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Correl: An Element of Origin
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<blockquote data-quote="MarauderX" data-source="post: 1837926" data-attributes="member: 9990"><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>Session 20: Threats Unmasked</strong></span></p><p></p><p>After more than a week passed, the party met at one of the favorite taverns in the city to discuss what had been happening in the last week. Hook Tavern appealed to locals and travelers alike, as the main attraction was a sturdy wall that had various size hooks upon it, and from them overly rowdy patrons were hung by their belts for the amusement of the clientele. Stale bread was standard fare, and the large muscular form of the owner helped tend the bar when he wasn’t lifting offenders onto or from the wall. The bard Larsi, once a slim, handsome youth several decades ago, played songs loosely and led the crowd in chiding insults of those hung on the wall. </p><p></p><p>At the tavern they heard the gossip that the King had arrived secretly somehow, and was at the castle already along with his entire entourage. Many people didn’t understand this, as they were expecting the King to parade through the city on the day he arrived so that all could see him. Instead, people were showing up in droves at the castle for a glimpse of him when he came out onto various balconies to wave at the crowds below. </p><p></p><p>The party discussed how the gems and other items were selling and what they had done in the last week when the sage Rian arrived and was greeted by Quentin. The sage was wearing new robes which matched the colors of the Order of Conhenci, a council of sages devoted to the acquisition of knowledge. He asked if the group would be free to meet with the Order’s leader Marak to discuss what they had experienced at Chautauqua and get their story on how the three sages were murdered. Satisfied that he would see them at Marak’s home tomorrow morning, Rian left the tavern. </p><p></p><p>The party showed up in the middle of the morning at Marak’s home in the merchant district and was invited inside. Rian was there and escorted them to the second floor to talk with Marak alone. Marak was dressed in purple robes with golden symbols embroidered seamlessly into the fabric, and as they looked at it the robes seemed to shimmer slightly as he moved to greet them, an unexcited expression across his face. He wore a brimless cap on his head that matched his robes, and his gray beard was neatly trimmed. The room, as much of the row house, seemed to be overflowing with books and parchment. Marak swung his hands with several motions and several stacks of books on the floor glided to empty spaces on the bookcases surrounding the room, and soon there was enough room for the five party members to assemble. </p><p></p><p>Marak sat down in his ornate chair before saying, “I understand from Rian that there was a lot more to his adventure in Chautauqua than expected. Though he was reluctant at first, he eventually spoke of the texts in the tower there and I can only assume that his description of the burning of their packs and the deaths of the other sages lends credence to the information contained there. Rian’s account was that there are texts written by an elder race, and they were involved with the creator Gods and somehow the elves were part of it. Rian finally discussed this openly with me alone and said that you might have a better understanding of events and the motivations of Golthar. So truly, what do you believe about such things?”</p><p></p><p>Varekai was the first to answer and he recounted everything that he knew, including the altercation with the elves in the forest before their return and said that Shamuss and the other two sages were likely murdered by an elf named Myrrin. This was news to Marak and was asked to expound on the ‘elven death squad’ that they defeated in the forest and what they had hoped to do with Rian and Siakam. This information seemed to weigh heavily on the sage, and his face cracked with emotion for the first time. </p><p></p><p>The group took the opportunity to change the subject and learned more about the Order and about it’s foundation by a man named Conhenci. Marak revealed that the first time he saw any mention of an elder race or creator gods was mentioned by Conhenci’s fallen protégé, and though his work was studied many of them considered it ravings of a jealous, paranoid madman. The party learned from Marak that the only other occurrence of Rakshasa was far to the south, and he seemed strangely puzzled about the creature lurking in Correl. Marak asked to be excused, as he was to meet with the King’s advisor Nemdori soon and would have to weigh whether he should mention any of these events to him. </p><p></p><p>Once outside, the group discussed the meeting and as they did Alex noticed a hobbling old one-eyed woman crossing the busy street and that she was about to be run over by a wagon loaded with barrels that couldn’t stop. The driver yelled at her, and at last moment Alex reached out and yanked her out of the way as the wheels rumbled by within inches of them. </p><p></p><p>Realizing what had happened, the crone promised him a vision and she closed her good eye and opened her other, revealing a milky whiteness with an hourglass iris. Her head tilted back and she spoke loudly for all to hear, stuttering as Alex kept her from falling. </p><p>“I can see…there… are swords… two, crossed… above you… and inside… there is much to be revealed…uncertain… risk, but… you should know… you must know… I can see… turning… AHH!