Marching Order Stolen from last time I ran for you guys!
Gunari, Kaisharga
Finarin, Amaranti
Ibid, Miro
Cyrus
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Cast
Venture-Captain Nieford Sharrowsmith:
Venture-Captain who runs a Mwangi chapter of the Pathfinder Society out of Nantambu. Currently missing after setting out to explore the interior of the expanse.
Spokeswoman for House Cartahegn (a minor trade house not controlled by the Aspis Consortium). Potential to turn her into a contact and to get her aid in sabotaging the Consortium's operations and/or tracking down Malika Fenn.
Aspis Consortium overseer. Coordinating work crews in Bloodcove to load supplies on a convoy of ships destined to head upriver. Working out of the warehouse at dock 22 and recruiting at the Witchlight.
- Decided upon a cover (laying low & bounty hunters / mercenaries). -- May also use merchant as the situation dictates, this will incur an extra +1 to the DC
1. Retrieve and decode Malika's message, then her information package - COMPLETE:
The Pathfinders must retrieve Malika's information regarding the Aspis Consortium's planned expedition up the Vanji River. Malika's original message said this expedition was of grave concern to the Pathfinder Society, but could not trust the information to leave Bloodcove without being intercepted.
- Found the message and retrieved it from the bounty board at the Witchlight.
- Decoded the message, which suggests the Pathfinders go to stall 342 in the Free Trade Square.
- Retrieved a flawed hematite sphere ioun stone from the stall, which can be slotted into a wayfinder to behave like a compass, pointing to the nearest other hematite sphere ioun stone.
- Found the dead drop and retrieved the scroll containing the Pathfinder intelligence from Malika that Aya needs.
2. Discover how the populace feels about the Aspis Consortium's control of Bloodcove - COMPLETE:
While in Bloodcove, Aya would like the Pathfinders to get a feel for how the locals feel about the Aspis Consortium. Do they like it, or do they want out? Curry favor with those who want them out and try to form the beginnings of a network of contacts for the Society in Bloodcove.
Discovered attitudes towards the Aspis Consortium:
- Byshek Obiel, Innkeeper at the Witchlight: Positive.
- Waitress at the Witchlight: Neutral.
- Na'alu (see more above): Positive.
- Novaria: Negative.
- Ungala: Negative.
3. Sabotage the Aspis Consortium's expedition - COMPLETE:
Once the first two objectives have been achieved, use the information (and contacts, if possible) to help sabotage the Aspis Consortium's expedition up the Vanji River. The Pathfinders are not expected to stop the expedition, but must try all they can to delay it while the Society formulates a response based on whatever intelligence Malika has gathered (or, in the absence of this information, just respond as best they can).
- The Pathfinders managed to obtain gainful employment for the Aspis Consortium from Na'alu, working out of Warehouse 22.
- Snuck in to Warehouse 22, burned the warehouse and scuttled the ships!
4. Secure a means for Pathfinders to smuggle people and goods in Bloodcove - COMPLETE:
The Pathfinder society would like the Pathfinders to secure the aid of locals in aiding their operations in Bloodcove, primarily people (Pathfinders) smuggling and goods (recovered relics) smuggling.
Novaria (see above) has been suggested by Aya Allehe as the best option for this.
- Brokered a deal with Novaria (succeeded in getting the better deal)
- Successfully stopped the cart from being stolen by Ungala.
- Took Ungala's alternative deal (while expertly still maintaining most of the original deal with Novaria).
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Bloodcove Knowledge
The Pathfinders have been able to discover and remember the following facts about Bloodcove:
- Bloodcove lies on the western edge of the Mwangi Expanse. The local culture blends the traditions of Cheliax, the Shackles, and the native Mwangi people.
- Bloodcove sits on the headwaters of the Vanji River, and much of the city rests atop the roots of massive mangrove trees. Wealth from the jungle interior flows through Bloodcove, making the dingy city surprisingly wealthy. Prominent features in the city include the Witchlight Inn and Free Trade Square.
- Though ostensibly ruled by the elected Grand Admiral, fiercely competitive trading houses wield the genuine power behind Bloodcove politics. The Aspis Consortium currently dominates the political and economic scene.
- The trading houses brutally crush any criminal organizations that interfere with their business. As a result, most of Bloodcove’s criminal activity revolves around exports (such as the drug trade) or else focuses on the poorer citizens. The local guard only investigates crimes if well paid for the service, leaving most of the city subject to vigilante law.
- The Aspis Consortium watches the local Pathfinder chapter house constantly. Foreign Pathfinders who visit it frequently disappear.
- Two main ethnicities exist within Bloodcove, both Mwangi in origin:
---> Bonuwat is one of four major subgroups on the Mwangi continent. Bonuwats are known for being avid and competent seafarers and are unsurprisingly most commonly found in Mwangi ports.
---> Bekyar is also one of the four major Mwangi ethnicities, hailing from southern Garund. Bekyars are renowned throughout southern Golarion as prominent slave traders.
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Campaign Background
For centuries the city of Bloodcove has controlled access to the invaluable Vanji River, and for nearly as long, the Aspis Consortium has controlled Bloodcove. If the Pathfinder Society is to move the equipment and personnel it needs into the Mwangi Expanse, it needs a reliable means of smuggling resources through this unforgiving settlement operated by its enemies. It’s up to the PCs to establish a backdoor through Bloodcove—all without being caught by Aspis agents.
