Torch is excited to be returning to civilization at last, and his thoughts begin to once more bend toward the possible discoveries he might make in the Mwangi. With Ieana's notes in hand, he has a strong inkling of where he might begin - and that means he needs to have a talk with his fellow castaways. Once Eleder is within sight, the half-elf makes his way around to all the other survivors of the Jenivere, asking each of them if they would be willing to join him for dinner at the finest inn he can afford in the city, hopefully within a day or two of docking. "I'd like to discuss some future business," he tells them, but does not go into details just yet.
Ralf will take 10 (plus his Trance) on any identification checks, so that should probably cover most magic items.
Eventually the crazed tengu appears and you are able to bring him onboard, although you keep a safe distance. Your further journey is uneventful, and you have time to start studying Yarsoth's ("Iaena's" true name, as evidenced by her bookmarks) notes. Unfortunately the serpent-woman uses weird metaphors and florid language, so it is quite a daunting task even for those who speak Aklo (requiring a DC 30 Linguistics check).
Finally you arrive at your destination in Eleder, capital of Sargava. Eleder’s architecture readily displays its Chelish roots, though it has evolved to accommodate Sargava’s far warmer clime. Rooftops are designed to collect rainwater, rather than brush away wind and snow, while open courtyards pull in cooling drafts. Trading company warehouses and shipyards offset the homes of early settlers with their plain, but practical, construction. A large wall of weathered stone encircles properties around the harbor, isolating them from the remainder of the city. Beyond the wall, a noticeable shift in construction style occurs, as Chelish colonial-style buildings give way to thousands of crudely constructed mud-daub huts.
Adventurers are frowned upon here, but you already have a few contacts. Gelik might want to try to repair to the local Pathfinder's lodge to find a cure and Aerys's mentor, Captain Kassata Lewynn, is also here. The rest of the castaways (Jask, Ishirou, Sasha, Surkoff and Qij) bid you farewell.
The rest of the castaways (Jask, Ishirou, Sasha, Surkoff and Qij) bid you farewell.
During his time on the boat, Bat-Gelik stays in hiding belowdecks and tries to decipher Yarsoth's writings. I'm no slouch in the linguistics department, but I don't understand this chickenscratch at all! Despondent, he sulks.
Once in Eleder, his first priority is selling all their loot and getting his share.
His next priority is finding someone to remove this curse. He'll try a few temples first, looking for a Desnan, though he isn't too picky. If he has no luck, he'll try the Pathfinders, if there's a lodge.
Then he'll meet back up with Torch. He's always interested in a good business proposition.
So can Ralf translate the notes? His Decipher cantrip lets him read Aklo, and his Focused Trance ability makes the Linguistic skill check easy enough.
There is no immediate rush, so take your time and enjoy yourselves. If you're prepared to pay to have Gelik's curse removed the temple of Iomedae are happy to oblige for 180 gp.
Ralf:
however, Saventh-Yhi was hidden behind powerfulmagical wards, preventing the banished cultists fromsimply returning home. Instead, they planned to journeyto a smaller Azlanti outpost called Tazion, wherein they could use something called “the pillars of light” to finally make their way into Saventh-Yhi. While the notes do not reveal the location of Saventh-Yhi itself, they do accurately describe the site of Tazion.
A Knowledge (geography) DC 25 check places Tazion in the southernmost reaches of the Mwangi Jungle, north of the Bandu Hills, between the Upper Korir and Ocota Rivers. That's quite far from Eleder.
Also Hrakar has had enough of adventuring and bids you farewell after he's had his cut of the spoils.
Ralf writes down a translation of the notes for the others to peruse at their leisure (and he uses his Focused Trance to figure out the location of Tazion as well).
Before Aerys agrees to providing funds for Gelik's recovery, she spends a good half an hour telling the little man, that this is what comes of mucking about with things he doesn't understand. He's to stop playing with things, he was lucky this time that it didn't just outright kill him. All this is done with concern, like a mother scolding her 3 year old.
