Episode 58 - Dire Warnings

General Summary

by Paizo

Cutscene: History of Matan'sa, how he had been corrupted by Zalatas and attacked Khaylin Cirdanas. Khaylin threw him into lava, but Matan'sa survived and swore revenge.
Grand Consular Junrahel, Head of Minas Amer was in the Reader's Room with three consulars. Junrahel showed the Guardians the Vision that the Readers had - a meteor strike on Iadara, and drow swarming and killing the survivors.
Junrahel: Queen Telandia must be warned. Junrahel had heard the tales of the Guardians and believed that they were connected. He sent Zevris, a consular of Minas Amer, to accompany the heroes to Siavenian. There they would meet with Lord Villastir, one of the Queen’s advisors. Lord Villastir could get them an audience with the Queen. The Guardians could tell her everything, what the threat was, and what was at stake. Zevris could verify the visions, what the old visions ones were, what the new one is, and that the Guardians made that change happen. That should give credibility to their claims.
Zevris used the nearby aiudara (elf gate) to Siavenian. The village of Siavenian was a small settlement a mere two hour’s walk south from the elven capital of Iadara. It was an old gate but Lord Villastir had always been good to Minas Amer. He would be the most likely to be receptive to what a consular of Minas Amer had to say.
When the Guardians emerged from the aiudara, dozens of elven soldiers had gathered at the arch, bows drawn and arrows aimed. Among them was a regal-looking elven wizard - Lord Villastir.
Zevris introduced himself and the Guardians. They gave Lord Villastir a brief story as to why they had come. Zevris showed him the Book of Visions. Between that and the warning, Lord Villastir agreed to gain them an audience.
Lord Villastir and his assistant Boswo teleported the party to the city of Iadara. Soldiers surrounded them again. Lord Villastir left the group to speak with the Queen. After a time, the guards were notified that the Guardians were to be given lodging in one of the villas near the palace.
The next day, the Guardians and Zevris were given courtesan clothes and brought to the palace. There they met Queen Telandia. Lord Villastir questioned the Guardians, placing them in a Zone of Truth, and making off-comments regarding the validity of the claims. Once they had finished, the Queen told the party that she would have her diviners look into their claims. Until then, the Guardians were invited to remain in the villa and stay in Iadara to rest and recover.
When the Guardians returned to their villa, they found a book sitting on a table, prominently displayed. The title of the book, in elven, was Emerald Dreams. The book itself was a popular one among the elves—a collection of stories and parables documenting the elves’ return to Golarion that had become beloved among elven children throughout Kyonin. A bookmark consisting of a single green vine with a violet flower (of apparently the same type as the vines and flowers that comprised the queen’s crown) marked one of the several parables inside, a short tale entitled “The Quasit’s Promise.” The story recounted an elven princess who was captured by a marilith and placed in a prison infested with quasits. The princess escaped by forming an alliance with one of these quasits, and even though the quasit broke his promise to the princess in the end and betrayed her, her trust in the quasit to act according to its nature and betray her allowed her to engineer her escape nevertheless—she emerged from the prison wounded but alive. The obvious moral of the story was that sometimes one can trust one’s enemies to act according to their natures and if the wise person accounts for that, an alliance with an enemy can still function.
With some downtime in Iadara, the Guardians looked to improve their magical weaponry and armament. They were told of place to go - Ugmar’s Magical Blades and Bones. Inside, they met Ugmar and his assistants - all apparent copies of him. Ugmar pulled his assistants off their previous projects and put them all on the Guardians' gear. They would attempt the upgrades within the limited time given to them.