… the cloth robes on wood… and the vision dims.” Her bad closes and she peers at Alex with her good eye, thanking him yet again for saving her before she hobbled away. </p><p></p><p>The party headed back to the Hook Tavern to divvy up the gold from the gems and jewelry Alex bartered well for. Each took his share as they listened to Larsi ridicule a drunkard that had passed out hanging on the wall. As they sat, an elf that had a drink at the bar strode over to the group confidently and sat down on a stool at the end of their table. </p><p></p><p>The elf introduced himself as Fisselle, an aid to Minister Mayrith, the elven ambassador in Kargam. Fisselle apologizes for following them, and then admited that he was in disguise earlier as the old crone to try to fool them into visiting The Crossed Swords. He continues by mentioning that he had been spying on the Order of Conhenci for some time, to keep tabs on them for the elven ambassador, and had followed the head of the Order, Marak, to The Crossed Swords late at night for a few nights in a row. He thought it was peculiar, as it only occurred recently and happened after Marak had learned he was to meet with the King’s advisor Nemdori. </p><p></p><p>The elf alluded to knowing about the party and where they had been in the recent past, and because of this he thought they were trustworthy to keep a secret, as otherwise distrust between elves and humans may erupt, possibly during the King’s visit. Fisselle asked that the group visit The Crossed Swords while he maintained a watch on Marak. The party peered at the elf suspiciously and he apologized again, saying that he would like to know what was there before meeting with Minister Mayrith in a few hours. Since the group was still silent, he leaned forward to whisper as Larsi struck up a loud song. He said that he had been using magical means to try to pry into what Marak was thinking, but said that he had changed recently, that he was different somehow, whether is was a magic that affected him or something else. But with the King now in the city, Fisselle decided he couldn’t wait any longer. </p><p></p><p>As Fisselle spoke Alex searched his memory about anything dealing with two crossed swords and suddenly it clicked. There used to be an old bar that was called The Crossed Swords, but wasn’t sure if was still around or where it might be. Quentin seemed to be thinking of the same thing, and thought that perhaps Larsi would know, or otherwise he could ask around. </p><p></p><p>Alex waited for Larsi to take a break and introduced himself. Larsi welcomed him warmly, saying it was good to see him at Hook Tavern several times in the last week. Alex asked if he knew about a bar called The Crossed Swords, and at first the bard thought Alex was trying to dredge up something on him, but Alex’s innocent question instead fired up tales of ladies and booze. Larsi said he used to be the best bard at The Crossed Swords when he was younger and had more hair on his head, and his voice was so smooth and charming before the late nights of smoke and drink wore it from him. Alex cut to the chase and asked about where it was, and Larsi dropped the reminiscing to tell him it was in the Tower district along the river to the north. With some gold to whet his whistle, Larsi gave Alex a great description of where it was and told him to go around to the back. </p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>The party took the ferry from the government district across the river to the tower district, and noticed the sharp contrast between the neighborhoods. The tower district seemed to have been almost abandoned a decade ago when nearby swamp gases and other foulness pervaded the entire area. The stench now was from unkempt streets and the filth of the river, and underlying that was the noxious smell of decay. </p><p></p><p>The empty streets were easy to traverse, and following a way along the river they saw a decrepit sign with two crossed scimitars from a long way off. The bar looked like it was once at a great location next to a town square that had docks jutting north into the river. Now the docks looked rickety and unsafe, and the bar’s windows were covered with boards and nailed in place from the outside. They saw a city patrol, probably the last of the day for the tower district, make its way back to the ferry. Any calls for help would probably go unheeded, except by those looking for an easy opportunity. </p><p></p><p>Alex made his way around to the back of The Crossed Swords, a two-story building with a pitched roof, cautiously examining the backdoor when he noticed the window next to it had the bottom boards smashed through. The opening was large enough to fit Thovaas, and the group piled inside, except for Quentin, who patrolled around the building and down several alleyways looking for any signs of trouble. Alex peered into each of the dark downstairs rooms, sifting through them for anything of note or value. Finding nothing, Jerrin was the first to make his way down the kitchen stair to a landing, then shining the light into the basement he saw something bumpy and green blocking the bottom of the steps. It stood so still that it took Jerrin a moment to discern the bumpy green wall’s face and long nose just underneath the basement joists that held up the first floor. </p><p></p><p>Jerrin backed up the steps quickly, and the others drew their weapons in anticipation. Alex and Thovaas flanked either side of the opening, and as they waited nervously until a large groping hand shot up through the floor boards beneath Alex. The hand clawed around for a second before withdrawing to the black basement below. Alex swiveled and shot an arrow down through the opening, not sure if he hit the thing as Jerrin described what it was. Backing off, Jerrin and Alex went towards the window opening they had come through as the green clawed hand split more of the floorboards. Thovaas headed up the stairs and Varekai called for the others to follow. </p><p></p><p>They heard the thing in the basement screech and thought that it was ascending the stairs up to the first floor as they saw unsettled dust rise in clouds from the stairway. Varekai kicked open one of the doors along the corridor and found the room behind empty. The others stopped on the landing and looked for the best defensible position. Thovaas strung his powerful new bow and notched an arrow, waiting for the thing to climb the next set of stairs. </p><p></p><p>Varekai pushed open the door to the next empty room, then to the room at the end of the hall. There, in the center of the floor, was the crumpled form of a body and the robes looked familiar. Alex strode down the steps and glanced around the corner as his fingers closed on a pouch with something gooey inside. The beast was at the bottom of the steps, and Alex threw the glob down at the beast where it connected with its leg before breaking open to glue the thing to the floor. Alex watched as it screeched and grabbed one leg with both of its sinewy hands and yanked the foot loose, then repeated with the other leg. It came clumsily up the stairs and stopped with one foot on the landing next to Alex. </p><p></p><p>Alex drew out a clay flask, ducked and threw it side arm into the thing’s chest where the clay broke easily and fire exploded from it. A portion caught the back of Alex’s hand just before he strode up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Varekai strode closer for a better look at the robed body when he heard Thovaas