Should've Done Background Checks...

NOTE: THIS STORY IS BASED OFF OF THE PATHFINDER RPG. SOME COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL HAS BEEN USED UNDER THE OPEN GAMING LICENSE RULES.
Storyline by Justin Groby
Compiled by Amber Manuel 

Gerard was already downstairs with the wagon when Filayne went down the next day. Osamu was with him, helping him pack the wagon. Seeing Rock, Filayne asked him to help her carry the chest she had acquired the night before. He grunted, which she took for assent, and she had him follow her back to her room. He took it from her completely and carted it outside. She didn’t worry about him opening it. If he tried, a dart would stick his finger and the poison on it would put him to sleep.

“That’s a lot of gear,” Filayne observed when she was back at the wagon.

Gerard nodded. “Yeah, well, Khar sent down enough food and water for six people for a ten day, not to mention pitons, hammers, and other gear we can use in the mines.” He held up a small cage in which a tiny bird was ensconsed. “This little guy will warn us if there’s no breathable air in a shaft.”

She nodded. She honestly knew pretty much nothing about mines, and hadn’t realized there was a possibility of no air in some spots.

“Are we ready?” Talia asked in her studious voice. “Do we have everything we need?” She began looking at the items in the back of the wagon.

“Just about ready,” Gerard said and turned back to Filayne. “Where’d you get those goggles?”

She pulled the shaded goggles down over her eyes and smiled. “In a shop a little ways from here,” she replied, and gave him directions. “Just don’t tell him I sent you,” she tacked on.

Gerard laughed and walked away. Filayne moved into the stables to collect her mare and its tack. By the time she had the animal ready, Gerard was back. He and Talia got on the wagon’s seat and Filayne mounted, settling the goggles firmly over her eyes. Lilianna rode up on her own horse.

“Where’s Willham?” Filayne asked.

“I convinced him to go learn all he can at the Temple of the Dawn Flower,” she said, “with the promise that he would be able to come with us when he was done with his studies.”

Filayne smiled at Lilianna, not that she could see it since Filayne already had her head scarf on. She liked that the half-elf seemed to truly have everyone’s best interests in mind. It reminded Filayne of better days.

The first two days of travel went by without a hitch. On the third, the wind picked up. Filayne overheard Lilianna tell Gerard that they would need to batten down at the upcoming trade post because a storm was coming.

Sand storm. Filayne grimaced, hoping they would get to the trade post before the storm came.

To her surprise, they made it without a hitch to the trade post. It wasn’t anything close to Yanmass, being comprised of a well and about twelve tents. Lilianna immediately dismounted and began strapping down the gear in the wagon as well as securing the wagon so that it wouldn’t blow over.

Filayne dismounted and took everything off Star, stowing it in the wagon as well. Lilianna took Star and hitched her with the other horses.

Free of anything to do, Filayne explored the tiny trade post while she still had time. There were a few merchants, gnomes being the most present. They were selling water at the well, and had a tent nearby that advertised sanctuary from sand storms, also for a price.

“Storm’s coming,” one said. “Need a place to stay?”

Filayne shook her head and moved back towards her group. They had gathered inside a tent beside the wagon. The wind began to pick up, and Filayne looked out over the desert as she climbed into the tent. It looked like a wall of sand was headed their way. She closed the flaps behind her and listened as the wind howled outside.

“How long should this last?” she called over the noise of the wind.

“It varies,” Lilianna called back.

Filayne grimaced and settled down in one corner.

There was the sound of horses screaming and Lilianna darted out the tent. Talia peeked out but all Filayne could see from her vantage point was sand. She shoved her goggles up to her forehead and glanced around. Rock was holding one corner of the tent down and Gerard and Talia were keeping their own in their corners. Filayne lounged in her corner and took a deep breath to go into her trance-like sleep.

She dozed, managing a few hours of sleep during the twelve hours the storm raged. When it finally subsided, it was gone midnight. Filayne stepped out of the tent and stretched, glad to find Lilianna and the horses were okay. She should have tried to help, but she wasn’t any good with animals and wasn’t very strong, either. She doubted she could have done anything but get into trouble herself.

