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Just outside of Eurythnia cottage in the grounds of Heidmarch manor, you see a young human with dark red fox ears sticking out from her scalp. She is outfitted with a soft green and black traveler's outfit sitting on a park bench. She is quietly nursing her cup of steaming hot tea, tail swaying back and forth as she is looking up at the sky above quietly thinking to herself. Next to her is a well worn backpack containing her adventuring gear.
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"Hi! I am The Great Swarmholio. Do you have any cookies? The Great Swarmholio wants your cookies! Are those ears real? Can I grab your tail?" Note that he's trying to grab it BEFORE he asks. "What can you do for The Great Swarmholio?"
If this obnoxious gnome is supposed to be a Pathfinder, there seems to be a lot missing. Like gear. Any gear. At least he's dressed.
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The girl looks back at the gnome and replies in a flat monotone voice,"'Ran does not have any cookies. Ran has no more delicious chocolate chip cookies to eat, because Ran ate them all already. Could the little gnome please stop touching my tail?' Ran asks the little gnome as she twitches her ears in annoyance."
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Jake approaches the scene between the loud gnome and the odd feline-like female. He walks ramrod straight in a military fashion. He is well outfitted in Andoran military attire, and a finely crafted greatsword sticks out above his shoulder, sheathed on his back.
Easy there half-pint. I am certain that he meant no offense, lady. I am Jake Hargrove - well met.
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Ran puts her cup down on the bench and stands up, gently pulling her tail from the annoying creature playing with it.
"Greetings, Hargrove-san. Ran is Yakamuro Ran. Ran is pleased to meet you, Ran says while keeping an eye on the crazy gnome."
Ran turns to the Swarmholio.
"Would you like to know who else has a fluffy tail? Ran has it on good authority that Sheila Heidmarch-sama has a fluffier tail hidden under the dress she normally wears, and she secretly loves gnomes who like to touch it. Ran bets Heidmarch-sama would enjoy it if you snuck up behind her and felt it."
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A beautiful human woman with eyes of different colors walk in the room. She wore silken robes in brown and yellow tones, a small metal shield and at her side a beautiful longsword. On her neck a symbol with an flying open eye. Her black hair loose on her shoulder.
With a melodious voice she said.
Greatings everyone, I'm Hedra Dreamcaster, Cleric of Aroden. His blessing be upon you, and His curse upon our ennemies.
If you need the blessing of Aroden come to me.
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A tall, dark haired Varisian man walks in, looking calmly around. As he moves, dark geometric tattoos are just visible at his collar and at the cuffs of his sleeves. Beneath his coat, a swordbelt can seen. A longsword hangs from one side and a holstered pistol from the other.
Looks like I'm the last one here. Name's Elen. Anyone know what we're here for?
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A stocky half-orc woman arrives outside the doorway. She looks around the exterior wall, and then looks at the adventurers inside. "Guess this must be the place. Sorry if I'm late. Still getting my bearings around here."
She looks at the hyperactive gnome. "Gods, please tell me you're not the Venture Captain."
Sheila Heidmarch approaches the building and leads you inside. Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch glances out a window as the last wisps of twilight fade over the Fenwall Mountains. Turning from the sight, she runs her hand along the rustic cabin’s wall and stands beside an occupied wooden bed before addressing you.
“This,” the venture captain says, gesturing to the man thrashing around violently, straining against the bonds that lash him securely to the bed, “is our colleague, Kalkamedes. Every night for several weeks now, he has fallen into a deep slumber and tried to sleepwalk right out of his cottage. If not restrained, he marches straight north, eventually falling off a cliff or into a bog as if trying to get himself killed in an attempt to reach an unknown goal.” As though he were expressing disagreement, the man tied to the bed suddenly begins pumping his limbs even harder, the violent spasms threatening to smash the bed into splinters.
“There are those who have recently criticized the Pathfinders for our indifference-hey!" Sheila turns around, grabbing the back of her dress and revealing a grinning gnome standing behind her. "Agent Swarmholio, please sit down and leave my dress be. As I was saying, there are those who have recently criticized the Pathfinders for our indifference to the plight of our fellow field agents. It’s time to show that’s not true. I want you to help Kalkamedes, whether he wants it or not. Several of our best spellcasters have attempted an extensive list of magical cures, but whatever sleepwalking curse or effect he’s under tenaciously resists our efforts. All we can do is keep him safe.” Heidmarch pats him with a degree of professional affection, and Kalkamedes rewards her by trying to swat her with his head.
