Session0079

==April 6th==
The party decides to remain outside the estate of Wolfgang Amadeus Konoko to scout a little more, and see if Wolfgang returns home. 
Laq, meanwhile, splits off from the party and heads to the Kameshima Salt Co.'s salt refinery. Here, he finds a maintenance shed of defunct mining constructs. He interfaces with one of the automatons and reprograms it to refuse to work in the mines and demand better working conditions upon hearing the activation phrase "rise up" spoken in modron. He also makes this condition transmissible to other automatons through their charging stations, so that the reprogramming spreads to other automatons. Finally, he repairs the mining construct and returns it to service. 
Meanwhile, back at the estate, Taro turns his familiar Twink invisible, and sends him in to the estate to scout. Inside, Twink sneaks past the armed guards that were spotted earlier by Konohana, remaining unseen. In Wolfgang Amadeus Konoko's bedchambers, Twink finds a map of the Kameshima Salt Co.'s refinery operation, which has a central refinery tank circled in red, next to some handwritten mathematical calculations. He also finds a topographical map of Kameshima, with the former location of Daimao's Castle circled and labelled. 
Elsewhere in the chamber, Twink finds a bag containing four letters from Eutria to Wolfgang Amadeus Konoko, buried in the dirt of a potted plant. Through Twink's senses, Taro reads the letters, which read as follows:
First Letter:
Wolfgang,
I find your proposal quite intriguing. I have no doubt that your views are shared by many among the Kameshiman people - certainly enough to form a sizable militia, if provided the proper armaments. And to this end, I believe the Brood Legion could indeed be of assistance. We will begin securing armaments for your movement. In exchange, Mother asks a favor of the Sons of Daimao. 
A century past, the sorcerer Kamm hid a cache of treasure and magical effects in the Underdark beneath Kameshima. This collection includes some magical relics of great significance - meant as a failsafe, should the worst befall the Demon King. I have included a map showing the supposed location of this cache. Find it, and deliver the blood of Daimao to me. The rest you may keep for your own ends - the Sons of Daimao could doubtlessly benefit from Kamm’s return.
Your work in Kameshima could be of great benefit to Mother. Let us then consider our arrangement as more than a simple transaction. Let us consider it a partnership. The Brood Legion and the Sons of Daimao might have more common interest than you believe.
In the interest of secrecy, of which I have no doubt you understand the necessity, I request that you destroy this and all other correspondence you receive from me on this matter. I will, of course, provide you the same courtesy.
We hasten Her coming,
Eutria
Second letter:
Brother Wolfgang,
Mother thanks you for your fulfillment of her request. I trust you have likewise been receiving our shipments, and keeping them hidden. More weapons and armaments will come, suitable for the arming of your militia. But in the meantime, we place other plans into motion for Mother.
The Kameshiman salt refinery operation is the largest in the world. It is the backbone of the Kameshiman economy - so prosperous indeed that it has made its people complacent and content in their servitude. But it is nonetheless fragile. Well-placed munitions - such as those that we have provided - could reduce the entire operation to rubble. Should such a devastating catastrophe occur, it would surely leave the Kameshiman people in disarray - disarray from which unrest and dissent will doubtlessly arise, particularly if their Mycorrhizan monarchs were found to be responsible.
The explosives that we have provided should be more than sufficient for this task. It may not seem like much, but rest assured, with careful and strategic placement, the cascade of destruction could be quite catastrophic. Should you doubt me, brother, you have only to look as far as Ayamonte to see Mother’s handiwork.
Though of course, if I am not mistaken, only the refinery foreman himself has the kind of unrestricted access needed to execute this plan. Foreman Koffu has become an obstacle in Mother’s path. I’ve included a tonic that will relieve us of this obstacle. Its work is subtle - subtle enough to evade detection - but will no doubt prove effective. Give it to him in the morning, on a day when he will visit the mines. The rest will take care of itself.
We will be watching and waiting, brother. This is Mother’s way.