Walking down the line of tents, she found one missing. The owner was coughing haggardly and muttering about merchandise blowing away. Filayne approached him and offered her help.

“Anything you can pick up would be great,” he agreed, coughing again.

Inclining her head, Filayne moved about the quiet area, picking up items as she went. She returned everything she found to the merchant.

“Didn’t find the tent, huh?” he muttered.

She shook her head. “I looked, but I didn’t see it anywhere.”

He shrugged and coughed some more. “Here’s something for your trouble, anyway,” he said, offering her a few gems. She stowed them in her coin purse and went back to her party’s tent.

Everyone was asleep inside, and she joined them. She woke again in about an hour, feeling fully refreshed. Moving quietly through the night, she looked around. Her eyesight was actually more acute in the darkness, and she spotted someone out about one hundred feet off. A small shadow was walking around a hump that could have been a camel. Filayne started in that direction, moving as silently as her profession had taught her to move.

About forty feet out, the shadow called out, “Don’t move a muscle!”

Filayne wondered how the tiny form had heard or seen her. She knew she had moved in absolute silence. She could see a firearm pointed towards her in the darkness and wondered what this person was about.

“What are you doing out here?” the small form demanded.

“I saw movement, so I came to investigate,” she replied honestly, holding her hands out to her sides. “I thought perhaps you were someone who got lost in the earlier storm.”

The form observed her for a moment. “You’re one of those who’s working with the Halfling.”

“Yes. Perhaps I could come closer so we could speak quieter?” Filayne suggested. “Voices do tend to carry well over the desert.”

The weapon lowered slowly but wasn’t put up. “Come on, then, but not too close.”

Filayne approached cautiously. “I am working for Gerard,” she replied. “Are you following him?”

“Him?” she snapped, and let out a short chuckle. “Hardly. No, I have my eye on Rock.”

Up close, Filayne could see that the speaker was a female gnome. “Rock? What’s he done?” 

“Have you talked to Rock?” she asked sharply.

She shrugged. “General introductions as well as tavern talk. He likes music,” she added.

The gnome eyed her for a long moment before continuing. “It’s not him so much as the gnomish bastard he works for named Zarzu’ket.”

Another one? Filayne filed that bit of information away for future use. “I haven’t seen another gnome aside from the one who agreed to help out Gerard, and he stayed behind.”

“That’s not the one,” she snapped. “But if Rock’s around, Zarzu’ket isn’t far behind.” She paused. “What’s your name?”

“What’s yours?” Filayne countered.

“Majet,” she replied.

“I’m Firro.”

“All right, Firro, I’m not going to interfere with your group. I’m just interested in the orc and his guy. They’re almost always together.

“Now, I’ll help you if Rock betrays you in the mine, but I’m staying out of it otherwise.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Filayne agreed.

“I’ll give you a reward if you help me apprehend Zarzu’ket.”

“That’s right up my alley,” Filayne replied with a smile.

Majet grunted. “You’d better get back. I’m going to fall back since you were able to see me. Remember what I said.”

“I’ll keep an eye out,” she agreed.

She headed back to the camp quietly and walked the length, listening to the tents to see if anyone was awake. No one was. Everyone required a full eight hour’s rest. Everyone but her, apparently. She moved to the wagon and opened her chest, pulling out parchment and a quill to pen a quick letter home.

She was just sealing her letter with her signet when Gerard emerged from the tent. He looked at her, his gaze flickering to the letter as she put it inside her chest and locked the wooden structure.

“If we push hard we can be there by midday,” he said, and wandered off.

Filayne got her horse ready and helped hitch the others to the wagon. Then they were off, moving at a fast clip towards the mountain in the distance.

