Mister_Whisker Presents: Chronicles of the Accursed

Dhamila, whose invisibility has worn off after rest, whispers to the others: "That guy seems to know a lot... let him in. I won't let him out of my sight for a moment—and if need be, I'll intervene. I've got your back". After which, she hides in a position that allows her to keep the visitor in the line of her bow.

Abishai answers the door, "Hello... stranger. Fancy seeing you here. How did you know where to find us?"

The Stranger smiles and pats Abishai on the shoulder.

"Well, I was the one who set you all on the path to Redford," he says with a mischievous smile. He steps into the manor without waiting for an invitation, moisture dripping from his coat that is still slick from a morning rain shower onto the velvet carpet. "I trust that the the brigands were not too much of a challenge for heroes like yourselves?"

Thorgath would sleep peacefully where able, looking around for some breakfast in the morning, but eventually he turns up at the front door too. "No challenge for Thorgath." He chuckles loudly, glancing down at his smaller companions. "Why you here now?" He then asks the Stranger with a shrug. "Need Thorgath to be a hero again?" He adds, proudly puffing up his chest a bit more.

Brynja asks, "Or maybe you have information about Gamra?"

Like all elves, Balthathar doesn’t sleep. A few hours of meditation are enough. The rest of the night, he thinks—about the riddle Abishai found in the library.

Five cursed heroes. Five misfits bearing cursed items.

Coincidence? Unlikely. Then why?

By morning, before breakfast, he finds a familiar figure standing at the threshold—the stranger who once saved him from the drow assassins.

“So, you knew Lar and his band?”

He raises an eyebrow.

“It would have been very kind of you to tell us that earlier. And it would still be appreciated if you told us about the Efreeti Queen… and your name, this time.”

The Stranger chuckles and seats himself at the dining table.

"Be a dear and fetch some breakfast," he tells Averine with an easy smile. "Nothing too fancy for me... I will take toast and two eggs, over easy."

The tiefling looks baffled by this new presence, but she nods and heads to the kitchen, Michael in tow (the boy absolutely refuses to let his nanny out of his sight after their shared ordeal).

The Stranger then turns his attention back to you all.

"So, you wish to know what became of Gamra?" he says, his smile getting a bit smaller. "It is most unfortunate... many centuries ago, she put her trust in a man who was the seventh son of Sultan Ibrahim. This young man, whose name was Emir, knew that he would never become the Sultan and might well lose his life to whomever should claim the throne. So he hatched a scheme to obtain recognition by any means necessary. He sent his spies out to find sources of legendary power that he could use to make a name for himself. One of his spies brought back something truly remarkable, though: an efreeti, imprisoned in a crude lamp by a mage who was entranced by her beauty and wished to keep her for himself forever.

When he called upon her, the young man made a promise to Gamra: he swore that, if she helped him to make a name for himself, then he would free her. But when the time came, after they had completed their heroic task, he betrayed Gamra for fear that she would reveal him for what he was: an unremarkable man who used her power to rise above his station. Trapped yet again and forgotten in darkness, Gamra's rage at a second betrayal leaked out into the crypt that she had been forgotten in. She has been there since. As for Emir, he built a town over her in the hopes that his descendants would keep her trapped forever. It has been many years now, and I suspect that the Baron and his people have forgotten Gamra as anything beyond a story they can use to scare their children into behaving."

Dhamila's blood boils at the thought of the poor efreeti being treated so unfairly... but after all, she's already told the party what she thinks of the matter, so she forces herself to remain silent, apart, invisible, with her bow drawn and an arrow aimed at the stranger's back.

The Creepy Girl shares Balthathar's lack of appreciation for the stranger's behavior. He revealed little—and kept much hidden. Since he's been given no reason to change his ways, he's probably doing the same now. And those who do that usually do it to manipulate and deceive you. She's truly tempted to shoot the arrow, to see how cute it would look, planted between her shoulder blades... but instead she waits.

After all, the stranger hasn't yet said the most important thing: what he's here for now.

Brynja asks, "Is there any way for us to talk with her before setting her free? The only condition I was ask of her is that she not go on a rampage and destroy those who had nothing to do with her betrayals."

The Stranger stabs a fork into the middle of one of the eggs that Averine just put in front of him. It oozes yellow... a perfect fried egg. He proceeds to pop the whole thing in his mouth and chews for a few moments. When he finally swallows the egg, he turns his attention to Brynja.

"Now that is an interesting question," he says. "Gamra is bound to the lamp... bound to it so that whoever holds it holds power over her. Now, as I understand it, she isn't a wish-granting genie, so if you have that idea maybe put it out of your head now. But if you give the ramp a good rub it will let her out, and you should be able to talk to her as much as you want. And if you want to put her back, just give the lamp another rub. Classic genie stuff."

He pauses, and glances in Dhamila's direction. Even though the creepy girl is invisible, it feels like he is looking right at her. Then he smiles and returns his attention to his breakfast.

