65. The Fireweave Bazaar Report

General Summary

9th Nymm, 999 YK

• They are attacked by rugs of smothering in Carpet Realm.
• Defying expectations, it is Kalshana that gets beansed by a rug, not Warden.
• Warden casts Thunder Step to get Kal out from the rug that is smothering her, causing a loud boom that destroys much of the store, and damages the corpse of Kahlia Murphy.
• Lozaal rushes down the thoroughfare to check if anybody/anything is coming after the loud noise that Warden made. 300 feet!
• As Lozaal approaches the "noodly corridors", a spectral, glowing elf in flamboyant clothing appears before him and states "Welcome to the Fireweave Bazaar, where your attire is out-" and then flickers out of existence. After a few seconds, the elf reappears and repeats itself, flickering out at the same point.
• Lozaal continues into what appears to be a mirrored corridor, with twists and turns that make it rather confusing to navigate. Illusions dance across the surface of the mirrors, advertising products from five years ago. Lozaal's reflection is delayed in the mirror by several seconds.
• Lozaal continues through to the other side and waits for a bit, but doesn't see or hear anyone.
• Lozaal goes back and searches Kahlia's body. The fabric around her is stained and wet, both from blood but also something else. It seems that she had potions in her knapsack, but Warden's spell smashed the bottles.
• She also had a piece of parchment with a number written on it, now stained with potion. Lozaal prestidigitates the stain out to reveal the entire number: 39238.
• When Lozaal emerges from the shop, he trails the potion/blood into the thoroughfare. The maintenance compartment opens and a squad of animated brooms come out to clean up the mess.
• They proceed relatively slowly through the bazaar, being careful. As they come round a corner, Dax' Athla just about sees some cloth move out of sight.
• They proceed carefully, and hear a flat, monotone voice demand to know "who are they?"
• The voice confirms it will shoot them on sight if they are not identified.
• A familiar voice, Jayne Krayci shouts that she doesn't know who "they" are.
• Warden walks out and says "don't shoot"
• Warden gets shot
• The warforged apologises for shooting Warden.
• The party manage to coax out what happened. The Silk Arrows were looting the bazaar when they were found by the warforged. The warforged tried to forcibly remove them and the Silk Arrows attacked them.
• One of the warforged was killed, and now they want blood.
• The warforged give the party an offer: leave, but they can't take the Silk Arrows with them.
• It seems like they might be getting somewhere but the warforged are ironclad in their opinions and don't listen to reason. They reiterate: leave.
• The warforged inform the party that they called for back-up before the party arrived. They have until it arrives to leave.
• Lozaal walks out into the rotunda and gets shot.
• The party manoeuvre around the flying crossbow bolts. Lozaal gets into the Sivis Message Station with the Arrows and tells them to follow him.
• Warden casts Wall of Fire and traps the warforged in Musk, the perfume shop. He is careful not to do it so close as to ignite the perfume.
• Dax makes herself and Kalshana invisible.
• Jayne informs him that Grantha and Kahlia are missing. They went northwest.
• Lozaal says he'll find them, and makes a break for it.
• Zedd informs Dax' Athla that the Warforged Titan is moving.
• Kalshana is very disruptive to the warforged, getting a bunch of them with Confusion and then one of them with Enemies Abound.
• Kalshana also gets very wounded, and flees.
• Lozaal hears a voice from down some stairs, and heads down to investigate. He picks the lock on a door in the maintenance corridor and finds a storage room.
• On the far wall of the room is a strange device, like a wooden chest with cogs, gears, and holes in it. It has a brass speaking trumpet protruding from one side, which repeats in a flat voice; "Define enemy forces."
• Warden wild shapes into a giant badger and begins to try and tunnel under the message station.
• Lozaal quickly investigates it and finds a letter, which he reads and pockets. He runs back and shouts up to the others but they don't hear him.
• Dax comes down the stairs and briefly chats to Lozaal, who runs to find Grantha himself. He tells Dax not to touch the device, but that he wants to take it if they can.
• Dax touches the device, to try and work out how it works.
• Lozaal goes up to Bolts and Tumblers, the Kundarak shop. He tries to leap through the window to save time, but the window is very thick and takes a couple of attempts to get through.
• Inside the shop is the corpse of a warforged, with an arrow in their throat, and a trail of blood leading into a large walk-in safe on the far side of the shop.
• Kalshana runs.
• Warden almost makes it through the ground and into the room below the message station, though he is unaware it is there.