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1Aliandara:Last time, you guys reached Korvosa, and met with Runelord Sorshen herself. The Runelord claimed to have gifts and information for you, but seemed to have made it a game for her own amusement, as well as the festival activities going on that evening. She did however seem impressed when you quickly gathered the ingredients for her namesake perfume, as well as the performance Angel and Lilith put on. She mentioned her plans to create a new Thassilon, and gifted the little necromancer with an ioun stone that would heighten her intellect.
2The Runelord of Lust smiles as they return to the plaza, looking around and then to her guests. Turning to the two she hadn't spent time with yet, she smiles to Aliandara and Conleth. "I feel like people watching for a bit, let's go mingle." She doesn't wait for a reply as she leads them off into a crowd.
3Lilith looks to Angelique. "Well looks like we've got a little time to ourselves. Anything you want to do while we're here? We could probably find someone selling fresh fruit rolls if we try hard enough."
4Angelique shrugs. "Given I'm riding you I don't think I have much choice in where you go." She lightly prodded one of her horns with a smirk. "Unless these are secretly your steering."
5Aliandara:Eating: There are several places in the plaza to enjoy festival food and drink, including barbecued Ailkan oysters, strips of spicy, deep-fried clam meat called “lemchum,” butter-rich fried pastries called “Oliphant ears” that can easily feed three people apiece, tiny and chewy sweets called “pullers,” and a wide variety of ales, ciders, lambics, meads, and punches
6Conleth looks... Not quite displeased, but still offput by the notion of following Sorshen, even if he still does it. He was already having to manually correct his thoughts when interacting with the Runelord.
7Aliandara seems to be fine with following Sorshen to keep an eye on her, but is clearly not the best at people watching. She keeps turning her attention back to their 'host'.
8Aliandara:Sorshen herself meanwhile seems to be very sociable, though she spends more time listening in than actually saying much. She picks up snippets here and there of conversations, seeming to always veer herself towards talk of current events and local politics.
9A master of her passions, Lilith indulges herself without going overboard, but Angel's sweet tooth seems to get the better of her with all the delicious pastries available at the fair. As Lilith soothes her little sister however, she spots someone seeming to be paying them particularly close attention. It was strange, the figure bore a striking resemblance to Lilith's father, only with bright red hair instead of black. However, she lacked the tell-tale horns, wings, and tail of a demon.
10Meanwhile, as Sorshen drifts through the crowd with Conleth and Aliandara, she pauses for a moment as a death's head moth flutters down from a nearby lamp to land on her hand. She watches it curiously, a smile on her face for a moment before it flutters off.
11Angelique groans as she mixed up some stomach medicine. "I guess we finally found my upper limit. Be ready to cut me off if I try to take on six at once again." She frowned at the small mixture and pulled a face, then quickly downed it in one, shuddering. "Bwuuuh, I wish I could do something about the taste... serves me right."
12Conleth raises an eyebrow at the moth, pulling his attention away from... Well, splitting between keeping an eye on Sorshen and seeing what the crowds were up to. He idly tries to remember if there was anything especially symbolic about them... Or if The Runelord just really liked moths.
13Sorshen looks to Conleth, then smiles coyly as she spots him scrutinizing her. "Fetch me that moth," she says, not asking, but not overtly commanding either. "But don't kill it, I wish to examine it further."
14Conleth has a face that all but screams "are you serious?" at her... Yet for some reason already had his carpet out. Curse that voice being so familiar
15Lilith laughed a bit at that, patting Angelique on the head. "I'll keep it in mind. Though you seemed so excited when you were doing it!" She grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "But lessons learned about overstepping your bounds, right?" She was lots of things, and good at lots of things, but blending in was definitely not one of them. She spared a glance around the area, her eyes tracking the strangely familiar face a moment before moving on. She lowered her voice a little to speak to Angelique. "Also I think someone here has an excess of interest in us. Or at least in me."
16Aliandara:Thankfully, he's quick enough to snatch it before it flies off into the air or into the crowd, his fingers caging it in as he brings it back over to the Runelord. Sorshen smiles at him, looking pleased as he brings it to her. She takes it from him, holding it delicately as she looks to him. "Tell me something, Mister Alyward..." she chuckles, "surnames, such a strange convention. Still, I wonder... if you were to know that such a creature as this moth was the reincarnation of a hared enemy, what would you do with it?"
17Angelique looked up and around. "Probably you, employee of the month at the dome for a reason after all." She shrugged and started packing her things away. "I could stay put if you want to wander a bit."
18Aliandara looks to Sorshen, nodding. "In Thassilonian times, one name was enough, an Azlanti custom, to have but one name and leave it to the individual to make that name remembered throughout history. Yours is certainly an infamous one." At the question of the moth she seems to not have an answer.
