Gimble's Emerald Spire (Table 1) (Inactive)

Game Master Eric Sklavos

The journey from Absolom was a long one and you breath a sigh of relief at the sight of the stone walls and battlements on the shore of the Sellen River, your destination. As you approach the large timber door clad in iron plates, your feeling of relief wanes a bit at the sight of the Hellknights guarding the entrance. Your are stopped at the entrance, but a quick flash of the letter you received 2 weeks ago provides you hassle free access to the fort; as well as a curt, “Welcome to Fort Inevitable.”

More introduction to come, but go ahead and introduce yourselves.

It had been a long journey and thebig burly nagaji was really happy to see their destination ahead. The dusty, muddy street had been unkind to his heavy boots, and he was afraid they needed a cobbler to fix them.
The young fighter was impressed by the disciplin of the hellknights.
"I can´t wait to find a decent inn with a warm bed and some food!"

Antikas walked through the doors of Fort Inevitable, he eyed the Hellknights through the top of his eyes. Clearly he wasn't a fan of the order. But he wasn't here to start trouble with them.

Antikas's long blonde-white hair hanging mostly loose save for some tied into a high pony tail in the back of his head. He looked like most elves. Stern, focused on the task at hand. Unimpressed by most of the humanoid races.
He wore soft brown leathers, a short coat over a white and blue cloth shirt with fine woolen breeches and sturdy travelling boots. The leathers his only obvious protection. At his side a fine looking elvish long sword, on the other side some pouches filled with some coin and spell components. Across his chest a strap holding his quiver of arrows and dark wooden shortbow with a leafy motif. and slung over his shoulder was his travelling backpack of masterwork quality with loops and belts and pockets for all of his essential travelling gear.

As he crossed the threshold of the big doors the guards watch him and he stops and half turns and he whistles the guards turn and see Antikas's companion who is never far from him - Shard.

The 'animal' known as Shard comes loping up to Antikas, growling a little at the Hellknight guards as he passes.

Shard looks like a combination of wolf and mountain lion. His thickly furred body moved with predatory purpose. His forelegs and shoulders were large and muscled under the shaggy fur. While coveres in the long fur of a wolf, the front paws were wide and clawed like a tiger or lion, the hindquarters were those of a strong lean wolf. Shard's head looked like that of a wolf too with large canine teeth, his neck and back and chest covered in a thick mane of fur. His bright green eyes thoughtful but filled with a warning, except when he looked at Antikas which softened the beasts look.
His mane, chest and underbelly was white and the rest of his fur shades of am almost golden brown.
Shard's shoulders came in at a little over waist height and as he continued on to Antikas' call Shard had a bushy tail that swayed slowly back and forth as he walked.
Shard was also covered in some leather barding armour matching Antikas' own.

The inspiration behind Shard's look: Shard

The two continued in walking together as Antikas replied to Trutzburg "Agreed Trutzburg. Neither I nor Shard slept well on that barge. We get seasick much too easily. But we are here now thank Gozreh."

A woman follows behind the bounding beast. She wears simple clothing with a thick hide breastplate, she has multiple pouches on belts around her waist, a backpack hangs from her shoulders, and a bandoleer crosses her chest. She carries a sling on her hip, next to a morningstar. Two flasks sit tightly packed in the bandolier, and a dagger's hilt can be seen as well.

Beyond her normal outfit and equipment two things stand out, firstly she carries a holy symbol of a figure that is wreathed in colourful sashes, and she wears a sash herself. Her sash is a slightly dirty white now, after the time traveling. A closer inspection reveals that there are very fine patterns woven into the sash with purple thread. Her hair is tied up with a purple ribbon as well.

Looking beyond the items the woman wears reveals a rather catching image.
The woman has light copper skin and hair that seems to flow even though it is tied up, with waves of scarlett passing over a burnt umber.
Her temples sport a pair of horns which her hair tucks behind.
Her skin is marked scarlet as well, in patterns resembling spirals of flame.
While her eyes are kind, they are unusual, and certainly not human, shining scarlet as well.

At this point people normally notice that she limps quite visibly.

As she catches up to the others she says "It wasn't that bad, really, the water hardly rocked at all! And you made it so much easier to fish being sick overboard all the time like that." with a laugh and a smile at Antikas

Antikas stops in his tracks as Sana walks passed. His face impassive but his cheeks visibly turning a shade of red from embarrassment. His problems on the boat very unbecoming of the ever stoic elf.

