The Residence of Asheron Coyl (Sarenith (VI) 15th-18th, 4709 AR)

-

It has been said that the world turns around Absalom. While this statement might not be true from a strictly physical perspective, the city's religious, strategic, and mercantile importance can hardly be overstated. Indeed, the countless ruined siege engines, burned-out forts, and ancient battlefields that surround the city bear silent testimony to its significance.

Yet, despite its violent history, Absalom is a wondrous place, a melting pot in which dozens of cultures, histories, ideologies, and peoples have grown into a unique identity. Perhaps one of the liveliest and most attractive areas within the city walls is the Ivy District. Named for the ivy-covered walls and free-standing pillars and well-groomed gardens lining its winding roads, the district houses many successful artisans, wandering bards and acting troupes, merchants, and influential families. Anything that can be bought or crafted, either magical or mundane, eventually finds its way to the Ivy District.

Beneath the facade of cultural diversity and industry, however, exist barely perceived tensions and machinations that are easily missed by the casual observer. Subtle rivalries among street-side artists and crafters, fiercely territorial street performers, and an unwritten code of lawful underhandedness among the various merchant families and lesser nobles all thrive just beneath the surface.

The Pathfinder Chronicles

Absalom. Surely there is no place like it in the entire world. Here, cries and yells in a dozen languages fill the air as people from every area imaginable press and flow and mingle through the city's many districts like the lifeblood of some monstrous creature. Within these walls, right alongside the people that fill them, dwell life, death, liberty, tyranny, love, anger, war, poverty, wealth, and - most important of all – opportunity.

The heroes returned to Absalom and eventually gave most of the remaining Swords of Sin to the Pathfinders for safekeeping (except for the Sword of Wrath), but not before Aranthor rage-quit the organization.

Soon after the heroes were summoned to the home of a man named Asheron Coyl, a wealthy art collector who lives in the Ivy District, and also the former owner of the Sword of Pride. Asheron Coyl lives in a modest yet elegant townhouse on a small hillock overlooking Vermillion Way.

Who is Asheron Coyl? The heroes know the following information: Asheron Coyl is a wealthy local supporter of the arts who lives in the Ivy District. Aside from his local interests, Master Coyl is a generous sponsor of expeditions to ruins and dangerous places in the wilds. Master Coyl was recently heard discussing a newly discovered ruin containing many centuries-old works of art he is eager to acquire.

A courier delivered a rolled-up sheet of expensive vellum tied with an equally expensive satin ribbon. The vellum note addressed each hero by name and contained a message as shown below.

"Greetings and salutations! I hope this missive finds you in a good health and amenable to a mutually profitable business arrangement between us. Please come to my townhouse at 11 Vermillion Way in Absalom’s Ivy District upon receipt of this message, and I shall endeavor to discuss the details with you further. Until then, farewell!

- Asheron Coyl"

When the heroes were ready to meet with Asheron, they proceeded to his townhouse on Vermillion Way. They made their way through the Ivy District, a colorful and flamboyant part of Absalom.

The streets of the Ivy District swell with the myriad sights and scents of its industry: roadside florists and fruit vendors, the wood and polish scent of carpenters' shops, tantalizing aromas wafting from dozens of bakeries, and the heavy oil scent from the palettes of numerous street artists. Meanwhile, hundreds of rich colors give the district an appearance of a holiday festival.

Tiger Lily Avenue gives way to Moss Agate Lane, which in turn meanders into Vermillion Way, and soon the townhouse of Asheron Coyl came into view, perched on a small rise that overlooks the street. A low fence covered in fragrant jasmine vines abuts the street. A gate opens onto a flagstone path that wends past flower beds, fountains, and sculpted shrubs to the front doors. A bell hangs next to the gate. A sign reads "Please ring bell."

Blood and Entrails. A closer look at the surroundings revealed that something is most definitely wrong.

The door to the townhouse hangs ajar from a single hinge and is covered in bloody smears. Slithering sounds come from inside the house, punctuated by loud thumps and shattering glass. The destruction and signs of bloodshed gave the heroes forewarning to make any preparations they felt necessary.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shearphorus, Part 5 (Neth (X) 1st, 4712 AR)

-
Image
Entrance to the Guardian Hall. The heroes killed the ogre guard. Guardian Hall.  A 30-foot by 30-foot section of the chamber directly below the chute from the entrance to the guardian hall above has a null-gravity effect. Aranthor, who was flying, had to use a move action to reorient himself when passing through this area, but then proceeded as normal. Jules and Zemurin did not reach the ground, instead hanging 15 feet above the floor. Gryxxa, who was levitating, liberated them by pulling them outside the null-gravity area. This huge chamber, roughly carved and left with unfinished walls, is one hundred feet square. Continual flame spells nearly cover the flat ceiling thirty feet above, so the place is refreshingly well-lit. An iron boss ten feet in diameter protrudes from the stone in the center of each wall. Large iron tools of various function lie haphazardly across the floor, while one workbench features a more orderly set of fine human-sized tools and a bedroll below. An iron ...
Read more

The Gauntlet of Challenge-Cry, Part 2 (Neth (X) 1st, 4712 AR)

-
The Challenge of Might.  Light in this chamber was equal to shadowy illumination when the trapdoor above was open or the gate was imbued with fire or electricity (see below); otherwise, there is no natural light. The bottom of the deep stone shaft is flat and empty, with a massive iron door, forty feet high and thirty feet wide, set in its eastern side. The door appears designed to slide upward, much like a solid portcullis. A thick, sturdily-braced horizontal iron shelf protruding from the door five feet above the floor appears to be the only leverage point from which to lift it. The iron of the door changes color several times a minute, at first glowing orange as if pulled from a forge, then glistening with green perspiration, next frosted with ice crystals, and finally dry and crackling with electricity, before again glowing orange and repeating the cycle. Large runes etched into the doors seem to ignore the state of the door, their forms remaining the color of blackened iron th...
Read more

The Gauntlet of Challenge-Cry, Part 1 (Neth (X) 1st, 4712 AR)

-
Image
The Guardian Hall.  Opening the south port set in the wall is easy but extremely dangerous: a stream of cold energy shoots across the chamber to the opposite wall, dealing damage to anything in its path each round. Concealed under the workbench in a secret compartment were two spellbooks. One spellbook is unremarkable. It is worth 990 gp. The other spellbook, however, is very unusual: its covers are bronze plates engraved to resemble interlocking golem fists, it is thicker than the typical spellbook, and it has an integral hinged bronze bookmark in the shape of a golem’s arm. This arm is actually a mechanical trap and attacked Gryxxa when she touched the book. The book is worth 11,250 gp due to its integrated trap and unusual materials. The Epitaphrum.  As the heroes ascended toward the plateau of the Epitaphrum, it became easier than it was at the base of the Throat of Shearphorus to identify the source of Astersyn’s screams, their meaning, and the voice of the Epitaphrum. Th...
Read more