Taking to the air inside the warehouse, we followed the kobold above the maze of crates and stored supplies. And it most certainly was a maze, deliberately so. One might not notice from below, stuck in the winding path, but from above? It was clear that the stacks and rows were laid out to guide people away from one area in the back corner of the warehouse in particular. An area that had been deliberately blocked off with crates, to create a small room.

Inside that false room, there were a couple chests, a trapdoor, presumably leading to an escape tunnel, and an iron cage. An iron cage that glowed brightly in the semidarkness. Or, rather, the cage’s occupant was glowing with what looked like holy light. With some hesitation, I flew down next to the cage, so I could get a better look.

Melinda’s Spellcraft check: 1d20+17 = 24 (Success)

Inside the cage was an elven woman in chains. Oddly enough, thick leather covered her hands and feet, while the rest of her was laid bare. Other than the chains about her wrists and ankles, the only other ‘jewelry’ she wore was an iron collar with a black stone over her throat. When I risked a look with my ability to see magic, the collar glowed with a spell from the Enchantment school.

Looking closer at the woman, she was lithe, like most elves, and clearly hadn’t been washed with anything more than a bucket of water being tossed on her in quite some time. Still, despite that, or perhaps because of it, she was beautiful. Her tangled blonde hair looked like a ragged mane, and something about her spoke to the fey blood in me, saying that we were alike, in some way I could not describe.

Melinda’s Spellcraft Check: 1d20+17 = 31 (Success)

I considered asking her about her life, but that didn’t look like it was going to be an option, what with the glassy look in her eyes, and the slack expression on her face. That was the face of someone under domination magic, for sure. Probably a ‘Dominate Monster’ spell.

Given the spell on her, I wasn’t sure why the late Lord Mayor needed the cage. Unless the cage was for other shipments that didn’t have expensive magical collars to ensure compliance. That would make sense, since this is the warehouse the usual shipment unloaded at.

Oh, and it absolutely had to be the Lord Mayor behind this. He probably owned the warehouse, through a proxy if not in name. That trap-door would be a great end to an escape tunnel out of the palace, something that designers often liked to include. Between those, there was no way that the mayor couldn’t have known about the slave trade going through his warehouse, in his city.

Iron Collar of the Master

Type

Throat

Weight

2 lb

This heavy iron collar has been forged with the clear purpose of binding someone against their will. When worn, willingly or not, a black stone appears on the collar, sealing it shut, and making it impervious to Open Lock or similar skills and abilities. From then on, the wearer is bound to the will of the collar’s owner.

To change owners, the current owner must place a drop of blood on the stone, and say a command word, followed by the new owner doing the same. If the former owner is dead, or the collar has not yet been bound to an owner, one need only place their hand on the stone, and say the command word.

Once worn, the collar can only be removed by the owner, with a Remove Curse spell followed by a Limited Wish or greater spell, or upon the death of the wearer.

The Collar has two modes, Charmed and Dominated. Switching between modes requires a command word. The wearer gets a new Will saving throw against the effects when changing modes. The DC for Charmed is 24, and the DC for Dominated is 29.

Charmed – The wearer is under a continual Charm Monster spell, causing them to be friendly with the owner of the collar.

Dominated – The wearer is under a continual Dominate Monster spell, causing them to follow the commands of the collar’s owner.

Cursed – The collar can only be removed by the owner under normal circumstances.

This… this was not a minor piece of kit. Despite it looking so simple, the enchantment on the item was far too powerful for any run of the mill slave. Clearly, there was more going on here than just a simple slave in a cage. When I explained the enchantment to the rest, they clearly agreed with me.

Siora shook her head. “Yeah, there’s no way she is just a random elven slave. Even if she is cute as hell, there’s simply no way that a slave would warrant such a collar unless they were someone of extreme importance. Or someone who was incredibly dangerous. Probably both.”

Her sister nodded, thoughtfully. “The two modes on the collar is interesting, as well. That suggests someone wanted options in how they used the slave. After all, a charmed person can respond to questions and interact naturally. A dominated person is less likely to object to any orders you give them, but they are like you see.”

Fartooth shook his head. “So, the human mayor had a powerful slave under his control, but he didn’t call on them to help protect him? Stupid.”

I chuckled. “Well, you’re not wrong, but his position would probably come into question if anyone knew that he had naked elven slave girls chained up in his warehouse. That kind of thing is generally frowned on in most places. And last I heard Truyle doesn’t allow slavery at all.”

Vestele nodded. “Then, what are we going to do with her? If her owner was the mayor, then we should be able to take control of her. And maybe find out some answers.”

I took a breath, considering the options. “Let’s check the chests, first, and then we can try taking control of her. I don’t want to risk her getting loose before we find out what else the Mayor was hiding.”

Siora’s Search Check: 1d20+37 = 43 (Success)

Siora’s Disable Device check: 1d20+34 = 54 (Success)

Siora’s Search Check: 1d20+37 = 42 (Success)

Siora’s Disable Device check: 1d20+34 = 37 (Success)

Siora knelt by both the chests in turn, and quickly checked them for traps. And traps she found. Each of the chests were fixed with a Wail of the Banshee spell, ensuring that any would-be thieves who weren’t as good at their job as Siora was would quickly get themselves killed, along with the witnesses.

Opening the first chest, there were five bags of platinum coins, each bag holding two hundred coins. Nothing spectacular, but always appreciated. That amount of coin would give a fleeing Lord Mayor a substantial nest egg for their new life wherever he might go if his schemes were discovered and he was forced to flee.

