Kei 

Although the water is shallow enough to wade through, the swirling pools give Kei cause for concern. He hoists himself up on to the walkway behind Gerrard. Once out of the water he stares at the swirling pools to see if he can see the cause of the turbulence. Meanwhile, his shadow hand continues its pat down of their path.

Perception 6

Gerrard:

Checking the door for traps, Gerrard opens it if it is not suspicious in any way.

Perception:  11

The hatch opens easily. 

The air within is thick with clouds of steam scented by cloves, cinnamon, and ginger. Strange plants hang from the ceiling, featuring thick, twisted vines tangled around enormous bulbs and flowers of a sickly yellow hue. A large pool of steaming green water – its water level quite low – dominates the room.

A scarred desk with its legs sawed off is pulled up alongside the pool. The desktop is cluttered with damp parchment, a wicker platter of raw seafood, and a mahogany box.

The room is unoccupied.

Gerrard:

Taking a few experimental stabs at the plant life to make sure it is not animate, Gerrard says, “There seems to be paperwork and a wooden box in here that might be of interest, Master Kei.  I can keep watch for trouble while your shadow hand retrieves the items if you like.”

Perception for threats:  23

The plants do not react to Gerrard's probing. The wicker plate on the desk is heaped with strange and hideous fish, their bodies burst as if from internal pressure.
Gerrard spots something nobody else does – a vague shimmer in the air behind the desk, and the sound of quiet, but ragged, breathing.

Gerrard:

Moving the tip of his blade towards the shimmer, Gerrard commands, “Reveal and declare yourself, invisible creature, or risk my blade!”

Intimidation:  13

"Put that knife down you boorish ruffian," replies a man, appearing suddenly behind the desk. "You may have butchered your way in here, but I will not have weapons in my office."

He is well-dressed, if soaking wet, but his skin is partially translucent, with a look of decay. It has a waxy sheen, covered in boils and ulcers. He smells strongly of perfume, fish, and rot. He glares at Gerrard with bulbous eyes.

Gerrard: Make a CON check.

Constitution Check (add 5 more if a save):  7

Kei 

His shadow hand just about to rummage through desk contents , Kei is taken by surprise when the dapper fish man appears. He watches on as Gerrard is chastised. "Seems we've found our quarry My Leige" he says softly to his friend. He then directs his attention to the fishman and enquires  "Your office? And who might you be?" 

(CON Save, sorry.) Something about his bulbous, ulcerated eye gives Gerrard a bout of severe nausea. He takes 22 necrotic damage and 26 poison damage and gains vulnerability to both necrotic and poison damage for the next minute or so. 6

"I am Mr. Dory, councillor of the Styes. And you are trespassing. But before the guards come to arrest you, what is it you want? Why did you come here?"

Gerrard:

Suddenly turning an unfortunate shade of green, Gerrard gulps and says, “I believe you have been infected by the mental and physical manipulations of an Aboleth, Mister Dory, and your judgement has been impaired.  Your body rots and the skum creatures here have been murdering the people of the Styes.  I would help to heal you if I can—that is if you are not too far gone.”

Persuasion:  16

Insight:  18

Second Wind:  19

Mr. Dory stares at you with unblinking, watery eyes, and smiles. “The Whisperer may indeed be an aboleth – I suspect you may be right. It has enslaved others, but it does not enslave me. It is merely a useful ally. My mind is fully intact, I assure you. Those murders are an unfortunate side-effect of consorting with such powerful figures unfamiliar with our ways. That young fisherman was guilty of the Lantern Ghost murders, indeed, but I agree he was never anything but a mind-controlled pawn of powers you cannot imagine. But we all serve higher purposes, do we not? But I ask you again, why are you here? What do you want? Surely it is not just to try to heal an old businessman of his physical woes?"

Gerrard senses he is being truthful, or at least he wants to believe these things, as far as he is willing to admit, for he is very guarded with his words.

Gerrard:

Sheathing his rapier and pulling an ornate mirror out of his pack, Gerrard holds it up facing Mister Dory.  “Look at yourself, my lord.  Listen to your own words.  You may be marginally in control of yourself now, but that will only last as long as it is beneficial to the Whisperer.  Soon you will be nothing more than another aquatic aberration, wholly subsumed by its will,” implores Gerrard.

”You dismiss the murder of innocents, and are unconcerned by the slow poisoning rot that will eventually swallow your city whole!  You ask why we are here?  We wish to save this city and the people in it from a horrid slide into death and despair brought on by the creature you so willingly serve.  If you truly wish to serve your city as councillor, join us to put an end to this monstrosity and save the city you pledged to protect!” he finishes with an impassioned plea.