Around midday they reached the foot of the mountain. The mine was an obvious opening, about thirty feet across and nearly as tall. Filayne could see that the mine was a cave that had been worked. She nudged her mare out of the harsh glare of the sun and lifted her goggles as she dismounted. There were tracks on the ground that split off into four tunnels in the darkness beyond. She turned to her mare as Lilianna walked to the middle of the mine entrance. A dim light began to glow off of her holy symbol and she began to slowly turn in a circle. She paused as she faced the group, all of which were unpacking. Her gaze narrowed as she eyed them for a moment. Then she gasped, and put a hand to her head. Her holy symbol’s glow vanished.

Filayne watched nonchalantly as the cleric walked straight to Gerard and pulled him outside. From her vantage point, the elf could hear the whole of their conversation.

“I was detecting for any evil presences. I didn’t sense anything from the tunnels, but I did get something from our party,” Lilianna said in a hushed tone.

Something deeply ingrained in Filayne stirred, but she shoved it back down. She wasn’t that person anymore.

“I knew I should have done background checks! Could you tell who?” Gerard asked in the same quiet tone.

“Unfortunately, no. When I concentrated to try to find out, my spell faltered.”

“What would make it do that?”

Lilianna hesitated. “It could be that the evil was so powerful that my spell shut off so I wouldn’t be overloaded. I did get a headache from it.”

“All right. Thanks for the head’s up. I have my suspicions as to who it may be.”

“Lets just be aware and keep our eyes open,” Lilianna suggested.

Filayne concentrated on her horse, brushing her down as the two came back inside the worked cavern.

“All right, everyone,” Gerard said, “Let’s check out the tunnels; make sure there’s nothing here that’ll attack us while we’re working. Get your gear and let’s go.”

Filayne stayed to the middle of the group as they walked down the leftmost tunnel. The corridor was well worked and eventually came to an end. Gerard and Talia, at the front of the group, peered over an edge.

“Those stairs don’t look safe,” Talia observed.

“We’ll just have to turn back,” Gerard agreed.

“I can check it out,” Filayne said. When they looked at her, she walked to the wall and walked up it. She smirked at their expressions. “It’s the boots.”

She walked out on the wall over the steps and down deeper into the mine. The light didn’t quite reach all the way down, but she could see that there weren’t any animal tracks down there. In fact, it didn’t appear that anything had been down there in a long time.

Coming back, she paused at an obvious mineral deposit. There was no way she could get the item out with her fingers, but it felt like maybe gold or silver. She walked back up to the group and reported.

“Nothing dangerous down there. I think this tunnel’s silver or gold deposits.”

Gerard pulled a pick and a hammer off his belt. “You said you wanted to pull something out, right?”

With a shrug, Filayne walked back down the wall. After a few minutes of hacking, she brought her prize back up into the light.

“Garnet,” Gerard observed, taking the large, unworked stone.

Filayne handed him the pick and the hammer back and caught sight of an opening on the side of the corridor. It was dark inside and from her vantage point, she could tell the room was an office at some point in the past. There was a cracked table on the ground, an armoire and a bureau that had seen better days, and a dark chest behind the table. Talia’s light swung around and the chest glinted. Filayne smiled. Metal chest equaled better prizes.

“Hey boss,” she said as she walked along the wall into the room, “looks like there’s a chest in here.”

The rest of the group began to file into the room as Filayne began to check out the chest. Behind her, Osamu cleared his throat.

“It seems our friend is not whom he seems he is,” Osamu said, his accent giving the words an unfamiliar lilt.

“What?” Gerard said.

“Rock is missing,” Osamu clarified.

Filayne strode out into the tunnel where it was darker. She looked both ways, but couldn’t see Rock anywhere. “I don’t see him, either,” she told the group as she walked back inside.

Gerard’s raven began to squawk. He frowned. “My familiar says he was there one moment and then, suddenly, he wasn’t.”

“Does anyone have a crowbar?” Lilianna asked from where she stood in front of the chest.

“I do,” Osamu replied.

“Let me,” Filayne told him. She moved to the chest, checked to see if it had any traps and then jimmied it open. “Boss? Wanna do the honors?”

Gerard came over and lifted the lid, dodging out of the way as a purple haze burst out.

“Don’t inhale that!” Filayne warned the room.  