“Kalkamedes’s friends are at their wits’ end, so we are going to attempt the only thing that we have not tried: we’re going to let him go tonight. That’s where you come in. I want you to follow him and keep him safe and in one piece. Let him get to wherever his addled brain thinks he needs to go so badly. Maybe, just maybe, if he gets there, you can find a way to help him. Maybe you can determine who or what did this to him and find a way to undo it.” Heidmarch pulls out a serrated knife. “Now before I cut him free, does anyone have any questions or last minute preparations?”
a sentient blade, and it and Kalkamedes were inseparable.
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"Kalkamedes... huh, I think one of my Society trainers talked about him. I had the impression he was mostly retired, researching Runelord crap. He ever come out with why he left Paladinhood? What church was it he was with?"
"As for the trip, I assume someone's looked at a map already? Seen what's up north that he might've been heading for? For that matter, we could use one to get an idea what to account for ahead of us - bogs or cliffs or whatever. Damn. Gotta be honest. This ain't my strength, though I guess I might be able to restrain him if we need to buy time to clear some obstacle ahead of him."
"I guess he attacks if you try to restrain him during the march? A sap would be handy. I don't have one with me, though."
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Aroden always look after his faithfull and his kin. I will follow our comrade Kalkamedes to be sure he will not be hurt and gave him Aroden's Blessing if he needs it.
As for the questions do we know if he's cursed or haunted ? Or it is something else ? Somebody else has tried to follow him during his sleepwalking or are we the firsts ?
Said Hedra touching his holy symbol
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We'll keep him safe, no worries captain.
Other than cliffs and bogs and such, has he encountered anything particularly dangerous on his rambles? Perhaps whatever's causing his somnambulism is trying to lead him into a stewpot? Or maybe it's a novel kidnapping method - are any of his friends the sort who could afford to pay a ransom?
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"The foxy lady said you have a tail. The Great Swarmholio wants some tail! Or some cookies! Or brownies?" He starts with a loud, strong declaration of his might, but as he keeps talking, and the venture captain gives him THAT look, he gets more and more meek, until finishing with a pitiful near-squeak, "Cake?"
Sheila thinks over the questions. "I believe Kalkamedes has a map of the surrounding area, but it is very crude. This wilderness is not well-known."
"He hasn't attacked anyone so far-he can be easily restrained, at least for someone with the muscle to do so. Leaving him tied up and searching to the north is a good thought-I had the same one myself, originally. We've already tried that, though. Although we know he marches north, we haven't been able to find anything that sheds any light on the situation. For this to work, we'll need Kalkamedes to be our guide and show us exactly where he's trying to go. That's why you have to get the job done before dawn. Once he wakes up, he remembers nothing and becomes downright useless as a guide."
At the question of equipment, Sheila responds, “I have little that would be any use, but I believe Kalkamedes would forgive your making use of anything in his cabin.”
Searching Kalkamedes’s cabin uncovers several items of note. The wardrobe in Kalkamedes’s bedchamber contains his outdoor clothing (an explorer’s outfit) and a pair of strong boots. A drawer in the end table next to Kalkamedes’s bed contains a series of unfinished charts mapping the Fenwall Mountains. Curiously, the stove contains the remains of a crumpled and burned charcoal sketch.
Everyone but Jake and Hedra easily notices a level on the back of the stove that releases the catch to a hidden compartment concealed in the floor under a stack of water barrels.Within is a locked metal chest.
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Ran will take out her masterwork thieves tools and start working on the lock.
"Ran believes it may be wise to formulate a plan before cutting Kalkamedes loose. Ran doesn't think it would be wise to follow him with a flat sword to his head; he is already unconscious. Sleep and blind spells are also useless for the same reason. Ran states plainly as she is working on this annoying lock."
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Looks like some manner of evil temple to me Tevaga. Perhaps he found something in the Fenwalls that he shouldn't have.
On a more practical note, it's unfortunate that he's not dressed. That nightgown's not very good for traipsing around in. We should at least try to get his boots on him before letting him loose. Might be worth tying a rope around his chest or waist as a sort of makeshift leash in case he tries to walk off a cliff or something.
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"It may also be wise to have a scout in front of the party and to look out for problems. Ran volunteers for this position. It probably won't work all the time though. If there is nothing directly north of his path, the simplest explanation makes it likely Kalkamedes likely turns east or west somewhere along the way. If this happens, you'll have to restrain him quickly and signal Ran so Ran can get back into position in front of everyone else. Ran queries if either of our spellcasters has the message spell prepared."
"Ran agrees with Elen on the rope idea. Jake, you look like you are the strongest between us. Ran asks if you could please tie the other end of the rope to your waist."
Sheila does not recognize the picture.