He relaxes a bit when he feels fur on his palm as Shard nuzzles him, distracting him from his embarrassment.

"She jests, friend Antikas." Shard says with a comforting chuckle to which Antikas seems to relax, but only slightly.

An assuring green hand is placed on the elf shoulder. This hand belongs to a hatted green man the size of an average build human in height and weight, resembling the orcs from the Hold of Belkzen except there are no lines on his face and the ferocity presented in his eyes and fangs is absent, giving way to his more humane and down to earth expression. His blue travelling garbs also plays a part in differentiating him from his more aggressive brethren and reflects his overall mood.

"You will get used to the taste of the sea after a few trips there and back, my friend. Once we find a tavern, how about a couple of drinks to get your mind off the sea? It will be my treat."

Hadgar greets the hellknights with the lift of his hat as he passes with the others through 'Fort Inevitable' to find a place to settle down for the night.

Antikas nods. "What're the chances they stock Feywine."

Antikas found this particular half-orc... well, particular. But still, Antikas never felt at ease around the humanoid races in general, so he treated half orc's the same way he does with all the others and kept them at a distance. But it didn't mean that he had to be rude when someone extended a friendly gesture.

"Does that offer extend to meee?" Sana asks putting on her best pouty face. The effect is ruined though when she can't stop herself from laughing.
Once out of earshot of any nearby residents, and especially guards she thinks I can't stand this place. Doesn't this feel stifling? It feels like I have a dress with too tight a collar. fidgeting with her neckline, loosening her already loose hanging shawl as well

"Only if you are a good girl."

Hadgar gives Sana a teasing smile and chuckles at her silliness.

"I am always good!" Sana replies with a grin plastered across her face, "I wonder if they will let Shard have a drink too?" She pauses for a moment tilting her head in thought. "Does Shard even drink, Antikas?"

Trutzburg gives a high pitched laughter."And we shall believe that?"

Antikas looks at Shard and raises his eyebrow.

Shard answers "Don't need to, but I like eating AND drinking yes." he says nodding, his fur waving despite there being no breeze.

"Oh I am sorry Shard! I forget that I can just talk to you... I am not used to speaking animals." she says with an apologetic smile. "Why wouldn't you believe me? I even offered to let you fly my kite." she continues, feigning sadness, which again doesn't last long until her smile takes residence again.

The other elf in the group followed quietly behind. He had kept mostly to himself on the trip. He was cordial and responded when spoken too, although his responses were often short and to the point. While he didn't always participate in conversations among the group, he always seemed to be listening as if gathering information. As they approached the gate, his face strained a bit from the weight of his pack as if he wasn’t used to carrying so much. Glancing over at the ‘pet’ and then its owner, he wondered if it could be used as a pack animal. Nodding to the guard, he reminded himself he needed to stay out of trouble. ”This is your first assignment. Don’t make a name for yourself in ‘that’ way.”

Know (local): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

”A nice meal and warm bed to sleep in tonight does sound good. I think I know of a place that will provide us both." he says as he gets his bearings and points what direction to head.

Continuing on . . .

“Just inside the gate of Fort Inevitable is a bustling market filled with merchants, farmers, and townsfolk, as well as Hellknights patrolling the streets. As you walk a few paces in you glance at the letter you received in Absolom. It simply states,

Just as you go to ask someone where to find The Red Shield Tavern, you notice a wooden sign with a simple red shield painted on it. Inside, the Red Shield is actually quite busy. There are at least a dozen off-duty Hellknights, enjoying drafts of bitter and stout. You get a few sideways glances as you are clearly out of place in this establishment, but as you scan the room a massive half-orc, seemingly just as out of place, stands up and waves you over.

