Thinking he has done all he can, interested in Cygnis' well-being, and hoping not to bother her (as he reports,) still weak and recovering condition, Arman approached you discreetly as you were leaving them temple's Libraries, relating his story and fears. You, of course, playing the part of Cibach Azal, Free Captain, minor nobility of a foreign land, and affable gentleman adventurer, of course agreed to look into this, always willing to help your friends Cygnis and Arman, etcetera, etcetera.

Currently, you have just exited the knowledge-god's temple, and it is early afternoon; you aren't at loss for anything to do, but can't deny that this might make an interesting diversion, and probably wouldn't be much effort; Eidomon has been dead for a week or two.

I'm sure you've noticed, but I'm somewhat limited on dragon pictures. Been trying to start each thread with a new red pic, but it's getting harder.

[bump 1/3]

>>12412133
>>12412140

You can start posting pictures of our lovely companions.

Let's get our invisibility emerald while we investigate Eidomon's house, making sure to look out for magical traps.

>>12412301

Obviously for the purposes of being invisible while we approach and investigate the house, since we don't want to be seen snooping around. There may be cult members about.

>>12412328
>>12412301
Oh, okay, people. I thought I had none.
###############
The, as it turns out, 'Marquis Moon', is not as nice as you thought. It's old, and, while well-repaired, there's only so much that can be done. After waiting for half an hour, someone finally enters, and you duck in behind them. You could open the door on your own, but, being invisible, that would look awful suspicious.

Inside, it's not exactly bad, but somewhat dreary. The immediate feeling is that everyone here knows that there are better places to eat and sleep, and this is not one of them. Two dwarves in the corner getting quietly drunk, a young human behind the counter, picking his nails with a knife, and a few other motley patrons lounge around the room. The sense of hopeless mid-afternoon lethargy is almost oppressive.

>>12412381

Do we know what room he had rented? Let's break into it.

Goddamn, where is everyone?

>>12412563
>>12412604
"No." and "No idea."

Let's assume a form pathetic enough to actually visit such a place, then enter and rent a room. After that we can discreetly ask questions, and failing that, go from room to room looking for answers.

>>12413519
>Bit of a delay, hmm?
[Bump 2/3]
#################

It's another slow half hour before you can leave, (it would be rather strange to drop your invisibility in plain sight, or to come down from upstairs without having gone up,), but you remain patient. Invisibility allows you to polymorph, and you enter almost as soon as the first person exits. A poor human, struggling fortunes, etc. Likely the same sort of guise Eidomon used when he chose this place.

"Does Devlin stay here?" you ask the human manning the counter. He looks up lazily, and nods. "What room?"

"That's not your business, now is it?" he replies back, apparently totally okay with mistreating customers or potential clients at whim. Perhaps the real owner left him in charge for the day... or he's responsible for the current approaching-derelict state of the building.

Not something you intend to put up with. You don't actually change anything physically, but suddenly you can see him notice something change. You will your Presence, his fear, into further existence.

"I won't ask again, boy." you whisper to him, voice hard and quiet.

"Room twelve, second floor. Don't know who you think you are..." he mutters, trying to hide the sourceless fear he now feels.

"Keys." He doesn't answer, but does produce a key from under the counter, which accept happily. Straightening up, you glance around. Nobody noticed your little exchange, and you now what room it was.

we should have exit strategy just in case shit hits the fan. would hate to start rumors of a red dragon destroying random inns if we are forced to revert.

>>12413806
Head up to the room but come back down invisible and see if the clerk at the counter does anything. If he remains cool, then let's go check out the room.

oh can we use locate object to locate the stolen book too we probably got a very good description of it.

btw our goal

rolled 9, 10 = 19

Greetings Writer Dude! I caught up on the last two quests on the archive. Excellent as always!

Really we need something / someone to enter the room on our behalf. If I remember rightly, the bloke was a tricksy bugger.

Failing that - should we perhaps try entering 'not-through-the-door'? My trap-o-meter is off the scale at the moment.

>>12413865
>>12413875
Moving up the stairs, you pause at the landing, reactivating the emerald. Paranoia is annoying, but valuable enough you must indulge in it.

It seems in vain, though, as you see no response from the innkeeper, aside from a resentful glance after you up the stairs. Another thirty seconds of waiting taxes your patience, and there are no events of interest, so you proceed upward. Room twelve.... You fit the key into the lock, and open the door, worried about any traps.

Nothing in the way of traps, it seems. Also, evidently serpent-people like things neat. Or at least Eidomon did, unless the cult decided to tidy up his room after he passed away. Staffs, canes, and other ornamental trifles lie against the walls, between the bookshelves, or tucked out of the way in alcoves in the masonry. A small shelf seems set up as a shrine, with half burned candles, and leaden icons, and a large collection of brightly polished rocks. A stove in the center of the room gives off a faint smell of incense, sickly-sweet, but very weak.

Less than usual in the way of furniture. No bed, for one thing; the floor near the stove is strewn with thick, tasseled pillows. No desk, for another, although there is a portable writing stand pushed against one of the bookcases. Eidomon's clohtes are folded neatly in a stack against the far wall.

[dice 3d100]

rolled 93 = 93

>>12414014
Searching we a go.

rolled 90, 4, 13 = 107

>>12414014

rolled 86, 16, 14 = 116

Well - at least the dice don't hate me *that* much.

rolled 68, 28, 47 = 143

>>12414014

rolled 1, 3 = 4

It seems to me that the place near the fire with the pillows is the bed / blood warming area.

rolled 8, 5 = 13

>>12414014

I wonder if there is anything worth our attention in all of those weapon racks?

>>12414125
>>12414085
>>12414081


The 'shiny stones', upon closer examination, turn out to be glass jars, full of very dark, thick, liquid, and something alive. It writhes when shaken. Dwelling on his ophidian nature, these seem very likely meals. Or snacks.

One of them, however is not alive, and on closer inspection, turns out to be a pouch. Twenty platinum pieces are extracted, after you pour it out, and wipe them on his pile of clothes. The shrine itself seems thoroughly normal, the lead figurines and idols all being symbols of common humanoid commercial gods. Presumably for show of anyone who entered, you decide.