loose his arrow between the sounds of the heavy footfalls. Varekai turned to see the beast, still on fire, with a druid-weasel clasped on to its side tightly. </p><p></p><p>The group traded blows with what Jerrin had described as a troll, a large beast that healed quickly and might be vulnerable to fire. Thovaas took several scrapes by the thing before stepping back to invoke the healing power of Heironious. Jerrin’s wolfhound companion, Tempest bit deeply into the green rubbery skin and Varekai tumbled into the midst of battle. Alex dove between the troll’s legs and slid down the stairs where he failed to gain his footing and tumbled down to the landing without injury. He stood, only a tad disoriented, and thrust his rapier through the creature from behind as the beast clawed at Jerrin’s weasel form, its claws raking down his spine deep enough that the shape changer fell unconscious to the floor. </p><p></p><p>Varekai struck the thing hard in the throat and the larynx was crushed to one side, but the thing didn’t flinch at the pain but raised its claws to take a swipe at him. Thovaas wielded his sword in both hands and swiped at the thing, giving a perfect opening for Alex to thrust his thin blade between its vertebrae at the base of the skull. It pitched forward, half on the stairs, and that was when Alex saw the hole he had created in its abdomen was starting to close. </p><p></p><p>Quickly Alex stabbed it again and again as the others picked up the recognizable body of Marak, head sage of the Order of Conhenci, and carried it downstairs. Thovaas called down to Quentin who gave the all-clear and inquired about within. Alex emptied a vial of oil on the troll as he could see it was still slowly mending the deep wounds. Varekai gingerly picked up the weasel-shaped druid and carried him downstairs before quickly investigating the basement. Alex sparked a flame to the oil and the body of the troll sizzled. The kindling he had hastily packed around it caught the flame and spread the fire to the adjacent stair walls and railing. </p><p></p><p>Alex bounded down the stairs to the basement as Varekai came up. There he discovered the empty room had a trapdoor down to a stagnant pool of filthy water below, perhaps knee or waist deep. The room stank of the troll, and with the smell of smoke permeating the air Alex decided to leave with the others. The group speedily made their way to the ferry and noticed that it was slowly on its way back. They saw thick black smoke start to rise steadily against the darkening sky and heard far cries to help with the fire as it started to gather momentum. Alex strode back to help with the fire for a minute before he headed back to board the ferry back to the government district of Kargam. </p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>At the opposite side of the river an official looking dock hand took note of their passage and demanded ten gold pieces for bringing a dead body with them through the city. Alex paid and they strode swiftly off of the dock explaining to Jerrin how they got to the ferry and why the place was on fire. Varekai sprinted ahead to meet Fisselle the elf and said he would meet the party back at the castle where Thovaas was going to present the dead body as evidence of a crime. </p><p></p><p>Varekai sprinted briskly through the streets to Hook Tavern where he didn’t find the elf. He ventured back to Marak’s home and didn’t see any sign of the elf, but instead saw the old crone sipping tea at a table nearby. He made his way to her and they discussed what Thovaas was now carrying around – Marak’s body, which was anywhere from four days to a week old. The disguised elf was shocked, but not for long as he told Varekai to quickly hide as Marak marched by them. Varekai watched the sage enter the row house before sprinting back to the castle to meet the others. </p><p></p><p>Thovaas and the others met a sergeant of the guard at the castle’s main gate, and a line of guards blocked their way from entering. Thovaas explained the predicament to the man and asked to meet with Nemdori, as he and the King might be in danger if someone, or something, was posing as Marak to gain entry. The sergeant shook his head, trying to turn them away as the party saw a flurry of commotion over the sergeant’s shoulder. Several soldiers ran to and fro, and soon the barking voice of a short man brought order to the knights inside the walls. He shouted at the men forming a line at the gate to turn back around and face the city or they’d get a good taste of his boot leather. Thovaas called to him loudly, demanding attention. </p><p></p><p>The short portly lieutenant puts his hands on his hips and scrutinized Thovaas and the others before asking what they were about. Thovaas replied that Nemdori and King Gerin may be in trouble as an intruder might have made his way through the security disguised as a renowned sage of Kargam, Marak of the Order of Conhenci. The lieutenant was dressed in ceremonial clothes and crossed his arms at what Thovaas had said. More commotion erupted behind him and he hastily said that something has happened already and that Thovaas should make sure to see him early tomorrow morning after a few things had settled down. With that the lieutenant pivoted on his heel and marched three paces before waving his hands about and barking more orders to a group of young squires that seemed to be gossiping inside the walls.</p><p></p><p>Varekai returned, out of breath, and relayed to the others that he had seen Marak return to his row home in the merchant district. The group traveled there and stopped across the still-bustling street as venders of all types kept longer hours to accommodate travelers. Alex and Quentin examined the surrounding block, and it was likely the row house block had a courtyard behind it that was shared by all the neighbors and that the easiest course of action was to approach via the front door. </p><p></p><p>They were greeted by a younger sage, a boy who was just starting to grow a thin mustache, and he let them in after recognizing Jerrin, Varekai and Alex. Thovaas came in last, still carrying the body, and as soon as he brought it in the smell began to saturate the foyer and adjacent common room where three other sages were bent over books with candlelight and an unnaturally bright fire burned in the fireplace. The young sage went to notify Marak that they were there to see him and he reappeared on the stairway to motion them to follow. Cautiously they ascended the to the second floor and walked down the narrow corridor as bookcases