19Lilith nodded her head. "Take care of yourself. I'll meet you back by the statue when we're supposed to meet up with the others, alright?" She smiled to Angelique. "I don't really like wandering off without you. But this place seems like it's unlikely anyone will attack us at least."
20Angelique lifts and bends her tail into a rough thumbs up shape. "I have backup on call, you go have fun."
21Aliandara:As Lilith moves away from Angelique, the stranger with her father's face turns away and slips into a nearby alley. However, even as she turns away, Lilith hears a voice in her head, speaking Abyssal. ("Lilith, daughter of Ashamintallu?")
22Lilith raised an eyebrow at that, looking in the direction that the other had vanished. She turned to head in that direction as well quietly, humming a little bit as she tapped her cheek. She muttered to herself in Abyssal. ("Oh? Someone out there a fan? I'm surprised.")
23Conleth is pulled back from his mind's autopilot, looking wary again. "Family ties are important, at least nowadays." he notes, snorting at the question. "Really, this one? If it lacks the memory or capability of what made it hated in a past life, there's no purpose in doing anything at all to it." he states, leaning to get a better look at the insect in question.
24Aliandara:("Not where I was actually expecting to run into you, but mother dearest was aware you were out there in the world somewhere.") In the alley away from prying eyes, the familiar stranger smiled. "I was keeping tabs on Sorshen for her, but I didn't realize she'd put you on the job too."
25Up close, Lilith can see that the similarities between this woman and her father were only surface level, as details beyond her hair colour were evident up closer. A mole here, a scar there.
26Angelique meanwhile wandered off to wait for the others, she had zombies to have fun with meanwhile.
27Aliandara:The insect appeared to be perfectly mundane. Sorshen nods to Conleth's response, turning the moth over once again. "Good to know that one of you is willing to forgive sins from a lifetime ago at least." She lets the moth go, fluttering off to another nearby light source.
28Aliandara muses on Sorshen's comment. "Time has passed, but you're still living the same lifetime as those sins," she notes.
29Aliandara:Sorshen shrugs. "How many different people do you think you've been, between this lifetime and ones preceding it? Who do you think you'll become tomorrow?"
30Lilith smiled, just a touch preditoraly, at that, "Well, it seems like I get involved in all sorts of troubles wherever I go. I hadn't expected to find Sorshen here when I set out on this journey either. But strange things happen when you're chasing ancient ghosts." She shrugged her shoulders at that, looking the woman over thoughtfully. "So you must be one of my aunts, then? One of dear gran's loving, supportive children."
31Aliandara:The woman smiles and nods, the air around her rippling as she lets her illusory disguise drop. "Ah, so this is all a coincidence. A fortuitous one though. Have you never met your grandmother? She knew about you but I wasn't certain. Though, considering the terms she and Ashamintallu last left on, perhaps that was for the best, she has a far more concerning enemy anyways." She smiles to Lilith. "Melisandrana, daughter of Ayandamahla. Youngest of her daughters, so far as I'm aware."
32Lilith gave a polite curtsy, or something approximating one considering her current mode of dress. "Well you have me at a bit of a disadvantage, considering you already know who I am. But yes, I am Lilith, daughter of Ashamintallu. No, I've never had the chance to meet my grandmother. I believe dad still wants her head upon a pike, at a guess. Though she's at least mostly given up on trying to pursue that goal for the time being." She grinned a touch at the prospect. "Found something she cares about more than revenge. Can you imagine?"
33Conleth narrows his eyes. "Your past speaks volumes and your present is an enigma, but you have knowledge and capability both. Forgiveness is laughable when I'm not who it should be asked of." he says, looking away.
34Aliandara:Melisandrana shakes her head. "I can't, actually, I'd say she's missing out. GIven everything mother told me about Sorshen, I've been itching for a chance at her throat. Of course, she'd probably turn me inside out as it stands, so I'm keeping my distance. Still, if you're keeping tabs on her as well, then maybe Mother doesn't need Ashamintallu's help. She'd considered asking, given that they're both ultimately victims of that witch's deceit, but if you're already on her trail, then I'm sure Mother Dearest would be most grateful for any assistance you can provide."
35Sorshen nods to Conleth. "I won't deny that my sins are innumerable, but I suppose only time will tell how long I have to carry that weight, or what I might need to do to discard it."
36Lilith smirked at that in thought, tapping her cheek. "I'll consider it, at least. So far she's been nothing but a gracious and patient host. Hard to believe she's the same person who ordered an entire city slaughtered to fuel her immortality. But then again, I guess if she hadn't, she wouldn't be here now." She shrugged her shoulders. She quietly looked over the woman before her, curiously considering her appearance. "You must be one of grandma's favorites to get a job like this. Either that, or she considers you very expendable. I wonder which it is..."