The bookcase is also and interesting subject. At first is seems that they are all perfectly normal, depressingly non-magical tomes. A number of random subjects, scholarly in nature for the most part. While reading the titles towards the bottom of the shelf, you notice that there's a thin layer of dust on the books and shelf. Most of the books and shelf. Here and there you notice books without dust, and where the shelf's layer is scuffed. All of them are invariably dull, innocuous, and boring, but a fairly strong sign that this was cleaned out when the cult learned of Eidomon's death.

Turning to the writing desk, you find nothing, but notice a book wedged behind the bookcase. Pondering whether it's a trap, you eventually decide it is worth the risk, in no small part due to the fact that the bookcase seems to have been cleaned out, but this might have been overlooked.

>>12414284
ulling it out, you are disappointed; "An Accounte of Metalls Base and Pure". Flipping through it, it proves itself just as useless as suspected... Except for the last page, and the inside cover of the back; there, there seems to be an architectural sketch of a lighthouse, with specific sections pointed out, along with many rather complex mathematical formulae, and a single scrawled "KV" in the corner, inscribed in a circle.

Finally, you turn your attention to the smaller items of the room; many of the canes and staffs have serpentine motiffs. Nothing exception, and nothing that smells of magic, though. Further, in the central pillows, you find a few large scales, as well as another small iron token with the symbol of the "Binder: The Unspeakable One" in it.


Beyond these findings, there seems nothing else of note.

>>12414286
What was the name of the wizard whose tower we robbed again? We should take the book and see if there's a lighthouse in this city that matches the drawing in the back of the book. Any idea on what the scales are and if the token is enchanted or anything?

rolled 2, 10 = 12

How thoroughly disappointing.

Can we check the floorboards? I had a little hidy hole when I was a kid under a floorboard in my house.

>>12414286

Take all the valuables and useful documents. Make sure to use a thick cloth to handle anything that has cult symbology or literature. We don't want to get zapped.

>>12414315
Let's take these back too Scinnari so she can try to decipher the arcane symbols and mathematical formula.

If she doesn't know what it's about, we can always take these to Cygnis. We aren't blowing our cover since we were asked by her "boyfriend" to investigate the place. I would still be preferable for her not to know less than us.

rolled 4, 3 = 7

Don't forget the platinum pieces either.

>>12414318
You searched pretty thoroughly, you don't think there's anything else. Floor seemed pretty solid.

>>12414315
Kazmiri. If you recall, one of the deeds you stole from Kazmiri was a deed to a lighthouse, (and the other a castle,), but from what you heard, they were both old ruins outside town anyway. You also remember seeing a fairly massive construction project underway as you arrived, and Cpt. Lydon mentioned 'the Sealord being busy with his lighthouse' during Swagfest, so that could be it too.

Finally, neither the token nor the scales seem magical or particularly valuable in any way; really, the scales seem likely to have been shed while sleeping, and the token seems likely to have been dropped under the pillows when this place was cleaned out. Like the book was (probably accidentally) left behind the bookcase.

>>12414327
Well, you accidentally touched the token with your bare hand, but it didn't shock or zap you, so it seems alright.

>>12414400
These were, of course, already pocketed.

>>12414350
Arman DID ask you not to tell her, as he fears for her mental/emotional state. Doesn't mean we can't go tell her, but it might mean we want a cover story.

>>12414403
So either Kazmiri is involved in this cult or they're planning something against him I think. It all depends on if his last name is a V though. We need to re-look into the sword we took from him that was on the ship then. It plays a role in this somehow, even if we failed to notice how at the time.

You said there was a sketch of a lighthouse in the book right? Guess it's time to try to find out which lighthouse it is for sure.

I'd prefer if we didn't let Cygnis know about this for now. Who knows what tools we might get out of this on our own that might help with dealing with her.

rolled 6, 1 = 7

>>12414403

I think it would be worthwhile comparing the wizard's lighthouse and the lighthouse being built by the sealord to the one here.

Is the bookcase organised somehow? Like a dewey system or something? If it is, perhaps we can deduce the rough subjects of the books that are missing from where they are on the shelf.

>>12414458
I believe the sealord is Kazmiri? And that was a tower we raided, not a lighthouse.

>>12414486
He's a member of the Captain's council, one who's done nothing to discourage the rumors his reputation thrives on. That said, the actual Sealord is Milton Drac, descendant of pirate-lord Drake, who's history was brought up during Swagfest.

rolled 6, 1 = 7

Unrelated observation.

From all that I have read thus far, we are Lawful Evil, yes? Valuing obedience and whatnots from our kobold buddies and our demonette (I can never remember names off hand >.<), but still quite willing to have no morals what-so-ever, such as letting said demonette be alone with hapless assassin for a while before using the fear imbued to become the emotional lynchpin for her.

I forget, how does the gold Dragon feel about the pirate wizard?
At the very least we should seek support from her if she is the enemy of our enemy

>>12414523
Well,I'd guess neutral evil actually, but the evil descriptor doesn't mean, well, evil
We don't need to be a mustachio twirling villain- and it makes no sense for us to be needlessly cruel.
We are, above all else, concerned with profit. If there is profit in an action that outweighs the risk, we will take it, probably, unless of course there are outside variables that may make our defintion of the word profit meaningless.
Happy minions work much more efficentally then tortured, half starved, or fearful ones.
And really, the point isn't to rob back banks- it is to BE the bank, the system behind the bank, and ultimately the flow of money that guides nations.
Right now, we aren't near that grandoise goal, but, given time, we'll be able to control things AND be hailed as a pillar of society while doing so.

Have we figured out why we can't remember anything yet?

>>12414600
No. But the Gold seems to have lost her memories in relation to the cult, which is why we're so keen on investigating.

>show the book to Scinnari

There doesn't seem much else to do, so you leave, money and the lead symbol pocketed, and book tucked under your arm. Profitable, if nothing else. If the pillows weren't second hand, you might have considered taking them as well, but they smelled decidedly of snake.