Persuasion if needed:  16

Kei 

"Haaaa. You are more arrogant than I was lead to believe. You truly see yourself as equal to this...ally? You are even further gone than your body shows. Tell us why we should not just end your life now and purge The Styes of the foulest of the foul." Kei's voice full of venom and disgust. "My friend here is more polite than I but our question is the same, so choose your words carefully or I promise they will be your last." Keis speech echoes that of Gerrard but in a more direct manner. His threat not veiled in the slightest.

Intimidation 10

"I have a skin condition, yes. My body rots. But it doesn't matter. The end is nigh. I did not call the Whisperer here. I merely endure its alien ways. 'Twas a cult thriving in the Low Quarter which started it. They made the alliance with it, not I – a true sea monster - they have identified it as a holy spawn. They augment the spawn’s growth by incubating it in the fear and misery of the Styes. The Lantern Ghost murders were set up to amplify that fear. 'Twas not my doing. But it will be fully grown in a matter of weeks, and its time, and ours, will come to an end."

Gerrard:

”And that pit out back, is that its nursery?  Is that where it will burst forth when ready and destroy the city?” asks Gerrard.

”I suppose at this point, the critical question for you is this—will you remember your oath to the city, and rise up as true leaders must, mustering all your resources to join with us in destroying this existential threat?  Or will you rot in your office and leave the task to others, meekly accepting defeat while knowing your aid could have turned the tide?” he continues.

”As for me, I will never stop trying to do right by my friends and by the common folk trapped here, though I could easily sail away and leave you to your fate.  If I fail, may the Feldren name at least be remembered for that,” he adds.

”Will you join us, oppose us, or stand aside as your city dies and you with it, Councillor Dory?” concludes Gerrard emphatically, putting away his mirror and regarding the rotting city leader hopefully.

Kei 

Kei grabs Gerrard by the shoulder and forces the nobles attention away from Mr Dory. As softly as he can, Kei whispers to his friend. "Clearly the city means nothing to him Gerrard. Look at what he's let it become. Listen to his words. He's waiting for the emergence of this thing and then our time will come to an end. I say we end this now. Perhaps his absence will prevent the thing from reaching full strength with no-one feeding it."

He returns his attention to Dory. "I believe you've been duped councillor. Of course a cult will call the object of their devotion a Holy Spawn. It's clearly a creature more powerful than I dare imagine, most likely from another plane and it is using you to enable its passage into this world. If your mind is so clear then you must understand this."

"Hemlock Pit? No. Nothing lives within, not even those nameless ones that time forgot. But there's nothing we can do except revel in the endtimes, perhaps. The cult is a mere tool to others whose powers dwarf simple aboleths. Indeed, the aboleths have perhaps been proselytized! Strikingly ironic."

"The temple is near Frother’s Lamp in the Low Quarter, if you really want to visit. At sunset, the shadow of the abandoned lighthouse stretches out to point in the direction of the temple — it's in a structure cobbled together from a partially sunken galley and some empty apartments under an abandoned pleasure pier. Go there if that's what you will enjoy. You certainly have my blessing. Make some final mayhem as you like. Slaughter the cultists if you need to feed your violent desires. It won't matter. They have a service tomorrow night, I believe. They meet often, now. Time comes to an end soon."

He raises a thin, ulcerated eyebrow at the name Feldren. "I have one more question. Who sent you? "

Gerrard:

Insight for lies about the hemlock pit or the cultist temple:  20

“And the Aboleth or Whisperer—it lairs at the cultist temple as well?” asks Gerrard as he considers how best to answer the question of who sent them.

Gerrard:

"As for who sent us--there have been several who have helped us along the way, but the man who started us on the path of investigating the lantern murders is a holy man named Master Refrum.  I have trusted you with his name, and I hope you see his example as a hopeful sign--here is a man with little power, struggling to help the people of his city out of reverence for his faith.  He convinced us of the righteousness of his cause, and our investigation led to several of the murder sites, one just to the side of the pool below us," says Gerrard.

"In truth, once we learned of the dire situation of this city, we sent ourselves.  Telling us where the Whisperer lairs gives us a chance to take it and its cult worshippers, so I thank you.  I suppose you need to ask yourself, will you be one of the ones who helps us?  Can you aid us with more than your blessing--maybe some way to guard our thoughts from the Whisperer so we can approach it unawares?  If we can get to the Aboleth before the cult gathering and attack it while it is lightly guarded, we might have a chance of saving this city yet," he concludes.

Tiring of the stinking, poisonous air, Gerrard backs to the stern of the boat and pulls out his fan.  "You have breathed the foul air of corruption far too long, Mister Dory.  Take a fresh breath of air and breathe free as you think of your response."  Calling out to Boko Air Elemental, Gerrard says, "Mistress Alcor, I am sending the poisoned air your way--can you help us get some fresh air in here?"  using the magic of the Wind Fan, Gerrard starts clearing the air, carefully avoiding any papers or persons that might react poorly to being blown about.