Abishai listens respectfully at the strangers story, clawed finger in his scaly chin in contemplation. "Interesting, so was it the Baron's bloodline that imprisoned the Efreeti?" He follows the strangers gaze to seemly the empty space where Dhamila has bow trained and ready. Tummy grumbling, the tinker asks Averine for some food as well. "Um... excuse me Ma'am, but is there any more?"

'Might be handy to have a genie to talk to from time to time,' the tinker thinks to himself, but banishes the thought just as fast denoting the strong feelings of releasing the trapped Efreeti. "How might we gain access to this underground space where the lamp is hidden?"

"Yes sir, I'll go ahead and prepare enough for all of you," Averine says with a shy smile. "Give me an hour and I'll have something fit for a king."

The Stranger leans back in his chair as Averine disappears into the kitchen.

"That should be simple enough... behind the manor there is a mausoleum. Simply take the stairway within and you will find your way into the catacombs. It will be a bit warm down there, but I think strong gentlemen and ladies like yourselves will be able it well enough."

He tips his hat and gives Brynja a wink, before finishing his breakfast and standing.

"Do with my words what thou will," he says, giving a small bow. "Now I have other matters to attend to. I am sure we will meet again soon enough."

Dhamila, hidden, notices that the stranger seems to have noticed her... and doesn't seem particularly concerned about having an arrow pointed at him.

'He's got a cool head, I'll give him that...' The Runaway Tiefling makes a point of appearing equally unimpressed, smiling and winking at him.

Once the guy leaves, Creepy Girl, emerging from her hiding place, is finally visible again and, lashing idly with her tail, comments: "That guy's hiding something from us. Probably a lot. Probably too much, in fact. I don't like it - and not him either. But that doesn't mean I've changed my mind about the Efreeti. Gamra doesn't deserve her fate. And apparently, with the lamp we can imprison her again if she proves unreasonable. I'll try to free her—or I might never look at myself in the mirror again (and even though I'm often out of sight, I intend to keep the pleasure of being able to look at myself in the mirror without shame whenever I want)."

Brynja agrees, "From the stories, she has done nothing to deserve such imprisonment. My only request is that she not take revenge on the descendants of those that wronged her. I need no boon from her myself."

Balthathar orders breakfast—eggs, cheese, bread and bacon.

“Before you ask… yes, we elves eat meat. We like animals—and we like to eat them. The idea that all elves are vegan is nothing but a superstition.”

He stacks everything into a massive sandwich. After admiring it for a moment, he takes a deeply satisfying bite.

“…Well, if there’s a way to restrain Gamra when she goes berserk, I see no reason not to release the Efreeti Queen. At least we can try. I agree with you, Dhamila—that man definitely didn’t tell us everything. Like why he knows so much about a history even the sultan’s descendants have forgotten… and what—or who—is waiting for us in that cave.”

Balthathar picks up a strip of bacon and tosses it into his mouth.

“And he didn’t tell me his name. Again.”

Thorgath would order all that the manor has for breakfast, eating and eating while going through what the Stranger had told them. For not trusting the man it seemed the others still trusted his words on the efreeta and that she was wronged. It had piqued the goliath's curiosity though and he wanted to have a look for himself before deciding on her fate.

"Right, let's do this!" He suddenly says, standing up from the breakfast table, grabbing his gear and marching off towards the mausoleum behind the manor.

Abishai eats his breakfast with a quite appreciation. As the group talks about the stranger, the tinker remains quite and contemplative. 'There is certainly more to this stranger than meets the eye.'

The Red Dragonborn smiles as Thorgath charges off post haste to the mausoleum. He gets up from the table and follows the brute while wondering how they are going to fair against the elements found below. "That settles it then. Off we go."

The party towards the mausoleum. The stone building stands silent as you approach. A heavy lock and and chain bind the doors shut, but it isn't difficult for Thorgath to break with his inhuman strength.

Upon opening the door, you see a stairway leading downwards. Descending into the ground, you can feel it starting to get hotter. A wet, miserable heat.

When you reach the bottom of the staircase, you find yourselves in a surprisingly large room.

Suddenly, you hear a groan. Two figures stumble towards you... their bodies charred nearly black, but... still standing. Still walking. Their eyes burn like twin embers in charred eye sockets. Each of them carries a large mace, its head smoldering and smoking.



You suddenly have the unsettling feeling that you know what happened to James and Colin... the two bandits whose fate so terrified the other bandits.

Everyone, go ahead and roll Initiative!

Charred brutes (x2): 4

Initiative: 21

"This must be the two bandits we heard about before. Looks like our Efreeti genie doesn't play nice."

With tools and rod at the ready, Abishai begins to sidestep east as he levels a blast of frigid energy at the Charred brute closest to him.

Attack: Natural 20+6= 26 Damage: 13 cold and it's speed is reduced by 10' until the start of my next turn.

[[OOC: Action: Cast Ray of Frost at the near Charred brute. Movement: 10' east.