lined the walls and papers, books and parchments of all manner lay on any horizontal surface. Eventually they came to Marak’s quarters, much larger than any of the others, and they walked in one by one. Thovaas propped up the corpse of Marak outside the door as Marak, or whoever it was, slowly sat in a lavish chair and clasped his hands together, fingers folded in front of his face, and he stroked his short cut beard with his index fingers nervously. </p><p></p><p>The group asked where he had been, and told him that the King’s advisor Nemdori had likely been attacked. Marak’s blank face merely blinked in acknowledgement and he eventually replied that all men die, perhaps it was his time. The party glanced at each other and asked if he knew anything about it and Marak responded that when he left the castle Nemdori was still alive, and had no ill will against the man, and as a matter of fact hoped his advice was useful to him. The room was thick with tension and the sage answered several more questions but knew they were up to something. Thovaas asked him to explain one more thing, and pulled forth the real Marak’s body from outside the doorway and pointed to it. </p><p></p><p>Marak paused for a moment, and that’s when Jerrin and Thovaas noticed a third arm holding a slender wand protruded from Marak’s robes. The wand expelled something with a flash at the paladin, and he had a sudden change of opinion about the sage, that perhaps he had gotten the story completely wrong and whoever this was had used Marak’s name for a good reason, perhaps a better reason than he should ever know, after all he said that Nemdori was still alive when he left. The others took fighting stances and Alex was the first to jump into action, slashing across the side of the three armed mage. </p><p></p><p>That was when the image of the sage disintegrated and behind it was a six-armed woman with a serpent’s tail from the waist down. She hissed and growled as all six of her arms waved incantations of magic, drawing forth several spells at the same time. A wave emanated from her, and Alex and Jerrin watched their size diminish to half of their height while Thovaas pondered a way to stop the fight so they could find out why this interesting being was so evil. Jerrin’s companion Tempest bit the creature’s tail and swung her to the floor as Varekai struck at her with his fists, but she slithered upright once more and cast yet more spells. </p><p></p><p>The room went black and she cast one spell that failed to affect Varekai and another to douse Tempest with acid, and immediately afterward Jerrin brought forth a vicious bat to attack and surrounded her with a pink glow so that Quentin could still shoot at her through the darkness. Alex swiped at her several times and they heard Thovaas slip and fall on the greased floor that he couldn’t see in the dark room. He had broken the marilith’s enchantment and was even more livid after falling to the floor. As he picked himself up and strode to stand between Tempest and Alex, she dispelled the bat Jerrin had called and slashed out with her vile-looking weapons to slash at those near her. </p><p></p><p>Jerrin blasted her with a flame that shot from his diminutive hand and brought forth an ape next to her and the creature crushed a small table and overturned bookcases as it beat its massive limbs against the wall. Thovaas swung his sword in a slashing arc across her chest and watched as she recoiled from the smiting blow. Alex and Varekai worked to find a weak point as she again cast more spells. </p><p></p><p>A wall of stone materialized from the floor to the ceiling, blocking in Jerrin and the summoned ape on one side in darkness as another glob of acid missed the target to eat away at old tomes across the room. Jerrin responded to her spell by shaping an opening in the stone wall wide enough for the ape with his own magic, and the ape pummeled her with its massive fists. The other struck out at her as she moved over the piles of books, slithering in a backwards fashion to shatter open a set of hidden shutters to the courtyard at the back of the row house. She stopped there to cast more spells at the party, and again Varekai overcame whatever charm she sought to place on him. Afterward she leapt from the window to glide softly to the courtyard below as an eagle manifested itself behind her in time to dig its talons into one of her arms. </p><p></p><p>Thovaas and Varekai leapt from the opening in the wall to fall on and next to her respectively. She cast a spell that formed a stone wall in the window opening above, preventing the Jerrin, now as a panther, Quentin and the shorter Alex from jumping to the courtyard below. Instead they sprinted down the stairs to the first floor as several other mages of the order cast incantations of protection for themselves and the books that they protected, most notably against fire. Thovaas’s sword opened a deep gash in one of her arms, and she only used four of them to cast a spell that again failed to affect Varekai before wheeling around to slash Thovaas into unconscious submission. The eagle Jerrin had summoned still pecked at her as she brought her weapons to bear on Varekai, his slashed robes falling in ribbons to the ground. Her tail stabbed him in the thigh, excreting thick green venom onto his leg, and that was when his body started to quiver strangely, even to her. </p><p></p><p>She watched as Varekai’s form changed, growing hair and height until it stopped expanding and he was just barely recognizable. Before the marilith stood a hybrid between wolf and man, snarling as her stoic face had changed to one of horror as she cast yet another feeble spell in his direction. Jerrin and his companion Tempest broke through the back door first, taking a moment to gather in what, and who, the hairy canine beast was and thankful that he was attacking their six-armed foe. Jerrin reverted to his shrunken Halfling form before running to aid Thovaas and stop his bleeding while commanding tempest to attack to give him cover. </p><p></p><p>Varekai unleashed a bellow that shook the whole of the neighborhood and lashed out at the marilith, landing blow after blow until she fell under his punishment and Jerrin turned to witness his hybrid form ravaging the neck of the limp creature, blood flushing in rivulets through the grass of the courtyard. </p><p></p><p>Thovaas awoke in time to see Varekai back away from the marilith corpse, and they cautiously sized one another up as the neighbors in the courtyard opened their doors and shown enough lanterns to catch a glimpse