Aerys will seek out Captain Kassata on her return, to report that she was ship-wrecked on the Shiv and with the help of the rest of the ships companions that survived, she has made it back. She explains that whilst on the island they encountered some strange cannibals that worshiped an evil god, but they were cleansed. She doesn't think much else was found.
"Perfect," Torch tells Ralf, and then repeats by writing it down for him. "This is just what I was hoping for. You coming to my dinner? I'll want your help for my proposal, for sure."
If the gold comes with a lecture, then you can stick it where the sun don't shine!
Bat-Gelik is not in the mood.
"Perfect," Torch tells Ralf, and then repeats by writing it down for him. "This is just what I was hoping for. You coming to my dinner? I'll want your help for my proposal, for sure."
"You reckon we really could find this missing city?" Ralf ponders as he scratches his chin thoughtfully. "Well...I've been to lots o' queer places in my life, but I've never been to a lost city in the jungle. Maybe it's time to see what one looks like!"
"I'm sure we can... we just need the right help," Torch replies. "And that's where I'm hoping the others come in."
After Aerys has spoken to Gelik, she returns and takes Torch to one side. "Torch, I'm afraid that removing Gelik's curse might be a waste. I'm sure despite the disfigurement, it won't stop him from playing with things he doesn't understand. I'm worried if if we fix him up now, he'll only do something like it again. Either that or the curse is making him even more cantankerous than before. I'm worried for him and don't know if its worth curing him of the curse or not. What do you think."
Torch looks at Aerys, his good eye and his milky white one both studying her, the scars that give him a perpetual half-smirk twisting into something that isn't just "half" anything. Finally he answers, "You've never asked what happened to me," raising a finger to touch the ridged, whitish skin under his right eye. "Let me say this, then. Based on my... personal experience... fixing him or not fixing him will have no effect whatsoever on whether he will keep boldly charging into the unknown. And for that matter, I'm not even a little convinced it's a lesson he ought to learn. But if you could help fix him and you choose not to... if you'd rather leave him looking like a freak for the rest of his life... well, again, from personal experience, that's the sort of thing a man doesn't forgive. Ever."
The half-elf turns away, heading for the door. "Now if you'll excuse me," he says, "I'm going to go find Gelik and give him my contribution to help him get the curse off. I'll see you later. I hope you come to dinner tomorrow night."
Bat-Gelik happily pays the price at the temple of Iomedae, fervently hoping everything goes back to normal.
You have no trouble getting Gelik restored, and the temple of Iomedae also offers to buy the rubies for you for destruction.
Torch spends most of the day before the dinner buying and selling things in Eleder's markets, but he arrives at his chosen inn well in advance to make sure the food is ready and waiting when he rest of the group arrives. When at last everyone is gathered, the half-elf begins by toasting them and their safe return from Smuggler's Shiv before getting down to business.
"Now that we're here, though, the question of 'what next' inevitably presents itself," he says over his cup of wine. "The Shiv was not a pleasant experience in a lot of ways, but I think it may yet turn out to be a blessing in disguise, because it gave us one possible answer to that question: Saventh-Yhi. In case you haven't yet heard, Saventh-Yhi is one of the great lost cities of the world, an ancient Azlanti metropolis swallowed up by the Mwangi sometime in the darkness that followed Earthfall. The artifacts and knowledge that its discoverers might uncover would be worth more money than most of us can imagine, and the gold would pale next to what it would do for our understanding of Azlanti, of Golarion's history. It is quite literally the find of a lifetime... and we have the key to it." He lifts up the notes recovered from "Ieana" in the temple to Zura.
"What I propose, then, is an expedition to locate Saventh-Yhi and bring its treasures and knowledge to the world," Torch goes on. "And since you all were among those who helped find it, I wanted to bring it to you first."
"Yes, it's mighty tasty. Thanks for asking!" Ralf replies, smacking his lips.
