Venture-Captain Hestia Themis, a small, dark-haired, and dark-eyed Taldan woman, sits behind her enormous blackwood desk in the Pathfinder lodge in Cassomir and clears her throat. “My friend, the Countess Arieta Patrizia, is dead. She escaped her capture by the fiends who operate beneath Cassomir only to succumb to disease and wounds incured in Cassomir’s disgusting sewers. Ordinarily, this would be a matter for the Taldan authorities, but Arieta came to me directly after escaping and recounted a story that leads me to the natural conclusion that only the Pathfinder Society can resolve this issue.”
Venture-Captain Themis rises and paces back and forth behind her desk. “Arieta told me of an artifact she saw while in captivity below Cassomir. This artifact, called the jet rat, is known to us, but we must confirm that what she saw is indeed true. She claims to have seen it transform normal rats into something bigger, more vile and mean. If that’s true, the artifact she saw down there is old, evil, and should be stored safely in the vaults beneath the Grand Lodge in Absalom where we can study, catalog, and examine it. Worse, she claims to have seen this object in the hands of the derros, vile Darklands creatures that we have long suspected are responsible for the Cassomir kidnappings. I have a map here that shows the location of the sewer grate Arieta was dropped through when she was kidnapped. She could not, due to her illness, recall much about how she got to the location where they kept her in captivity, but she knows where they dropped her into the sewers and you’ll find that location on this map.”
Venture-Captain Themis stops pacing and eyes you across her desk. “Bring me back this artifact—if you happen to free a few captured Taldans along the way, that’s good news, but the artifact is your mission. Any questions?”
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Sheela makes a mental note to dress down a bit for the sewer trek. "I am sorry to hear for your friend's loss. I'll make sure her loss wasn't in vain."
Taldan has fun, exciting parties. But beneath the glamour hides debauchery. And not the fun kind, either. The kind that would value an artifact over rescuing captive slaves.
"They killed a good friend of mine, as well- we had almost rescued some captives when a cleric and her undead monstrosity attacked us. I had hoped we cleared out whatever they were doing, but we did hear rumors..."
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"Sewer rats. Filthy creatures. I have some preparations to make. I advise you visit an apothecary as well." Khismia leaves for the apothecary's for some much needed antiplague.
"These apothecaries are useless. He said he didn't have any Antiplague- all sold out for the next few weeks. And to think our last few dates were going so well, too- well forget him."
Sheela takes out a thick book and crosses a name off.
"Luckily my other apothecary friend was well stocked. She's much higher up on my list now!"
Agent of the Empire,
When will the empire be rid of the Teppish family? Strike down one of them, and another sprouts like a weed. Pluck that weed, and another materializes from thin air. I have reason to believe that Grench Teppish, the twin brother of Dalirio Teppish, is behind the Countess’s kidnapping. If you find him, ensure he dies and bring me his head. Though it will be a small consolation for the Patrizia family, mounting his head on the gates of their family estate should hopefully keep the Teppish clan quiet for a while. Lastly, while below, should you find any source of poison—natural or otherwise—recover it in perfect condition and return it to me. My supplies seem to be running low and poison is so dreadfully expensive here in Taldor. Be a dear and get me some more.
In the Emperor’s Name,
Baron Jacquo Dalsine
Servant of the Satrap,
An agent of mine, Wafid Sadaqat, is missing in Cassomir. He was captured a year ago on board the Prancing Prince, a slave galleon the Taldans commandeered. He was imprisoned in the vile Swift Prison in Old Cassomir and recently disappeared from his bunk. We do not believe he escaped. Rumors have reached my ears that unscrupulous guards may have sold him to derro slavers beneath Cassomir. If you find him down there, return him to me—quietly. Additionally, we are concerned about the proliferation of supplies throughout the Darklands beneath Cassomir that seem to originate from an Andoren smuggling operations. These uncreative louts mark their boxes with a giant red X—count the number of boxes thusly marked as you wander beneath Cassomir so that I may compare that number to these recently acquired shipping manifests from the Taldan Imperial Navy. If they match, we have a weapon to use against those Andoren dogs.
May your coffers run deep,
Pasha Muhlia Al-Jakari
Fellow Free Citizen,
These further rumors of the derro involvement in Cassomir are troubling. Though we care not that Taldor citizens are possibly being hurt, we’d be remiss in our service to freedom to allow slavery of any kind go unpunished. If you find a derro beneath Cassomir, see to it that he is destroyed and then bring some proof of his existence back to me—his entire body if necessary. Taldor can no longer ignore the problem beneath its second largest city. In my studies of the derros, I’ve read that they often drive their slaves before them as guards and soldiers—should you find some poor Darklands denizen in slavish servitude to the derros, give him the option of freedom before you strike him down. Even evil creatures do not deserve the shackles of tyranny.