of the blood soaked werewolf and its strange fallen prey. Varekai ran into the darkness of the courtyard, jumping and swinging from footholds until his silhoutte could be seen against the stars of the sky as he made his way onto the roof and out of sight. Quentin and Alex hustled outside, and soon the sages barged out behind them, each glowing with magical protections. </p><p></p><p>*****</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MarauderX, post: 1837926, member: 9990"] [SIZE=4][B]Session 20: Threats Unmasked[/B][/SIZE] After more than a week passed, the party met at one of the favorite taverns in the city to discuss what had been happening in the last week. Hook Tavern appealed to locals and travelers alike, as the main attraction was a sturdy wall that had various size hooks upon it, and from them overly rowdy patrons were hung by their belts for the amusement of the clientele. Stale bread was standard fare, and the large muscular form of the owner helped tend the bar when he wasn’t lifting offenders onto or from the wall. The bard Larsi, once a slim, handsome youth several decades ago, played songs loosely and led the crowd in chiding insults of those hung on the wall. At the tavern they heard the gossip that the King had arrived secretly somehow, and was at the castle already along with his entire entourage. Many people didn’t understand this, as they were expecting the King to parade through the city on the day he arrived so that all could see him. Instead, people were showing up in droves at the castle for a glimpse of him when he came out onto various balconies to wave at the crowds below. The party discussed how the gems and other items were selling and what they had done in the last week when the sage Rian arrived and was greeted by Quentin. The sage was wearing new robes which matched the colors of the Order of Conhenci, a council of sages devoted to the acquisition of knowledge. He asked if the group would be free to meet with the Order’s leader Marak to discuss what they had experienced at Chautauqua and get their story on how the three sages were murdered. Satisfied that he would see them at Marak’s home tomorrow morning, Rian left the tavern. The party showed up in the middle of the morning at Marak’s home in the merchant district and was invited inside. Rian was there and escorted them to the second floor to talk with Marak alone. Marak was dressed in purple robes with golden symbols embroidered seamlessly into the fabric, and as they looked at it the robes seemed to shimmer slightly as he moved to greet them, an unexcited expression across his face. He wore a brimless cap on his head that matched his robes, and his gray beard was neatly trimmed. The room, as much of the row house, seemed to be overflowing with books and parchment. Marak swung his hands with several motions and several stacks of books on the floor glided to empty spaces on the bookcases surrounding the room, and soon there was enough room for the five party members to assemble. Marak sat down in his ornate chair before saying, “I understand from Rian that there was a lot more to his adventure in Chautauqua than expected. Though he was reluctant at first, he eventually spoke of the texts in the tower there and I can only assume that his description of the burning of their packs and the deaths of the other sages lends credence to the information contained there. Rian’s account was that there are texts written by an elder race, and they were involved with the creator Gods and somehow the elves were part of it. Rian finally discussed this openly with me alone and said that you might have a better understanding of events and the motivations of Golthar. So truly, what do you believe about such things?” Varekai was the first to answer and he recounted everything that he knew, including the altercation with the elves in the forest before their return and said that Shamuss and the other two sages were likely murdered by an elf named Myrrin. This was news to Marak and was asked to expound on the ‘elven death squad’ that they defeated in the forest and what they had hoped to do with Rian and Siakam. This information seemed to weigh heavily on the sage, and his face cracked with emotion for the first time. The group took the opportunity to change the subject and learned more about the Order and about it’s foundation by a man named Conhenci. Marak revealed that the first time he saw any mention of an elder race or creator gods was mentioned by Conhenci’s fallen protégé, and though his work was studied many of them considered it ravings of a jealous, paranoid madman. The party learned from Marak that the only other occurrence of Rakshasa was far to the south, and he seemed strangely puzzled about the creature lurking in Correl. Marak asked to be excused, as he was to meet with the King’s advisor Nemdori soon and would have to weigh whether he should mention any of these events to him. Once outside, the group discussed the meeting and as they did Alex noticed a hobbling old one-eyed woman crossing the busy street and that she was about to be run over by a wagon loaded with barrels that couldn’t stop. The driver yelled at her, and at last moment Alex reached out and yanked her out of the way as the wheels rumbled by within inches of them. Realizing what had happened, the crone promised him a vision and she closed her good eye and opened her other, revealing a milky whiteness with an hourglass iris. Her head tilted back and she spoke loudly for all to hear, stuttering as Alex kept her from falling. “I can see…there… are swords… two, crossed… above you… and inside… there is much to be revealed…uncertain… risk, but… you should know… you must know… I can see… turning… AHH!