7. Seven Suns

Round 3 Summary

As Aiwe and Dieter watch, their opponent's skin turns gray around the wounds they inflict, betraying his doppelgangliness. His claws slip beneath Dieter's armor, seeking the tender flesh hidden away there (Dieter takes 10 slashing dmg).

Stella's unleashed fury indeed chars Jhasso enough that his wounds stop healing - for now. Even as the snake tightens around the elder doppelganger's throat, he gets a good grip on either half of the snake and rips it in half, turning it back to stardust (snek takes 24 dmg and 'dies'). With the conjuration defeated, Jhasso turns to look back at Stella with a baleful gaze...

...and then kicks open the window, shattering glass inside and out. It seems Jhasso wants to make his escape.

Round 4 Player Phase!!!!

When a flaming, javelined 'Jhasso' is thunderously ejected from the Seven Sun's second-story window, it causes quite a stir among those walking the streets. Still, this is Baldur's Gate, and stranger things have been known to happen. The Seven Suns is given a wide berth by all except for a group of Flaming Fist guards who collect the doppelganglious corpse from the cobblestones.

Inside, the party stands in Jhasso's office, the wall closest to the street largely destroyed and open to the early evening air. It seems obvious that most of, if not all of the Seven Sun's workers have been replaced by doppelgangers. The question is: are the real Jhasso and the others being held somewhere in the building, or did the doppelgangers kill them?

With the top floor cleared, the party heads downstairs to the foyer on the main level, where the bodies of three doppelgangers lie in a heap. The front door opens suddenly, revealing a pair of Flaming Fist soldiers. They glance quickly at the scene, then nod at the band of heroes. "Scar said you'd be 'investigating'. We'll keep anyone from going in or out of the building. Just try to keep the bodies inside..."

The party moves quickly through the building and subdues perhaps a dozen clerks and aides, all of whom appear frightened and distraught by the ordeal. If any or all of them are doppelgangers, it's difficult to tell, but all are restrained and watched over by the Flaming Fist until the party is ready to deal with them.

Soon there's just one place left to search: the basement. A fetid array of smells greets them as they descend the stairs, a sure sign of a monstrous lair. Sure enough, there are bodies down here, most of which have been at least partially devoured. It isn't a pretty sight.

Chained against the wall is a large figure. "Come to torment me more, face-stealers?" It's Jhasso. The firbolg droops from the manacles on his wrists. "Or is it my memories you want? I have some I've prepared specially for you, you-" He's interrupted by a fit of coughing.

Back in the foyer, the party finds the Flaming Fists with weapons leveled at the group of tied-up prisoners. Two Flaming Fists are lie on the carpet with their throats torn out, and there's one more doppelganger body on the pile. Evidently one of the prisoners tried to escape.

The guards hold their weapons nervously, obviously fearing another disguised prisoner might slip its bonds and attack. "Might be we just need to kill them all, just to be safe..." one of the guards mutters.