Drinking with Deities

We're on the road again! Eorin decides to read the book that Zelara got from the Whispering Tyrant via comprehend languages and teaches himself Aklo while he's at it. Good news! I'm not bleeding from the eyes! It speaks of the stars, those really brightly colored stars that might be other worlds. It explains that these worlds exist and the furthest one is where gods fear to go. It then explains about the old cults, which is like, worship of the old ones with more tentacles than teeth (and they have thousands and thousands of teeth). It also speaks of how there are no doorways to this world, but there are vessels who can come back and forth. It's unclear precisely what "vessel" means, and we're hoping it doesn't mean hurling consciousnesses through the dark. After this whole chapter about where the old ones came from, it talks about how they spread out over this watery world - which is where the aboleths came from. There's a picture of the aboleths and what they say is an old one. It looks humanoid, but there are no features to it. They're very crude pictures. It then goes on about how great the world was before the gods. It then goes on about gods coming and creation of the lesser races. And then it brings up the great experiment: can we make these land dwelling creatures better? And of all the creatures they chose, they chose a word that roughly translates to human or cattle, it's unclear. And decided to use this as their test race because it most looked like the old one.

We reach the town of Haugin's Ear in Isgur. It's a small fishing town with a giant outcropping of rock that makes it look like a head is sticking out of the ground. The protruding portion stands 30ft tall and it's ear is visible from the river and used as a landmark for traders. There's a rumor that you can go inside the head, but no one has ever tried it. Their other main export is a particular breed of fennec fox which are considered good luck charms and make fantastic coats which sell well in Molthune and Absalom. The guys who are running the boat we're on seem a little nervous, pale, and sickly. It seems a bit more than the usual fear of being turned into slaves or killed by goblins. There are rumors of something worse than the goblinoids returning, and by rumors we mean it's actually happened. There's been rumor of not just undead, but of a specific cult of Urgathoa, the pallid princess, goddess of disease, gluttony, and undeath.

Anyway, the town is not that impressive. There's a tourist district for the ear, and by district we mean a single stall with information on statue. We go find an inn called "The Queen's Ear." Most of the rooms are taken, but they do let us park our caravan outside. Zelara challenges someone to a friendly game of high card. She wins 5 gold. They ask us if we want a room for the night or if we're going to stay in our caravan because they're getting ready to bolt their doors for the night, because all sorts of crap comes from the woods. We decide to stay in the caravan. They let us know breakfast will be an hour after first light. It's the 31st of Kuthona, also known as the Night of the Pale. It's the night of morbid revelry as they wait for the past year's dead to go by their doors. The Firebrids send us sweaters with the Firebird logo on it to help us get through the night. Eorin's is too big so he can grow into it. Zelara checks and reassures herself that Eorin is still shorter than her, though he's slowly closing the gap. Illythan jokingly suggests they make coca, but Eorin takes him seriously and actually does so. Orias orders cookies from the Academy. What he gets is a chef from the Firebirds popping out of the Imp. He has an assortment tray. Orias pays for the cookies, and the chef goes back into the Imp. We're sitting warm by the fire, and a giant blue lady goes past the window. Eorin recognizes her as a daughter of Urgathoa. Daughters of Urgathoa remain social beings who surround themselves with fanatical cults. They are chosen by Urgathoa from among her priestesses at the moment of their death. Eorin also knows that it's about as powerful as we are. It's floating around knocking on people's doors. There are also little goblins dressed as butlers holding a single large bag. One of the doors she knocks on opens and a child is being forced out. The goblins are trying bag the child, who is in a trance like state. Eorin recalls that there's a local story about a child going missing every year (not necessarily on this night), but no one knows why or where they go. The goblins are sining the child kidnapping song.

We realize that we are the Scooby Gang. Eorin is Velma, Orias is Daphne, Zelara is Freddy, and Illythan is Shaggy. Chubby Baby is Scooby, and Kyle is Scrappy-do. So we decide to go and stop the kidnapping.