Stepping out into the street, you hear a cry for help. Discerning the source, you see a young boy, messenger, probably, by his clothes and satchel, surrounded by three belligerent-looking orcs.

The streets are mostly empty; you could help him or leave him, and it's unlikely anyone would take note, let alone care, except for the boy.

[dice 2d100 for whatever we decide to do. Second one we may want low]

rolled 68 = 68

>>12414808
Help the kid. He might have something useful on him. Rolling once so others can join in.

rolled 16, 53 = 69

>>12414808

Rolling. I'd say leave him though. Got better things to be doing.

i think it would be useful to have ears on the street i say we engage in a conversation . basically throw off the orcs and the boy and then take advantage of the situation.

remember reputation is good since we seek to rule.

rolled 8, 6 = 14

>>12414900

We're still polymorphed though

oh forgot to add the boy is a messenger if so he has a message probably important too.

We have the kobolds for streets smarts.

WE'RE A RED! Reds are infamous for killing on the whim of a perceived insult. What reason have we to care for the little prat's fate? It was likely his own stupidity that got him into that mess. No reason to risk ourselves.

>>12414932
Why play to type?

>>12414932
Because knowledge is power and his message could be relevant. Even if it's not, it gives us a potential in with whoever sent the message. It could be someone important or it could be someone useless.

>>12414808
More information is always a good thing. I say we listen in, find out what's going on.

>>12414850
>>12414861
>>12414900
>68, 16
"Is there a problem?" you ask, friendly, but voice hard under the false amiability.

"They're trying to-!" the boy says, dodging past one, to hide behind you. The orcs, for their part, make a guttural shout and charge. Figuring you might as well save kid, you draw your rapier and lower it under the orc's over sized spear, running him through. Ripping it out, you move the spear with your off-hand, still holding to book, so that it trips up the second, and manage to dodge the third's axe, just barely. Returning the hand with the book to behind you, fencing posture, you manage to slice open the third one's throat with a slash to the neck. As the blood pours out, you retreat, as much to get out of the way of the blood as to give the final orc a chance to desist.

You feel the kid touch your hand, and you mutter "Not now." at whatever it is he wants. Then he pulls the book out of your hand and when you look over your shoulder to see what the hells he's playing at, you see him take off running. That /bastard./

[orc or pursue?

>>12414975
We don't. If we did, we'd be in our true form, freeport would be half ashes and we'd be demanding tribute from the rest on the first fucking day.

Instead we're going to do ourselves the favor of not risking bodily harm for some insignificant fool who has nothing to do with us. The minions we do have, we have because they have had demonstrable worth to us. Unless you can see one beyond the paltry experience of a few years on the street, I say we leave him to his fate.

If he IS worth something, he'll escape on his own.

rolled 3, 3 = 6

>>12414808
help the kid- who knows, we might get on the up and up with some allies
At the very least there's always the opportunity to collect bounties afterwards

rolled 1, 10 = 11

After the little bastard- he's a cunning one, he is.
If we catch up to the guy, I think we'll have no problem leaving the orcs behind us.

>>12415009
Sigh... So they noticed us even with the emerald and anti-scrying gear? Or is it just a random thief? Chase the kid down using the sense item ability we have if we have to. No one steals our stuff and gets away with it.

rolled 2, 7 = 9

>>12415009

Persue. Take my 2D10 as a roll if you need it.

My god we're pathetic. Tiamat would laugh at us.

rolled 6, 6 = 12

>>12415009

Also, beat the crap out of him (or kill him) for stealing that book. After all, we're still polymorphed as that random humany person iirc

rolled 6, 9 = 15

>>12415072
We should find out WHY he stole the book before we make decisions like that.
And even if he is just a two bit punk, that took more then just balls to pull off back there.
We may want to beat the crap out of him- or, perhaps, use him

>>12415009
Alright. He's obviously cult. Catch him, break his legs, and bring him back to Scinnari for more thorough questioning.

>>12415111
What balls? For all he knows we're just some dude with some decent sword skills.

HE IS A PUNK AND WE SHOULD TEACH HIM SOME RESPECT WITH THE BACK OF OUR HAND.

rolled 9, 6 = 15

>>12415111
This
>>12415147

>>12415147
He might be random thief who stole from the orcs. He's probably just a cut-purse now that I think about it.

>>12415052
>>12415072
You do remember that your rolls don't count, right? Not unless you actually let people see what it is you're rolling.

>>12415172
And if that's the case we should just let Scinnari have fun with him. Same deal either way.

>>12415166
Seriously guys? We're better than this. We deal with things with style and class until we see something that actually needs violence to settle. If we need to act like this to a mere child thief... This quest is taking a sudden turn in personality that goes against how we've been acting.

rolled 4, 9 = 13

>>12415175
Yep. Well aware

>>12415188
There is the chance that he could be involved in the cult, hence his interest in the book. This is a cult that kidnaps and tortures dragons. We shouldn't show them mercy.

>>12415188
I was under the impression that the genteel adventurer was merely the facade we were using to gain power and influence in this area.
We're currently not using that guise though, so we can get away with being more of a dick.

Ok guys think about this. That boy was near the inn that the cult just went and cleaned up after Ed's death. He was probably put there to watch anyone suspicious going in or out of the inn.

If he was a cutpurse, what was he doing being cornered by the orcs? If this was his area he worked, he would of been able to spot anything out of the ordinary like a trio of orcs and avoided them.

Odds are he was a plant by the cult, and was not familiar with the area that he was assigned to watch, and looked like an easy target by the gang of orcs.

We need to append him and torture any information out of him. If he doesn't belong to the cult, we need to find out who he belongs to.

>>12415199
Then why say "take my 2d10 roll" if you know that there isn't a way of telling what you're actually rolling?

>>12415227
Being a dick and just using outright "RAHHHH!" violence is far different. You guys immediately suggested smacking this kid around just because he grabbed the book. There's no proof he's apart of the cult other than the chance he grabbed the book we had, which he could likely pawn off for money if he's a random thief. Why would the orcs be annoyed at him? Because he stole something from them and got caught!

