Shu's flaming ball of fire ignites the Baillaset and it disappears into a red mist with a pained howl.
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Defeating Baillaset and the remainder of Oppara’s Zyphus cultists does what the Society hoped it would—it rids Oppara of a cult that tricked and murdered an esteemed Pathfinder, and it sends a message to other cults not to trifle with the Society.
As you move back up through the complex, you find the third Zyphan cultist missing. You report back to your superiors of your success and they are happy to have Oppara free of the Zyphan threat.
Your beloved friend Hustavan is overjoyed to have ingratiated himself into the Society and promises to visit Masters Shu and Mu everyday for tea.
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Later, at tea...
"Here, drink." Sitting at a table in Maximo's Hideaway, Shu pours a cup of steaming liquid for the man across from him. "Special tea from our homeland. It called 绿茶叶鸟粪."
The old gnome offers a wide smile, then turns toward the kitchen and yells sharply. "Mu! What taking so long? You bring food now! Friend Hustavan starving!" Facing the man again, his smile reappears instantly. "Mu has promised best recipe, just for you."
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Hustavan is oblivious to Shu's antics, however...
The old man smiles at the tea and sniffs it. "Hoo boy! That's got a bite to it, I'm sure."
He picks up the tea pot and pours Shu a cup. "It is proper Tien custom to not pour your own tea, is it not?"
He slides a hot cup of tea in front of you and raises his own glass, waiting for you to toast with him.
You know as a self-respecting Tien gnome that it would be the height of disrespect and eternally shameful to toast and not imbibe. You also know that the eldest of Tien believe that a toast should consumed in a single motion and that the entire glass or cup should be drained as a show of respect. However, Hustavan is unaware of this old custom and will likely only take a sip once you toast.
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Mu had recalled a perfect recipe for Hustavan... But then, he sees Pu watching him cook from nearby, On second thawt... ”I coming! I coming!”, he furiously swings the ladle like a temple sword across the wok, turning and churning.
”Special special dish! Foh tha special guest!”, Mu slams the hot dish down in front of Hustavan with a pair of chopsticks, "P-! Mu's Heavenly Steamers! You eat!"
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"Among humans, yes." Shu agrees, his head bobbing up and down. "You are wise and learned, honorable Hustavan. However, my people have different custom. Guest must finish food and drink before host can partake. Right Mu?"
Shu slides the second cup forward to join the first next to Mu's steaming Pu Poo Platter.
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Brewslee slams in right beside Hustaven as he waves an open flask in the man's face. The surrounding tables begin to rub at their eyes from the container's potent contents. Hushtaven.....want a little... a little.. *Hic*..nip for your tea?
Brewslee raises his flask in the air as he wobbly stands. Small drops fall from his flask, taking the varnish from the table. TO HUSHTAVEN!
Hustavan realizes that Shu and Mu are teasing him. "You guys! Such pranksters!" the old man smiles.
"Let's do tea some other time! I hear that the co-eds down at the training hall are doing their morning routine..."
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"Haha. Yes, great joke. Almost had you." Shu says through his teeth. He glares at the annoying man's back as he gets up to bother the co-eds, and finds himself automatically grabbing a teacup and lifting it partway to his mouth. "Hrmph." He eyes the cup and lowers it.
Flames begin to lick upon his fingertips.
Next time, Hustavan. Next time...
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Malachite stands stoically by not fulling understanding why the Wise Masters are trying to serve such vile concoctions to kind Mr Hustavan who helped them so much in the Temple of Zyphus and Oppara Opera House.
He shakes his rocky head, trying to understand the motivations of these humans (and gnomes).
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Three months from your last visit to Oppara, the lot of you find yourselves back in the Pathfinder Society lodge before the local venture-captain, an aging man named Muesello being briefed on the latest mission.
“Greetings, and welcome to Oppara. Thank you for coming on such short notice. We have recently received reports that an item of extreme antiquity has been found. The late Lord Tulwin of Oppara is—was—the patriarch of a clamoring host of children, and none of them were believed to care much for the miser. Toward the end of his life, he supposedly poured all of what was to be their inheritance into the acquisition of an item of extreme value—an Azlanti scepter recovered by a Taldan Army of Exploration centuries ago. Such was his disdain for his offspring that he arranged for his body and most valuable belongings—the scepter among them—to be spirited away within an hour of his passing so the ‘vultures’ couldn’t squabble over his treasures. The scepter was believed lost to time, until now."
“Our reports suggest that the scepter and the late Lord Tulwin lie entombed somewhere on Antios’s Crown. I need you to find the scepter and return it to me here in Oppara. If it truly is as powerful as the rumors suggest, then it must be brought to the Grand Lodge for safekeeping. You are among the few to whom we have given this information, and we expect it to remain secret. The last thing I need is a bunch of squabbling lordlings crowding Antios’s Crown with hired tomb raiders!"