“There’s a couple vials and a scroll,” Gerard said. “And some gold coin, too.” He took a vial with a symbol of a sun on it and stared at it for a moment. “This oil provides light,” he finally determined. “About three uses in it, too.” The other vial turned out to be a single use of a spell that caused a flame to continue despite having water thrown on it. The scroll contained a spell called Slow. Filayne hadn’t heard of that one, but it sounded annoying.

“All right, listen up,” Filayne said, and glanced both ways down the hallway just in case Rock had decided to turn back up. “Last night after everyone went to bed, I saw movement outside the trade post. When I checked, it was a gnomish bounty hunter called Majet, who’s following Rock because she says there’s another gnome that is usually with the orc. Some guy named Zarzu’ket. I’m not sure what he did, but she seemed legitimate.”

To her surprise, no one questioned her about why she hadn’t said anything before.

“Let’s go look for him,” Lilianna said, and headed back down the tunnel.

The rest of the group followed, and Filayne caught up with Lilianna at the front. Back in the central cavern, she noted tracks where there hadn’t been any before, and pointed them out to Lilianna.

“Let’s get a horse together just in case we find anything useful,” the cleric said.

Filayne offered her mare since the horse was already unsaddled, and a few minutes later they set off following the tracks. Filayne went ahead several feet since her eyes were more accustomed to the darkness. After a few minutes, she could hear the group talking behind her.

“Are you in need of assistance?” Osamu’s voice was concerned.

“No, I’m okay, I think,” Talia replied.

“Are you okay?” Lilianna asked Talia. “You’re breathing really heavy. Let me check you out. Have you ever had breathing troubles before?”

“No. Never,” the woman panted.

A loud thud reverberated off the tunnel walls, making dust and rocks tumble down on the adventurers. Filayne darted ahead, making certain to be quiet as she moved. As she went, she began to see a light coming from the tunnel ahead. She slowed as she came upon the light and peered around a bend to see Rock standing at a set of ornate doors, banging on them with his massive maul. A gnome stood beside him, yelling at him to hurry and open the door. Rock banged harder.

Filayne knew she was better off with her companions beside her, so she glanced back to see if they were coming. Their light was getting closer, illuminating the area better than the light the gnome and orc were using.

“Ah, they’re here,” the gnome snarled, drawing Filayne’s attention. “Go get them, Rock!”

He turned and Filayne frowned at the look in the orc’s eyes. It was as if there was no one home, yet the beast had more focus than before. Dragging the maul, he stalked back towards Filayne’s hiding spot.

She turned back to her companions and yelled, “Weapons ready!”

Turning back towards the approaching orc, she glanced past him through a small hole in the door. Whatever was in there was lit by torches.

Drawing her scimitar, Filayne darted out into the hallway, slashing at the orc, her aim ringing true. His eyes went red and he roared. Swinging the maul, he caught Filayne in the chest. Her armor held, but even so she could feel blood beginning to flow.

Lilianna darted into the fray with the orc, swinging a sword, barely missing Rock as he shifted out of the way.

Behind them, Talia and Gerard were both chanting. Filayne caught sight of something winged flying past towards the gnome.

Then Osamu ran past Filayne and attacked the gnome with a precision strike, making the smaller figure bleed profusely. “You have made a very unwise decision,” Osamu told him.

“And you have made a very bad enemy,” the gnome snarled, pulling something out of his bloodied robes. He drank whatever it was and disappeared. A moment later, Osamu turned and looked back at the group, his eyes containing a glaze similar to Rock’s. Filayne stepped back from the orc and drew a blow gun prepped with a dart. She aimed at Osamu and blew the dart at him. It clattered against the wall as Osamu took a step towards her.

Suddenly his eyes deglazed and he blinked at her. Before she could figure out what happened, a loud blast reverberated through the tunnel. Rock staggered sideways, hitting the wall before slumping to the ground, bleeding from a large hole in his side.

Three earth elementals climbed up through the ground, their rocky forms moving forward to stand beside Osamu, near where the gnome had been. They began attacking the space where the gnome had stood, and a moment later he reappeared, his form unmoving on the ground.