The half-orc at 6’7” tall has quite an intimidating presence, but his demeanor is jovial and inviting. In his presence you actually feel less self-conscious and not as out of place as you initially felt. He wears a wide brimmed hat, mithril breastplate, a greatsword strapped to his back, and as you get closer you notice burn marks on the left side of his face. ”Welcome fellow Pathfinders! I am Gorak Behn. I trust you had a pleasant journey. It is a nice walk from Absolom, isn’t it? You must be hungry.” With that he motions to the barmaid who seemed to be waiting for his queue and she walks over with a large plate of food and a draft of ale for everyone. Gorak winks at her, hands her a gold piece, and continues, ”You're probably wondering what you all are doing here. Well, the last time I was in the River Kingdoms . . .” His voice trails off a bit with a twinge of anger and he absent-mindedly clinches his fists for a moment before returning to his normal jovial self. ”The last time I was here, I made some friends with the Black Marquis. You can say he returned a favor and gave me some information that could prove valuable to the society. There are some Azlanti ruins nearby that the locals rarely talk about. We don’t know much of anything about it. Normally exploring these ruins, or adventuring of any kind, is not permitted in and around the fort, but I’ve used my influence and charming personality to obtain a letter of warrant permitting us to explore the ruins. While I do some more research around the area, I want you to explore the ruins and periodically report your findings to me.” Gorak pulls out a piece of parchment and lays it on the table. ”Here’s a map to the ruins. You set out tomorrow. Any questions?”

"Thank you!" Sana says, eyes wide as she looks at something that isn't trail rations. She takes a hearty swig of her ale, giving herself a slight foam mustache which she does't notice.
"Oooh..." Sana explaims looking over the map "Do we really not know anything about this place besides where it is?"

Local: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
History: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Antikas and Shard look at each other and then reaches over and accepts the warrant. "Sounds straight forward Venture Captain Behn."

Antikas folds it and puts it in his pocket. Then looks around the bar. "I don't much like Hellknights, but they have this area pretty locked down and controlled."

Shard too, scans the bar but remains silent.

Trutzburg ponders for a moment before answering.
"Any known dangers in the area? Any tribes of orcs or anything like that?"

"You mean besides the obvious?" Sana replies under her breath, looking askance at the crowd of the bar

"It is always a welcoming sight to see another one of my kind. Well met, Venture Captain Behn. You certainly know how to make a person feel at home."

Hadgar raises his mug for a toast before taking a swig and push a piece of the meat into his mouth as he listens in to the bit where Antikas expresses his discomfort on Hellknights to looking at Sana to downwards at his ale as if in contemplation.

Now I know why those two are almost fishes out of the water. The hellknights swarms everywhere with an eagle's vigil. I hope we are not in their main nest.

The kineticist looks up.

"Are there any other locations we can meet you to report in other than here?"

Qildar shrugs his shoulders when someone brings up the letter mentioning The Red Shield Tavern and starts towards the sign. He pauses inside the doorway, scanning the room, and suddenly feeling very nervous. "Not what I had in mind but it seems our contact is here," he says pointing at the large half-orc. He moves over to greet the man, shaking his hand before taking a seat. He nods at the suggestion of food and eagerly digs into the first real meal he has had in quite some time.

"You may not agree with them, but they maintain order well, here in town and along the nearby roads. It will be one less thing we have to worry about, hopefully," he says in response to the comments about the Hellknights.

"Are we just scouting the place out or are we to, ah, remove any obstacles that keep us from fully exploring it? And what about anything we find there, does the warrant stipulate what happens to anything we recover?" he says in a quieter voice to limit nearby tables from hearing him.

Gorak takes a drink from his mug, "It's true, not much is known about the spire. The locals keep their distance as it's rumored to have dangerous inhabitants."

Looking over at the Nagaji, "The Hellknight patrols keep bandits and vermin at a minimum, but there have been occasional rumors of portals randomly openning up around the spire bringing creatures of various origins to the surface. These rumors are few and far between, and some think they are little more than bedtime stories to keep the locals from going near the spire."

@Hadgar: "Well met indeed. We don't have to meet back here, if this place makes you uncomfortable, but it's probably the safest place in the River Kingdoms. We can arange somewhere else to meet in the future if you'd like."

@Qildar: "Ahh yes, the terms of the letter of warrent. The hellknights get 20 percent of all findings of monetary value. However, there are no terms or limitations for 'removing any obsticles' from the spire."

With a smile on his face, the venture captain takes another drink, and looks upon the new recruits as if remembering when he was this green. "Any more questions?"

Well this sounds like it's going to be a treat. Sana thinks , Not only do we need their permission to go where we want and do what we want, but then we have to pay for the privilege!

"So the task is to explore and recover anything of value for the Society, and make sure we get to keep the nice stuff instead of the knights?" Sana says taking a drink, "Because all things are of monetary value to someone... How do you give someone 20% of an ancient relic anyway?"