37Conleth:"Well aside from... Some old notes my father tried to keep hidden, you haven't directly harmed my loved ones, or done anything heinous recently." he says, scratching the back of his head, adding under his breath "And giving me the creeps doesn't count..."
38Aliandara:Melisandrana chuckles. "Yeah, that's how Sorshen works her magic. She comes off as kind and friendly and helpful, then she starts asking your to do favours, and before you know it, she'll have ensnared your mind or roped you into some duty you need to exploit an unforeseen loophole to get out of. As to Mother's favouritism, it's hardly a contest. Erixadallax is dead and Ashamintallu likely wouldn't be willing to listen long enough to hear her out. I'm glad you're a dutiful granddaughter though. I'll be around, and I'll let Grandmother know I met you. If the Runelord comes to trust you, it might be just what we need to finally put an end to that banshee." She slips back into her illusory disguise. "Nice meeting you my dear niece!" She teleports away.
39Sorshen nods to Conleth, giving a wry, regal laugh. "I shall endeavour to maintain that record. I've not lived this long without making the best use of my resources after all." She starts to head back to the effigy to group up.
40Aliandara frowns a bit, but sighs. "Still, it's like she said, if she starts trouble, there will be adventurers who answer the call to thwart her. Might even be us... eventually."
41Angelique had found a high spot near said effigy, how she got up there was probably obvious given the disguised zombie standing underneath, trying to reach up for the food she was being teased with. "C'mon Lydia! Get the chicken!"
42Lilith sighed a little bit and shook her head, turning to head back towards the effigy through the crowds. She gave a quiet hum in thought as she came closer, looking up at Angelique taunting her pet zombie.
43Conleth shrugs lightly as he walks, and tries not to shiver at Sorshen's laugh, just familiar enough to make the differences aggravating.
44Aliandara:Sorshen smiles as she meets up with the fiendish girls. "Seems like you're having fun." She chuckles at the chicken chasing. "Actually, I'm feeling quite famished." The hour was eight past noon, and the sun had dipped below the horizon, though there was still plenty of orange in the sky. "What do you say we partake of the banquet offering at that local restaurant, Ye Reel Catch I believe it's called." She looks over to the building.
45Angelique straightens up as she looks over the crowd to try and spot the place she mentioned. "Well I myself did recently dominate an eating contest, but I suppose that's one advantage to having a body like this. I do like seeing how the seafood of other locales compares to home." Her shadow warps around a few chains and forms a large slingshot, sending the chicken flying which the zombie chases. She then jumps down from her perch.
46Aliandara nods. "Actually, I feel like it would be a good time for a meal, yes." She rubs her stomach.
47Conleth wrinkles his nose a little, but nods. "Not terribly fond of fish, but it'll do-good a time as any to try a new thing."
48Aliandara:This eatery has ample outdoor seating and specializes in seafood dishes. As their establishment is relatively new, the owners of Ye Reel Catch are eager to use the festival to “reel in” new customers, and for the duration of the evening, all of their offerings are half price. Simple meals at Ye Reel Catch thus cost a mere 2 sp, while a special banquet offering of lemon-poached salmon, seaweed salad, raw oysters, and strips of particularly spicy lemchum (deep-fried clams), paired with delicious house wine, can be had at the affordable price of 20 gp per feaster.
49Angelique rolls her eyes. "You and your schedules, alright then. Must be terrible though, not being fond of seafood when we live in a harbour city." She shrugged and covered the cost of everyone. "Put that down, Alia. Healthcare duty, etcetera."
50Aliandara:Sorshen seems pleased as Angelique pays for her portion as well, looking quite curious about the local cuisine. As she eats however, she ends up looking strangely out of her element. While she had the etiquette of a highborn, she also had a ravenous appetite. Yet as she eats, she seems to keep reaching for utensils that aren't there, and looking at the plain cloth napkins and pewter drinking goblets seems to twist her face with disappointment.
51Angelique watches the slip ups as she nibbles at her own food. "I remember mother showing me the entire set of utensils from back then, not even royalty uses so much nowadays." She looks at the single fork in her hand. "The regular people have it right though. One size fits all, convenient and saves time, not to mention resources and labour."
52Aliandara:Sorshen seems to have become a little frustrated as she ate. She gives a sigh and leans back, looking to her hosts. "I could use a distraction from this mediocrity," she claims. "Regail me with tales of your adventures. I'm sure you had some to tell of before I made contact with you at Hollow Mountain."
53Lilith rubbed her chin thoughtfully at that. "Well I think at that point most of what we'd done was in Riddleport. Well, unless you want to hear the stories about the horrors that Angie, Connie and I got up to while we were growing up." She grinned broadly at the prospect of that. "It's amazing the kind of trouble you can get into when you have partial access to the best stocked alchemy lab on the continent and an immense amount of idle time."