“Are you hurt?” Lilianna asked.

Filayne looked over at her and nodded. “Yeah, I could use some healing if you have some to spare.” As Lilianna began to chant over her, Osamu walked up to the unconscious gnome. Filayne heard two loud cracks and then the gnome began screaming. With a shake of her head, she looked around and saw another gnome standing off to her side.

“Majet?” she said. The female gnome nodded to Filayne, cursing as she observed her shot gun. The metal of the barrel was coiled back, the gun apparently ruined. With a sigh, she stowed the weapon and walked over to put a hood over the male gnome’s head. Then she began to drag him out.

INTERMISSION

We decided to take a break to LARP for a moment with a real-life monster! Alas, the gigantic bug pulled out invisibility potion, drank it and disappeared after successfully evading our attacks. What a coward! We kept our eyes peeled for any sign of the flying beast but apparently it fled back to the fires from whence it came...

And now, back to your seats, ladies and gentlemen as we resume our story!

“Wait. We need to talk to him,” Lilianna said.

Majet didn’t stop dragging the gnome. “I’m taking him for the bounty.”

“Take him then,” Lilianna snapped. “But we need to ask him some questions.”

Osamu walked up to the struggling gnome and sucker punched him, knocking him back out.

“You really don’t like him, do you?” Filayne quipped.

Osamu gave her a look. “He attempted to take over my mind and briefly succeeded. I do not take kindly to those manipulative methods.”

Fair enough, Filayne figured. She turned and went to check on Talia. The human spell caster was on the ground, breathing but not responsive. Filayne tried to pick her up, but she wasn’t strong enough. “Hey, I need some help! Talia’s passed out!”

Lilianna came up and picked up the human, carrying her over her shoulder to the top of the mine. Filayne followed and did her best to help Lilianna with Talia, which pretty much meant staying out of the way. She watched as the cleric gently set down the human and then uncapped a small vial, waving it under the spell caster’s nose. Talia blinked and looked around, drawing in a deep breath.

“How’re you feeling?” Lilianna asked.

Talia nodded. “Better.” She sat up on her own and looked to Filayne as if she were breathing normally.

“Good. Why don’t you rest for a little while?”

Talia nodded and didn’t move from her spot.

Behind them, Majet appeared, still dragging the unconscious gnome.

“What’d he do?” Filayne asked her.

“A lot. There’s three or four bounties on this guy,” she replied. “He manipulated the wrong people and they put a bounty on him. He’s some kind of accomplished enchanter.”

“We did incapacitate him,” Lilianna said. “We should be able to interrogate him.”

Majet stopped nearby. “Well, I did promise you something if you helped.”

She waved a hand, and Lilianna moved over to him, using the same vial from before to wake him up. “What were you doing down there?” she asked. He was quiet. “I’ll bet you’ll feel better with a little healing,” she said and cast something over him. “Why don’t you talk to me?” she asked kindly. “I just want to know what you were doing down there.”

“Looking for a holy relic,” he said.

“What kind of relic?”

“Just a holy relic.”

When that seemed to be it, she pressed on. “How’d you get here without our knowledge?”

“It wasn’t too difficult,” he replied smugly.

“And yet here you are, caught,” Lilianna said.

He immediately clammed up, refusing to answer any more questions.

Tired of the game, Filayne grabbed his broken hand and twisted it. “What do you know!” she shouted from barely a foot away.

He cried out. “It’s just a holy relic!”

Filayne twisted harder.

“That’s all I know!” he cried. “I swear!”

“Hey, c’mon,” Lilianna said, putting a hand on Filayne’s shoulder.

She reluctantly let go. “You know something else!” she snapped.

“I don’t!” he sniffled.

She snarled a curse at him and flicked his broken finger. He cried out and Lilianna scoffed her disapproval.

“All I know is a guy named Theris asked me to come get it! That’s all I know!”

“Where?” Filayne demanded.

“In Yenmass!”

Satisfied with the information, Filayne left him alone.