We hasten Her coming,
Eutria
Third letter:
Brother Wolfgang,
I understand your impatience; indeed, I find it admirable. We are all eager to see Mother's will done in Kameshima. But we must not be hasty. Our webs are set. We wait for the opportune moment, and we prepare. This is Mother's way.
You have my assurance that more armaments are coming. In the meantime, we are preparing for battle as well. Our ranks grow by the day. Our summoner's Beast grows stronger with each attack. Our web grows ever wider. You will have the full support of the Brood Legion when the time comes. But not sooner.
Lie in wait, brother. The time will come.
Eutria
Fourth letter:
Brother Wolfgang,
There has been an unfortunate setback in our plans. The promised shipment of armaments for your militia was seized before it could escape Aerzenian territory, by meddlesome sellswords working for the guild Pax Mundus. The guild now possesses the armaments, and doubtlessly, their findings will eventually lead them to your doorstep. 
I’m afraid that we can no longer delay. Your movement may not yet be armed, but the explosives that we have provided already should be more than sufficient for the destruction of the refineries. We must strike now, before the prey escapes our web. The rest will fall into place in the chaos that follows.
Move in shadows, brother. We hasten her coming.
Eutria
While reading these letters, Taro passes the information along to the rest of the party, and Fulmín transcribes it. Fulmín mentions that Ayamonte - mentioned in one of the letters - is his hometown, which was destroyed when a sinkhole opened up beneath it. Brigg says that he is looking for the treasure cache mentioned in the letters, and asks Taro if the map is present. Twink searches the room, but does not find the map. The party infers that the Sons of Daimao have already retrieved the treasure cache. 
Twink continues to search the estate, finding a shrine with an effigy of Daimao seated on a throne above a holy symbol of Arasta, and also finding a locked chamber near the staff quarters. Outside the locked chamber, Twink makes note of some scratches in the floor that seem to indicate something very heavy was recently moved into the chamber. Afterwards, Taro summons Twink back to him.
Evaluating their findings, and taking not that Wolfgang Amadeus Konoko still hasn't returned home, despite the late hour, the party speculates that the Sons of Daimao may already be preparing their attack on the salt refineries. Brigg sneaks into the estate and steals Wolfgang's car, and the party takes off toward the refinery.
Arriving at the refinery, the party finds Laq finishing up his work on the mining automaton. The construct informs Laq that portions of the refinery are closed today for a safety inspection. Cross-referencing the closed section of the refinery with the map they saw in Wolfgang Amadeus Konoko's bedchamber, the party notes that the section that is currently closed is the same one indicated on the map as the site for the plotted attack. 
The party rushes into the refinery in to confront the Sons of Daimao, as refinery workers are leaving for the day. While entering, they are stopped by a refinery supervisor, who questions them about their presence. After a failed attempt to justify their presence as a tour, Brigg pulls out a gun and orders everyone to flee, which the refinery workers and supervisor quickly comply with. As the party heads further into the refinery, alarm bells start to sound.
Inside, the party finds the closed off portion of the refinery, and breaks into it through a locked door. Inside, they find the refinery occupied by armed Sons of Daimao militia. They successfully sneak past most of the militia, reaching the central refinery that was circled on Wolfgang Amadeus Konoko's map. Finding that the lift down to the refinery is guarded, the party quickly incapacitated the guards, but not before one of them manages to call out for help.
The party takes the lift down to the central refinery, where they find Wolfgang Amadeus Konoko and the other Sons of Daimao leaders have already placed explosives around the refinery and activated a fuse, which is seconds away from completing its first stage and becoming nearly impossible to defuse. They also notice that there are several unconscious myconid dressed in Mycorrhizan military garb and holding rifles, seemingly placed around the room in order to create the appearance that Mycorrhiza staged this attack. 
The party attacks the Sons of Daimao, as Laq rushes to the explosives and successfully defuses them before they can reach the second stage of their fuse. The party successfully defeats the Sons of Daimao, leaving them all alive and unconscious for questioning and to face justice, as requested by Pax Mundus. In the chaos of the battle, one of the myconid soldiers is killed. 