We can be plenty evil without being violent. Look at how we've dealt with the assassin in the past.

>>12415229
Additionally, if we torture / kill the boy, we have eliminated any witnesses that could say something suspicious was going on. The one surviving orc probably thinks that we stepped in to save the boy and ran off to protect him. If we kill the orc and the boy gets away, and hes not a member of the cult, he could start talking about how he was saved near the inn and how he got this book, that could lead to the cult knowing that someone is investigating them.

tdlr: Pursue the kid, capture alive and torture to find out who he is, kill when done.

we have locate object. he can run but can't hide i say let him run but follow him in the shadows. if he is just a boy we will give him quite a fright. however if he does belong to that cult he will have shown us where our enemy is hiding.

random cultist picture with dragon

rolled 7, 2 = 9

>>12415277

This.

I suppose we can let our demonette have all the fun she wants with the kid too.

>>12415273
The problem is though even if he isn't tied to the cult or any other organization that can do us harm, hes likely to talk about how he was saved from a trio of orcs by a mysterious stranger right outside of that particular inn. If word gets back to the cult they could catch on that someone skilled in swordsmanship unafraid to take on three orcs alone went to the inn to investigate their cult.

>>12415313
They have no clue we investigated the cult. We checked to see if anyone was watching us and no one was. The room has already been cleared out by the cult, as we saw by the fact numerous books lacked dust. As far as they know, we just came out of the inn. Even if they know someone is investigating the cult, I think they might of suspected that when one of their higher members suddenly had a case of dead-itis and one of their hide-outs was raided by the city guard.

however they will know anyway when we kick down their door. well burn down their lair. assuming he is working for the cult.

the information will be little use to them.

>>12415329
They won't believe it was raided by the city guard if they have planted someone to watch the inn and they report no such thing. Additionally if they have any eyes or ears inside the city guard they will know that the city guard never authorized such a raid, and never carried such a raid.

Killing the boy is simply covering all our tracks, from any perceived threats and any unperceived threats.

also if he does belong to the cult we could have so much fun. shape shift into the boy and pretend that the real boy is in fact a gold dragon pretending to be us.

this is purely speculative

Turning and running, you leave the orc behind you still getting up, and race hell-for-leather after the thief. The HELL does he think he's doing? Your mind races as you do. It seems likely he was a cultist or cult-hired material, anyway. But how did he find you? Perhaps the trinkets Azan sells are just that; trinkets. Then suddenly you remember his face from the Marquis Moon's common room. He was sleeping in a chair near the bar, feet on a table. He must have heard you there. Gods dammit.


He's a good runner, but people are fast to get out of the way of a man or elf with a bloody sword charging down the street. Anywhere else, you'd probably be held up for potential murder; in Freeport, especially with the decline of the Sealord's Guard, from what you understand, thieves aren't exactly uncommon.


You do decide to sheathe your sword once he leads you into the Old City, though; guard patrols actually exist here, and they'd be the kind to ask questions. No one tries to stop you, but you suddenly recognize where he's heading. The cult temple, where you rescued Cygnis and slew Eidomon. You immediately have to put that guess to the test, as you lose him a minute later.

The abandoned house is pretty much the same as you remember, though it's daylight this time. The only thing different, aside from that, is the three guards in uniform outside with a 'KV' symbol on their shoulders.

>>12415377
"Did a young human just run in through here?" you ask, stopping to check.

"None of your business." the apparent leader of the guards ask, but puts out his hand as you attempt to press forward, "I'm sorry, this place is under investigation and excavation by the city; they're digging up artifacts of the cult that was found here. Nobody except for the crew of workers is allowed inside."

"That man who just passed is a thief, and stole something from me." you growl, annoyed. It doesn't help that the guard looks quite happy with his 'inability' to let you through.

"I'm sorry, no one's allowed inside."

[action?]

>>12415360
Indeed they won't believe the city guard raided it. But they will know someone else did, which caused the city guard to do it. Would anyone actually believe the city guard could kill what Eidomon was? At least find out more about the boy before instantly saying "Kill him."

use locate object to determine where the book is and maybe we should get back up first. might do some more research into this KV (forgot his name) later to figure out if he himself is on on it.

>>12415377
I would suggest casting sending to both Scinnari and Asha telling them to immediately come to your position of the former cultist hideout and provide backup. If we can take out the inhabitants of the hideout again in one fell swoop, then we will still be unknown to the cultists.

>>12415439
I don't think it's the cultists we are dealing with here guys. It's likely the sorcerer we robbed earlier. Mental note: Have a nice little chat with Azan later and we better test out our amulets since we might of been cheated...

>>12415385
Leave and then use the emerald to get in I suppose. If it really is the wizard in there, we're boned anyways I imagine but it should get us past the guards. Unless we can intimidate our way in with our uber presence.

>>12415397
Yea the plan was to torture him for info and then kill him. Just killing him would be stupid and a loss of information.

Hopefully we will be able to get into the hideout again and grab him.

>>12415385
invisibility tiem now?

any other entrances? can we sense motive on the guards to see if they are hiding something?

we could stake out the old temple see if their story matches up. see if their are any secrete cult signals, pass phrases that they show to the guards.

>>12415466
I thought we were playing a red dragon of wealth and taste?

>>12415480
We are, having this cult find out about our presence or worse that sorcerer we robbed will make us a dead red dragon. We are doing what we have to, to survive.

Yes but this cult needs to be put down for our security. Last thing we want is to be someones slave. Also loot might be involved.

>>12415500
Well, there's doing what you must to survive, and there's doing what you must because you can.
There is no profit in cruelty- especially if we are to engineer a situation where no one is to hear of it.

>>12415540
The problem is that people will hear about it, that is the whole reason to kill the kid, so people won't hear about it. That was the original explanation for killing the kid, so that he can't tell anyone else what happened.

But right now that is a non issue because we can't get to him.

So we need to either find a way in, or go back and get help to break in and get the kid.