The fight was very short as Zelara took the Daughter's head off and completely disintegrated her within 8 seconds (121 damage!). The goblins leave the child and are booking it in traditional comedic goblin fashion. They all accidentally kill themselves but one which gets stuck in a pipe. We also find a bottle on the ground. The girl comes out of her trance and starts screaming. Lights turn back on and people start looking out the window. Kyle tries to calm her, but she doesn't quiet until her parents come out. Illythan looks at the bottle to find that it's full of broken glass - but it's weird because the shards are larger than the bottleneck opening. There's a special cork in the bottle with a lock. We cut the bit of the drain off that the goblin is stuck in, and compensate the person whose house that is for the damage to their pipe. Eorin casts Tongues on Kyle, and she interrogates the goblin. It does not go well. Zelara realizes it's been subject to mind control, so it probably doesn't remember anything useful. The villagers kill it with a stick. We go back inside and make more coca.

As midnight approaches, Zelara's eyes begin to glow. There's a procession of ghosts going through the town. They've been stopping at everyone's door, and are approaching our caravan. One comes in through the walls and goes through Kyle, heading for Eorin. It kneels, prays, and leaves. This happens with all the ghosts. Eorin realizes they're all people that have died naturally, and are coming up to Eorin to show that they are going back (since he's a priest of Pharasma). Eorin goes outside so they don't have to keep coming into the caravan. They then all pray to him en-masse. A jewelry box is left on the steps of the caravan. It looks like the sort of box an engagement ring would be in. Eorin goes back inside, and Kyle opens the good wine and begins to pour it for everyone. There are ten glasses on the table, and Kyle doesn't know how they got there. As Kyle pours the 6th glass, we start to see a man appear. Eorin and Kyle recognize him as Cayden Cailen. He says that he was the one who set the table. Cayden Cailen says that we each have to pour an extra glass. Eorin pours the next glass and Pharasma appears, she keeps a funeral shroud over her face. Illythan pours the next one, and half of Nethys appears. The other half decides to show up as well. The good half is holding the beverage. Each time a glass is poured, the glass changes to reflect the god the wine is being poured for and the drinks change as well. (Cayden Cailen's turns into beer in a stein, Pharasma's turns into water in a simple cup, etc.) Orias pours the next glass, though for some reason he puts his thumb over the opening and shakes it before pouring it into a martini glass for Calistria. Zelara is about to pour when Cayden stops her, telling her that she should wait for a bit.

Cayden Cailen asks us if we've been having fun. Orias offers them cookies. There's a knock at the door. There's a man at the door with a widows peak and streak of grey in his hair. He looks middle aged, but is handsome. Eorin recognizes that he is of Azlanti decent: moreso than anyone currently alive. Kyle asks for his name, but he says he prefers not to give it anymore. He sits in the last spot, and Cayden gestures for Zelara to pour the last glass. Cayden says that they're here so we can each ask them a single question. He also tells Kyle that the drinking thing is that a lot of people join the church thinking it's a big drinking party, and wants to make sure that's not the only thing Kyle does. But it's New Years! So drink it up! And hands Kyle a stein.

Kyle turns to Eorin and is like "Why are five gods in our house?"

Illythan: "Four"

Kyle: "Four, and that guy?"

Anyway, we each get one question per guest. So five questions each, basically. 

Kyle asks Pharasma: Why did you let what happen to Eorin here, happen.

Pharasma: Her domain is the dead, and can't control the actions of mortals, because that would go against life.

Kyle asks Cayden Cailen: Why are you guys here?

Cayden Cailen: There's some stuff happening, really big amazing stuff. And all sorts of things are tying into this from 20 years ago, and you need a little bit of advice, and that's the only way we can do it. (Illythan remembers that something awoke 20 years ago, and it was bad)

Nethys mentions that the sanctuary where the Old One was imprisoned: his guardian escaped. And because of that, the Old One found a way out. His prison, was connected to Rovagug's prison. And the only way to seal that is with materials that cannot even be gathered here.

Kyle asks Nethys: where can we gather the materials?

Nethys: There are five ingredients. You will need to find the Old One's vessels to gather the 5th ingredient. Tar Baphon hides the 4th ingredient deep inside his prison. The 3rd is hidden in Numeria. The 2nd is within the possession of the River King. The 1st is in the World Wound.

Illythan remembers that the World Wound connects to the Abyss. The Abyss also connects to Galerion's moon.

Zelara asks Cayen Cailen: How is the Army of Exploration involved?