… the cloth robes on wood… and the vision dims.” Her bad closes and she peers at Alex with her good eye, thanking him yet again for saving her before she hobbled away. The party headed back to the Hook Tavern to divvy up the gold from the gems and jewelry Alex bartered well for. Each took his share as they listened to Larsi ridicule a drunkard that had passed out hanging on the wall. As they sat, an elf that had a drink at the bar strode over to the group confidently and sat down on a stool at the end of their table. The elf introduced himself as Fisselle, an aid to Minister Mayrith, the elven ambassador in Kargam. Fisselle apologizes for following them, and then admited that he was in disguise earlier as the old crone to try to fool them into visiting The Crossed Swords. He continues by mentioning that he had been spying on the Order of Conhenci for some time, to keep tabs on them for the elven ambassador, and had followed the head of the Order, Marak, to The Crossed Swords late at night for a few nights in a row. He thought it was peculiar, as it only occurred recently and happened after Marak had learned he was to meet with the King’s advisor Nemdori. The elf alluded to knowing about the party and where they had been in the recent past, and because of this he thought they were trustworthy to keep a secret, as otherwise distrust between elves and humans may erupt, possibly during the King’s visit. Fisselle asked that the group visit The Crossed Swords while he maintained a watch on Marak. The party peered at the elf suspiciously and he apologized again, saying that he would like to know what was there before meeting with Minister Mayrith in a few hours. Since the group was still silent, he leaned forward to whisper as Larsi struck up a loud song. He said that he had been using magical means to try to pry into what Marak was thinking, but said that he had changed recently, that he was different somehow, whether is was a magic that affected him or something else. But with the King now in the city, Fisselle decided he couldn’t wait any longer. As Fisselle spoke Alex searched his memory about anything dealing with two crossed swords and suddenly it clicked. There used to be an old bar that was called The Crossed Swords, but wasn’t sure if was still around or where it might be. Quentin seemed to be thinking of the same thing, and thought that perhaps Larsi would know, or otherwise he could ask around. Alex waited for Larsi to take a break and introduced himself. Larsi welcomed him warmly, saying it was good to see him at Hook Tavern several times in the last week. Alex asked if he knew about a bar called The Crossed Swords, and at first the bard thought Alex was trying to dredge up something on him, but Alex’s innocent question instead fired up tales of ladies and booze. Larsi said he used to be the best bard at The Crossed Swords when he was younger and had more hair on his head, and his voice was so smooth and charming before the late nights of smoke and drink wore it from him. Alex cut to the chase and asked about where it was, and Larsi dropped the reminiscing to tell him it was in the Tower district along the river to the north. With some gold to whet his whistle, Larsi gave Alex a great description of where it was and told him to go around to the back. ***** The party took the ferry from the government district across the river to the tower district, and noticed the sharp contrast between the neighborhoods. The tower district seemed to have been almost abandoned a decade ago when nearby swamp gases and other foulness pervaded the entire area. The stench now was from unkempt streets and the filth of the river, and underlying that was the noxious smell of decay. The empty streets were easy to traverse, and following a way along the river they saw a decrepit sign with two crossed scimitars from a long way off. The bar looked like it was once at a great location next to a town square that had docks jutting north into the river. Now the docks looked rickety and unsafe, and the bar’s windows were covered with boards and nailed in place from the outside. They saw a city patrol, probably the last of the day for the tower district, make its way back to the ferry. Any calls for help would probably go unheeded, except by those looking for an easy opportunity. Alex made his way around to the back of The Crossed Swords, a two-story building with a pitched roof, cautiously examining the backdoor when he noticed the window next to it had the bottom boards smashed through. The opening was large enough to fit Thovaas, and the group piled inside, except for Quentin, who patrolled around the building and down several alleyways looking for any signs of trouble. Alex peered into each of the dark downstairs rooms, sifting through them for anything of note or value. Finding nothing, Jerrin was the first to make his way down the kitchen stair to a landing, then shining the light into the basement he saw something bumpy and green blocking the bottom of the steps. It stood so still that it took Jerrin a moment to discern the bumpy green wall’s face and long nose just underneath the basement joists that held up the first floor. Jerrin backed up the steps quickly, and the others drew their weapons in anticipation. Alex and Thovaas flanked either side of the opening, and as they waited nervously until a large groping hand shot up through the floor boards beneath Alex. The hand clawed around for a second before withdrawing to the black basement below. Alex swiveled and shot an arrow down through the opening, not sure if he hit the thing as Jerrin described what it was. Backing off, Jerrin and Alex went towards the window opening they had come through as the green clawed hand split more of the floorboards. Thovaas headed up the stairs and Varekai called for the others to follow. They heard the thing in the basement screech and thought that it was ascending the stairs up to the first floor as they saw unsettled dust rise in clouds from the stairway. Varekai kicked open one of the doors along the corridor and found the room behind empty. The others stopped on the landing and looked for the best defensible position. Thovaas strung his powerful new bow and notched an arrow, waiting for the thing to climb the next set of stairs. Varekai pushed open the door to the next empty room, then to the room at the end of the hall. There, in the center of the floor, was the crumpled form of a body and the robes looked familiar. Alex strode down the steps and glanced around the corner as his fingers closed on a pouch with something gooey inside. The beast was at the bottom of the steps, and Alex threw the glob down at the beast where it connected with its leg before breaking open to glue the thing to the floor. Alex watched as it screeched and grabbed one leg with both of its sinewy hands and yanked the foot loose, then repeated with the other leg. It came clumsily up the stairs and stopped with one foot on the landing next to Alex. Alex drew out a clay flask, ducked and threw it side arm into the thing’s chest where the clay broke easily and fire exploded from it. A portion caught the back of Alex’s hand just before he strode up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Varekai strode closer for a better look at the robed body when he heard Thovaas loose his arrow between the sounds of the heavy footfalls. Varekai turned to see the beast, still on fire, with a druid-weasel