Eventful Dot
Done.
The missive didn't include many details except to mention that you were needed in the City of Nerosyan and that expediency was of the essence. Any thoughts of balking at the order were swiftly squashed when the sender was recognized - the Decemvirate themselves. So, from far and wide, each of you traveled across the world to Nerosyan, the capital of the crusader state of Mendev.
Located at a valuable strategic location, guarding the junction where the Egelsee River flowing from the east meets the northern-most branch of the Sellen River, it's visible at a glance that Nerosyan is designed first and foremost as a defensive fortification. The city is laid out in a diamond pattern between the two rivers, in order to maximize their defensive potential and the outer walls are topped with crenelations, and dozens of towers rise from the walls, ensuring that the defenders can pour fire into any attacking force. The top of the walls are covered in sloped roofs cut with arrow slits, designed to allow defenders to ward off the flying attacker. At the center of the city stands a massive cathedral, built to allow defenders to easily sally out to any part of the city.
Per the instructions in the missive, you make your way to a large mess hall within the Starrise Spire, one of two Pathfinder lodges in Nerosyan. A small army of Confirmed agents are already gathered here, all busily speculating the reason for the summons among themselves.
A dusky-skinned man in richly decorated armor stands atop a small stage at the head of the mess hall. He clears his throat and speaks in a loud clear voice that lowers the rest of the volume in the room.
“Fellow Pathfinders, I am Jorsal of Lauterbury, Venture Captain of Nerosyan. I welcome you to the Starrise Spire and bid you to find a seat and speak with the other guests. Once everyone is comfortably seated, I will get to the point of this great gathering.”
After he's said his piece, the Venture Captain descends from the stage. You find yourselves among peers, some of which you may recognize...
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Algar is a rather young man in his late twenties. He is currently wearing a Full Plate armor, with a simple lance, a heavy steel shield and a simple club complete his armement..
An air of confidence exude from him as he drop his backpack right next to him. He stares in amazement at the cathedral and everything around him.
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An imposing and clearly road worn man stands stoically until instructed to sit; when he does so he is still a head taller than the average man. Although he displays an Eagle Knight's insignia he gives off the impression that the Andoran cause was his second choice; perhaps his allegiance once belonged to a darker, or more accurately "shadowier" cause?
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Xantrian walks up to the table holding his sword in both hands like one would hold a handful of arrows. The longsword is made of mithral, and looks to be of fine quality until it is placed on the table and the crack in the middle is clearly visible. Perhaps more unusual that its large crack is when the sword starts talking to everyone around the table. "Ah. Welcome gentlemen! Are you all ready to go into battle today?"
"Calm down Gamin," Xantrian says, answering his own sword's question. "We're not here for a mission briefing. As far as I can tell, Venture Captain Jorsal is just going to tell us about the general goals of the Pathfinder Society here. The briefings will come later." He then turns to speak to the rest of those around the table. "Hello everyone. My name is Xantrian, and this is my faithful traveling companion Gamin. I do wonder what this is all about."
Xantrian himself looks like a weird person to be wielding a sword. He appears to have all the strength and finesse of a bookworm. However, his pale skin and light hair give him away as an aasimar, and it is said that those touched by the angels can sometimes perform miracles. Perhaps that holy symbol around his neck is the source of his miracles.
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Heavyset and swathed in furs, this dwarf carries a massive greataxe with its blades tinged with red. Hefting it easily, he moves through to his destination, his stride never breaking with his Dragon skullcap on his head. He grins displaying some missing teeth.
"Well Met. I be Boron Boulderstep, Rager from the North."
A Birthmark on his left bicep seems similar to one of Pharasma. Just like the one carved into his axe. His right bicep however has the intricate tattos indicating a link to one of the myriad tribes there.
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Ha i have heard of you Gregor, Hail and well meet Algar will (secret) shake hands with him. He to was once a member of the Shadow Lodge.
Algar tries to suppress a laugh when Xantrian comes and introduce himself.
Well then it seems that the Captain is gathering quite the amount of skillful pathfinders.
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"I do agree. I might expect this many people at a general meeting in Absalom, but I wonder what news has caused this many pathfinders to come all the way up north?