Cayden Cailen: It's the absolute worst! The problem with the Old One is that he's everywhere! He's at every point in time, and he's a little bit different at every point. And the Army is connected with him in a bad way. 

Orias asks Cayden Cailen: How are they connected?

Cayden Cailen: one of them saw him long ago, and they had this horrible revalation about him and went crazy, and now he's trying to rebuild the world.

Eorin says it seems more like they're trying to destroy the world not rebuild it. And Cayden Cailen points out that they're trying to make new creatures.

Eorin asks Cayden Cailen how we would recognize the ingredients.

Cayden Cailen: I'll draw you a picture. Hand me a napkin.

(1. A big old book with a thing in the middle, 2. a horrible creepy statue, 3. it's an odd shape but we can't figure out what it depicts, 4. it's amber with a bee in it, 5. he couldn't draw it because he doesn't want us to go insane)

Illythan asks Cayden Cailen how we find the vessel.

Cayden Cailen: We can ask the Old One since he's used the vessel in the past, or we can use the one in Numeria, there are several vessels. The Elves have many hidden doorways in their lands. We can try and look in Absalom if you find the right ship. Or you can try to find the Thassilonians or the Azlanti. Remember that little blue bug? You sold it to the lady in Korvosa? That could have been a vessel.

Eorin remembers reading about a giant bug ship that died. It laid eggs everywhere.

Zelara asks Nethys: if it is within his power, could he grant her the ability to read the books and not go insane.

Nethys: Not all the books drive you insane, and we have the power to learn the language ourselves. You can ask us questions, not favors.

Orias asks Nethys if there aren't any other people the gods could appear to about this.

Nethys: You are all connected to the five ingredients. Zalara and her connection to Tar Baphon, Orias and his connection to the River King, *looks at Kyle* your vow, Illythan and how he will help you in Numeria, *looks at Eorin* you are just an unfortunate casualty in all of this. The real reason you're here is the rest of them aren't as educated as you.

Kyle asks Calistria: WHAT VOW?

Calistria: Oh I don't deal with that dear, you should have asked the Lady of Graves.

Nethys: 22 years ago, when the Old One escaped and his guardian burst out of his bonds, it killed quite a few people. And Pharasma chose that since this person had made a very important vow, they would be given a second chase. So you were born again. You vowed to see the world, but I will warn you, it will get much worse from here. There are many words.

Illythan asks Nethys why he will be useful in Numeria.

Nethys: Numeria, unlike what many think, is not a land bereft of magic. Most of it is powered by science. And to even be able to enter Numeria you will need the one thing that pumps through your veins. Not just any magic, the magic of the air elementals. Lightning, the sky fire, electricity.

Cayden Cailen realizes that he's been asked a question by everyone and goes to pass out (in Eorin's bed).

Eorin asks Nethys if the spell to purge his blood of undeath will work.

Nethys: Work? or work in your favor? Due to how the actual spell works, there are one of three outcomes. It purges you of all the necrotic energies in your body and your human side, all necrotic energies and your elven side, or the necrotic energies take back what they gave you. You had a twin, both of you were dying, but the remaining life was given to the stronger. It was not an act of evil magic, it was one giving its life so the other could live before both of you were born.

Nethys pushes on the table to stand, and then disappears. There's a burnt handprint on the table from his crackling energy half.

Orias asks Calistria: what has happened to my mother, and is she involved in all this?

Calistria: Well the River King's minion has her. And to explain why, well, long ago a certain god disappeared and divination magic stopped working except for a few individuals *poignant look* like your mother. And look at the bright side, at least she doesn't do it like the trolls of Kaer Maga! They cut themselves open and read their own innards!

Zelara asks Calistria: What's she's heard over the years about the Whispering Way?

Calistria: Oh no! Even we don't hear about that. There's a reason we specialize dear. It's called the Whispering Way for a reason. One of its members is highly interested in you. I choose not to say his name due to certain guests here. Cheers!

Kyle asks Calistria: Where is the Army of Exploration?

Calistria: Why would you want to know that? They're everywhere! They're using the Darklands as their own personal transit routes. They've made vessels that are very fast, so they don't even have a base.

Illythan asks Calistria: How far along has my brother gotten in his venture?

