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Caerwynn sits cross-legged on the wide banister of a balcony in the Starspire Lodge, enjoying the fresh air. As usual, her hair is a free-flowing mess, waving substantially in the gentle breeze. The northern air up here is refreshingly crisp and cool, substantially different from the heavy brine of Absalom that she's used to.
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Gadget is a gnome with glasses and light brown hair. She has a couple wands, couple scrolls, and a longsword. Most notably she has a nice longbow that she always seems to hold on to. She has a spellbook and spell component pouch, and seems to be bouncing all over the place looking at all the decor in whatever local she is in.
It has been weeks since the siege of Nerosyan, when demonic hordes from the Abyss surged forth from the region known as the Worldwound to assault the capital city of the crusader nation of Mendev. Brave Pathfinders stood side-by-side with the city’s defenders, managing to push back the attackers and ensure Nerosyan did not fall to the demons.
Venture-Captain Jorsal, the Society’s principle representative in Nerosyan, took charge of the Pathfinder defenders and since the siege has deployed numerous groups on missions throughout the region. Having left Nerosyan to survey the devastation of Kenabres, which fell to the demonic offensive— Jorsal ensured some of his agents remained behind in Nerosyan to guard the Starrise Spire, the local lodge. Earlier this morning a messenger arrived with a sealed letter from Jorsal, signaling that more work remains to be done.
I trust this letter reaches you without incident. I remain in Kenabres, assessing the damage dealt by the demonic offensive that struck all along Mendev’s western border. Although the city is devastated, the fiends lost momentum and failed to maintain their advantage, and several particularly brave crusaders have rallied the scattered forces for a counterattack.
Since the siege of Nerosyan, I have mulled over a most troubling discovery. I received reports from Pathfinders involved in the siege implicating Thurl, Nerosyan’s other venture-captain, of knowing that the demons would attack and when. What little evidence I have goes so far as to suggest that Thurl assisted the demons in planning the assault against us.
Following the attack, I sent several Pathfinders to investigate Thurl’s lodge, and though the ground floor was bare of any further incriminating evidence, the lower level were inaccessible. Thurl left many magical wards to keep out intruders, and until we could investigate further and confirm whether or not my dwarven colleague had engaged in dire mischief, the Decemvirate has ordered that I not publicize my suspicions. I received word only an hour ago that those wards appear to have faded.
I have kept you at Starrise Spire not for mundane guard duty but because I can trust you to finish the investigation of Thurl’s lodge. Go there, enter its basement, and find what evidence you can that implicates Thurl in activities against the Society. Once you have explored his lodge thoroughly, report back to Starrise Spire and await my return.
The Pathfinder Society must know for certain whether Thurl has betrayed us and to what extent our trek to Jormurdun— to say nothing of the Mendevian Crusade— has been compromised. Our efforts shall mean nothing if sabotaged by a traitor, and the sooner we know, the less damage he can inflict.
Inheritor guide your hand,
- Venture-Captain Jorsal of Lauterbury
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"The wind is in the east this morning..." Caerwynn announces to no one in particular as she comes down the stairs. She picks up the letter off the table and scans it. "A basement, is it? Always somewhere deep under the earth they send me." She sighs and sets it down again.
"Well, let's see if I have everything..." she mutters, rummaging through a worn leather backpack propped up against the stone wall.
You reach Thurl's lodge. A single door provides ingress to this building you notice a blacksmith and a local brewery flanking the lodge.
Four other Pathfinders have just finished loading the last of the library's books onto a cart. "Yuck, demons! I'm happy I didn't have to go to the Worldwound..." A human shakes her head.
"The Worldwound is pretty nasty. Thurl enjoyed dispatching agents out there. I've been there, not very fun without support..." The tiefling shakes her tail, subconsciously.
An elven man turns to you as you approach. "We haven't been able to enter the basement, there's some kind of protective ward." He shakes his head, disappointed in his abilities. "But it's fading now. Maybe soon it will break."
The last Pathfinder, a female gnome clad in black walks up to the party, presenting a box. "Venture-Captain Jorsal told us to hand this to ya. You're exploring the basement, right? Take it."
- potion of cure moderate wounds
- a scroll of perceive cues
- an elixir of vision
- a vial of antitoxin
The Pathfinders leave you to your business, carting off the books. The only other thing of interest on the first floor is a heavy iron door that leads to the basement. It is undecorated and unlocked, although the Pathfinder inspectors note it was lined with Abyssal runes.
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It has been weeks since the siege of Nerosyan, when demonic hordes from the Abyss surged forth from the region known as the Worldwound to assault the capital city of the crusader nation of Mendev.
"Gran' times. Bullwhip. Oi belt things. They don't move so much after Oi do."
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"Tell me waaat yer nu or I'll brain yer!"