Throwing up your hands in disgust, you walk off, just out of sight. First alley you come to you vanish into, then literally vanish, and re-emerge. It's tricky to inch your way between the guards, but easily done, given patience and effort. Once inside, you remember the the layout of the place. The barrel-secret passage has been propped open, and people have obviously been going through here routinely. Maybe the Sealord's Guard actually are 'investigating and excavating'. But that leaves you wondering why the kid would.... Aaagh... You clamp your mouth shout, realizing that you're starting to exhale smoke again.

The pit trap is also jammed open, and some boards are laid across the corners, widening walkways around the edges. This is odd. There should be soldiers down here, or something at least; this isn't how a guard force investigates. Well, to be honest, you don't know how one does, but it isn't how /you'd/ have done this.

Another thing; the secret door off to the left isn't open.

>>12415593
There are no open doors right? I guess we use the secret door and then close it behind us. Opening a door might make too much noise.

listen to here if anything is on the other side of the door. if we used locate object can we determine if the book is down the passage through the secrete door?

>>12415642
Fixing it in you mind, you imagine it, and immediately are drawn ahead. Ahead and to the left; you're pretty sure it's down that passage.

Activating the catch, you open the door, and shut it behind you, stopping to listen. No sign that anyone heard you, but you do hear faint scraping and talking sounds from down the corridor. The boy with your book is almost assuredly there.

>>12415665
Hmmm. Now we have to think if Azan screwed us or not. Either he's helping our foe or he's not. If he is, our anti-scrying stuff might reveal us... Sigh... I thought our roll finding him was good too. I guess go closer and try to hear what's going on.

you know if he is going to his superior we might get far more information out than we would have ever gotten from the book alone.

btw minimize risk of detection these cultists well the ones in charge seem to have supernatural ability to see past illusions and through shape shifting.

try to stay as far away as possible and hide normally in case they can see through invisibility.

how good our we at hiding normally?

>>12415718
> how good our we at hiding normally?

If we have to roll for it? Unbelievably terrible.

>>12415692
>>12415718
It's dark and not very well lit here, but you don't need that much light. Edging down the corridor, you advance until you enter the open cavern area, and then immediately climb off to the side, out of the way.

A quartet of the degenerate snakemen you encountered the first time you entered this place; two of them are carrying a crate, two are walking in front. In the center is the young human you followed here, and a human female that he is talking to. None of them seem to have noticed you, so you shift your dark cloak to cover them a little more, and strain your ears to listen.

[dice 2d100]

rolled 12 = 12

>>12415773
...

rolled 77 = 77

>>12415773

Rollin'

rolled 43, 62 = 105

here goes.

rolled 76, 89 = 165

Man, roll high, roll high.

>>12415787
>12, 77
It's difficult to hear. Doing your best not to move, you strain to hear, picking up more as they get closer;

“** ***** *****ow you?”

“N* * **** *** th** **ready!”

“Ju** ***ing **re. Yo* **** ** **ve been remarka*** in*****tent.”

“Look, for t**- For- I did what you told me to! Here!” the male exclaims, annoyed and exasperated. He pulls something off his finer, and hands it to her. She takes it without seeming to comment.

“***ight. ****. What did y** *ee?”

“Elf*. Same one the priests said busted up this place when they re****ed it; ****enary. I /do/ have someth*** you'll like, ********* *** **n't know, though.”

“Just tell me. You are being very irritating, I would ***e to have to tell **em to ki** you.” From her tone, her threat is not necessarily in jest.

“Aww, you wouldn't do that, would you, Batora?”

“Maybe. I'd have to deli*** **** crate myself.”

“***....”

“**** **** **.”

“Right. He was also one of the captains who took part in Swagfest, Cibach Azal. You **** ******* down **** ********* *** mosaics out, *** *********** seem to have no *****.”
[Grabs him]

“I tell you, this is the Binder's work we do here. Are you saying it's a waste?”

“No! No, I'm sorry. It just seems like you should get out? I mean, that's the biggest festival all year-" they're right in front of you as they say this. For some reason, they both seem to find his comment hilarious, and break down chuckling. The snake-creatures look annoyed and confused, but stop to wait for them.

A moment later, they recover, and head down the passage you just came from.

>>12416030
But we were shape shifted as an ugly human weren't we?

>>12415787
>>12415826
>>12415889
>>12415895
>>12415932
Sorry for the delay, typed the conversation up, then edited out what we couldn't hear.

>[grabs him]
Apparently I forgot to translate some of my action-notes to actual narration. Sorry.

>>12416035
odd... well, we've been IDed so I guess everyone has to die now

go back a bit to the empty corridor and cast sending to Scinnari. Have her come
give her emerald, tell her to guard the exit and kill anyone that tries to run

then walk in and kill anyone that doesn't

>>12416030

Alright, as suspected they're cult. The guards are also cult, meaning the cult is pretty much the defacto rulers of the city, and they know we're a serious enemy that they need to eliminate.

Well fuck, we're pretty much hosed. Unless we kill them all right now.

>>12416089
I think this is the best plan. They all need to die before they get a chance to move against us. After that we need to disappear for a little while.

>>12416089
Leaping to conclusions, bro. We don't know. These could be cultists, and the guards could be innocent. (Well, innocent of being cultists, at any rate.) Cults like this like to wield power, rule the city, but usually it's the crazy-kook style that converts people just because they can, not the nefarious-plans type.

>>12416159

The guards are obviously guarding this building for the cult. That's why they let the thief by but not us. It's also why they're letting the cult operate in what is supposed to be a restricted area. Whether they are actually members of the cult itself is inconsequential, the cult controls them.

Everyone in this building needs to die. No witnesses.

it still amazes me they have the gall to be in the same place as before. they must either have major pull in the city, no where else that is better, and/or their is a significance to this location they just can't uproot and abandon.

>>12416159
> These could be cultists

> this is the Binder's work we do here.

They're cultists, no question. They know who we are, but not what we are. However, that last point doesn't actually matter if they move first and catch us while we're shapeshifted. We need to kill them all before they can do that.