Trutzburg listens intently."Well one share out of five is steep. But a save haven is invalueable. Let us drink heartily and gather some sleep."

Antikas decided to answer that one. "I'm guessing the Pathfinder Society decided where the relic goes. Like the venture Captain said, the Knights get 20% of all monetary value. Nothing about relics correct?"

"It's just the cost of doing business with the Hellknights, and everything has value."

The tax is just thrown in for flavor to give an idea how things work at and around Fort Inevitable and has no real impact as you get chronicles at the end of each level of the spire.

"Well let us sleep and ove early onward tomorrow morning."

Qildar nods as he contemplates the tax. "Given that normally we wouldn't be able to explore it at all, 20% seems reasonable. Besides, there should be plenty there since few if any have been there before." Qildar finishes his meal and drink then thanks Gorak and asks about lodging for the night.

Sana is unusually quiet for the rest of the night, focusing on her food and drink, watching the other patrons in the bar out the corner of her eyes.

The half-orc mulls over the terms as he empties 3/4 of his tankard and finishes his plate. He slams his mug and releases a breath he holds.

"Hoo! 20% tax! In return, unlimited access to a historical location normally inaccessible to anyone. The clear cut is not that bad actually. In their eyes, we are doing something "legit" since they sanctioned us so they will largely leave us alone. I'd say it's a worthy price to pay. Anyways, I'm going to linger a bit for a few more rounds of ale before I turn in for the night. Anyone care to join me?"

He will have a few more drinks and treats those who join him before he hit the sack.

"I guess that offer was open then." Sana laughs, joining her companion for a drink, becoming slightly more jovial after her ale on the venture captain. "Have any of you lot ever been dungeon delving before? This is my first time..."

Antikas and Shard finish their drinks, wine and water respectively and their meals before nodding and standing up to excuse themselves.

"Would love to but want to be well rested for tomorrows travels. Thank you for the meal and company all. We did you good eve." Antikas says with a slight nod.

"Evening everyone." Shard says before turning to leave with Antikas. His tail slapping a nearby mug which almost tips over but thankfully does not spill.

You have until the first initiative roll to finish up any last minute changes to your characters. Here we go!

You get some well deserved rest at the inn and meet up in the common room for a nice hot meal before heading out. With the Venture Captain's map in hand, you make your way to the Northeast into the Echo Wood. The six mile trek is uneventful, save for some brush that needed hacking out of your way, but after a couple hours of walking you find yourself in a clearing.

As you emerge from the Echo Wood underbrush, you find yourselves staring up at a ruined keep guarding a broken central tower, all made of smooth, green glass. It’s obvious that a grand battle took place here many years ago, and the clearing around the ruin lies barren, with sickly weeds struggling to rise from the magic-blasted earth. Melted chunks of twisted glass pepper the ground, lending a green hue to the clearing’s light. Despite the damage, however, the glass of the keep itself seems to have avoided the ravages of time, with those pieces that survived the initial cataclysm unmarred by pitting or cracking, clean of moss and other clinging debris. At the top of a steep dirt path winding up through the rubble, a doorway opens onto darkness, its entrance seeming to steal light into its inky depths.

The stone staircase that led up to the tower’s door is now nothing more than a rubble-strewn cliff. On the tower’s south side, a dirt path winds up the steep embankment to a pitch-black doorway.

The map is HERE.

I placed you on the map in a marching order. Feel free to change it as you wish. I also placed the link to the map in the header.

Shouldn´t the rogue lead? To detect traps?

Shouldn´t the rogue lead? To detect traps?

Apparantly I forgot to give edit permissions.

Here's the link to the map with Edit Permissions.

If you'd like to rearrange your marching order, feel free.

Shard and I are cool with out positions.

Antikas looks around and walks up to a piece of smelted green glass and touches it gingerly, a little in awe.

"Look at this place. The battle of magics that must have happened here..." he leaves the sentence hanging in the air.

Shard lopes around and while Antikas muses, Shard keeps an eye on the perimeter for any threats.

"Don't tally friend Antikas. Threats lurk everywhere and we must be mindful."

Antikas holds his bow tightly and nods in agreement and the two walk towards the staircase with the rest of the group.