Majet disrobed him, leaving his gear as repayment for their aid. She put a burlap bag over him to protect him from the sun and put him up on her camel. Climbing up, she started off.

“See you in Yenmass,” Filayne called.

Majet waved over her shoulder.

“Maybe we should go back down,” Lilianna suggested. “Osamu and Gerard are still down there and if there is a relic, we need to find it and protect it.”

“Agreed,” Talia said, and began struggling for breath again.

“Go see what they’re doing,” Lilianna snapped as she began to check on Talia.

Filayne, already halfway to the tunnel, began to run. At the bottom, she found Osamu beating on the door. “Stop!” she snapped.

Osamu stopped with the gigantic maul poised in mid-swing and looked at her.

“How long have you been hitting the door?” she asked.

“A couple minutes,” Osamu replied.

A couple minutes were how long Talia had been breathing hard, Filayne thought, and said so.

“Maybe there’s some connection,” Gerard said.

Possibly. “What’s inside?” she asked, seeing that the hole was bigger. She moved towards the hole in the doors, joining Gerard and Osamu as they gazed into the sconce-lit room. Inside were rows of pews and directly ahead was an altar. The holy symbol on the altar was one Filayne recognized, but she couldn’t remember exactly where she remembered it, let alone which god or goddess it symbolized.

“I think we need a cleric for this,” Filayne quipped. “I’ll go get her.” She headed back up only to meet Lilianna on her way down.

“How’s Talia?”

“She’s better. I left her resting in the wagon.”

“When I got down there, Osamu was beating on the door. Do you think there’s a connection?”

“Perhaps,” Lilianna replied, speculation in her gaze. “I couldn’t say. There’s nothing physically wrong with her…”

Filayne told her about the cathedral as they walked back. “I recognize the symbol from my paladin days,” she added, “but I can’t remember exactly what god it belongs to.”

“Perhaps I will,” she said simply. They continued walking in silence and at the doors she looked in, frowning. “I remember the symbol as well, but the name evades me. It’s ancient.”

“From the beginning?” Gerard asked.

She nodded. “It feels serene. Peaceful.” She snapped her fingers. “I know! It has something to do with the creation story.”  

“Where’s Talia?” Gerard asked into the immediate silence.

“Upstairs.”

“Just a theory: Talia was only getting hurt when the door was getting hurt, right? Maybe she’s an extension of the door.”

Filayne sighed. “I’ll go.” She began to run and once she was around the bend, she went into a dance form that allowed her to move quicker. She stopped dancing as she got to the top so that she didn’t look odd coming upon Talia.

“Do you think you could come back downstairs?” she asked.

Talia nodded as she climbed down from the wagon. “I’m feeling fine now.”

Filayne walked back with Talia, keeping an eye on her. When they finally reached the doors, they found Lilianna praying to Saranrae for guidance. She stood in front of the hole in the doors, preventing the man and gnome from going inside.

Osamu threw a rock into the room. Nothing happened.

Seeing Talia, Gerard explained the logic of the connection between her and the door. She shook her head. “I don’t remember anything like that, and I’m pretty certain I’d know.” She walked up to the doors, looked at them for a moment and reached out, pushing the doors open with both hands.

Filayne screamed as bright light filled the area, blinding her. She threw her hands up in front of her, struggling to get her smoked goggles over her eyes. She blinked rapidly to regain her sight and when she could see, she found everyone walking into the room.

The doors were whole again, she saw as she moved to follow her companions. Talia walked behind the altar and another flash of light filled the room. With the goggles on it didn’t blind Filayne, so she was able to see the altar sunder.

Lilianna walked up and reached out to pick something up. A disc floated up past Lilianna and into Talia’s hand. It was a ruby disc with a symbol raised on it. It was the same symbol that was repeated around the room several times: two filled-in circles with a curved line connecting them.

“Talia?” Lilianna said. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she breathed. “I think I know what’s going on.” She was holding her head with her free hand, the disc gripped tightly in the other.

“What’s going on?” Gerard asked.

“Just give me a second. I’ve been assaulted with knowledge…”

“What is it?” Lilianna pressed.