"By the way, neither myself nor Gamin have been here before. Have any of you guys been here before and want to share the secrets of the city with me? I can't wait to see the city proper. We've only just arrived."
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Gregor returns Algar's greeting. "Nice to have an 'old friend' along for this ride. It's been difficult for me to know who to trust these days." He shakes his head as if to dissipate a cloud surrounding his head before responding to Xantrian. "I've done a fair bit of traveling through the years. Most important thing I learned about Absalom is to stay out if the sewers."
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"Hell, I didn't want to be on that side of Avistan when the cult of Lissala tried to awaken Krune. Good thing everything turned out okay.
"And quite frankly, I hope that a militaristic city like Mendev actually exterminates their sewers every so often. That seems like a dangerous point of entry if they were to ever be invaded."
A cheerful looking half-elven woman approaches your group, wearing elaborate furs and a variety of weapons strapped to her back.
She is accompanied by a plump dire badger who just walks happily alongside her.
"Hail and well met. Name's Sheloa Buranil. This here's Foamy." She says rubbing the badger behind his ears. "Any of you know what's going on?"
The Worldwound is infested with demons. Evil and destructive creatures, demons are native to the Abyss, though they can be summoned by means of magic. Many of the demons within the Worldwound emerged from the rift at the center of the region. The demonic hosts are kept somewhat in line by powerful overlords known as demon lords. The exact number of demon lords is unknown, but many such creatures are revered on Golarion. Each demon lord has a portfolio, similar to that of a deity; however, most demon lords lack many of the powers a true god possesses.
The Worldwound is an unnatural blight on the world. Believed to be a rift into the Abyss, this gateway from Golarion opened shortly after the death of Aroden. The nation of Mendev came to prominence during the First Mendevian Crusade in 4622 AR. This crusade was built up from the weakened church of Aroden and followers of the goddess Iomedae. Since that time, Mendev has engaged in four crusades against the demonic threat.
"Well I know they got almost all of the society here. Even those mysterious seekers who you never see out of retirement. That means they're taking this serious. I mean why wouldn't they? We need to stop these demons, at any cost." She says a with a slight sigh. Foamy nuzzles her leg and nods his head.
"Yep, it's like someone went to all this trouble of setting this all up. Like way too much trouble. " :)
Venture Captain Jorsal atop the stage once again and clears his throat. "I apologize for the delay friends. It will be just a moment longer. Please, get to know one another. It's not often that there's this many of us under one room at the same time."
Afer the Venture Captain finishes, the volume in the mess hall picks up again as the last few stragglers file into the space.
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"Well I guess the urgency isn't too great then if they're allowing us more time to wag our chins." Gregor smiles so that the others can see that he is joking and not complaining; a tactic he started using once it became clear that most people had trouble telling the difference. "If its demons we'll be fighting it seems as though they've picked a fine enough group of agents for the task."
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"You laugh, but I actually prefer when there's extra time at a meeting like this. Urgency before a mission makes for a dangerous mission. Not that demons won't be dangerous anyway..." Xantrian's voice trails off at the thought.
Gamin fills the silence left by Xantrian. "I wholeheartedly agree Gregor! I see many ferocious soldiers here. If, by chance, we ride against the demonic hordes today, we shall be certain to make great victories!
Of course, they probably just sent us up here to deal with another stupid dungeon again. Where's the glory in that?"
Xantrian looks down at Gamin with a slightly disapproving look.
After the assembled Pathfinders from near and far have rubbed elbows a while longer, Jorsal takes the center stage and clears his throat loudly. For such a simple gesture, the room quiets almost immediately. “Welcome once again, one and all, to the city of Nerosyan. I am Jorsal, Venture-Captain of Starrise Spire. I know you all have questions about why you’ve been sent here, and I intend to spend the evening answering those questions.” He pauses for a breath and takes in the breadth of the gathering.