The second chest, however, was a lot more interesting. There were only six items in the chest. Six items, but each of them glowed with magic to my eyes.

Magic Necklace

Type

Throat

Weight

This necklace, made of silver and gold, is clearly magical, but the enchantment upon it is impossible to discern with a simple Identify spell.

Hmm. That was odd. I’d never gotten a ‘you don’t know what magic it is’ before, unless you counted when I found Soul’s Violation. So, was this an artifact? I somehow doubted it. Who stored an artifact in a chest by the dockside?

Melinda’s Knowledge (Arcana): 1d20+13 = 31 (Success)

Wait, there was another kind of item that often balked at identification. Cursed items are often supposed to be designed so that they identify as something else, right? So, perhaps this item was carrying a curse?

That idea made a lot more sense than simply dropping an artifact in what was essentially the Mayor’s GTFO cache. If the curse was something that could eliminate rivals, then that would be even better. A mayor on the run would be looking for ways to take on foes greater than himself, after all.

Magic Bag

Type

Tool

Weight

15 lb

This bag appears to be a bag of holding. The bag appears to open into a nondimensional space. Regardless what is put into the bag, it weighs a fixed amount. This bag appears to be able to contain 30 cubic feet or 250 lbs of material.

A bag of holding. Little nonstandard, from the look of it, especially with the painted teeth markings around the edge, but a bag of holding was always a useful addition to an adventure. Never knew when you’d need a bit more space to toss everything that wasn’t nailed down when stripping an enemy stronghold.

D100 roll: 1d100 = 3 (Success)

Melinda’s Grapple Check: 1d20+22 = 40

Bag’s Grapple Check: 1d20+8 = 25 (Fail)

I stuck my hand in the bag to see what was inside, when suddenly the bag snapped shut around my arm, and tried to drag me in! I mean, I overpowered the bag easily, but it was still a big surprise! Bags aren’t supposed to try and eat you, after all!

Melinda’s Knowledge (The Planes) check: 1d20+13 = 26 (Success)

“Wait, I’ve heard stories about this kind of thing! This must be a bag of devouring! That bag leads to some extraplanar being’s stomach!”

Siora nodded slowly. “That, and the cursed necklace, make for an interesting collection. I wonder what the mayor planned for them? What about the rest of the items?”

Hook of Dissolution

Type

Tool

Weight

2 lb

This wicked metal hook is about 9 inches long. If thrust into a helpless opponent, that opponent slowly disintegrates over a period of 3 rounds (Fort DC 22 negates). This ability works on organic inanimate objects as well as creatures. It can be used 3/day.

Orb of Storms

Type

Tool

Weight

6 lb

This glass sphere is 8 inches in diameter. The possessor can call forth all manner of weather, even supernaturally destructive storms. Once per day she can call upon the orb to use a control weather spell, Once per month, she can conjure a storm of vengeance. The possessor of the orb is continually protected by an endure elements effect.

Statue of Fiendish Beauty

Type

Tool

Weight

1 lb

This statue, made from obsidian, contains a bound Succubus inside. Upon saying a command word, the holder of this item can summon the succubus, as with the Planar Binding spell. The Succubus serves for 24 hours, or until returned to the statue with a command word. If not returned to the statue before 24 hours are up, the succubus goes free, and the statue becomes nonmagical.

Ring of the Satyr

Type

Tool

Weight

This golden cockring is designed to be placed on a penis. While worn in this way, it provides the wearer with incredible powers in the bedroom.

Ladies’ Man – Double the wearer’s CHA mod for seduction-related CHA checks.

Girth – Doubles the length and size of the member it is placed upon.

Orgasmic Vibrations – 3/day force a target to make a Will Save (DC 24) or suffer a grand shuddering orgasm, with continuing climaxes for 20 rounds. The target that makes their save still feels pleasurable sensations, but they are merely distracting. Spellcasting or concentrating on spells while under the effect requires a Concentration check (DC 20+Spell Level), and using skills requiring patience and concentration require a DC 20 Concentration check.

The rest of the items were not cursed, but they were very interesting, and I could see how they, too, could be used in a ‘get the fuck out’ plan. The necklace was a great way of killing an inconvenient bystander. The hook and the bag could get rid of evidence on the run. The orb would cover an escape nicely, or punish someone who tried to follow too closely. And the statue and ring could allow you to take a ‘soft’ approach in dealing with situations, so you didn’t have to have evidence laying around that you had to get rid of. That, combined with the coin, meant that the mayor could have easily inserted himself in a new town, at least until he figured out a new plan.

None of the items, however, were particularly useful to us at the moment, so I loaded all of them except the bag in Ebonheart’s saddlebag. I wasn’t sure whether the Bag of Devouring would react the same as any other bag of holding would when put in a bag of holding, but I wasn’t going to take that chance. That thing just got tied to his saddle, until we could deal with it later.

But I was stalling. With a sigh, I turned my attention to the cage, which Siora had already unlocked. The elf was still there, chained up. If we wanted answers, I’d need to claim her, and talk to her.

I wasn’t sure about having an actual slave. Oh, I had those slave rings that I could put on people who annoyed me, but those didn’t actually rob someone of their will. They just hurt them until they either gave in, or died. They still had a choice, could still try and fight me. But this woman was probably too dangerous to allow her to fight.

No, no more stalling. I touched the stone on the collar, and said the command word, binding the collar to me. I took a breath, hoped that she wasn’t fey enough to keep my aura from affecting her, and then said the other command word, the one to change the collar’s mode to Charmed.

Findelye’s Will Save: 1d20-2 = 10 (Fail)