Calistria: *laughs and opens her purse and pulls out some paperwork, there's a graph of everyone's progress. Illythan is in last place* I will tell you this bit for free, don't feel bad if you loose. He misses you.

Illythan: My brother?

Calistria: In a sense. Your father told him about you.

Eorin asks Calistira: is there any other deception pointed my way from the Church of Pharasma.

Calistria: Depends on what you do. If you stay hidden as you are, no. If you try to change things in your church, yes. But there is none right now in your Church.

Cayden Cailen gets out of the bed. "I just remembered I promised to have a drink with Gorum!" He opens the door and we see a iron suit of armor with spikes. Caiden Cailen leaves with Gorum.

Illythan asks the Azlanti: Can you lead us to one of the vessels?

Azlanti dude: No, you have to find them on your own.

Illythan: No, like a general area or location. Not lead us there directly.

Azlanti dude: Ah. *He pulls out a map of Varisia and marks Riddleport, marks the docks in Absalom though says that one's iffy, then pulls out the big map and points to what used to be Azlanti*

Orias asks the Azlanti: Where is this minion of the River King that we're looking for.

Azlanti dude: He is currently in the River King's lair *marks it on the map for us*

Orias asks Pharasma: Will Eorin turn undead when he dies?

A: Maybe. It depends on actions he has yet to choose. It depends on the cause and time of the death. If he dies of natural causes he will pass on. But if he dies in the heat of battle with his friends in peril, he will come back.

Kyle: But not evilly?

Pharasma: no.

Illythan asks Pharasma: If he stays in your favor, will he still turn undead when he dies?

Pharasma: *looks confused* If he became undead, and then passed, he would still be welcome.

Eorin asks Pharasma: Will you still answer my prayers and consider me one of your clerics regardless of my choice in the matter of my blood?

Pharasma: Look at all the prayers that you have asked before and know that I have been there, even when you didn't know of your heritage. You have done far more than most priests that are still alive.

Orias: yea, because they're douche bags.

Kyle: Fuck those priests.

Kyle asks the Azlanti: How are you involved?

Azlanti dude: Long ago he fought Tar Baphon.

Zelara asks the Azlanti: The best way to deal with Tar Baphon.

Azlanti dude: The best way to deal with him is knowing that he is interested in two of you. You *points to Zelara* and you *points to Eorin*. Though if you alter your blood before then, he won't have any interest in you any longer. The real issue will be trying to get past all the Paladins and Clerics.

Eorin asks the Azlanti if Tar Baphon will help us get the ingredient.

Azlanti dude: He will in exchange for one thing and one thing only. He will in exchange for freedom. And he's the only one who knows how to work one of the vessels.

Zelara asks Pharasma: Is Aroden really dead?

Pharasma: *looks at the Azlanti, and looks back at Zelara*

CSI Korvosa!

The trial is thrown out, and the lawyer tells us that he wants to meet with us once our personal business is taken care of. Eorin figures out the body of Orias’ sister has been preserved with magic for a long time. Orias tells us that all he knew was that she died at an accident at the Academy several years ago. Eorin gives Davor a vial of his blood to experiment on how to remove the undead-ness from him. This leaves Eorin a touch woozy.

Orias’ sister, Celeste, had originally specialized in abjuration magic but had found, that she had a talent for illusion. So she decided to go that route, but then due to an accident with wards not being prepared during evocation class died from a rogue chain lightning spell. They repaired the body and put the body on ice to find her family. But she apparently had no next of kin, so her body went into storage. She has a different last name on the forms that she filled out than Orias, so she was using a false last name.  Which is highly confusing considering that Orias was told about her death by their mother six years ago. The school says that they never notified anyone, so how Orias’ mother was notified is a mystery.

They point us to Professor Ardoph regarding questions of body theft, because his job on campus is to procure or deal with anything slightly less than legal. He has a nasty scar on his head, and it looks like he stitched the wound back together himself. He’s got a floppy mohawk. He finds records of Celeste’s body being taken in the “necrophilia” pile, and he has kept meticulous records. The man took the body two years ago, and was a first time customer. Ardoph didn’t get the necrophiliac vibe from this guy even though that was the supposed reason he wanted the corpse. He was a tall, lanky guy with a peg leg on his right leg and was a sea captain. He was so stereotypically a sea captain that Ardoph almost didn’t believe it.  The name the man gave was “Captain Oglaf” but it’s probably fake. He paid in cash, like all customers.