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Bullwhip looks in the box. His huge shrubby eyebrows raise in expectation but then knit together in distaste. "Ugh. 'Elf lager'. Oi belt an' miss 'arder than dat. Look, thar's a wee napkin in dar too."
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Gadget snaps out of a daze when she's realized that the dwarf has been with them the whole journey. She looks at him, naive of his culture. "Uh... hello Bullwhip. Forgive me if I don't always catch what you say, but you do have an interesting dialect. I will take the scroll, err, 'napkin,' if there are no objections."
She turns to the crew already here. "Protective ward you say? Like a barrier?"
Giovanni carefully watches the door. He notices it has no decorations or marks. It's not even locked. He doesn't notice anything else behind it.
A long set of dusty wooden stairs leads down into an equally untidy archive of tall shelves populated by crates, bins, and tomes. A handful of folios lay scattered about the room, concentrated most heavily near a large table that stands only about two feet tall.
The books here are mostly unfinished, written in a dozen different languages, mostly Common and Abyssal.
This side of the door has the same stone pattern of the wall and ceiling. If the door were closed, it would be very difficult to notice the hinges.
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Giovanni manages to quickly flick through all of the relevant texts.
"Huh. I think that you will find that the majority of the works detail the studies of demonic anatomy, surveys of the southeastern corner of the Worldwound, and Sakorian relics tainted by the Abyss. Thurl may have used unsavory business practices to get this information..."
"There is also another secret door over on the eastern wall."
Giovanni gives a start when he sees the creature that is in the room with the party.
"Hello! I'm Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone. Who are you? More importantly, what the heck *are* you?"
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"Oi, you be that 'Gizmo' girl. And you that wonky deacon off the Throaty Merlass. Oi heard about you two. Lil boid tol me yer bother okay."
"Well it's all a bunch of books innet! Now iffen it twere on stone it might be wit sumtin'" Bullwhip snorts.
"Oi Johnny wot yer on about?"
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"Odd that this side of the door is disguised, isn't it?"
"Demon anatomy. Blech."
"Yes, I see it. Very cleverly hidden indeed."
Caerwynn takes a startled step back and grips her walking stick tighter. "We are agents of the Pathfinder Society..." she says slowly, allowing Giovanni to do the questioning.
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Used to looks at books, Jair quickly analyse the books with her comrades.
Jair confirms Giovanni's and Caerwynn's statement. Yes, I see it too. A well hidden door. Good catch !
As soon as they seen the hidden door a newcomer get out of the shadows.
Jair first reaction was to cast a spell, but the first thing the creature do was to speak, asking who they were.
Holding her spell, for now, she answer, smiling.
Hello my dear. I'm Jair, like my comrades here, I'm a Pathfinder.
Who, and -if I may - what, are you ? It's the first time I see someone like you !
As Jair speaks, she tries to interpret the body language of the creature as well as her speach to determine if she was a threat or not.
The creature's voice wavers between that of a female elf, a quiet whisper of subtle insults, and a LOUD BOMBASTIC VOICE.
"WELL MET, PATHFINDERS!" The woman's voice booms briefly before returning to normal. "I am Valais Durant, Venture-Captain of this lodge. You are all loyal, yes? Then LISTEN UP!"
"The traitor Thurl built a hidden workplace past this room, and that’s where he performed his most vile experiments. If the Society is to understand just how FOOLISH he is, someone must uncover his terrible schemes. That’s where you come in, Pathfinders. There is a hidden door against that wall." She waves a crimson claw toward the reading table. "Beyond you shall find his lair. ANY QUESTIONS?"
When Valais's voice changes, her body language turns either seductive or very aggressive and assertive. She's not threatening you, but she's clearly fighting down some kinds of dark impulses. Maybe it's her way of asserting authority.
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Still smiling, but in fact ready to act if anything goes wrong, Jair says.
Well meet Valais. We've heard of Venture-Captain Thurl "experiments" and we are here to find some proof of his treachery.
Have you already searched his lair ? Do you know of the perils behind this door ? Can you help us in any ways to find these proof ?
"Of course I'm alright! Thurl turned on me when he realized the Decemvirate had me investigating his operation. When one of his PATHETIC MINIONS turned me in, he surprised me and knocked me unconscious. I awoke in one of the chambers below, and made my way here. And here I wait, in the shadows. Thurl couldn't stop me!" Valais whispers.
She turns to Jair with an air of authority. "Beyond this door is a large area that Thurl used as some kind of dumping ground. A small shrine conceals a secret passage to a second level below, but that shouldn’t be a problem to get past with me around."
"Yes, I will help you. I shall accompany you, then." She nods. "Venture-Captains should play a more active role, don't you agree?"