54Angelique snickered. "The blue hair did kind of suit you though."
55Aliandara notes, "I would not be able to contribute to that particular story, but I do have some tales of my travels before I returned to Riddleport and then Roderic's Cove, where I was snatched up into this current ongoing endeavor."
56Conleth grimaces, glancing down at his duster-or more accurately, the vials stored within. He can't help but laugh anyway. "I'm glad I could never convince Dils' to help with some of those, in hindsight. Bad enough I got stuck as a cat for a few minutes after swiping the wrong bottle off a shelf."
57Aliandara:Sorshen raises a hand. "Why don't you each tell me a story then. Surely one of them will amuse sufficiently."
58Aliandara looks around at her companions. "I suppose one of you can supply the tale of Roderic's ghost. As to me, I suspect the most interesting part of my travels before the Cyphergate was a ruined temple I came across in the Shoanti Cinderlands. The caravan I was traveling with took shelter inside to escape from a dust storm. The place had been thoroughly looted long before we got there, but the part below ground was sturdy enough to weather the storm. Now, while there are many ruins throughout the world from ancient cultures, this one just so happened to be a temple to Lissala. Long abandoned, and disused, but while any material treasures would have been long since looted, there was a magical trap left behind. A sequence of endless runes that would ensnare someone who didn't know better and force them to keep reading. Forever, or at least until they died of thirst."
59Aliandara shakes her head. "I was so fascinated by the prospect of learning knowledge of my Goddess, I nearly fell for the trap, and it took great force of will to tear myself away from it, but I realized then that Lissala's power, in the written rune, in language, in words, could retain it's might even after millennia have passed as a civilization has crumbled into the dust."
60Angelique smirks. "That's just what we'd come to expect from you. You could've visited us more though." She thinks back to some of her past activities. "Well, before we reunited I spent my whole life in the castle, too scared to even go near the gates, and I made the excuse that I had all I needed there. While Lil was at work, or training, I could study medicine, practice surgery, or just play in all the secret passages mother installed. I will admit it was fun, the old me would've loved being able to move unseen through our home like a little poultergeist." She smiled as she looked to Lilith. "Oh the old me, did you know out of the three of us, Lil was the 'good girl'? I'd pull pranks, play tricks, just generally be a little terror. Not because of status, wealth or family. But I just... felt the urge. After ruining another construction project, mother finally had enough. I thought she was going to punish me severely but... she didn't. Instead she just talked with me, about what I was, what she was, what she suspected the father I never knew was. She made me stop and question things, could say she used my curiosity against me, but she answered any questions I had. Since then she'd started to teach me that, no matter what a person is or was, it was what they decided to do that mattered. Oh I was still a little terror, but this time, as mother taught me, I chose my targets, made sure they deserved it, terrorize someone who's gone unpunished for something." She sipped her juice. "Except that time we visited the Sapphire palace. That was just fun, inconvenient, annoying but utterly harmless fun. So many bubbles..."
61Lilith tapped her cheek thoughtfully at that. "Hmm. I guess I could tell you the story about how Angie and I got kidnapped. See, Angie's mom is a vampire, not by choice but you don't usually get to choose who your parentage is, right? She was a dhampire I think, but after exposure to the... What were they called?" She glanced to Angelique. "Bloodghasts I think?" She looked back to Sorshen. "The leftover blood ghost-things in the bottom of the Lady's Light, left behind at the mural depicting the brutal murder of an entire city to feed a single woman's ego and desire for immortality, grizzly but surprisingly well made by-the-by!, she became overtaken by her vampiric blood." She grinned broadly. "Started thirsting for the lives of others, but was too much of a good person to let that stop her from trying to make the world a better place. Anyway, after she finished her adventures and settled down a bit, she had a torrid love-affair with some traveling Tiefling. I don't know anything about him, Alette refuses to talk about him, and he left before I was born." She shrugged her shoulders. "But regardless, he was some kyton-blooded tiefling, or so we've been told. The cult of Zura, you know abyssal lord of gluttony and patron of all vampires, got wind that a child had been born to a vampire mother and a demonic father. Must have gotten it in their head that she was to be the mortal incarnation of their god." She laughed a little at that. "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but after all this mess with the Yamasoth followers, I can't help but imagine how obsessive all these people dedicated to the abyss must be. So this group decides she's to be their prophet and god. Idiots actually managed to get enough backing to break into Scarlet Manor, this was long before Alette had all the defenses it has now installed, and managed to kidnap us. Apparently whomever was leading the cult didn't know what Angelique looked like, so they just grabbed us both! Connie's lucky he's just a half-elf. Can't really be mistaken for being part demon." She shrugged her shoulders. "So they drag us off to their temple, hidden out in the pilings of the Irespan, intent to sacrifice Angelique and summon their dread god. I tried to stop them from taking her, but all I got was more bruises than I could count and a few lost teeth. I was unconscious when Alette and mom showed up to save us. But from what they said it must have been one impressive fight. Their leader was a vampire, too. Ran off somewhere when she was defeated. Still don't know what happened to her." She shrugged her shoulders with a sigh. "But it was a real turning point. Angie's right. Before that I was afraid to even leave my mom's side, never mind go on actual adventures. Worried about us getting into trouble. I guess after that I kind of came to accept that trouble was going to come to us one way or another." She grinned broadly. "And what do you know, it keeps doing it!"
