The party returned to see the Sultan. “Job’s done”, muttered Sylas. “I want my information”.
The Sultan explained that the people who had attacked Sylas’s village sought to destroy all magic users for unknown reasons. The likes of priests and alchemists were not at risk – just wizards and mages. Even the Sultan would be a target for this group. He had heard of their activities and threats in the past.
And he explained he knew just two facts. The group was led by a dangerous and powerful man named Culex, and although they lived on the fringes of society, they had some kind of hidden base in Rath City.
“But this information will not help you”, smirked the Sultan. “You have outlived your usefulness. It is not personal, merely business. We met you by chance because you came looking for me, and we thought it would be useful to have you carry out these tasks, but we cannot have you telling anyone the work you have done for us. We tried to have you killed by the Phase Spider. Sadly, you succeeded and we had to pin the blame on Lis… She has temporarily escaped our grasp, but she will be dealt with. As will you. Guards!”
The Sultan’s guards advanced. Egos flipped over the piano in a fit of rage – but it passed directly through Sylvia. Her illusion continued to play a piano that was no longer there. Garrius tested the Sultan himself – and again he was fake.
Calarel reacted quickly. She summoned her living bag and then threw her shovel at an advancing guard. It breached his helm with a sickening crunch, and he dropped. The rest of the guards saw this and froze. Addie and the party saw a window of opportunity.
“Your Sultan has betrayed you and left you to die for him. What’s he paying you, pennies? Lower your weapons and live”.
The guards exchanged glances as if they hadn’t even considered this was an option. They had been provided with a glimmer of hope. They agreed to lower their weapons and retreat to their quarters… but explained the house was sealed from the inside. Unless the party could figure out how, they would starve to death in this place.
The guards retreated. They took with them the body of their companion. Addie held a small ceremony for his departing spirit. Meanwhile, Augustus tested the main doors and was shocked by a powerful jolt. So, seeing the truth of what the guards said, the party began to explore.
First, they headed into the East Wing of the mansion. Here they found a trapped door. Augustus disarmed the deadly trap with exceptional skill. The room beyond held various treasures, including a desk and two chairs that Garrius somehow managed to stuff into his backpack.
Most importantly, this rich manor house held vital prizes: two of the incredibly rare paintings of Anton Sokolov, requested by the collector Tomas Sura in exchange for the location of the legendary artifact Malegiston. Sylas carefully rolled them up and placed them in his scrollbox.
“Anton Sokolov in Negative Light”, self-portrait, 1263.
The party headed into the West Wing and eventually found, in a sun-lit library, something that might be the source of energy keeping the house sealed.
Unfortunately, the source of energy was not happy to be uncovered. It was an arcane golem almost three metres tall. The library doors sealed themselves shut and it began to dispense gouts of wicked plasma at Garrius…