There are only two professors still around from when Celeste was a student, the Necromany professor and the Universalist professor. We decide to go and visit them to ask if either of them knew anything. We visit the Universalist professor, Jack Delaphore, first. He’s busy teaching a cantrips class. We wait for him to finish and then go up to greet him. When we tell him we’re there with Celeste brother to ask about her, Professor Delaphore says that he will speak to Orias alone. So the rest of us leave the room so they can speak privately.

Delaphore tells Orias that it was unusual for a body to be kept on ice for that long. They usually wait a week and then use “Speak with Dead” to determine what the body wishes to be done with it. However, the necromancy professor was out of town at the time, and he is the one who usually deals with such things. But she was kept on ice even after his return, and Delaphore doesn’t know why. However, Mister Normandy, the head of security, has something of Celeste’s in his possession that Orias is entitled to as her next of kin.

We find the armory, and go inside. An arrow flies into the door right next to Orias’ head. That particular spot has clearly been shot many, many times. Mister Normandy is a tiefling with bluish-grey skin, short military cut hair, and a mean looking composite longbow. Orias explains that he’s here for something Celeste left behind. Mister Normandy goes into a back room and returns with a ring of keys which he uses to open a locker. It contains a book, an old school uniform, and a wand. He explains these are her belongings and hands them to Orias.

We then go see Professor Phyxious. He is directing a student production – he apparently also teaching theater. He said that he was never informed of her death, and he’s told whenever any body is put in cold storage. He agrees to take us to see the cold storage. Cold storage is vast, underground, freezing, and automated. That’s the polite term for run by undead. The vast majority of the undead that run cold storage were created before Prof. Phyxious arrived. “In the bad old days any student that failed ended up here.” “Failed a class or failed out of the school?” “I was never clear.” There are parkas at the entrance for visitors. There’s a cell door with wards, chains, and other protections across it that Kyle insists on looking through the window of even though Phyxious tells us we really don’t want to know what’s behind it. Kyle takes 2 wisdom damage. And we move on.

Professor Phyxious explains that the healing staff usually brings the recently dead here, and they are given necklaces that put them under the gentle repose effect. No body is meant to be here for longer than a week. He says that someone must have gone to a great deal of difficulty to hide Celeste’s body from him. Ardoph was taking a nap in cold storage. We come to conclusion that Celeste’s body was hidden from everyone for four years, and yet was conveniently visible and just lying around when Captain Oglaf came looking for “the kind of girl that doesn’t talk, ever.” It is likely that the body was kept in the school grounds for the time it was missing, because it is extremely difficult to sneak things out of the school. Captain Oglaf had been sought out by Ardoph, because he was selling items a professor was in need of, and Oglaf had asked for a body in exchange and picked Celeste out of the bodies available in cold storage at the time. The items Ardoph as in search of were not ones the school needed frequently and they came from the Darklands and were relatively rare.

We went to the Hellknights and asked if they were able to get anything out of the ghoul, but they were unsuccessful. The ghould speaks Osiriani, which none of the Hellknights do. They offer Eorin the opportunity to interrogate it because Eorin knows how to hurt undead effectively. The Academy won’t have a scroll of tongues available until the next day, so we decide to wait to interrogate the ghoul and go to the docks in the meantime.

At the docks, we look for information on Captain Oglaf. Captain Oglaf used to come around a lot, but hasn’t been seen in two years. No one bothered him though because he was under the protection of the River King, a Chelaxian crime lord that controlled the trade rivers and trade routes. No one has ever seen him (the River King). One thing they did remember is Captain Oglaf had a weird tattoo of red eyes (not sure how many, but definitely more than one) on his ankle. The ship was named “The Lola.” He also used gold measures, which are from Absalom, but that sort of currency is used everywhere because Absalom is the center of trade in this region.  While we’re at the docks, Illythan goes off on his own to buy a warehouse and some dock space. Illythan is offered a deal on a warehouse if we go clear it out because people are clearly squatting there.