Sincerely,
Captain Colson Maldris
Her Majestrix’s Most Loyal Servant,
I must admit a small amount of embarrassment—I’ve lost a necklace, a very important necklace of ivory and gold that I believe made its way into the hands of Andoran smugglers who we think are supplying the kidnappers beneath Cassomir. I’ve had a diviner look into its whereabouts—when you’re in a strange city below the city, you should search through some of the supplies there to see if you can find it. I can’t have certain transgressions be known. Your discretion will be rewarded by pleasure. And since you’re going to be below Cassomir, I’ve heard these derros sometimes use magic traps—should you find one, carefully document and diagram how it works and send that information to me.
Paracountess Zarta Dralneen
Fellow
Honored Subject of the Ruby Prince,
This tale of a shiny black artifact that turns normal rats into large, violent rats sounds disturbingly like an old artifact of Osirion, lost a thousand years ago. Known as the jet rat, this artifact enabled some depraved individuals to create armies of vermin. Should this be the very same artifact, be sure it’s returned to the safe-keeping of the Pathfinder Society Grand Lodge in Absalom. This item is very dangerous and shouldn’t be floating about in the general marketplace. If you happen to find a rat that has been altered by the artifact, take a sample from its body—but do so carefully. Remove the patch of skin and fur on the back of the neck. These must be taken together. Return a sample to me so that we may further understand how this artifact works.
In service to our Ruby Prince,
Amenopheus, The Sapphire Sage
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While they are discussing, a 3ft. tall halfling with a one-eye eyeglass, brown hair with some dreadlocks and wearing a corsair-like clothes enters the room.
"Good evening, everybody", his words have an intonation as if he was part of the armed forces from somewhere. "I'm Bernard Nimblefeet, in the service of Pathfinder Society. I crossed with an ulfen when I was coming to town, and he told me something about a ship, slaves, a dead agent, so I decided to come here and offer my aid. I heard what you said", he points to Hestia Themis, "count with me to solve this".
The halfling turns to the other pathfinders, "and you are...?
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"Hello Bernard. My name is Sheela Kolphan. You've heard of the Kolphan family, yes?""Well, your aid is appreciated. We have some kidnapped victims to rescue.""It will be a pleasure help you, pretty lady", he kisses her hand.
"Heehee! You know how to treat a lady. We'll get along well together." She gives the halfling a wink.
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"Well, I'm prepared. Let's head to the sewers, then."
"I can't believe I just said that."
At the sewer entrance, Sheela takes a swig of one of her Antiplague vials. She almost gags as her hair sprawls in various directions. "Oh, that is repulsive. Reminds of my young days when I drank too much at parties. I paid for it the next morning, yuck."
You open the sewer grate, and it is very dark below.
Murky puddles dot the tile floor below, which gently slopes toward the room’s center where some of the puddles are very slowly draining into a large, 10-foot-by-10-foot drain. Thick, sticky webs cover most of the corners of the room, and several large vermin appear to be caught in the webs. The sound of running water can be heard to the north.
The giant spider is 20 feet off the ground in the northwest corner of the room. She’s hiding when the PCs enter the room (DC 21 Perception check to spot). She only attacks once all of the PCs are down in the pit. She will be taking a surprise action, but we'll wait until everyone is on the map to resolve it.
From the upper-left corner of the room, a giant spider scurries down and shoots webbing at Khismia.
Khismia is entangled, and can escape with a DC 12 Escape Artist, DC 12 Str Check, or attempt to cut through it.
Masa acta quickly, to load and fire a sling at it, but unfortunately it gets blocked by all of the webbing. The spider then scurries down and attacks Sheela.
The spider is now on the ground next to Sheela.
The spider's legs slip out from under it, causing it to fall prone. Nik and Sheela both land solid hits, as well.
And that is enough to end the threat. The spider is dead, and with some work, you are able to free Khismia.
You search the room, and find the remains of a derro. Still in his equipment, contained in a sack of webbing, you are eventually able to cut him loose. He still carries the following gear: 2 potions of cure moderate wounds, leather armor, short sword, and a repeating light crossbow with bolts.
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Sheela winces from the bite and frowns when she sees the shattered crossbow bolt.
"You would actually benefit from a web motif, Khismia. I know this one seamstress who can weave this beautiful web shawl for you. Ignore the rumors she's aligned from the drow, though. She swears it's just a skin disorder."
The current Cassomir Sewers are large, vaulted affairs with tile ceilings, brick walls, stone walkways, and make-shift wooden bridges.
The sewers are completely unlit, except for your own light sources.
The sewer grates at the end of each “dead end” lead to smaller and smaller pipes that eventually connect to the storm drains throughout Cassomir.
The sewer waterway itself is a combination of rain water, tidal salt water from the harbor, human and animal waste, and the city’s other refuse. The water is 10 feet deep and moves rapidly, advancing anyone who falls into it 5 feet per round toward the east and south. The water in most places is 5 feet below the level of the adjacent walkways.
At nearly every sewer junction, the gaps between the waterways are bridged by makeshift wooden structures, nothing more than a few thick beams tossed across the sewage. Anyone moving normal speed can cross these bridges without any trouble.