62Angelique rolls her eyes. "I know, right?" She spreads out her wings. "I always keep wondering if we have some hidden target markings on these, like some type of moth."
63Conleth bite didn't know (or care) either. He didn't really feel like recounting much, but the story of how the mess started, well... "Well for what led us here... It was supposed to be a relaxing trip to Roderic's Cove, meet an old friend, wait for our folks to swing back around. Then the man himself's ghost showed up, and sent half the town scrambling, and things got dicey from there..." the rest is a relatively accurate telling of the tale, with a few embellishments and interruptions-like remembering they never did see the "one bandit lass after she vanished", and a smirk at Angel when he recounts how she was the one who talked to the urchin boy.
64Sorshen listens intently to their tales as she eats the rest of her meal. She seems pleased as she listens, distracted from the perceived lack of finery provided by the restaurant. She smiles by the time they finish their meals and their recounting. "Quite a variety of mischief you've all gotten up to, by your fault or not. I won't bore you with anecdotes about my time ruling Thassilon, though some of them are plenty shocking." She smiles. "Instead, I think I'll share something a little more pertinent here and now. I told you that I had a means, should you retrieve the Bone Grimoire, to put an end to Runelord Zutha once and for all." She finishes off her wine. "In the final years of Thassilon, I developed a ritual as a method to potentially do away with the repulsive Runelord of Gluttony. Earthfall Removed him first, but so long as his phylactery persists, there remains a chance for him to return."
65Angelique rolls her eyes. "Of course he's a lich as well. But at the same time I'm a little surprised. Wouldn't becoming a lich mean also losing two of the things any runelord, nevermind a gluttonous one, likely enjoyed in excess? Taste and touch?"
66Aliandara:Sorshen chuckles. "Normally, yes, but Zutha is a special kind of lich. All the power that form of undeath grants with none of its drawbacks. He stills has flesh, he can still eat, and he particularly enjoyed eating flesh," she quips. "However, with the Ritual of Runewaking, you can use the Bone Grimoire you can force the portion of his soul that resides within to manifest physically, at... roughly a third of his power. If he is then destroyed in that state, the Grimoire is destroyed with him, which in turn will undo the other two fragments. If anything of his soul remains, it will be released from the grip of undeath and into the Boneyard."
67Angelique thinks, trying to recall all the necromantic books she'd read. "Able to retain his flesh, that sounds like a whole set of new complications on top of the already incredibly complicated procedure."
68Lilith shrugs her shoulders at that. "I guess when you've got a world-spanning empire, a mastery of the magic of necromancy and a very, very long time to do research and planning a lot of things that seem impossible become possible."
69Aliandara frowns and considers that. "It figures a gluttonous retch like Zutha wouldn't become an undead that couldn't indulge his appetite."
70Conleth snorts. "Given the things regular alchemists and wizards do, does it really surprise you that a Runelord could become a 'living lich'?" he asks, leaning on the table. "Well we already figured we'd have to get the book. Needing to get the book, and then kill him, though? Potentially three times?"
71Aliandara:Sorshen smiles and raises a hand. She gives a snap of her fingers, and the Sihedron Deputies feel their minds flood with information. The sensation was very similar to what it felt like to touch an artifact and have it impart its workings into the wielder's thoughts.
72Angelique lightly bonked Conleth. "She said it would destroy the other two fragments as well, but they wouldn't be there to make the fight thrice as hard."
73Aliandara:RUNEWAKINGSchool illusion (shadow); Level 7CastingTime 70 minutesComponents V, S, F (a portion of the Gluttonous Tome), SC (up to 8)SkillChecks Bluff DC 28, 3 successes; Knowledge (arcana) DC 28, 2 successes; Spellcraft DC 28, 2 successesRange touchEffect a shadowy simulacrum of Runelord ZuthaDuration 1 minuteSavingThrow none; SR noBacklash All casters take 2d6 points of damage.Failure All casters gain 1 permanent negative level and are exhausted until that negative level is removed.EFFECTThis ritual can be performed only at a site like the Tarnished Temple of Xin, where a potent legacy of Thassilon’s pre-runelord values still exists. The ritual creates a temporary and weakened version of Zutha from a portion of his phylactery, drawing power from the Shadow Plane to manifest a simulacrum-like incarnation of the runelord. If this manifestation of the lich is destroyed before the ritual’s 1-minute duration expires, all three portions of the Gluttonous Tome crumble to dust and Runelord Zutha is forever slain; otherwise, as the ritual expires, Zutha’s temporary manifestation melts away into a heap of corrupted flesh and the portion of his phylactery used in the ritual emerges unscathed.