Eorin recognizes the smell of corpses left out and not dealt with wafting from the warehouse.  Turns out Eorin was right! The warehouse is full of corpses, and fungus, and a perfectly good ship! Once you clear the moss off and clean it up…… we realize this ship is “The Lola.” The fungus is a rare and deadly kind that only grows in the Darklands and is used by people that don’t want undead cropping up because it rots corpses quickly and thoroughly.  If consumed or breathed in, it will cause us to blind and insane. The spores spread easily, so we’ll need to take special showers to get it off of us. Special poisons have to be used against it to kill it. Eorin opens his special umbrella, and it shields him from the spores. We decide to send two people in to investigate the boat, then everyone will clean and alert the dock authority to take care of the rest of the problem. Zelara and Eorin decide to be the investigation team while everyone else goes to wash and get the dock authority.

The Lola is not the most sturdy of vessels anymore. The bodies are in a very advanced state of decay – even the bones are rotting. Eorin attempts to cast “restore corpse” on one of the bodies, and it doesn’t work. The fungus blocks undead and is favored by assassins as well. It looks like someone came in and killed everyone – some of the corpses appear to have been killed while they were in the process of completing everyday tasks. Zelara spies heads in the water. We find more gooey bodies on the top deck of The Lola. The door to the captain’s quarters is locked. Eorin breaks open the door and we go inside. The fungus is growing in there, but it’s been growing in such a way that it looks as though someone kept it in there. We can see where it started – in a glass case in a potted plant area. We also find the Captain’s mirror, and laid out in front of it with great care, his razor, his beard, his peg leg, his uniform, and a makeup kit. It looks like the sort of peg-leg you could fit over your real leg. There is a blood covered rag, and the razor looks very well taken care of, and appears to be a war razor. Whoever was playing the character of Captain Oglaf clearly went out of their way to make the role believable. There are decades of journals with information about Oglaf. There are portraits of the Captain with people he must have known – not anyone famous. It’s possible that Captain Oglaf might have been a real person who was then assassinated and had their identity assumed by this imposter, but it’s difficult to tell if that’s the case or if the Captain was purely a false identity. There’s a hatch under the bed that leads directly to the exterior of the ship. Someone with the average height and weight of a human would have a difficult time squeezing through the hatch.  We also find a hidden compartment that’s a metal safe. We can’t open it and decide to extract it from it’s wooden surroundings and have Orias try to open it.

We go to the lower deck, and find tons of corpses. It’s clear that the captain killed the crew, and then prepared the bodies below decks where there is also a great deal of water to encourage the fungus to grow to cover their tracks and make finding any evidence difficult. We retrieve the safe and bring it out for Orias. The dock authority is at the exit waiting for us with plague masks and tools to eradicate the fungus. They hand us the fungicide spray and we get all nice and clean. We clean off the safe, and Orias manages to get it open.  However, the safe was trapped, and he’s stabbed in the neck by a dart, and Orias took 9 permanent con damage and is now blind. The safe turned out to be a music box and has a picture and a note inside. No one recognizes the lady in the picture because the only person who would is now blind, and the note says “Smile, no one cares how you feel.”

Eorin casts “Restoration” on Orias and he regains his eyesight and constitution. The picture is an iconography of Orias’ mother and there is an arm around her shoulders from a tall standing figure, and she is posed as though she were holding the hand of someone sitting next to her. However, neither of those other figures can be seen because they have been meticulously cut out of the picture. Orias recognizes the phrase on the note from someone who gave him a speech back in his early thief days in Riddleport about how a smile is the best disguise. Orias doesn’t know the man’s name, but he was tall, lanky, and has a perfectly groomed mustache. Orias would recognize him in a heartbeat.

Orias decides to spend his money to raise his sister from the dead. The healers at the Academy explain to Eorin (so he can explain to Orias, since they’re not used to dealing with people) that according to their tests, she died exactly when this murder supposedly occurred – meaning she may have been raised before only to be murdered by the ghoul. Secondly, there are signs of abuse – she was probably chained up at some point (her ankles are bruised), and there are stiches on her abdomen of the kind that only a master of the coronary arts could have performed. Her heart, liver, lungs, kidney etc were all taken, and she was filled with something deadly – if the healers hadn’t been as careful as they usually are, upon cutting her open, poison gas would have filled the room. (They used magic to look inside her, which is how they prevented this from occurring). They cannot, however, determine cause of death. They removed the poison gas, so her corpse is safe again, but resurrection will be expensive (at least 10k gold) and no one at the Academy knows how to perform that sort of divine magic. The healers also found a tooth with a hidden compartment in it in her mouth. Inside the tooth compartment there is a small rolled up scroll that has a small drawing of three red eyes on it. Eorin identifies it as a symbol given to those whom the River King trusts. It has to be on the body in order to be “official.”