In the box Ran finds some of Kalkamedes’s adventuring gear: bracers of armor +1, a mud-splattered cloak of resistance +1, an elixir of swimming, a dried gourd containing a potion of cure light wounds; and an irregularly-shaped mithral flask with jigsaw-like edges containing a potion of hide from undead. The razor-sharp flask doubles as a caltrop or an improvised dagger. There is also a mithral longsword with a crack down the middle (broken condition).
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"Those are good ideas. It doesn't sound like he'd turn off the route, though, if he doesn't walk around bogs or cliffs. If he's easy to manage, we might just be able to pick him up and take him around an obstacle, then set him down and let him resume."
She pauses, deep in thought, her brow furrows. "If he is compelled to walk directly north to reach something that calls to him, what if we moved him 10 miles east of here before he began his march? Would he still march directly north, or would he walk a little more to the northwest to reach his destination? Maybe not just 10 miles, but 20 or 30 or whatever. We draw a line from here directly north, and then draw a line from the new starting point going the direction he takes from there, and then where the two lines meet, that's the source that's calling him. Whatever it is, I think it'd be easier to kill it or investigate it or whatever if we didn't have to also babysit its prey."
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"We have no guarantee that he will continue walking north nonstop all the time. The fastest path to where he wants to go may not be the most direct, or he may be going to a location he only knows one specific path to. Bringing him 20 or 30 miles in a random direction might make him sleepwalk to his cavern first before taking off north. We only know that our Venture captain already searched north of this place and found nothing, Ran says disagreeing with Tevaga."
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While the others are discussing the finer details of how to best follow a sleepwalker, the gnome looks bored and starts gong through the kitchen space looking for something to eat. He finds a bit of cheese and sausage, giggles, and starts eating. As the others begin actually searching the room, he starts paying with the switch on the stove, releasing and closing the latch on the compartment hiding the box until someone gets him to stop long enough to retrieve the box.
Picking up the charcoal sketch he starts snickering. "Hey. Is this your home, foxy lady? It has fox ears! I think it is sticking it's tongue out at The Great Swarmholio! The building needs to burn! Burn! Fire!"
Sheila has been briefed well enough to simply say "Agent Swarmholio! NO FIRE!"
The gnome's lower lip trembles slightly as he looks at her. "But it makes fun of The Great Swarmholio!"
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Ran will take the found items, except the longsword which she hands over to Hedra. We'll equip Kalkamedes with the Bracers +1. I'll go ahead and wear the cloak.
We'll tie a rope around Kalkamedes, securing the other end to Jake, with about 20' of slack between them. Once that is done, we can cut Kalkamedes loose from his bed.
Ran will scout about 90' in front of the party, looking for problems. Ran will take 10 on perception checks. If Kalkamedes is moving 30' or less/round, I'll attempt to move stealthy as well.
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I will stay not far from him if any arm happen to him.
I will keep his longsword with me in case he wakes up and needs it even if it's broken.
Before leaving Kelkamades' house and said good by to Venture Captain Sheila Heidmarch she said
I want to add that unfortunately I can't channel. Aroden is not yet as powerful as he was and can't grant me this power. So I rely only on my spells and His blessing to cure you from your injuries.
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"Well, a simple test would be to leave the door closed when we release him, and see if he's aware enough to open it. Not sure why he'd be smart enough to open a door, but stupid enough to walk off a cliff, though."
"Anyway, I'll walk with Kalkamedes. Got no interest in traipsing off ahead and getting lost in the woods."
With a plan in mind, the party releases Kalkamedes, tied to Jake's waist.
Kalkamedes calmly rises from bed, eyes closed, and walks towards the door, opens it, and begins to walk through the night.
Kalkamedes walks for about half an hour with no incident greater than stumbling a bit on a rock.
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"So, follow a sleeping man? Do you have any idea how BOOOORING this is going to be?"
The Great Swarmholio spends quite a bit of energy complaining and whining as the group follows the sleepwalker. As soon as Hedra asks for someone to stop him, though, the gnome dashes forward and tries to trip him!
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"Be careful, pest! If he hurts his foot tripping over a rock, what do you think tripping over you would do!"
"Alright... let's see how this works."
1) Tevaga takes him by the arm and gently guides him to sit on a rock or fallen log.
2) Tevaga picks him off the ground and sets him down on a rock or fallen log, holding him down if necessary, as long as he doesn't struggle too violently.
3) Tevaga picks him up and throws him over her shoulder. Hedra can treat his ankle while Tevaga holds him, as long as he's not thrashing about.
Tevaga needs to fully restrain and hold down Kalkamedes before he is still enough for Hedra to work a splint around him.