"Now to get down to business," he addresses to the rest of the group. "This young feller came to me with the idea that, with the information we have, we might be able to find that lost city and strike it rich! With the money I already have from that dad-blamed island, I could probably set up a bait shack and do okay, but the idea of living like a king in my retirement is mighty tempting, I tell you. So what do you folks think?"
Jask and Ishirou look interested. Sasha only gives you an enigmatic smile as she listens for what you have to offer.
Gelik attends Torch's dinner, uncursed and returned to his former self. He arrives in style, having discarded his old, shabby clothes and wearing much finer attire. He is sporting a colorful robe in the native style, topped with a magnificent boar-hide headdress adorned with eagle feathers.
In very high spirits, he sincerely thanks everyone who contributed to his uncursing fund, and listens through Torch's entire speech, though he is often distracted by choice tidbits of food and wine.
As Torch finishes speaking, and Ralf says his piece, Gelik snorts wine out of his nose, gigging uncontrollably. Bait shack! That's priceless.
Composing himself quickly, he adds, Sounds like a proper adventure to me. I'll have to take your word for the ancient city, and whatnot. I'm not much for history. Etymology is more my passion, as I think I've probably mentioned. I guess I should learn some Azlanti? Anyway, I'm in. I need a few days to whip up a few scrolls. Anyone have any suggestions?
He has a sip of wine, then thinks of one more thing. Oh, and I can light people on fire just by looking at them now. So I've got that going for me. I think it might be the influence of those Iomedaens. Great folks, really top notch.
"If there's a hoard of treasure, that means I could buy a ship when I return and gain the freedom of the seas." says Aerys excitedly as a smile breaks out at the thought. Almost as a sigh of relief she whispers to herself, "And time to complete the epic, once I need not work myself I can devote my time to the poem." Her head looks up from the remains of the food she was playing with on the plate. Her long dark hair, now clean and cut, cascades over her shapely shoulders, framing her pretty head. For the first time since being shipwrecked her beauty and elegance can be seen, although her strength is obvious.
"If you need help in getting this expedition underway, I'll speak with my friend Captain Kassata, I'm sure he'll help us?" she asks her fellow diner companions.
Did somebody mention a hoard of treasure? That's what I like to hear! Exploring a lost city sounds like a lot of fun, and all, but loot is like icing on the cake. A big, sweet, faerie cake.
He loses his train of thought for a while, staring off in the middle distance and thinking of the fine accessories and rare books he could buy with stacks of gold. Eventually, he comes back to the hre-and-now.
He turns to Aerys. You've got an in with a captain? A free captain? They're like pirates, right? Yo ho ho? They've got the best hats, for sure. I want in with them, too. I think we should all become pirates and wear those hats with the tassles.
His thoughts disjointed, Gelik seems to change gears. An epic? You're a poet, Aerys? How did I not know that by now? A woman of many talents, and a complemetry skill set for my own humble gift. As a maestro, that is. If you'd ever like to hear your epic orated in a professional manner, I'm your man. Just say the word. Small venue or large, I can project my voice as circumstances warrant.
Ralf nods approvingly at every suggestion, even the contradictory ones. "We better find someone local to guide us, though; I'm a fair navigator, but sometimes it seems like I can only concentrate so much in one day."
Torch nods his agreement. "I've gone into the jungle before," he says, "but never this deep. If we can find a trustworthy local, that'd be the first step in the process. Aerys, if you want to make contact with your captain and see if he's interested in helping us arrange for the resources to make this happen, that would be helpful too. What about the rest of you? Jask, Ishirou, Sasha? Any of you in?"
Actually Aerys's captain is a woman, captain Kassata Lewynn, and she is definitely interested in hearing you out. Aerys could set up a meeting with you and her local guide Kamal to negotiate terms.
Jask feels that he has to bow out. He has only just managed to clear his name, and it won't help his reputation to work for a known pirate. Sasha just smiles her enigmatic smile and shrugs. She's not joining you. Ishirou, on the other hand, is interested.