74Conleth bristles at the sensation of information flooding his mind-NOT liking things being forcefully inserted like that. "I said 'potentially'. I'm not trusting ancient spellwork to ever work the way you think it should-even if it is another Runelord making the claim."
75Angelique rubbed her head. "I suppose that's one way of telling us how to do it. People would appreciate a warning first though, that was... jarring, and I hear such things can be painful."
76Aliandara:Sorshen nods to Conleth. "In fairness, the ritual is entirely theoretical, considering I never actually put it into practice, but I am confident it will work as intended."
77Aliandara gives her head a shake at the dump of knowledge, frowning a bit."As much as I'm not fond of shortcuts, I suppose time is of the essence and we lack the means to research it ourselves."
78Angelique frowns as she processes the information completely. "Hm, well I can think of a place we could probably go to do it, Xin is probably a suitable site. And with mother still missing I should probably check on the people we have posted there."
79Lilith scratched her head at that prospect, then sighs. "I guess that's probably the only really convenient place we have to go for it, huh? Unless Alia knows a temple to Lissala from before the fall we could use. But we'd probably want to go somewhere far away from civilization anyway. Better not to allow the possibility of side-effects."
80Aliandara:Sorshen nods. "Any site of Thassilonian power would do, I merely suggested the one I did because I felt it would be suitably isolated to prevent interruption or bystander casualties."
81Aliandara nods her agreement. "Even at a third of his power, Zutha is likely to be a challenge for us. It would be preferable to avoid collateral damage."
82Angelique:"And for you to prepare accordingly, right? I know you've probably got quite a collection of spells."
83Aliandara nods. "Yes, I can likely make appropriate magical considerations. I was already considering options upon learning of Erigantus. Perhaps he will serve as suitable... practice, for the fragment of a Runelord."
84Conleth:"A road to cross once we're closer to it, I imagine. We'll be able to assess what we need better once we're in the thick of it."
85Angelique:"Well, some preperations may not work on him as it would Zutha. I mean we know for a fact Zutha will be an undead azlanti, a human. The vast majority of species on this world react to positive and negative energy in a... rather opposing manner to the undead."
86Aliandara:Sorshen smiles, standing and preparing to depart now that they had finished eating. "Of course, Zutha is not the only danger the world now faces. As you discovered in Hollow Mountain, Alaznist has emerged from her isolation and has already begun to move. Karzoug is of course, already deceased, and you prevented those who would have sought to resurrect Krune from achieving their goal. Belimarius you have little to fear of, as she is presently trapped outside this world. However, as you may have guessed from the presence of the Sword of Pride, Runelord Xanderghul has also stirred."
87Conleth looks... Almost entirely nonplussed.by this. "Yes. And? The way things have been popping up recently, I half expect someone to rise up and replace Karzoug while we're busy with the others."
88Aliandara:Sorshen nods. "I just figured you ought to be fully appraised of the status of my former contemporaries." Stepping out of the restaurant, the light of the sun was almost spent, and workers were heading around the plaza lighting lanterns and lamps. However, SOrshen's eyes turn upwards, towards a nearby stone building, and a gargoyle with several crows perched upon it. "Hrm..." she notes, a mysterious smile gracing her face. "Is it just me, or is there something sparkling in the mouth of that Gargoyle there? The middle one." She points to it, carved about thirty feet from the ground.
89Angelique looks up and frowns. "Can't see a thing from down here, story of my life. What about you, Connie?"
90Conleth sighs, uncorking another flask. "If'n she didn't sound like my sister I swear..." he mutters knocking it back and, squinting.
91Aliandara:There is indeed a small metallic object in the Gargoyles mouth. It would be a bit of a task to climb up and get it... if means of flight weren't available.
92Conleth absently wonders if this is another ioun stone as he surfs up to it. He pulls his lantern out to check, while he was up there retrieving it.
93Aliandara:It was a ring. A ring of Spell Storing in fact, though a lesser variant.
94Conleth puts the lantern back on his belt and circles back down. "Well, convenient little storing ring-could be good for a contingency from Alia's spell reserves I imagine."
95Aliandara waits for Conleth to come back down. "So, what manner of present did Sorshen leave there for us?"
