Episode 47 - Faces of Death

The Guardians of Golarion wished to question Glator, the dead Shoanti who had attacked them out of revenge for Ressin and his gang named the Renegades that the Guardians believed they had wiped out. However, they felt it wasn’t the right time or place to interrogate a dead body so they stuffed the corpse into the Bag of Holding for the time being.   Satsui stepped out of sight and return wearing bandages and gloves. He said that it might be seen as suspicious if he handed over his invitation while wearing an illusion. Since he did not want to make any waves or raise suspicions, he dropped the magical disguise.   Half-Orc security were scattered throughout the interior of the warehouse, both militant and magical. A young man took the invitation from Satsui, checked it to see if it was forged, then welcomed them inside. The Guardians passed through what acted as a front office during the day and entered the warehouse itself. There was a definite party atmosphere - magic multicolor lights, a pair of half-elf bards playing lute and flute, a bar serving various drinks, and the Guardians were offered champaign as soon as they entered.   Godric began a patrol of the room using Detect Evil to get a feel of the place. There were a number of attendees - about a dozen bidders and their entourage/muscle, several of which popped as Evil on his divine radar. Reh and Fjord approached the stage where the bards were playing. Reh began performing with them after giving them inspiration, and Fjord head-thrashed with his ears flopping everywhere.  The rest of the Guardians joined Satsui to examine the items being auctioned.   The auction items were on display within several glass cases. They were already being inspected by Clegg Zincher⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ and his associates. Clegg was accompanied by two men:

• Dannic the Destroyer, a massive Minotaur bodyguard and former champion of Clegg’s arena. He had been a slave who won his freedom, but then remained a gladiator for the fame and the killing.
• Russell (Junior), the son of Clegg’s brother who was killed by Saul’s kid when his father sold him a fake love potion. He seemed like a nice enough young man, loves being an alchemist but apparently was not well versed in the criminal world.

  Clegg was quite cordial to Guardians when he first saw them, showing a hint of humanity when he noticed that only Sir Godric remained of the Guardians Clegg had met previously. The crime boss had a brief reaction, anger mixed with fear when he saw Satsui. However, he regained his composure and started bullying the smaller man.  When he tried to pull the bandages aside to see what was going on behind them, Godric had had enough and grabbed Clegg's wrist. Clegg slowly pulled his hand free and made his way to the bar, entourage in tow.   Reh and Fjord saw the interaction from a distance. Once it was over, they made their way to the bar to speak with Clegg. Clegg recognized Reh and proposed a toast to both Russell and Reh’s fathers. He gave Russell a shot of some alcohol named Kraken (bottle had a tentacle inside of it) that dropped him unconscious. Dannic held him up the rest of the night.   Vamuk Longroot commenced the auction. Satsui gets into a brief bidding war with Clegg over the Journal of Baathdan Starrune. The Guardians helped Satsui win the auction.   As people were leaving the auction, Russell approached Reh and slipped her a note. The note warned that Satsui was actually Jack the Grin, the man responsible for killing her father Damian. Visibly upset, Reh stormed off to the Cypher Lodge to speak with her cousin Liam. Kuuro followed after her.   Back at the Lodge, Satsui delivered the Journal to Elias Tammerhawk⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ in his private library. Rooker was curious about the contents, so Elias magically unlocked the book and allowed Rooker to inspect one page.  Elias opened the book to a random page. Rooker used his wand to Comprehend Languages and translated the contents. The page was written in ink, then something that may have been dried blood, then back to ink. It described what was clearly the Abyss, and discussed some of the horrors there. Towards the end there was some kind of mention about a chain, but it carried on to the next page and was therefore out of reach.   Reh confronted her cousin Liam about Satsui. He appeared genuinely shocked but cautioned her about making the accusations. Elias put a great deal of trust in Satsui, sending him across Varisia to verify numerous historical artifacts and giving him large sums of gold to obtain them. He suggested that she get together with her friends and come up with a plan before confronting either Satsui or Elias.   In Rooker’s room, Telith cast Speak with the Dead on Glator. Telith learned that there were no command words to control Ultimus, the golem they briefly fought in the alley before it vanished. Glator hired Ultimus from Wymon Shadowglove, the golem’s owner who had been rumored to have lost the golem in a game of cards. Glator’s men learned that the Guardians had returned to Riddleport and had been following the Guardians on the rooftops. These contacts had tipped off Glator as to where the Guardians would be. However, those men had recently been found on the rooftops with their throats ripped out.   Reh and Kuuro joined the Guardians and Reh told them about Satsui. The heroes began piecing the puzzle together. Godric had cast Detect Evil before entering the auction, and Satsui had pinged as Evil. According to Clegg, Jack had been killed by his men. Jack was stabbed to death and his body burned to ash beneath Kaer Maga. Clegg’s initial reaction to seeing Satsui seemed out of character for him, actually showing a hint of fear when he saw him. The burns, Clegg's reaction, the evil, all seemed to point toward Satsui being the man who murdered Reh's father.   Satsui had a small apartment somewhere in Riddleport but also had a room in the Cypher Lodge. After dropping off the book he said he was going to his room. Fjord offered to keep an eye on the room to make sure Satsui didn’t try to leave.   The Guardians needed proof that Satsui was who Russell claimed him to be. Knowing that Satsui tended to leave town often, the Guardians felt the time was critical. Well after midnight they made their way to Zincher’s compound in the Leeward District of Riddleport to question the man further. After flexing on the guards a bit, the Guardians were allowed entrance to the compound. They were led to a large sparring pad. Ten minutes later, they were surrounded by a dozen armed guards. Dannic came out, armed with a massive great axe and wearing a chainmail shirt. Clegg also came out, shirtless but carrying his pickaxe.   Clegg admitted that he was a bit surprised to see Satsui, or Jack in this case. He gave the man the name because Clegg didn’t want to try to pronounce his original “stupid-sounding” name. Clegg wasn’t thrilled to know that the assassin he had tried to kill was now working for one of his rivals. He didn’t want to get involved, but Clegg said he wouldn’t shed a tear if  Jack had somehow found himself on the wrong side of the dirt. With a smile, Clegg admitted that while he loved their chats, it was quite late so what the Hell were they doing knocking on his door at this late hour?   The Guardians told Clegg that they now suspected Satsui was the assassin known as Jack the Grin. As far as evidence, Clegg said he didn’t know Jack well enough to come up with details that might help prove Satsui was Jack. He was foreign, and there weren’t many people from Tian Xia on this side of the world. But from what his men said, if there were to be any identifying marks to prove that Satsui was actually Jack the Grin, he would probably have multiple stab wounds on his body. Most of them in his back. And, of course, the burns.   With that, the Guardians left Clegg’s compound and slowly started developing a plan to try and prove that Satsui was Jack the Grin, without spooking the man into either fleeing or killing people.