Intrigued and curious about the situation at the Blue Bunyip, the party heads back to the tavern where this little side quest began. There is a small contingent of guards present, but they don’t seem to care about stopping bar patrons from grabbing a drink.
The party rustles up some pints from the bartender (sour style, of course), and they grease his palm for a little information about the murder. As it turns out, a pale man with short, curly white hair seems to be the key suspect. He walked into the bar accompanied by the smell of charcoal, went back to Vestele, and left a few minutes later. The body wasn’t discovered until closing time.
Barnaby’s feather was also left at the crime scene, and the city guard took everything away as evidence. Next stop – the mortuary.
Luckily, Barnaby’s family name precedes him, and the promise of getting Brother Teldin into the mayor’s pocket is more than enough to afford the party five minutes to examine Vestele’s body.
Krask performs a rudimentary once-over, noticing the semi-circular wound from one side of Vestel’s neck to the other. Lacking the medical autopsy experience required to deduce the true cause of death, apart from the obvious loss of blood, the party concludes that it was caused by a thin weapon like a spear, dagger, or rapier.
However, Krask’s perceptive nature allows him to notice a freshly branded icon behind Vestele’s ear. Fyn recognizes it as the Mark of the Rack, an infamous order of Hellknights. As the party questions Barnaby about his involvement in all of this, the truth begins to come out.
Barnaby tells the party about his less-than-legal past, including his impersonations of various positions and stations throughout Golarion. This includes, of course, his role as the Second Scourge.
As far as the white-haired man is concerned, Barnaby iterates that he’s only caught a glimpse from far away. However, it is clear that his stalker is sending a message, and that he’s frightfully close.
Housekeeping Check-In
Worried about Cloratus, the party sneaks back into Barnaby’s home to check on her. They don’t see any signs of evil-doers, as the housekeeper is merely knitting on the couch. When asked about visitors, Cloratus mentions that a lovely man stopped by to drop off a package for Barnaby. This man allegedly knew Barnaby from Andoran, which was quite the surprise to Cloratus.
The party takes every precaution when opening the package in case of maleficence. Krask checks the brown paper over for traps and doesn’t find anything alarming. Fyn also has everyone step back before opening it up with Mage Hand from a distance.
Inside is a pair of beautiful winged epaulets from the Steel Falcons outfit in Andoran. There’s also a note that simply reads, “See you soon.” Once again, Barnaby talks about his time in the Steel Falcons, a definitive 180 from being a Hellknight.
Barnaby gives Cloratus a little walking-around money, telling her to spend a few weeks away until things cool down a bit. Meanwhile, the party decides that Barnaby’s home is compromised, and they need to find a new place to rest.
Fortunately, Fyn has just the place.
The Calm
Fyn teleports the party to a lush demiplane that he created over the span of several hours. It holds a beautiful central island surrounded by a babbling brook. All sorts of plump fruits hang from the flowering trees, and the air smell sweetly of nature’s bounty.
Over the course of the next week, the party prepares themselves for the assault on Mhar Massif and Karzoug’s forces. They purchase equipment, useful potions, and sell off the treasures that they’ve accumulated in the past few weeks. At the end of it all, they are an entirely different party, reimagined as the catalyst for bringing down a rising Runelord.
The one problem they still face, however, is finding Xin-Shalast. Despite all of their research in the Therassic Library, the shadow of Mhar Massif bends reality at the seams. For them to find the legendary city, they may need the help of a Thassilonian expert or the perspective of somebody who’s been there before.
Is the party ready for the final foray? What dangers lie on the roads ahead? Why is the party so stingy?