clasped on to its side tightly. The group traded blows with what Jerrin had described as a troll, a large beast that healed quickly and might be vulnerable to fire. Thovaas took several scrapes by the thing before stepping back to invoke the healing power of Heironious. Jerrin’s wolfhound companion, Tempest bit deeply into the green rubbery skin and Varekai tumbled into the midst of battle. Alex dove between the troll’s legs and slid down the stairs where he failed to gain his footing and tumbled down to the landing without injury. He stood, only a tad disoriented, and thrust his rapier through the creature from behind as the beast clawed at Jerrin’s weasel form, its claws raking down his spine deep enough that the shape changer fell unconscious to the floor. Varekai struck the thing hard in the throat and the larynx was crushed to one side, but the thing didn’t flinch at the pain but raised its claws to take a swipe at him. Thovaas wielded his sword in both hands and swiped at the thing, giving a perfect opening for Alex to thrust his thin blade between its vertebrae at the base of the skull. It pitched forward, half on the stairs, and that was when Alex saw the hole he had created in its abdomen was starting to close. Quickly Alex stabbed it again and again as the others picked up the recognizable body of Marak, head sage of the Order of Conhenci, and carried it downstairs. Thovaas called down to Quentin who gave the all-clear and inquired about within. Alex emptied a vial of oil on the troll as he could see it was still slowly mending the deep wounds. Varekai gingerly picked up the weasel-shaped druid and carried him downstairs before quickly investigating the basement. Alex sparked a flame to the oil and the body of the troll sizzled. The kindling he had hastily packed around it caught the flame and spread the fire to the adjacent stair walls and railing. Alex bounded down the stairs to the basement as Varekai came up. There he discovered the empty room had a trapdoor down to a stagnant pool of filthy water below, perhaps knee or waist deep. The room stank of the troll, and with the smell of smoke permeating the air Alex decided to leave with the others. The group speedily made their way to the ferry and noticed that it was slowly on its way back. They saw thick black smoke start to rise steadily against the darkening sky and heard far cries to help with the fire as it started to gather momentum. Alex strode back to help with the fire for a minute before he headed back to board the ferry back to the government district of Kargam. ***** At the opposite side of the river an official looking dock hand took note of their passage and demanded ten gold pieces for bringing a dead body with them through the city. Alex paid and they strode swiftly off of the dock explaining to Jerrin how they got to the ferry and why the place was on fire. Varekai sprinted ahead to meet Fisselle the elf and said he would meet the party back at the castle where Thovaas was going to present the dead body as evidence of a crime. Varekai sprinted briskly through the streets to Hook Tavern where he didn’t find the elf. He ventured back to Marak’s home and didn’t see any sign of the elf, but instead saw the old crone sipping tea at a table nearby. He made his way to her and they discussed what Thovaas was now carrying around – Marak’s body, which was anywhere from four days to a week old. The disguised elf was shocked, but not for long as he told Varekai to quickly hide as Marak marched by them. Varekai watched the sage enter the row house before sprinting back to the castle to meet the others. Thovaas and the others met a sergeant of the guard at the castle’s main gate, and a line of guards blocked their way from entering. Thovaas explained the predicament to the man and asked to meet with Nemdori, as he and the King might be in danger if someone, or something, was posing as Marak to gain entry. The sergeant shook his head, trying to turn them away as the party saw a flurry of commotion over the sergeant’s shoulder. Several soldiers ran to and fro, and soon the barking voice of a short man brought order to the knights inside the walls. He shouted at the men forming a line at the gate to turn back around and face the city or they’d get a good taste of his boot leather. Thovaas called to him loudly, demanding attention. The short portly lieutenant puts his hands on his hips and scrutinized Thovaas and the others before asking what they were about. Thovaas replied that Nemdori and King Gerin may be in trouble as an intruder might have made his way through the security disguised as a renowned sage of Kargam, Marak of the Order of Conhenci. The lieutenant was dressed in ceremonial clothes and crossed his arms at what Thovaas had said. More commotion erupted behind him and he hastily said that something has happened already and that Thovaas should make sure to see him early tomorrow morning after a few things had settled down. With that the lieutenant pivoted on his heel and marched three paces before waving his hands about and barking more orders to a group of young squires that seemed to be gossiping inside the walls. Varekai returned, out of breath, and relayed to the others that he had seen Marak return to his row home in the merchant district. The group traveled there and stopped across the still-bustling street as venders of all types kept longer hours to accommodate travelers. Alex and Quentin examined the surrounding block, and it was likely the row house block had a courtyard behind it that was shared by all the neighbors and that the easiest course of action was to approach via the front door. They were greeted by a younger sage, a boy who was just starting to grow a thin mustache, and he let them in after recognizing Jerrin, Varekai and Alex. Thovaas came in last, still carrying the body, and as soon as he brought it in the smell began to saturate the foyer and adjacent common room where three other sages were bent over books with candlelight and an unnaturally bright fire burned in the fireplace. The young sage went to notify Marak that they were there to see him and he reappeared on the stairway to motion them to follow. Cautiously they ascended the to the second floor and walked down the narrow corridor as bookcases lined the walls and papers, books and parchments of all manner lay on any horizontal surface. Eventually they came to Marak’s quarters, much larger than any of the others, and they walked in one by one. Thovaas propped up the corpse of Marak outside the door as Marak, or whoever it was, slowly sat in