular place in Tamran, the capital of the country. It could mean anything or nothing. </p><p></p><p>"That bandit with the mask sure was strange," Zaza commented when they discussed the possibilities to prevent the crypt or worse, the town being attacked by bandits in the future. "Why would anyone want to wear an iron mask in a crypt?"</p><p></p><p>"Iron mask?" Bjön frowned. "Sounds familiar. Did he somewhat look like a priest?"</p><p></p><p>"He was pretty much busy decomposing, I didn't much look at him," Zaza snorted. </p><p></p><p>"Could have been a follower of Razmir," the paladin wondered. "I've heard of them showing stronger presence in Tamran now. Lots of people are giving them credit for feeding and protecting the poor and all that, but I don't know. I am weary of cults keeping too many secrets."</p><p></p><p>"Talking of secrets, what's yours?" Cajun wanted to know. "You all of a sudden show up here with that amulet of yours hunting for the undead, right? How come? Where did you come from?"</p><p></p><p>"My family dumped me at the door or a city orphanage when they found out I was night blind. Not much good for doing anything underground, they must have thought, and didn't want to move upside. The paladin running the orphanage saw my potential and my faith and made sure I got a good start myself at being one. That's pretty much my life in a nutshell." Bjön grinned while clearing the last soup out of his plate. "The order I belong to, we are all asked to pick a purpose, and I happened to come upon someone dying who gave my his amulet to continue his work to destroy the undead . At least the evil ones among them, which is at least 90& of them. The Amulet gives me dreams where to go to. So here I am. That's my purpose in a nutshell, too." </p><p></p><p>For a moment, it seemed that was all the dwarf had to say. "I'm also a Pathfinder," he suddenly continued. "And how that came to be is a quite long story, but the essence of it is, I helped her out when she needed it most and their work has always fascinated me so she made sure I was a part of it, That's it..." </p><p></p><p>"...in a nutshell," Cajun grinned, and Bjön grinned back. The two of them definitely got along well. </p><p></p><p>Late next morning saw them on their way back to Kassen. They would arrive late at night, with them having had a late start and only one horse. There was not much talk, the happenings were weighing deeply on everyone but Bjön and Teltz as it seemed. And Samin's father was deeply in thought about something, reacting absentminded when talked to, if he reacted at all. </p><p></p><p>When they finally arrived in Kassen, they found a celebration underway in their honor. Mayor Uptal was there to greet them at the gates, but his joy at their return quickly turned to horror as he was told what had happened. The news quickly spreads throughout town and the harvest celebration turned to mourning. Bjön's presence was, however, heralded as a positive sign. </p><p></p><p>After than night, things seemed to be slowly returning to normal, except that the 4 younglings and Samin's dad, could be seen hanging out around the paladin a lot. There were also meetings between Bjön, Teltz and Mayor Uptal. Cajun, Samin and the girls were wondering what they were about, as neither the dwarf nor the bard would talk. </p><p></p><p>Samin used the chance to learn the new spells from the spell book he had found, not mentioning its existence to the local wizard he was, in theory, apprenticed to. The only way to learn was to be sneaky and get into the old mans spellbook anyway, so hardly anyone knew what spells Samin could do but his friends. </p><p></p><p>4 days after they had returned, a group of masons and clerics set out to bury the villagers, clear out any possible remaining undead and repair the crypt, if possible. As the trail of people crossed the bridge to head out of the northern gate, a lone stranger came riding in while the young hero wannabes were watching their townfolk leave. Something was strange about the hunched figure, and it was not only that Kassen's citizens were generally careful about strangers at first. Samin felt an immediate fear he could not explain to himself, and Mook – who wasn't actually finish, just sitting there in her gnomy winter clothes watching the others while leaning on Dadawin – seemed to freeze for a moment. A clear sign that her oracle sense had picked up on something. </p><p></p><p>Cajun just frowned. "Weird person, can't even see if it is a man or a woman. Won't make many friends dressed like that." </p><p></p><p>"Nice horse," Zaza said in an amused voice. The mount looked like it had not had enough food in years, although from the swing of its step, it could not be that old. The neck was too long for the halfling's taste – who was quite good at riding even the largest horses – and the ears were longer than they should have been, too. If the offspring of horses and donkeys would be able to breed, she would have guessed at a donkey in the horse's lineage. </p><p></p><p>The rider didn't even notice them as he or she vanished into the main part of Kassen. Zaza and Cajun quickly went back to fishing, but Samin, while staying with them, had a feeling his time in this place was up. His father's warnings from when he was a small boy were as fresh in his mind as ever. As he turned around, Mooks eyes met his, and he knew she was aware of it, too. Wilbur screeched in the sky as if to echo their feelings. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Rodawin Teltz was just about telling the mayor, who he considered a friend even long before he had come to this place, that he would not accept the task Uptal was trying to shove off on him and the young people. The paladin could probably very well do it alone, having connections and all, and if anyone from town would have to go with them it would probably have to be someone from the guard. With all that was in his past – and thus his son's – he did not want to risk roaming around and playing the heroes and thus attracting unwanted attention. Far from it. </p><p></p><p>He turned to look out of the window of the mayor's house next to the river to check on the friends on the docks, his eyes caught a glimpse of the rider crossing the bridge, and while he could see the person even less clearly, he immediately felt the same sense of dread. "I think you are right," he immediately shifted his attitude. "It would do them good to leave town and do something useful for once. Isn't Cajun about done with his apprenticeship with the smith and could go on the road? Not that it is often done around here but in his case..." </p><p></p><p>Uptal nodded in agreement. "And her mother recently mentioned that Mook needs to do the next part of her initiation, which includes what they call The Walkaround. Supposedly it can last several months. Mook would not go out of fear of losing friends, you now how she is with all her stuttering. This seems like the perfect opportunity. And Zaza's mother would be happy enough to see Zaza trudge along, means no more worry, at least for a while, of what will become of her. Who knows, maybe the two of them could even make a living in the city."</p><p></p><p>"That settles it, then. We'll pack and leave with the paladin as soon as possible. We'll send a messenger when we've found out more." </p><p></p><p>Uptal laughed. "No hurry, it does serve well enough if you let us know once you are back, Rodawin." The bard nodded slowly, but he was not so sure they would be coming back anytime soon, if ever.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lwaxy, post: 5741299, member: 53286"] No trap door opened up under Dimira. Instead, the 2 statues to the left and right of the brass doors began to move. Their heads turned with a screeching sound towards the bridge and for a moment it looked as if they were to attack in some way. But then they returned to their original positions. "Interesting," Samin muttered, checking the statues from all sides. "They must be made so they do not attack anyone leaving. Guess we now know what took the skeletons out here apart." "W-whatever."Mook followed Dimira oh her wolf, now that she knew the way back she was eager to get out as quickly as possible, and she didn't like walking in wet clothes. Zamin and Zaza insisted on checking out the last room upstairs while Cajun went with Teltz to get Dimira's half insane brother. Dimira had explained about the wood golem and the key they found needed to be inserted into its back to turn it off. Not a problem if you knew what to look for. The equipment the townspeople had stored here for them earlier were gathered – they had earned it after all – and not too soon after, everyone was out of the crypt in the early hours of evening. A loud screech and a wicker greeted them. Wilbur the hawk and Bjön's horse were happy enough to see their masters back. The dead horses out here had been mostly eaten by scavengers, but even without the stench, no one wanted to camp anywhere close to the crypt. Dimira and Roldare barely stopped long enough to gather bedrolls from the entrance as they left. The night found them not too far up the slope, sitting around a high burning campfire, checking what they had found or been given in the crypt. The maps the bandits had and the notes attached to them were of special interest. On the one Samin and Zaza had found was “The amulets are entombed with Kassen and Asar." They already knew what amulets it referred to. Both Kassen and his long time enemy and former friend had described them in detail. They had been called back from the dead when the robbers stole them from around the corpses' necks. This seemed significant, as it meant someone else knew about the crypt and its contents, and the amulets alone could not have justified sending a bunch of men risking to wake the dead. The other note was a tattered handbill inviting anyone interested to meet at a place called "The Ranger's Lament." Teltz explained that this was a popular place in Tamran, the capital of the country. It could mean anything or nothing. "That bandit with the mask sure was strange," Zaza commented when they discussed the possibilities to prevent the crypt or worse, the town being attacked by bandits in the future. "Why would anyone want to wear an iron mask in a crypt?" "Iron mask?" Bjön frowned. "Sounds familiar. Did he somewhat look like a priest?" "He was pretty much busy decomposing, I didn't much look at him," Zaza snorted. "Could have been a follower of Razmir," the paladin wondered. "I've heard of them showing stronger presence in Tamran now. Lots of people are giving them credit for feeding and protecting the poor and all that, but I don't know. I am weary of cults keeping too many secrets." "Talking of secrets, what's yours?" Cajun wanted to know. "You all of a sudden show up here with that amulet of yours hunting for the undead, right? How come? Where did you come from?" "My family dumped me at the door or a city orphanage when they found out I was night blind. Not much good for doing anything underground, they must have thought, and didn't want to move upside. The paladin running the orphanage saw my potential and my faith and made sure I got a good start myself at being one. That's pretty much my life in a nutshell." Bjön grinned while clearing the last soup out of his plate. "The order I belong to, we are all asked to pick a purpose, and I happened to come upon someone dying who gave my his amulet to continue his work to destroy the undead . At least the evil ones among them, which is at least 90& of them. The Amulet gives me dreams where to go to. So here I am. That's my purpose in a nutshell, too." For a moment, it seemed that was all the dwarf had to say. "I'm also a Pathfinder," he suddenly continued. "And how that came to be is a quite long story, but the essence of it is, I helped her out when she needed it most and their work has always fascinated me so she made sure I was a part of it, That's it..." "...in a nutshell," Cajun grinned, and Bjön grinned back. The two of them definitely got along well. Late next morning saw them on their way back to Kassen. They would arrive late at night, with them having had a late start and only one horse. There was not much talk, the happenings were weighing deeply on everyone but Bjön and Teltz as it seemed. And Samin's father was deeply in thought about something, reacting absentminded when talked to, if he reacted at all. When they finally arrived in Kassen, they found a celebration underway in their honor. Mayor Uptal was there to greet them at the gates, but his joy at their return quickly turned to horror as he was told what had happened. The news quickly spreads throughout town and the harvest celebration turned to mourning. Bjön's presence was, however, heralded as a positive sign. After than night, things seemed to be slowly returning to normal, except that the 4 younglings and Samin's dad, could be seen hanging out around the paladin a lot. There were also meetings between Bjön, Teltz and Mayor Uptal. Cajun, Samin and the girls were wondering what they were about, as neither the dwarf nor the bard would talk. Samin used the chance to learn the new spells from the spell book he had found, not mentioning its existence to the local wizard he was, in theory, apprenticed to. The only way to learn was to be sneaky and get into the old mans spellbook anyway, so hardly anyone knew what spells Samin could do but his friends. 4 days after they had returned, a group of masons and clerics set out to bury the villagers, clear out any possible remaining undead and repair the crypt, if possible. As the trail of people crossed the bridge to head out of the northern gate, a lone stranger came riding in while the young hero wannabes were watching their townfolk leave. Something was strange about the hunched figure, and it was not only that Kassen's citizens were generally careful about strangers at first. Samin felt an immediate fear he could not explain to himself, and Mook – who wasn't actually finish, just sitting there in her gnomy winter clothes watching the others while leaning on Dadawin – seemed to freeze for a moment. A clear sign that her oracle sense had picked up on something. Cajun just frowned. "Weird person, can't even see if it is a man or a woman. Won't make many friends dressed like that." "Nice horse," Zaza said in an amused voice. The mount looked like it had not had enough food in years, although from the swing of its step, it could not be that old. The neck was too long for the halfling's taste – who was quite good at riding even the largest horses – and the ears were longer than they should have been, too. If the offspring of horses and donkeys would be able to breed, she would have guessed at a donkey in the horse's lineage. The rider didn't even notice them as he or she vanished into the main part of Kassen. Zaza and Cajun quickly went back to fishing, but Samin, while staying with them, had a feeling his time in this place was up. His father's warnings from when he was a small boy were as fresh in his mind as ever. As he turned around, Mooks eyes met his, and he knew she was aware of it, too. Wilbur screeched in the sky as if to echo their feelings. Rodawin Teltz was just about telling the mayor, who he considered a friend even long before he had come to this place, that he would not accept the task Uptal was trying to shove off on him and the young people. The paladin could probably very well do it alone, having connections and all, and if anyone from town would have to go with them it would probably have to be someone from the guard. With all that was in his past – and thus his son's – he did not want to risk roaming around and playing the heroes and thus attracting unwanted attention. Far from it. He turned to look out of the window of the mayor's house next to the river to check on the friends on the docks, his eyes caught a glimpse of the rider crossing the bridge, and while he could see the person even less clearly, he immediately felt the same sense of dread. "I think you are right," he immediately shifted his attitude. "It would do them good to leave town and do something useful for once. Isn't Cajun about done with his apprenticeship with the smith and could go on the road? Not that it is often done around here but in his case..." Uptal nodded in agreement. "And her mother recently mentioned that Mook needs to do the next part of her initiation, which includes what they call The Walkaround. Supposedly it can last several months. Mook would not go out of fear of losing friends, you now how she is with all her stuttering. This seems like the perfect opportunity. And Zaza's mother would be happy enough to see Zaza trudge along, means no more worry, at least for a while, of what will become of her. Who knows, maybe the two of them could even make a living in the city." "That settles it, then. We'll pack and leave with the paladin as soon as possible. We'll send a messenger when we've found out more." Uptal laughed. "No hurry, it does serve well enough if you let us know once you are back, Rodawin." The bard nodded slowly, but he was not so sure they would be coming back anytime soon, if ever. [/QUOTE]
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