We also need to get word to Scinnari.

>>12416204
Judging by the fact that the guards are out and out working for them, I'd say they have major pull. They're probably the most powerful single group in the city.

>>12416217
which means that we might want to reconsider our political plans for the city

I'd propose we kill all of them and then cut our losses, get all of our loot and find an other island (preferable an active volcano island, with island)

>>12416238
>with island elves)(and tiki-forged)(but that's just a preference, not a requirement)

Warning: 'Message' does not have infinite range, we can't use it to contact her.

That said, judging by your reasoning, we need to take these two out anyway. Suggestion: Can we attract their attention, draw them back into the central cavern, or the temple-proper area, as we know that one worked, revert, and fry them? Preferably leading them away from their crate, before incinerating them.

we need to confirm if one of the captains (they guy who has guards out in front) is a member of this cult.

this is pushing our luck going in deeper but knowing at least some of the people in the cult might be a good idea. however we should try to get in contact with Scinnari with sending. She has greater telaport at will and can aid us.

oh we only know message... guess we might be on our own.

>>12416238
No. We hurt them. If they're allowed to rebuild it won't matter how far we run, they'll come for us. We're there chosen prey after all. I for one would rather not have that happen. We still have the momentum from our last fight, they appear to still be recovering. We need to kill them all before they can.

Confirm tactics and 1d100, please.

also what is in that box?

>>12416284
> there chosen prey

Should be "their." But the point stands. They need to die. If they're still walking down that passage we should be able to pop up behind them and fry them. Close quarters against a dragon, even a young one, is a bad place to be.

should we sneak in deeper and get more information i am all for surprise breath weapon if odds favor us.

would be really interesting when the guards boss shows up and then finds out that someone preformed a surprise purge of the cult again.

oh forgot to add bonus points if the guards are alive and had no idea what happened.

rolled 7 = 7

best way to kill them would be in dragon form, but then there can be NO witnesses, so everyone dies and then we saturate the area with fire just in case there are any invisible people around. Would it be possible to barricade the exit in case someone manages to slip away?
If so, keep invis, derobe, walk in and start burninating
otherwise just burninate from the outside. Give no chance to spot us before and no chance to slip away since the fire will be saturating the exit-corridor

rolled 35 = 35

>>12416292
Alright, it looks like we're doing this. Pop up behind the group that passed us, go dragon form if we can fit, and roast them.

Can we fit? If we can't, back to the drawing board.

And I really hope we don't get some terrible roll.

rolled 66 = 66

>>12416378
>>12416384

Fuck, our dice rolling skills are atrocious.

>>12416388
We DO still have a 99 in reserve.

>>12416396
I'm thinking it might be time to uncork that, but I'm hesitant to make that call without more people weighing in.

Thoughts?

>>12416411
We've discovered the Cult is basically in command of the city. They know we're trying to get into political power. The ones here know that we are conducting at least some level of investigation into the cult.

If that gets out, they'll go against us politically, and have us defeated with their doubtlessly superior position. They may also send assassins after us at inopportune times.

I suggest we break out the 99 for a nice, clean extermination of all local cultists. That way, our secret is safe and the cult is hurting just a bit more.

>>12416432
Also: The 99 is like potions in Dungeon Crawl SS. Use them when you need them. Don't try to hoard them or that orc WILL kill you.

rolled 14 = 14

>>12416432
sec- er- thirded

>>12416254
>>12416303
>>12416308
[A little disjointed, here, but it seems to be going towards 'torch'.]

Having heard enough, you jump down, behind them. You don't have to say anything; the snakemen heard you, and spin around, hissing. The two carrying the crate drop it. All start moving towards you; the humans are a little slower.

"What? What is it? Who-" you hear the female, 'Batora', ask, before she switches into some new bastard-version of draconic, asking her serpent-minions what is going on. They don't respond, but she and the male follow.

You wave, backing up into the cavern. Turning around, you walk further away, sizing up the ceiling. Here looks about right. Far enough away that you shouldn't torch the crate, too.

Standing and smiling faintly, you let them come.

"That's him, Batora! He's the one- he must have follo..." the male says, before realizing that if that's the case, =he= is responsible for leading you to them.

"Yes. He must have." Batora says, "You'd better pray he doesn't get away, otherwise it will be on /your/ head." Her voice is dangerous.


"If you're quite finished, would you care to come at me? I can only wait so long before I grow impatient." you call mildly across the cavern. While they don't 'charge', they oblige, and close in on you. You use the time to casually remove you breeches and jacket. Batora and the other human are startled by this, and almost stop, but follow the snakemen, who show no interest and take no notice of your 'crazy' actions.

i would save it for damage control if we mess up really badly. unless these guys are powerful they will be toasted.

>>12416432
If the 99 will make sure this encounter ends with us completely victorious with nothing left alive but us, then I say let it loose.

I kind of think we should save the 99 for fighting a named individual if we use it at least... Seems a waste to use it to cut down a lot of nameless foes and I doubt this roll will decide the entire battle.

>>12416444
You wait until you hear Batora orders them to spread out and surround you, before you revert. Knocked back by your sudden growth, they don't even manage to get to their feet before you unleash your fire. Batora starts to shout "Dra-" before the cavern is lit with a bright orange flame, and they are consumed in the pyre of your breath. When you finally stop, you listen to the faint crackling of flesh, and inhale the delightful smell of burnt meat. Stopping, you listen; there are no calls, nor other sounds, and it seems that you got them all.

rolled 9, 5 = 14

>>12416396

With the current dice rolling, I suggest so

>>12416444
visualizing this as calmly undressing and being careful to fold nicely while being approached by enemies

'tis most amusing

>>12416453
Looks like we get to keep the 99. It wasn't needed at all.

So, do we sneak out or get the guards inside and kill them as well?

>>12416453
Seriously guys? You killed them all just like that? We could of gotten information from the kid at least if we took him alive and you guys potentially friend any scrolls, books, notes, etc. they had on them... I don't know why we didn't just take them on like we have in the past with our sword.