"I-I am sorry, the details of reporting are lost upon me." She whispers. "I knew the Decemvirate would know I hadn't reported recently and they would send fresh minions to help me dispose of the traitor."
Assuming you are ready to head forward, Valais opens the eastern door.
This chamber stretches ahead and to either side as far as the eye can see. Wall segments stretch from floor to ceiling, as much resembling overgrown stalactites as architectural features, and chunks of shattered masonry and other rubble litter the otherwise even floor. Long since expired torches rest in sconces affixed intermittently to the walls.
You enter a large maze of tunnels and passages. With enough careful inspection, you notice faint chalkmarks etched on some of walls.
"I feel like I'm being watched, how about you?" Valais looks around, careful to not step on any debris on the floor.
You spot a faint, transparent horn peeking out of a wall before it sinks back into the surface.
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"I-I am sorry, the details of reporting are lost upon me." She whispers. "I knew the Decemvirate would know I hadn't reported recently and they would send fresh minions to help me dispose of the traitor."
Assuming you are ready to head forward, Valais opens the eastern door.
"But the pub...? Next dure?"
"I feel like I'm being watched, how about you?"
This seems a particularly daft statement to Bullwhip. Of course she's being watched. Heck! Bullwhip's watching her right now! Woman's a loon! Best if we went to ter pub an' sorted dis al' oyt. 'Tis roi next dure!
"YOUR EYES...maybe it's just a hunch."
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Giovanni, keeping a careful eye on what is going on around him, suddenly stiffens.
"Guys? We are not alone down here... I briefly caught a glimpse of a faint, transparent horn peeking out of a wall before it sunk back into the surface... if I was a betting man, I would say there was some sort of incorporeal creature about..."
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Giovanni, keeping a careful eye on what is going on around him, suddenly stiffens.
"Guys? We are not alone down here... I briefly caught a glimpse of a faint, transparent horn peeking out of a wall before it sunk back into the surface... if I was a betting man, I would say there was some sort of incorporeal creature about..."
"Maybe it wus wan av dem cave cows. De auld 'um mine wus lousy wi' dem, creepin' al' over de place." Bullwhip shudders involuntarily. He makes sure his trusty waraxe is handy.
Valais remains quiet but leads the way through the maze. She's clearly trying to look fearless, but you can see some hesitation.
Near the center of the maze stands a raised altar made of ivory-inlaid wood, its virtually pristine condition a sharp contrast to the shattered walls around it. At the center of the altar rests a statue of two figures locked in combat: a brass bull and an iron dwarf that grips the animal by a horn from over its shoulder while holding a warhammer aloft. Delicately incised words encircle the statue’s base, reading, "In my name is the strength of my history, my tradition, and my people. Speak your name into my ear, and I shall judge your worth."
This altar sits at the center of the maze and depicts the dwarf in control of the bull.
The bull is actually a gorgon.
The Dwarf is Torag, one of the dwarven gods.
On closer inspection, you see the drawf is actually off balance and that the bull is poised to strike.
If you carefully inspect the altar...
You spot a faint shimmer of an inverted pentagram on the bull’s brow.
If you make the Perception check, make a single Knowledge(religion) check.
You recognize it as the unholy symbol of Asmodeus.
This is a symbol of Baphomet, the demon lord of beasts, labyrinths, and minotaurs.
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"Interesting... the dwarf is off-balance, and the bull is poised to strike..."
Giovanni takes a closer look.
"Is that an inverted pentagram on the bull's brow?"
"Oh! It's the symbol of Baphomet, the demon lord of beasts, labyrinths, and minotaurs. That doesn't bode well..."
With a shrug, Giovanni warily approaches the statue, and says his name into the ear of bull.
"Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone."
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Do you think it's wise to whisper your name to a Demon Lord ?
Not at ease, Jair looks around her. Then as if she remember something she adds.
Giovanni, don't you tell us a few moment before that you see a spectral horn ?
May be there is a Minotaur ghost wandering in this Labyrinth !
Valais ? Do you know that ?
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"Didn't you read the inscription?" Giovanni asks dryly. "Of course, if they were being metaphorical, I will admit that I do run the risk of looking a bit stupid..."
Well gods paddy! Luk at yerself! Yisser chin's an' its wee arse dimple 'angin' oyt for everyone ter clap, an' dare are weemen present! 'Av yer skylanders naw shame!? At laest put on a wee goatee*! Sum av us loike our trail rashuns ter steck ter our insides!
May be there is a Minotaur ghost wandering in this Labyrinth !
"Cave cows. Didn't oi say?"
Valais shakes her head. "I did not see anything when I left this STUPID MAZE!"
Jair and Giovanni wonder if telling someone allied with Baphomet was a good idea when they hear an audible click at the base of the statue. It slides across, revealing a spiral stairwell into darkness.