The Cultists Of Sel-kai: Part Nine
General Summary
In preparation for the meeting between the Red Dragons and Lady Vosh, Sylke uses her arts to make herself and Cran invisible and the pair head off to the docks in the Twelve Bridges district. Numal and Cherry also head to the rendezvous ahead of the arranged meeting and take up different positions; Cherry on a roof top, Numal on the stout wooden jetty.
A few hours later as distant street lanterns are being lit, a number of armed men and street bravos converge on an unwieldy trading barge called, "The Iron Pig". Cran and Sylke have taken cover on the roof of a large warehouse belonging to a familiar banking house ("The Black Rock") but are too far away to hear. Cherry is in a similar position but she is discovered by a couple of Red Dragon thugs and "urged" to go elsewhere. Numal however, slips into the water and swims across to the ship to listen in on what is being discussed.
Lady Vosh is clear and specific in her instructions to the other two present at the meeting. Seylars Kataran is ordered to organise the kidnapping of Vella of Osterris and to bring her to the long sealed tower that is known colloquially as the "Gargoyle Tower". Olvar-One-thumb (who is clearly of far more importance than the party hitherto assumed) is to meet with another familiar "name", one Deltar of Urgon. Olvar is to persuade Deltar to ready a ship to travel to the distant island of Aranmor; Koren Maas is to lead an expedition into the ruins of Tarek Nev and recover a pair of artifacts known as the "Portal Rods". These will allow the Unseen Eye to look back into the past and discover exactly who stole the Heart of Agoth, another artifact and one that the secretive society have been searching for. Lady Vosh also tells Seylar that his men are to help what is left of the Iron Bell move "the Seer" out of the cisterns; the destruction of the blood-demon and the party's investigations have not been ignored.
With her instructions delivered, the three conspirators leave the docks. Seeing that Olvar is on his own, Cran and Sylke tail the hulking figure through Sel-kai. Restraining an urge to beat the man senseless, Cran shadows Olvar back to the Hadeshill Asylum. Sylke remains when Cran heads back to rejoin his friends and is therefore able to trail Olvar eventually to the Shrine Of The Fourth Blood. The reclusive men and women of this cult are highly circumspect as to exactly what their "faith" involves or centers around. Indeed, the doors to this squat building in the Avenue Of The Gods district are rarely opened. Sylke watches Olvar enter and then she too returns to her companions.
The companions have also had an invitation to meet a Loari named Luronen Moje at the House Elgata mansion. Ugnan, now recovered, Cherry and Sylke agree to find out what the man wants. He is clearly of some importance if he has been able to effectively commandeer the mansion belonging to one of Sel-kai's "merchant barons". Ugnan and the others are met by the urbane Eloen Para and escorted to the library. Luronen praises the party for their actions in preventing the destruction of Eidolon and informs them that their actions have been discussed at "the very highest levels". Their quick thinking in handing over what they learned of the Iron Bell's plot was prudent; their actions against The Iron Bell also. The eerily well-informed Loar urges the party to travel to Aranmor; he is quite emphatic in his insistence that the companions need to "survive the crucible that Tarek Nev will be in order to re-forge The Harmony again". He also tells Ugnan and the others that there were two demons in the cisterns, both needed to restrain the powers of Patience Cloot and keep her in a stasis preventing her from aging. The party cannot free Patience (a member of the original band of heroes known as The Harmony) without killing the last of the pair of demons. Unfortunately this will also release the stasis field around the Seer, causing her to age and therefore die. An object called the Ashling Stone will be needed and this, as Ugnan guesses, is on the demon-infested island of Aranmor.
Concerned about the distance and difficulty in getting to Aranmor (the island is surrounded by the Sea Of Fire) and then battling demons, Ugnan presses the Loar for aid. Luronen pledges to put a small sky-ship at the party's disposal and tells them that they need to find an abandoned temple complex hidden in the Wyr Forest of the island. The complex is called the Temple Of The Forgotten Night. Inside there, among other forgotten treasures, the party will find the weapons they need to venture into Tarek Nev.