>>12416473
hmm... difficult choice... on the one hand there's the possibility that we'll start rumours about phantom dragons. on the other hand we really shouldn't let anyone live...
kill them too has my vote

also: did the crate survive?

can we ward the crate form scrying or divination? would hate for us to give away our identity with sloppy work. (remember the pirate wizard)

if we have the means of doing so lets open the create and look inside being careful of magic.

destroy the skulls no speak with dead here.

EXPLANATION:

A few things; one, it seemed that if you decided to drop the hammer, they had so little chance to survive it hardly needed a roll. None were forthcoming, but it seemed to decide upon 'torch', so I just went ahead with it.

TWO:

################
>>12416030
>Elf*
I originally typed that up as a conversation, and that was a signifier for a footnote. Then I went through and used insert to bleep out portions that we couldn't hear, and didn't put two and two together into their illegible self in my head until now. [And I forgot the footnote]

Answer: 'True Sight', if you haven't guessed, is what was on the ring he handed back. It's also what Scinnari has permanently. It also says it should reveal polymorphed creatures as their real selves, meaning that Scinnari should have known what we were to begin with.

My verdict, since I've already trammeled over that little bit of cannon, is that it reveals the last form we've spent 24hours in. If we haven't spent the past 24 in a single form, then reveals our natural form. Therefore; Scinnari saw us as the elf, he saw us as the elf, anyone who looks at us in the next 24 hours will see 'DRAGON'.

Duly warned. Anyway, we just whacked two people with True Sight; there shouldn't be too many of them around, unless we put them on the alert.

Sorry about this, just trying to clear up.

>>12416476
had to make sure that none of them had even a chance of surviving it. Fighting with the sword might have been too slow and one of them might have gotten away

actually save one of their skulls we can get a scroll of speak with dead and pump the corps for information.

>>12416476
Because if there had been any higher ranking cultists in that bunch we would have been killed outright before we got a chance to get back into our dragon form. Fighting in our elven shape is not wise if we can help it, we're vastly easier to kill then. Plus, their are guards working for the cult outside. We can't afford to let this spiral out of control and turn the entire city against us.

>>12416484
Crate survived, open it? (y/n)

>>12416490
I can only imagine the look on someone's face when they truesight and see not only an erinyes, but the dragon who's arm she's clinging to.

It's a great mental image. That said, let's go all stealth-like and try to kill as many cultists as possible. Also take the opportunity to re-loot the place, as they've doubtlessly begun to reoccupy it.

rolled 4, 1 = 5

>>12416516

Poke it with a ten foot pole.

so we should probably lay low for the next 24 hours.

>>12416516
y

>>12416490
Do gold dragons have true sight? Let's also hope our little assassin doesn't.

yes carefully

>>12416543
Oh wait, Cygnis won't be able to identify us. If she could, she would of noticed when we rescued her. We're fine from her at least.

Again, people, how do we know the guards are with the cult? Cult enforcers aren't usually the type to wear uniforms. I think someone higher up in the city is in the cult (Kazmiri has been mentioned,) but I don't think they are. (Well, I mean, sure, they enjoy being in authority, and being jackasses to us, and that's obviously [always chaotic evil] worth killing them for, but that doesn't make them cultists.)

>>12416543
It's a 6th level spell for a sorcerer. She wasn't nearly tough enough to be level 12.

>>12416567
Why not pile up the bodies on something flammable and just light it on fire? That way when the bodies are found, they'll think they were burnt this way rather than dragon fire, yes? Of course, we'll likely have to dispose of their equipment and leave only flammable stuff on them but it could work.

>>12416567
> Again, people, how do we know the guards are with the cult?

They allowed the cult members in and out of what is supposed to be a restricted area. They covered for the kid who stole from us. They're allowing the cult to just walk back into their old hideout and reestablish themselves. They're obviously either in the cult's pocket, or someone higher up is a member of the cult. Either way, the cult controls the guards.

>>12416579
I'm in favor of this. Make it look less obviously like the work of a dragon.

the big problem about this cult is that they can manipulate ligament authority. So unless we want to play grand theft auto with 5 stars we should hide our self. it won't end well unless we dump most of our gains.

simply put we don't want this to happen to us.

i think i already stated this but we should smash the skulls to prevent speak with dead and take their leader's skull to interrogate later with a scroll of speak with dead.

also we should figure out how to hide our new loot.

We need to find a new cave hidden away from the city, get some sort of nondetection set up, and stash the stuff we steal from the cult there so they can't locate object it.

>>12416543
No.

>>12416533
>>12416523
>>12416529
>>12416532
>>12416579

Re-polymorphing, you move over to the crate, inspecting it. It doesn't seem trapped, but you can't be sure. You redress while you think about it.

After getting dressed, you grab one of the almost-incinerated spear shafts, and poke the crate, then whack it with the spear. Content with no response, you open it.

Heavy. Inside, there's among other things, a slip of paper with an address on it; Bierce Vintners, 100 Wave Avenue. That is, if you recall, in the nicer section of the Merchant district; much better than where your own house is.

Intruiging. Below the note, of course, your eyes have already fastened onto the golden chalices and goblets that lay there; six in total, along with two golden candelabras. Snake motifs all, obviously cult material.

Oddly, the bottom of the crate is layered with bricks.

Thinking over your finding, you return to survey the bodies. It would probably be best to leave them there; it looks like you took them out with a flashy fire-based spell. After all, who would think of a dragon? Even they were surprised and terrified to see you, despite the.... arrogance of their motifs.

>>12416639
If we're going to take that crate out, we're going to need to take care of the guards then. Unless there's another way out we found when we were looting the place last time. Anyways, I am out all. See you next time Writer-dude.

>>12416651
See you, thanks for coming. It IS 00:30, it might be a decent time to start wrapping up.

hard to get that on such short notice. could store it in our current room since it is warded but then if someone breaks in or investigates they will find we have it. it proably will have to do for now... can't leave it here.

keep in mind while they don't know it was us we are on their radar. hopefully a small enough blip they overlook us.