Talia rubbed her forehead and blinked. “Something about desert’s fire.”

“Saranrae?”

“Yes. Yes, it is.”

“What’s desert’s fire?” Filayne asked.

“Desert’s Fire is some kind of relic that was left here in the desert,” Lilianna said. “When Saranrae became a goddess, it was left in her protection.”

Lilianna was frowning at Talia, Filayne noted, her gaze holding on Talia’s shoulder. Filayne squinted and made out what looked like a tattoo of the temple’s symbol on Talia’s shoulder. She wondered if it had been there all along.

“Why don’t you sit down, Talia?” Filayne said.

She nodded and plopped down right there behind the altar. Lilianna moved to her side and gave her some water. Talia drank deep and began to perk up.

Filayne couldn’t take it anymore. She walked out of the room, but not out of earshot. It was simply too bright in there, even with her goggles on.

“Thank you,” Talia said. “I understand what I was told, but I need time to think it over to straighten it out. I’m trusted to protect this relic, but it’s also some sort of key.”

“It seems like it only likes you,” Lilianna quipped.

“It seems like I need to protect it,” Talia agreed.

“Then you can count on me to protect you,” Osamu stepped in. “Is there still anything worth anything here?” he tacked on.

“I’ve got mine,” Talia said bluntly. “Sorry if you haven’t found yours.”

“I think for now perhaps we should seal this entrance,” Lilianna suggested. “So no one gets into here.”  

“I agree,” Osamu and Gerard said at the same time.

“Perhaps you should rest,” Lilianna said. “We’ll go explore the rest of the caves.”

“I don’t want to be alone,” Talia protested. “Besides, there’s nothing else here. It’s safe. I can feel it.”

“Let’s seal this up, then.”

When the doors were closed, the group made their way back up the tunnel. Splitting up, they went down the two unexplored tunnels, finding they were, indeed, free of any dangerous creatures.

There were two additional rooms similar to the first office off the two tunnels and two more chests resembling the first. Bringing the chests back to the central area, Filayne popped the top of the one she found and stood back as she kicked the lid open. Purple haze shot out of it, missing her by a mile. She could see how the mechanism was set up and turned to tell Osamu to wait to open the last chest so that she could salvage the poison. As she turned, he jumped out of the way of the haze.

With a shrug, she turned to the contents of the chest before her. There was another scroll, a potion and a ring. The bottom of the chest was filled with more gold coins.

“Gerard and I can determine if anything has magical properties and what they might be,” Lilianna said. “And we should go through these things that Majet left us as well.”

Filayne sat back and watched as the magic users began determining what was useful and what wasn’t. The scroll turned out to be for an invisible helper, the potion was to provide a holy shield, and the ring allowed the wearer to have no issues while swimming.

From the other chest came a star knife that Osamu seemed to have his eye on. The knife could be thrown and would hit an invisible target if the thrower knew where the target was. Filayne wasn’t sure if the location had to be specific or a general area. The knife also couldn’t be destroyed and caught its victim on fire. Definitely a nice weapon.

Then there was a wand that allowed the user to shape sounds. Filayne knew a few bards who wouldn’t mind getting their hands on that. There was also a necklace of beads and the beads would burst into flame when thrown. Another necklace with an amulet provided magical protection from attacks, then there were gloves that aided the wearer when swimming and climbing and another ring, which, Filayne discerned from their conversation, allowed the wearer a magical attack with a range of thirty or so feet. It also could aid in opening doors. She didn’t know the specifics, but it sounded like a useful item to have.

Finally, the gnome’s spell book disappeared into Gerard’s pack. Filayne smiled at that, and hoped the tome had some useful spells.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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NEXT WEEK ON DICE vs. DMs

We take a break from playing Pathfinder to give our regular DM a breather and pick up where we left off playing Iron Kingdoms' Witchfire trilogy. The witch Alexia appears to have escaped our heroes in the labyrinthine temple deep in the swamp outside Corvis. Can our heroes catch up to her before she succeeds in her twisted plot?

Find out next time on Dice vs. DMs!