a lavish chair and clasped his hands together, fingers folded in front of his face, and he stroked his short cut beard with his index fingers nervously. The group asked where he had been, and told him that the King’s advisor Nemdori had likely been attacked. Marak’s blank face merely blinked in acknowledgement and he eventually replied that all men die, perhaps it was his time. The party glanced at each other and asked if he knew anything about it and Marak responded that when he left the castle Nemdori was still alive, and had no ill will against the man, and as a matter of fact hoped his advice was useful to him. The room was thick with tension and the sage answered several more questions but knew they were up to something. Thovaas asked him to explain one more thing, and pulled forth the real Marak’s body from outside the doorway and pointed to it. Marak paused for a moment, and that’s when Jerrin and Thovaas noticed a third arm holding a slender wand protruded from Marak’s robes. The wand expelled something with a flash at the paladin, and he had a sudden change of opinion about the sage, that perhaps he had gotten the story completely wrong and whoever this was had used Marak’s name for a good reason, perhaps a better reason than he should ever know, after all he said that Nemdori was still alive when he left. The others took fighting stances and Alex was the first to jump into action, slashing across the side of the three armed mage. That was when the image of the sage disintegrated and behind it was a six-armed woman with a serpent’s tail from the waist down. She hissed and growled as all six of her arms waved incantations of magic, drawing forth several spells at the same time. A wave emanated from her, and Alex and Jerrin watched their size diminish to half of their height while Thovaas pondered a way to stop the fight so they could find out why this interesting being was so evil. Jerrin’s companion Tempest bit the creature’s tail and swung her to the floor as Varekai struck at her with his fists, but she slithered upright once more and cast yet more spells. The room went black and she cast one spell that failed to affect Varekai and another to douse Tempest with acid, and immediately afterward Jerrin brought forth a vicious bat to attack and surrounded her with a pink glow so that Quentin could still shoot at her through the darkness. Alex swiped at her several times and they heard Thovaas slip and fall on the greased floor that he couldn’t see in the dark room. He had broken the marilith’s enchantment and was even more livid after falling to the floor. As he picked himself up and strode to stand between Tempest and Alex, she dispelled the bat Jerrin had called and slashed out with her vile-looking weapons to slash at those near her. Jerrin blasted her with a flame that shot from his diminutive hand and brought forth an ape next to her and the creature crushed a small table and overturned bookcases as it beat its massive limbs against the wall. Thovaas swung his sword in a slashing arc across her chest and watched as she recoiled from the smiting blow. Alex and Varekai worked to find a weak point as she again cast more spells. A wall of stone materialized from the floor to the ceiling, blocking in Jerrin and the summoned ape on one side in darkness as another glob of acid missed the target to eat away at old tomes across the room. Jerrin responded to her spell by shaping an opening in the stone wall wide enough for the ape with his own magic, and the ape pummeled her with its massive fists. The other struck out at her as she moved over the piles of books, slithering in a backwards fashion to shatter open a set of hidden shutters to the courtyard at the back of the row house. She stopped there to cast more spells at the party, and again Varekai overcame whatever charm she sought to place on him. Afterward she leapt from the window to glide softly to the courtyard below as an eagle manifested itself behind her in time to dig its talons into one of her arms. Thovaas and Varekai leapt from the opening in the wall to fall on and next to her respectively. She cast a spell that formed a stone wall in the window opening above, preventing the Jerrin, now as a panther, Quentin and the shorter Alex from jumping to the courtyard below. Instead they sprinted down the stairs to the first floor as several other mages of the order cast incantations of protection for themselves and the books that they protected, most notably against fire. Thovaas’s sword opened a deep gash in one of her arms, and she only used four of them to cast a spell that again failed to affect Varekai before wheeling around to slash Thovaas into unconscious submission. The eagle Jerrin had summoned still pecked at her as she brought her weapons to bear on Varekai, his slashed robes falling in ribbons to the ground. Her tail stabbed him in the thigh, excreting thick green venom onto his leg, and that was when his body started to quiver strangely, even to her. She watched as Varekai’s form changed, growing hair and height until it stopped expanding and he was just barely recognizable. Before the marilith stood a hybrid between wolf and man, snarling as her stoic face had changed to one of horror as she cast yet another feeble spell in his direction. Jerrin and his companion Tempest broke through the back door first, taking a moment to gather in what, and who, the hairy canine beast was and thankful that he was attacking their six-armed foe. Jerrin reverted to his shrunken Halfling form before running to aid Thovaas and stop his bleeding while commanding tempest to attack to give him cover. Varekai unleashed a bellow that shook the whole of the neighborhood and lashed out at the marilith, landing blow after blow until she fell under his punishment and Jerrin turned to witness his hybrid form ravaging the neck of the limp creature, blood flushing in rivulets through the grass of the courtyard. Thovaas awoke in time to see Varekai back away from the marilith corpse, and they cautiously sized one another up as the neighbors in the courtyard opened their doors and shown enough lanterns to catch a glimpse of the blood soaked werewolf and its strange fallen prey. Varekai ran into the darkness of the courtyard, jumping and swinging from footholds until his silhoutte could be seen against the stars of the sky as he made his way onto the roof and out of sight. Quentin and Alex hustled outside, and soon the sages barged out behind them, each glowing with magical protections. ***** [/QUOTE]
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