Antikas motions with his hand to Trutzberg and Qildar. "After you. Since we are not adept at trapfinding and Trutzberg looks significantly intimidating enough to scare off any minor threats."

I'm fine w point. I can't seem to move my token on my phone though.

"Hmm, interesting choice of building material. Magical I assume," Qildar says looking to the others for confirmation. Holding his longspear, he moves up the path carefully, inspecting his surroundings. He stops near the doorway, trying to see inside.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

As you make your way up the footpath to the jagged hole in the side of the green glass tower, the light outside the tower does not penetrate into the building more than a few feet. Beyond that, it’s pitch black.

Peering into the blackness, you here a bit of unintelligable shouting, and an arrow flies out of the dark toward Hadgar sinking into his shoulder.

@Hadgar: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 5 + 2 = 21
Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

No, darkvision doesn't help you see into the spire.

Bold can go: post in any order, I'll resolve actions in Initiative order.

Initiative:
Round 1
Trutzburg
Antikas
GM Pet(s)
Far
Kildar
Sana
Hadgar(-5 Hp)
Shard
End of Round

Moving forward and around the corner Trutzburg moves forward shield at the ready!

Hearing the arrow whiz by, Antikas almost reflexively takes a a couple steps forward and touches Shard and a glowing green sheen falls upon the Eidolon granting him protection.

Trutzburg moves to the edge of the doorway, at that range he can see the light quickly fade 5 feet in (as what's visible on the map) as if something was absorbing the light quickly. The area right in front of you has glass rubble (the green stuff in the square in front of him); the other square has less rubble.

Trutzburg is in between squares, so I'm not sure if he's fully in the doorway yet, so I'm assuming he hasn't gone in yet.

Clarification: The doorway is a 10 foot openning, the lighter colored green on the ground is glass debris and is considered difficult terrain.

Initiative:
Round 1
Trutzburg (Moved 15' so far, finish move action and standard action remaining.)
Antikas (Cast Mage Armor on Shard.)
GM Pet(s)
Far
Kildar
Sana
Hadgar(-5 Hp)
Shard
End of Round

I would move deeper in, but the field is obscured by a square. ;-) Are enemys in the room?

As Trutzburg moves through the threshold, you see his image dim as if cast in shadow and darkness beyond, even as the bright light shines throught the openning.

Trutzburg has a standard action left.

"Can you see anything? I thought I heard goblins as I came up the path," Qildar says as he prepares to follow inside.

Trutzburg continues through the portal into the darkness. As he moves in, a growl and the snapping of teeth nips at him, but misses.

Bite: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

You hear movement away from the door and an arrow flying into a stone wall.

@Trutzburg: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Initiative:
Round 1
Trutzburg
Antikas
GM Pet(s)
Far
Kildar
Sana
Hadgar(-5 Hp)
Shard
End of Round

The Party is up. I removed the square for the sake of convenience.
You still can't see more than 5' in the door.

Antikas moves up and casts light on an arrowhead and fires into the darkness to hopefully give Trudsburg some kind of aid.

Not sure if I need to point out where I shoot or make an attack roll so will put that behind a spoiler. I want to shoot at any of the squares north of Trudsburg. Also not sure if I can cast light and shoot the arrow. If not then I'll just move up and cast it and shoot on my next turn and you can use the roll behind the spoiler.

The half-orc grunts as the arrow lodges into his shoulder. The pain almost makes him drop the sack that he is carrying.

"Archer!"

He inches closer to the tower, eyes narrowing. Total Defense. Current AC is 20 (16 Base + 4 Dodge AC)

"The darkness completely obscured my vision. It must be supernatural. Someone get rid of this darkness so that we know who we are dealing with and repay the archer who kindly gifted me with this arrow."

Even if lowlight vision?

@Antikas: It is two standard actions. One to cast and one to loose the arrow.

@Trutzburg: Yes, even with lowlight vision.

Qildar drops his pack and quickly looks around for options. He swings his longspear towards Sana. "Can you cast light on this?" he asks. With his spear topped with a glowing ball, he moves forward to the entrance and sticks his longspear into the doorway, hoping to light the area for Trutzburg.

I will delay for Sana to cast light on my longspear. If needed, I think she can move up to my current position (I'm not moving my token yet) to cast the spell. From here, I will move 20' onto the difficult terrain section of the doorway to make sure I get the light inside the room.