Afterwards, hearing more militia members searching for the party somewhere above, Laq disables the lift into the chamber to buy the party more time. Afterwards, he uses the contact device given to the party by Pax Mundus to contact Lyra Omadithas and provide an update on the status of the assignment.
The party restrains the Sons of Daimao and starts interrogating Wolfgang Amadeus Konoko. Wolfgang tries to negotiate, offering information about the Brood Legion and the map to the treasure cache in exchange for his freedom, suggesting the party take the rest of his comrades and let him free. He expresses his bitterness toward the Brood Legion and says he has no loyalty to them, claiming they were a means to and end, but they never held up their end of the deal. When asked, he explains that he never met Eutria personally, only received correspondence from her, and that his point of contact for the Brood Legion is someone named Kwamina Sarfo in the city of Ossidia, at an address he provides to the party.
When the party presses Wolfgang Amadeus Konoko for more information, he tells them about the hidden letters, of which they were already aware. When asked about the treasure cache, he says that he gave it to the Brood Legion, but they suspect he is lying since that information does not match the information contained in the letters. He then admits that the Sons of Daimao kept some parts of the treasure for themselves, and says that everything the party needs to know is in the magically-locked room in his estate, for which he gives them the password. Afterwards, as the party's interrogation tactics intensify, Wolfgang stops cooperating, and says he'd rather just go to jail than continue this conversation. The party asks if the Sons of Daimao intend to resurrect Daimao, but Wolfgang refuses to answer.
Meanwhile, studying the unconscious myconid soldiers, Taro deduces that they are paralyzed by giant spider poison. He also suspects that they were simply commoners that were dressed up to look like soldiers. 
The party locates an emergency exit from the chamber, and takes the Sons of Daimao and the unconscious myconid out of the refinery. Outside, they see a large crowd at the entrance of the refinery, including police and journalists. Brigg tries to make his way through the crowd back to Wolfgang Amadeus Konoko's car, but is stopped by the police chief after a refinery worker recognizes him and the rest of the party from earlier. The party quickly deescalates the situation and explains what has happened, keeping their involvement with Pax Mundus a secret for the time being.
When the police chief expresses some skepticism, Laq attempts to contact Lyra Omadithas and Pepper again with their communications device to ask them to smooth things over, but there's no response this time.
Eventually, the party smooths things over and agrees to hands the Sons of Daimao over to police custody, though Laq requests permission to stay with and monitor the prisoners, which the police chief agrees to.
Afterwards, Laq, Licen, and Konohana speak with a journalist named Otake about what happened, still leaving out the details of their involvement with Pax Mundus.
After the party gets a safe distance away from the crime scene, Lyra Omadithas and Pepper teleport to them. The party fills the two in on the situation. They ask the party to continue investigating what's going on at the ruins of Daimao's Castle, suspecting that the attack on the refineries was only a part of the the overall plot of the Sons of Daimao. Lyra offers the party some magical healing so that they can continue onward, then the two teleport away.
Afterwards, the party heads back to the estate of Wolfgang Amadeus Konoko to search the locked chamber. Arriving inside, they find that the armed guards from earlier are no longer present. Using the password provided by Wolfgang, the party enters the locked chamber. Within, they find a giant magical cauldron, filled with red-hued water and with blood stains on the floor around it. On a nearby table, they find a note that reads as follows, written in very old Abyssal text:
Ye who enter be warned. These treasures are here hidden to safeguard the eternal dynasty of the Great Demon King Daimao. Should they be found, then dark times must indeed befall Kameshima. But even should the worst befall us, we shall rise again. 
Be ye among our enemies, then flee this place and never return, at peril of your very soul.
 
But be ye His faithful servant, then take unto thyself these treasures, and return unto us our glory and our kingdom.
Using an identify spell, the party learns that the magical cauldron can be used to turn a humanoid sacrifice into the sorcerer Kamm. Based on the state of the chamber, they deduce that a new Kamm has been created.
Discussing how they plan to reach the ruins of Daimao's Castle, the party decides to travel through the Kameshiman Material Chaos mines in the Underdark, to avoid the dangers of traveling through the wasteland of northern Kameshima. 
Category:Pax Mundus Session Log