96Lilith tilts her head to one side. "I'm inclined to believe she left them there for herself, and is just choosing to let them go to give us a reason to listen and trust her."
97Aliandara shakes her head. "That Gargoyle wouldn't have been here eleven thousand years ago." She looks to Sorshen.
98Aliandara:Sorshen smiles. "A crow must have carried it up there~"
99Conleth gives an unamused look. "Conveniently carrying up spell storing rings, huh." he states lamely. "Sis's habit of stashing things in odd places suddenly makes so much more sense now, at least."
100Conleth will pass the ring off to Alia while he does so. if he hasn't already.
101Aliandara takes it, eyes shimmering as she looks it over. "I see..." She looks to Sorshen. "Thank you. I will consider this an advance payment for the service of doing your dirty work, since that seems to be your intention for us."
102Aliandara:Sorshen chuckles. "Consider it whatever you wish then, shall we go find some fun and games?" She glances to a crowd gathering around the pig pen.
103Angelique looks over... or more under the crowd to see where they were heading. "Would now be a good time to mention I don't get along well with pigs?"
104Conleth chuckles, as does the hedgehog on his hat. Now when had the little beastie gotten up there...? "Angie, you don't get along with most animals."
105Aliandara removes her ring of protection in favor of the spell storing one.
106Aliandara:A crier announces that the Crown of Hams contest is about to get under way, the little pen containing a number of pigs that an attendant was going around and slathering with grease. As the contest begins, the first contestant is given a replica of Ileosa's infamous crown, with two clips to try and attach it to the pig's ears. He rushes in, trying to catch one of the greased pigs and wrestle it the ground. The one running the game watches a small hourglass closely.
107Conleth:"Really is wild to see just how far a festival will go to pull a terrible ruler through the mud. Must be pretty cathartic, for the folks who still remember it."
108Conleth doesn't say anything, but watching the wrestling... Why does he have the sinking sensation he's going to have another image of Lilith seared into his brain?
109Angelique watches the chase play out before some cogs click in her head. "Ooooh I get it now."
110Aliandara:After a minute the contestant has failed to pin the pig down and clip the crown on, and the attendant calls him for timing out. The next contestant manages to get one ear clipped, but the pig wriggles out of his grasp and prevents him from getting the second attached.
111Sorshen watches with amusement before looking over her 'escorts', musing on them before looking to Lilith, but then to Aliandara. "You should give it a try."
112Angelique:"With your clothes on, Lil."
113Aliandara blinks. "I beg your pardon?"
114Conleth watches Sorshen's gaze, nodding slowly, and then lets out a loud snort as he turns away, desperately trying to stifle laughter and regain composure. And not have a different mental image prepare to get burned in.
115Lilith smirks at that, looking to Alia. "I'm sure you'd be great at it if you put your mind to it! Pigs are slippery little devils, though. They hate being tied down or held in place. Especially when they're scared!"
116Angelique patted Lilith's leg. "You can be scarier if you want to though."
117Aliandara:Sorshen smiles. "While I'm sure Lilith would be more than capable of succeeding where these other contestants failed, I would be more amused to watch our little priestess get down and dirty." She smirks, shifting to look at the half-elf. "You wish to be the new leader of a faith that most of the world has forgotten. Do you really think you won't meet with opposition? Do you really think you won't have to get your hands dirty? What of your opposition? Do you truly think you have a spell for everything? How can you expect to achieve such a daunting task if you're unwilling to attempt all the dirty little things you might need to do to keep it from falling apart?"
118Angelique:"Yeah, Alia. Pretend you're a snake! The squeezy kind!"
119Lilith pats Angie on the head. "Well, yeah. I do have lots and lots of practice!" She grinned broadly. "But I'd also hate to get my nice new dress ruined with the mud and grease." She smirked a bit and looked to Alia with excitement. "It'll be a good workout, too. You've done all that traveling, but this is going to be hard work!"
120Angelique rolled her eyes. "Well I could hold it for you if you want to play and keep it clean."
121Aliandara looks to Sorshen, musing on the nature of her challenge. "If I were to claim that this was beneath me, I suppose I'd be proving you right." She steps up to the pen after the following contestant fails. She taps into the ring she had just received to bolster her morale, and then calls upon Lissala, her tattoos glowing gold. The attendant seems hesitant, but the crowd looks very interested as magic gets involved.
122Aliandara smiles and thumbs her cloak for a moment before taking the replica crown and making a move on one of the pigs.
123Aliandara:She utterly fails to grab hold of it. 
124Aliandara frowns, and tries again. 
125Conleth watches with a fascination. This was... Ridiculous. The hedgehog on his head thinks so too, by the way it chitters in laughter.
126Lilith grins broadly, cheering Alia on from the sidelines, where she leans lightly against the fencing.