We decide to go to the Pantheon of Many to find a cleric of Calistria in order to have Celeste resurrected. There are shrines to all the main gods/goddesses of Golarion in the building. Eorin goes to say a prayer to Pharasma. A shadow looms over him. He turns to see the young woman from the library in Absalom, Lorelai. He finishes his prayer, turning it into the extra long one halfway through. The shadow gets longer and he turns to see Jedah standing with Lorelai, commenting on how long Eorin’s prayer is. They have an awkward small conversation, and then Jedah hands him a hefty stack of paperwork and leaves. It’s an application for the entire group to join the Pathfinder Society. There are also similar forms for the Firebird’s Guild. Close inspection of the forms reveal that wee would have to choose between them, but both organizations do work together.

Kyle has a discussion with the statue of Cayden Cailen. He is displeased because she is on the road to drinking to excess. The two of them argue for a bit. Cayden is very concerned about how the onis are attracted Kyle and instructs her to keep it cool and only drink heavily on special occasions so she doesn’t end up like them.

Orias meets a priestess of Calistria and asks for a resurrection. She tells him they’re not the best at that type of thing, but that she’ll try to work out a deal for him, but it may take a day. Zelara goes to the shrine where Aroden used to be located. There isn’t anything there now, but someone is clearly keeping it cleaned and maintained. Apparently there are those who still believe he will return, and they keep his old shrine location clean.

Late in the evening, Orias gets a message from his temple that they can find someone to do the resurrection, but it will cost the normal amount to hire the spellcaster (910 gold) but he won’t have to pay for the spell components (diamond). Orias happily agrees, and sets a time for the resurrection the following day.

Illythan is at the Temple of Asmodius hiring someone to do paperwork for his business. He’s informed that someone is waiting for our group, and a messenger is sent to the Pantheon to retrieve the rest of us as well. We’re told that Stanley Highat Trinidad the 14^th Esquire, Eorin’s formal legal council, has been waiting for us for an hour, so we decide to go and see him. He would love it if we decide to go to Isger next. He’s from there, and Isger, much like Korvosa, belongs to Cheliax. The problem is, even with Cheliax’s wealth, Isger is still not getting the attention it needs. It’s a spawning pool for goblinoids and there’s an undead problem in the south. The only parts being protected are the trading routes and the river. It’s a place that’s getting very little help regarding military/martial support. So we’ll help a lot of people by going there. It’s also where the River King might be located, which would be something Orias might want to check out, plus there aren’t many temples to Pharasma so Eorin will be able to escape some of their harassment. Stanley says he’ll leave us to discuss amongst ourselves in his office and leaves.

Zelara explains the vision she had from the Whispering Tyrant about how the Army of Exploration that’s connected to Ravagug is our common enemy and that he knew who had set Eorin up and heavily implied that it was connected to the Army of Exploration. Eorin also brings up the paperwork from the Firebirds and the Pathfinder Society. If we join the Firebirds, we get an action figure automatically – being in the comic book is not assured. Firebird rules: we cannot be hired as mercenaries in a war, no assassinations, don’t be an evil jackass, etc. Pathfinder rules: you have to write down the information, people have to help each other, all knowledge goes back to the Pathfinders and they have it published. We decide to join the Firebirds, and Eorin gets started on the paperwork right away with much gusto. Illythan also tells us all that he’s willing to start selling us shares in his new company.

Stanley comes back in and explains to us that the guy who was pretending to be from the Temple of Pharasma has escaped. He also tells us that he had bribed the guards, and that’s why they wouldn’t let Kyle talk to him. Stanley then hands Kyle a bill for the pencils she erased (plus legal fees) that comes to 5k gold. The bill is specifically for Kyle to pay, even the legal fees, out of spite because Kyle erased all his pencils. They two haggle for a little and they come to an agreement for Kyle to pay him 1k gold.