“I shall start by telling you why the Society has sent so many skilled agents to Mendev. Intrepid agents recently uncovered information that points to a startling find in the old nation of Sarkoris, now known as the Worldwound. These agents have discovered that a dwarven Sky Citadel, one of the rarest sites on the planet, rests within the Worldwound. It is known to us as Jormurdun.” He pauses, seemingly for effect, as he lets his words settle on the gathered Pathfinders. “It is the will of the Decemvirate that we should come together and find the exact site of thi—” Suddenly the walls of the Spire tremble as you hear the sound of a distant explosion. Dust begins to rain down on you as the shockwave from the disturbance rolls over the building. This is almost immediately followed by the sounds of eerie, coarse sounding horns.
A man rushes up and and whispers something in Jorsal’s ear, and at the same time another set of horns can be heard, seeming to come from the center of Nerosyan.
“My friends, it appears the city is under attack by a force of demons from the Worldwound! How such a thing is possible, I do not yet know, but I do know that this attack must be stopped and our treaty with the crusaders of Mendev binds us to join the battle. Give me some time to rally our agents as best I can, and in the meantime I trust you to pick where your skills can best be put to use. Go forth into Nerosyan or hasten to the skirmishes outside its walls and aid where you can. I shall summon you again when I know how to best combat this enemy.”
He quickly descends from the stage and makes for the mess hall’s exit. He turns back one last time adding, ”Keep an eye out for Venture-Captain Thurl. If he is not already helping, ensure that he’s not pinned down.”
Like clockwork, some of the agents more familiar with Nerosyan begin unfurling maps of the city. All at once the room is abuzz with activity as groups of Pathfinders form and begin to shoulder their gear as the sounds of battle rapidly grow from outside.
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This is algar Standard buff routine: Extended Barkskin (180 min), Extended Magic Vestment (Shield and Armor) (9h), Extended Resist Energy (Fire, Cold, Electricity) (180 min), Tree Form: Plant Shape: Fungal Nymph (9h) (Gain plant Type + Darkvision + low light vision)
Algar now ready. gather the pathfinder around him.
We volunteer to head to Frontline were the biggest threat are. he yells
To those gathered around him
If we are fighting demons remember that we need to have aligned weapons
Amidst the raging combats taking place throughout the Battle district, a lone junior Pathfinder approaches, identifiable as one of Jorsal’s assistants from the Starrise Spire. “Greetings! Venture-Captain Jorsal had me looking all over for some more experienced Pathfinders, and it looks like you’ll have to do! There’s a meeting of some senior crusader officials at a command bunker in the district. They’d like to have some Pathfinder advisors present, so that’s who Jorsal had me looking for. Come on, I’ll take you there right away!"
The assistant leads you to a command bunker to represent the Society and assist with the coordination of the city’s defense. A delegation of senior representatives from different groups in the city is in attendance, each member barking out orders to runners and guards. There is a female dwarf sharpening an axe, a Taldan woman of no more than 18 years of age, an imposing man garbed in full plate with symbols of Iomadae, and an elf clad in robes.
But before you can properly introduce yourselves, a young squire runs in and interrupts. Following right behind him is a contingent of crusaders.
"We just captured a group of demon sympathizers that were waiting for specific orders from someone in this bunker. Someone here is working for the demons!" The four of them look to each other with suspicion and all agree that as you are all recent arrivals, you will be trusted with ferreting out the traitor who will be taken away for interrogation.
As you try your spell, you notice that no one's aura changes. You sense the involvement of a non-detection spell on the whole bunker site. You surmise it is so that demons won't spy on this meeting, but it is interfering with your spell. You expend 1 use before you figure this out.
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addressing all 4 of them Well then since we can't afford to put the plan in peril i guess we are going to have to take all 4 of you away unless each and everyone of you can convince us that you are not a traitor. I mean pointing at gregor might even resort to physical violence in order to make you talk. Eventually a discern lies + zone of truth + detect thought will be employed will be employed in order to find out the truth. In fact why don't i start with that.
Algar will cast a detect magic and point to any magic items from the 4 to be removed.
he then will try to see if any spell is active on the 4 suspect.
Now now, lets try this again.
As you try your spell, you notice that no one starts glowing. You sense the involvement of a non-detection spell on the whole bunker site. You surmise it is so that demons won't spy on this meeting, but it is interfering with your spell.