“You will know the tomb by the crest of House Tulwin. Look for a winged boar and the scepter should be nearby. When you are ready, we will transport you to the base of Mount Antios via magical means. Admittedly, it would be more expedient to send you directly to the summit, but sadly, no one here has a great enough familiarity with the area to do so without significant risk. Besides, with all the wards, shields, and other magical protections placed upon, in, and around the tombs of so many self-important, paranoid Taldans, who knows what sort of interference would be wrought!”
"Finally, we were informed that there is a single man in all of the Society who knows this mountain better than our best scryers. We were surprised that he would be up for such a task at his age, but he insisted. He will meet you at the foot of the trail to lead you. He is quite happy to join you for this expedition. He is the only man in the known world to have climbed to the peak of the highest mountain in the range. Granted that was thirty years ago..." the man draws out the last bit.
"Anyway, hurry up! I doubt he stays up past 8pm and you have a long trek ahead of you." the Venture-Captain chides.
"He is a new liaison for the Society. I believe you lot had something to do with that. Name is Sebastus Hustavan. Heard he got mixed up in some trouble, but now works for us. Lucky too." the Venture-Captain says as he swigs his waterskin.
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"When you are ready, we will transport you to the base of Mount Antios via magical means."
Climb a mountain? No challenge for the Great Shu.
"With all the wards, shields, and other magical protections placed upon, in, and around the tombs of so many self-important, paranoid Taldans, who knows what sort of interference would be wrought!”
Traps? Child's play!
Brewslee gives a feeble but attempted salute. "Yoush can count on ush once again..."
Hmmph. I hope he's learned how to walk... Or at least how to do that falling in slow motion trick that Mu knows.
"...a single man in all of the Society who knows this mountain... Sebastus Hustavan."
...
"Oh no."
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Ah... Hustavan. The Dawnflower has obviously taken great interest in our success, and Hustavan stands as one of our greatest achievements. One of the most difficult of Sarenrae's teachings is that anyone is worthy of redemption, and we should strive to help those who truly want to be redeemed. Of course, it is also evident she likes to test her faithful, and Sebastus is certainly a test.
The group notices that Bevek now openly displays a holy symbol of Sarenrae around his neck.
When you arrive at the foot of Mount Antios, you see a familiar face. "Masters Mu and Shu! You guys are the ones they are sending? I had hoped!" Hustavan adjusts his climbing gear and grabs two pitons. "Make way whippersnappers! Us old guys are at the front!" Hustavan chides.
"Though the mountain is tall and untraveled, there is a little known secret to its ascent. At least with the lower section..." Hustavan smiles as he fist pounds Mu's shoulder.
"As the only person in the region to have summitted this particular climb, I know a few tricks." Hustavan leads you to into a cave hidden by foliage and overgrowth. "Through here, there is a crack in the mountain that can help us bypass the sheer rock wall outside and makes for an easier climb for those of us... without experience." He eyes the group, excluding his best friends Mu and Shu.
"Let's show em how it's done, old guys!" Hustavan jovially states as he slaps Shu on the back. He quickly scrabbles up an opening where light is shining through and the climb starts.
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Baern removes his breastplate and stows his shield. As he adjusts his load, he says a brief prayer to the goddess for competence before attempting his ascent.
He has a bit of trouble getting off the ground, but prays harder and longer before trying again.
With a staggeringly slow pace, he starts going up the rope, muttering all the while.
Baern: +2
Bevek: +4
Malachite: +8
Brewslee: +6
You hear a voice yell down from the dark crevace. "Come on ya, youngins! If you are afraid of heights, just lash yourselves to the monks. Rope bindings should help you guys get up here, got a ways ahead of us."
Hustavan scurries back down the wall and secures a length of rope to himself and Mu. "Hah! You show me your secret cooking recipes and I shall show you how to climb, Master Mu! First, you look for the best place to..." Hustavan keeps prattling on as he moves from handhold to handhold. Mu uses the slack line to keep himself balanced and a bit of tension at time to boost him over particular dangerous sections.
The rest of the group waits for Malachite and Brewslee to climb 50', anchor a rope with pitons (graciously donated by Hustavan since I am assuming you have none) and let the rest of the party ascend the mountain.
Four (five? six?) hours into the climb on the first day, you come to a sharp turn in the trail where a sheer cliff directly abuts the edge of the path as it hugs the twisting mountain face.
A recent rockslide here left only a 10-foot-wide gap between the impassable rock fall and the outward-facing precipice. The sun glares off the speckled stone of the mountain, unobstructed by clouds or plants more dense than low mountain scrub. A rockslide ahead covers much of the natural pathway, narrowing the trail to less than two arm spans wide.
Opposite the rockslide, a sheer drop falls away, giving a clear view of the mountainside below and the vast Tandak Plains to the west and south.
"Best to avoid rockslides. This way, Master Mu."
Hustavan will scuttle up the mountain, preferring to avoid the path opened up by the rockslide, letting out slack to accommodate the novice climber.
Five Hours into the Climb
Baern thinks that this path looks quite dangerous actually and leaps from rock to rock carefully enough to avoid any trouble it seems.