127Aliandara:She actually manages to tackle the pig to the ground. The crown floating beside her, held by her unseen servant. She attempts to hold the pig still while having her servant do the actual attachment
128Only for the pig to slip loose of her grasp and cause her to faceplant into the mud. The crowd seems to be loving the spectacle.
129Aliandara takes a deep breath and attempts to go after a different pig that hadn't run off 
130Aliandara:She can't seem to catch up however, diving for the next nearest one 
131This time she does manage to catch it, trying to pin it to the ground to allow for the clipping. 
132She forcibly pins the pig to the ground, gritting her teeth and holding its head still as her servant attaches the crown to both ears.
133Aliandara stands up, letting the squealing pig run around with its new 'crown'. A snap of her fingers magically removes the filth as she grins victoriously at the Runelord.
134Lilith gives Alia an applause for her impressive showing. "If I didn't know better I'd swear you'd staged that!"
135Aliandara:Some of the audience seems to cry foul for her using magic, while others thought seeing the little bookworm get down and dirty was enough of a show to be worth the win. Sorshen smiles and applauds, stepping up to the judge and whispering to him. He nods and takes Alia's hand as she exits the pen. "Your winner!" She seems to be cheered and jeered in equal measure, but no one actually seems upset enough to dispute it.
136Angelique shakes her head, having enjoyed the show. "You probably should've removed your glasses before planting. Hand them over."
137Aliandara blinks and passes them to Angelique. "Hrm... I didn't prepare mending this morning. Thank you."
138Aliandara looks to Lilith. "I'm rather surprised myself, frankly. I know how difficult it is to hang onto something greased, magically or not. It was one of my most useful spells for a long time."
139Conleth claps, rather flabbergasted at the whole thing. At least this trip would be memorable. "Good show, I'm sure Lilith will find an excuse to tease you about it again for weeks."
140Angelique shakes her head and tightens the screws, then pokes out a cracked lens to fit in a new one. "Good thing I brought spare parts for us as well as Lydia." She hands them back, good as new.
141Aliandara slips them back on, blushing a touch at the mention of Lilith and teasing. She looks to the Runelord. "My Goddess deserves better than what she got in your time. I'm going to make sure she gets it, since she has blessed me for my devotion."
142Aliandara:Sorshen smiles coyly. "Is that so? Well, we shall have to see if there's a place in New Thassilon for her like there was in Xin's Thassilon. I doubt you'd like it if it was a place like she held in Krune's corner of our empire." She glances around, then points to a pig that had slipped out of the pen in the commotion. "Well, one of the uncrowned hams has escaped, and if I'm not mistaken, I just saw it swallow something that looked valuable. Perhaps you should catch that one and find out what it ate."
143Lilith raises an eyebrow at that. "Well I guess I'll get it." She moves to grab the pig before it can slip away into the crowd or get too far afield.
144Angelique gawps. "You didn't..." she looks to see the pig. "You did..." She jumps down and dashes to try and make herself visible to the pig, taunting it with a raspberry the moment it catches sight of her.
145Aliandara:Lilith grabs hold of the pig as it tries to flee from Angelique, hoisting it up easily, though it squeals and squirms.
146Aliandara waits until Lilith has hold of the pig, then sends a small ray of necromantic energy at it.
147Angelique catches up as the pig is caught. "Alia, what are you doing?"
148Aliandara:The pig suddenly looks rather ill, then promptly vomits onto the ground in front of Lilith. The magic aura Angel saw in its belly comes out along with the contents of its stomach.
149Aliandara looks to Sorshen with a sigh. "While magic can't solve everything, I do tend to be prepared for anything." She smirks and looks pleased with herself
150Angelique was standing... in the worst possible spot as the pigs stomach was emptied out on top of her. She just stood there, stunned, filthy, smelly. "I... don't..." she shuddered and looked slightly ill herself. "Bath..."
151Aliandara blinks and looks at Angelique apologetically. "Sorry." A quick prestidigitation cleans the mess off of Angelique, as well as the trinket Sorshen had evidently fed to it. It looked like a small, round piece of agate, but to those looking for it it radiated an evocation aura.
152Lilith took the pig back to return it to its keeper once it had been emptied of its contents, returning to pat Angelique on the head. "We'll get you a proper bath as soon as we can."
153Angelique:"Not soon enough." she complained. "Lydia! I need to bathe! Where are you?" The zombie came as called, a chicken bone poking out of her mouth. "Please excuse me while I scrub. And burn my clothes."
154Conleth still looks like he's trying not to laugh, and failing miserably. Everything about this was silly. "Well hopefully that doesn't put a-snrk-damper on whatever else our host wanted to do."
155Aliandara:Rewards: 28,800 Experience Points; +7200 XP Each