Aranmor, by sea is a difficult journey of between 7 to 12 days. By air-ship the time tumbles to a mere 3 days (or less depending on winds). This gives the companions plenty of time to prepare and the opportunity to get a "jump" on Korin Maas' expedition. Sylke clearly knows more about Aranmor than the others but reveals little, pale at the place's mention she is oddly tight-lipped about their next destination.
A few hours later as distant street lanterns are being lit, a number of armed men and street bravos converge on an unwieldy trading barge called, "The Iron Pig". Cran and Sylke have taken cover on the roof of a large warehouse belonging to a familiar banking house ("The Black Rock") but are too far away to hear. Cherry is in a similar position but she is discovered by a couple of Red Dragon thugs and "urged" to go elsewhere. Numal however, slips into the water and swims across to the ship to listen in on what is being discussed.
Lady Vosh is clear and specific in her instructions to the other two present at the meeting. Seylars Kataran is ordered to organise the kidnapping of Vella of Osterris and to bring her to the long sealed tower that is known colloquially as the "Gargoyle Tower". Olvar-One-thumb (who is clearly of far more importance than the party hitherto assumed) is to meet with another familiar "name", one Deltar of Urgon. Olvar is to persuade Deltar to ready a ship to travel to the distant island of Aranmor; Koren Maas is to lead an expedition into the ruins of Tarek Nev and recover a pair of artifacts known as the "Portal Rods". These will allow the Unseen Eye to look back into the past and discover exactly who stole the Heart of Agoth, another artifact and one that the secretive society have been searching for. Lady Vosh also tells Seylar that his men are to help what is left of the Iron Bell move "the Seer" out of the cisterns; the destruction of the blood-demon and the party's investigations have not been ignored.
With her instructions delivered, the three conspirators leave the docks. Seeing that Olvar is on his own, Cran and Sylke tail the hulking figure through Sel-kai. Restraining an urge to beat the man senseless, Cran shadows Olvar back to the Hadeshill Asylum. Sylke remains when Cran heads back to rejoin his friends and is therefore able to trail Olvar eventually to the Shrine Of The Fourth Blood. The reclusive men and women of this cult are highly circumspect as to exactly what their "faith" involves or centers around. Indeed, the doors to this squat building in the Avenue Of The Gods district are rarely opened. Sylke watches Olvar enter and then she too returns to her companions.
The companions have also had an invitation to meet a Loari named Luronen Moje at the House Elgata mansion. Ugnan, now recovered, Cherry and Sylke agree to find out what the man wants. He is clearly of some importance if he has been able to effectively commandeer the mansion belonging to one of Sel-kai's "merchant barons". Ugnan and the others are met by the urbane Eloen Para and escorted to the library. Luronen praises the party for their actions in preventing the destruction of Eidolon and informs them that their actions have been discussed at "the very highest levels". Their quick thinking in handing over what they learned of the Iron Bell's plot was prudent; their actions against The Iron Bell also. The eerily well-informed Loar urges the party to travel to Aranmor; he is quite emphatic in his insistence that the companions need to "survive the crucible that Tarek Nev will be in order to re-forge The Harmony again". He also tells Ugnan and the others that there were two demons in the cisterns, both needed to restrain the powers of Patience Cloot and keep her in a stasis preventing her from aging. The party cannot free Patience (a member of the original band of heroes known as The Harmony) without killing the last of the pair of demons. Unfortunately this will also release the stasis field around the Seer, causing her to age and therefore die. An object called the Ashling Stone will be needed and this, as Ugnan guesses, is on the demon-infested island of Aranmor.
Concerned about the distance and difficulty in getting to Aranmor (the island is surrounded by the Sea Of Fire) and then battling demons, Ugnan presses the Loar for aid. Luronen pledges to put a small sky-ship at the party's disposal and tells them that they need to find an abandoned temple complex hidden in the Wyr Forest of the island. The complex is called the Temple Of The Forgotten Night. Inside there, among other forgotten treasures, the party will find the weapons they need to venture into Tarek Nev.
Aranmor, by sea is a difficult journey of between 7 to 12 days. By air-ship the time tumbles to a mere 3 days (or less depending on winds). This gives the companions plenty of time to prepare and the opportunity to get a "jump" on Korin Maas' expedition. Sylke clearly knows more about Aranmor than the others but reveals little, pale at the place's mention she is oddly tight-lipped about their next destination.
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