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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rafael Ceurdepyr" data-source="post: 1600200" data-attributes="member: 16566">Part 3, in which the sinister disappearance of young girls is investigatedA week later, Emi frantically knocks on their door, upset and crying.  Raef calms her down enough to get out of her that Shay, one of the Tatterdemalion beggars, did not come in last night and that she saw a man with a sack running away.  She takes them to Riverside, north of Green Gate Gardens near the Wounded Frog Tavern.  Investigating, they hear rumors of little girls all over the city being kidnapped, all with dark hair and eyes.  A large man in dark green was seen rushing off with a large bundle south of the tavern.  They find out that a girl was taken two nights ago from the San Martinez orphanage.  The group goes to the docks, where they find that word is spreading about the kidnappings. On the way back they realize someone is following them and get behind him, following him.  He lights a flare and they see a man in distinguished-looking clothing—Mr. G.  He leads them into a seedy dive, well hidden, and says that he knows all about their sailing trip.  "The disappearances started 3 1/2 weeks ago on the first day of spring," Mr. G. says.  He offers to let them help in the stakeout, in a place where earlier the trio saw a dark haired little girl.  About midnight, they see someone on the roof.  Raef and Levan climb up and chase two guys across the roof while Ari confronts another below, capturing him.  Raef and Levan capture one of the two on the roof, but the third falls to his death.  Mr. G. is pleased. The next day, in search of information, Raef goes to an old classmate at the Academia Cantorii—one who is not terribly pleased to renew their acquaintance—and finds out that the old holiday of Serpents Night is in two nights, the celebration of the slaughter of the first sea serpent, involving the mock sacrifice of the sea serpent but suppressed by the Faith.They go to the Gardens.  Raef notices scratches on the gate.  They slip through, following Levan as he finds the trail.  A man in half plate armor and a dog stand by a large rock—this is where the trail ends.  Ari staggers out, pretending to be lost, distracting him before the party attacks.  After Raef kills the dog and Ari kills the guard, they discover that the fabric of the man's clothing is the same dark green as the man in the sewers and as the man last night involved in the kidnappings.There is an opening in the rock, a flickering light within.  The opening reveals a natural rock tunnel, widened in places.  The ceiling is blackened with the smoke of generations of torches.  The tunnel continues on until they are outside the area of the Gardens, and opens into a curtained area.  The sounds of construction reach their ears—and the cry of a child.  They step into a larger room with a tall ornate door on one wall and a corridor leading off the other.  In the corridor, they find three storage rooms, one of which contains stacked barrels of gunpowder.  In the last room are the children, but the door is locked.They venture through the ornate door into a high ceilinged chamber with columns holding up the roof, a long-abandoned sanctuary probably once belonging to a merchant.  The Alyander symbol in the middle of the room is gone, replaced with a red painted serpent.  Scaffolding and cages line the walls, and men in green are assembling additional cages.  On the far side of the room is a contraption of gears, lenses, glass globes in wires.  Near the machine is a hooded man in dark green talking with a lizard man.As the adventurers start to leave, they make a sound and battle ensues.  They fight the six henchmen, and during the battle, the hooded man morphs into a crocodile man.  Raef slays the lizard man while Ari kills the crocodile menace.  In the crocodile man's pouch is a note:My Brother in the Change,Things proceed according to schedule.  The devout grow with each day, as our brothers work throughout the city to prepare for the Great Change. Although we have lost one item, through pawns we have gained another.  This is the way of the world, praise be to the Storm of Worlds, and such shifting of events will again return what we need to us.You will finish construction of the device that will allow us to build the key and perform the ritual as planned on the holy day.  With it, and the "helper" I have sent you, we will be prepared once the artifact has been retrieved.  Soon we will be restored to our rightful place, and the stagnant waters of this world will once again flow with life.                    H.Chained on the back side of the machine is Ulgar, who says that Keller was murdered when he delivered the dwarf to the port.  They release him, then go back down the hall and free the fifteen little girls who were imprisoned there.When they emerge from the tunnel, the park is surrounded by Red Guardsmen, among them Mr. G.  The little girls are loaded into carriages to be returned to their homes.  Mr. G. takes the three adventurers and Ulgar into his carriage.Mr. G. says that they have succeeded better than his organization.  He worries that there is a mole in his network.  He goes on to say that he will collect the 5000 gp reward from the Merchants Guild on our behalf, as he doesn't want word of the cult getting out.  They may say anything they like about breaking the slavery ring, except the cult connection.  In future, if they need to contact him, they should tie a black scarf to the front porch.The cult, he tells them further, is gaining popularity in society, apparently due to outside influences, including the lizard men and possibly the crocodile men.  Ulgar is offered a position working on something for Mr. G., who seems troubled and keeps looking at the dwarf.</blockquote>

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