Knowledge (local):
This lost city sounds like a big deal. If anyone wants to hear what the Pathfinders have to offer, I could probably set up a meet-and-greet. They might overlook my little, shall we say, humiliating disgrace, to get in on the ancient looting action. That's pretty much their main thing. I still say screw those guys, but I don't want to shut down any options if anyone else is interested.
Gelik tries mixing some wine with some coconut water, and finds that it isn't half bad. I'm happy to leave the organizing to you guys. I'm more the pretty face of the operation, I think. Speaking of which, maybe I should get an eye-patch. Now that is stylish.
"And I can do the same with Kassata, she is a sailor of no mean repute with connections in Port Peril and the region, so I'm sure she'll have something to say that would help us. It wouldn't be any trouble, anything to help." she smiles before nodding at Torch for his clear grasp on the way forward. "I'll take my leave and make the arrangements." she bows to her friends and cheerily starts to go and make arrangements for the negotiations.
Torch nods, looking around the room. "Hey, if we can get courted, I'd love to hear what each group might have to offer..."
Gelik shrugs. If it'll make you happy.
Gelik will go to the Pathfinders and let them know that his little group has a line on the location of fabled Saventh-Yhi, and that they would be willing to team up for fun and profit.
The Pathfinders are happy to take Gelik back into the fold, and would be interested in funding your expedition. The other factions are not going to court you unless you approach them.
Both Kassata and the Pathfinders make the same basic offer, offering to outfit and organize the expedition to Saventh-Yhi, paying all the costs of food, water, supplies, porters, guards, and so forth. They also offer you 500 gp each for your own equipment as well as a 1000 gp bonus when you eventually reach Saventh-Yhi.
Kassata offers you the services of her guide Kamal of Zenj as well as five able-bodied buccaneers under your command. The Pathfinders offer you a Wayfinder, a magical compass, each and hint at further field commissions in the Society.
Ishirou accepts your offer to join the expedition if you will have him.
Aerys encourages the group to choose Kassata, saying "with Kassata she doesn't offers you actual help, whereas the Pathfinder just offer you the chance to work for them. I mean, if we come back with treasures and riches, we won't need to work mfor anyone, except maybe ourselves. And where those pathfinders go, there are others who scavenge off them. I'd say we use Kassata."
This is absolutely no contest. If I have my very own buccaneer to order about, then that's my choice.
Kassata invites you to an evening of piratey entertainment, rowdy songs and warm grog, to confirm the terms she already offered you. The idea is that you, together with Kamal, will form a scouting party to clear the way. You'll have the five buccaneers, led by Ishirou, and their leshy mascot, at your command if you need extra muscle. She will personally fund and organize the main expedition.
You have about a week to get ready, buy whatever stuff you need and prepare yourselves. But time is of the essence. There are spies everywhere and the other factions are going to try to beat you to it. Kassata spits as she mentions the Red Mantis. It would vex her particularly if they should get there before her.
At the mention of spies, Gelik's ears perk up. He shifts his eyes from side to side, trying to look perceptive.
Torch pulls Ralf aside and writes down the presented terms for the agreement to confirm he's okay with them. The half-elf doesn't look completely happy with the idea himself, but does seem to perk up some when Kassata's attitude toward the Red Mantis becomes clear.
Day 1 - wander around the city all day, looking for places with interesting snacks
Day 2 - find a place to buy magic scrolls, and try to buy the following:
Grease (25 gp)
Enlarge Person x2 (50 gp)
Jump (25 p)
Endure Elements, communal (200 gp)
Glitterdust (200 gp)
Day 3 - wander around the city until he finds someplace with interesting stuff to read. Read for the rest of the day.
Day 4 - scribe 2 scrolls: 1 Vanish and 1 Spontaneous Immoliation (use up 3 levels of scroll materials, 9 remaining)
Day 5 - go out and buy 2 weeks worth of trail rations, then go get drunk.
Day 6 - recover
Day 7 - hang out and tell everyone that he's bored.
Ralf reads Torch's note. "Pirates, eh? Well, I've sailed with a few underhanded chaps before, so that's nothing new to me. As long as they're on the square about sharing the booty, I welcome their help."