>>12416617
Man, speak-with-dead would cause so many problems for us to cover up.

Writer, could you houserule that away?

>>12416639
Check under the bricks.

>>12416639
Alright. First, get a bag for the golden goodies. Use one of the bricks from the crate to crush the skulls of everyone but the woman who appeared to be the one in charge. Take that skull with the rest of the loot. Memorize and pocket the paper with the address.

>>12416670
We just need to crush the skulls. It needs to have a mouth for speak with dead to work.

memorize the address and wedge it inside the bricks make it look like we over looked it and just looted the place.

they will ramp up security but they won't pack up everything and leave

>>12416639
Smash all the skulls. Except for the leader and the thief, we should take those for if we ever get access to speak with dead.

>>12416670

Speak with dead:
> ... A damaged corpse may be able to give partial answers or partially correct answers, but it must at least have a mouth in order to speak at all.

All we need to do is use one of the bricks to smash the jaws off the skulls. We should do that for everyone but the woman's, and take hers with us so that we might be able to use it on her.

>>12416651
I think we've got one. Dat Address. Just get a heavy cloak, shift to look like one of the cultists, (Batora, maybe, she seemed in charge,), and then walk out saying we're delivering it.


We should of course explore the rest of the cavern. But that really sounded like a mailing address. She even said 'deli*** **** crate myself', sounds like "Deliver this crate myself' to me.

yea check under the bricks

Wishing you had a backpack or pouch with you, you reluctantly return the goblets to the crate, shutting it. Stepping instead back to the secret door to the chapel, you reactivate the emerald and step through into the temple-proper.

Well. That seems to decide it. The place is empty, alter gone, the gong and symbol of the Unspeakable One, this Binder, are no where to be seen. Even the hellish mosaics on the walls seem to be damaged, as if someone's started on chipping them out. Travelling through the other rooms, you find they have recieved similar treatment, the library is empty and dark, torches hang along the main hallway, and every room seems basically empty.

Returning to the chest, you glance through it's contents again, thinking, and admiring the gold.

[dice 1d100]

>>12416670
Potentially.

>>12416688
It takes a whole body, remember? Smashing the jaws would work, but it would take stealing her whole flash-fried body with us, if you wanted to question her at some unspecified date further in the future.

>>12416695
Nothing seems to be down there. [+10 to that 1d100, though]

rolled 1 + 10 = 11

>>12416727
Alright, let's do this.

rolled 7 = 7

>>12416718
Oh god please don't let it be a domination spell.

Although we should have bitchin' resistances.

>>12416738
>>12416736
Fishsticks, fishsticks, fishsticks

rolled 67 + 10 = 77

>>12416736
Holy shit. We slip, fall in, bang our head against the bricks, and black out, probably losing all memory of who we were.

That roll was that bad.

>>12416738
>>12416736
>badwrongevil dice
Don't worry. Nothing happens.

[Actions? Or do we think this would be a good place to pause?]

>>12416718

Alright, the guards were definitely helping the cult clear out.

As loathe as I am to suggest this, we should inform Cygnis. She's just about one of the only people we can trust to not be in cahoots with the cult.

Also, we need to smash their new hideout.

>>12416768
Find something not full of bricks to carry the gold out. Head back to our house and stash them in the warded part, hopefully that will stop locate spells that the cult might cast. Then we need to inform Scinnari and then maybe Cygnis about what's happened. Regardless of what we do though, we need to hit the cult again before they can full recover.

>>12416769
>inform cygnis
>inform cult that cygnis knows
>arrange for mutual "ambush"
>whoever wins, we lose an enemy
>we kill the victor with surprise.

Sounds like a plan to me.

>>12416782
Last bit should say "fully recover." But anyway, we might want to deal with the guards too. Perhaps lure them inside and kill them? Or try to just sneak out?

>>12416790
No. We don't want to help the cult. In any way, shape, or form. They know we're their enemy. Cygnis can't say the same thing. We want Cygnis to win that fight, and judging by the fact that the cult has taken her once before we don't want to unbalance it in their favor. Cygnis will be much less likely to expect treachery from us than the cult would.

i don't think we absolutely need her yet but we should check up on Cygnis last thing we need is an insane gold. could the cult be giving her nightmares?

also lets see what she remembers trying to act like a therapist while separately pumping her for information.

>>12416790
> inform the cult

That's a bad idea. They're currently the biggest threat not simply to out position but to our very survival. Helping them is a terrible plan, we want Cygnis to win that fight, we're in a much better position to deal with her should it come to it.

>>12416790
Help the cult? Are you mental? They'll try to kill us.

I believe that was probably a Divination attempt on you...

If you pick up the crate and go invisible, will it vanish too?

How about the loot from all those dead? Or are they melted? That True Seeing ring sounds cool.

>>12416822
If we're holding it when we go invisible, it does to.

>>12416768
Kind of want to pause too, actually. Late and all that, and I'd hate to miss anything.

But that's just me.

Killing city guards seems like a jump-start on losing our hat. Which we all know is a bad plan.

we should make back up planes in case our identity is discovered.

Archived.
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/12412133/

Don't forget to vote.

Final course of action, or should we call it a night?

If the former, I need a consensus, and possibly a roll.

>>12416876
If other people want to continue, my vote is for swiping the loot, smashing the skulls, and sneaking back to hide the goodies in the warded part of our home. But I'm going to be calling it a night.

Good night, Writer-dude.

>>12416886
Good night, hope to see you on Wednesday.

Also, thanks to you people who posted your own dragon pictures, even the BadEnd one. (ESPECIALLY the Bad-End one.) More is always good.

>>12416886
I'll second this in hopes that we can get to a proper ending place before session-over

>>12416955
Well, I'm about to turn in myself. If that's the verdict in the archives tomorrow (or even if the thread survives until I wake up! It's happened before....), then that's what I'll go with.

We're a clever fellow. We can wait until the changing of the guard, or whatever. Don't need to roll for it, if it's what we end up doing. WD out.

rolled 7, 8 = 15

Woot!

Looking forward to the next installment :D