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Each of you are summoned by your respective Venture Captains on a highly secretive mission. Apparently the Church of Pharasma in the city of Kaer Maga has run into an interesting dilemma and is willing to turn to the Pathfinder Society, a group that carries no influence and is certainly not welcome there, in order to bring it to a quiet resolution. Always willing to gather favors from a prominent faction in Kaer Maga you were all immediately dispatched to book passage, after being stressed not to reveal your affiliations to any of the various factions that control the wild city.
After booking passage from the City of Absalom to the city of Kaer Maga, which is built high atop the Storval Rise in the lands of Varisia, you all eventually arrive at the city and are invited to the Godsmouth Cathedral in Kaer Maga’s Bottoms district for a midnight meeting with your contact, a Pharasmin priest named Valanthe Nerissia.
"Greetings Pathfinders. I am quite thankful you heeded our request for assistance." She nods in greeting to each of you in return, expecting a reply.
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Mae spends her time on the caravan trip fairly quietly, most of her time is spent trying to keep Sunny from sampling the ropes, canvas, and supplies that ride along with the group. "No Sunny! How about this nice bunch of leaves I picked you! They're much better than the last bunch I swear." After a quick sample that seems to go well, Sunny the Slug digs in. Acidic slobber and rasping tongue making quick work of the banana leaves Mae managed to collect.
"Excellent! I was hoping she'd take to them. I'm gonna go grab some more quick before we pass all the trees by... here!" She tosses Sunny's halter rope to Lucinda the Halfling, before hopping off quickly and shimmying up the nearest banana tree.
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Dawn has a million jokes, some worse than others. If you ever get a chance to ask, she'll mention her Commune and maybe ramble on about the leader Foremother.
You'll also notice she tends to ramble on a bit sometimes, lost in her own thoughts.
"Boy, it's great to be here, Valanthe. I'm Dawn. I'll try not to embarrass you too much."
"But hey, if you wanted to meet me in the middle of the night at least buy me a dinner first!" She jokes.
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"Kayoor Maga?" A halfling says, scratching the mop of hair on his head. "What a weird name fer a place. Oh HEY!" Damien rides up to Dawn. He's mounted on a fluffy white wolf who wears a strange bag around her neck. For storage, perhaps. "Dawn! How the hell have ya been? Last time we met, we were fightin' against those damn Black Echelon guys! Damn the undead!" The halfling spits. "We sure showed them though, huh?"
He steers Ruby around Lady Mae and Sunny. "And yer a frog? And ya talk? Wow. Cool slug. But I'm surprised yer not eatin' her, ya know?" He laughs.
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Mae comes back with a giant stack of banana leaves and quickly hides them in the cart under a tarp, as Sunny is distracted chasing Lucinda around. "Ahh that's cute, I think she likes you!" I hope she doesn't try to eat her...
Mae turns her attention to the others "Hello. I am Mae. Have we not met? I feel almost like I know both of you. Maybe? No." She reaches out a small webbed hand to greet both Damien and Dawn. "My large sluggish friend is Sunny. She's a good girl, but please don't get between her and her food. Or her and myself. Or.. hold any ropes near her.. she really enjoys eating them for some reason."
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Mae blinks once, twice, then licks her eyeballs with her long and sticky tongue before blinking for a third time "Oh. I knew I recognized you! Sorry, sometimes hanging out with Sunny and all her buggie friends scrambles your brain." She twirls her boney little finger around her head slowly. "Insects speak and think differently. They have really bad memories. Sometimes it rubs off on me."
She glances over to see how Lucinda and Sunny are getting along. "Hrm, I think they're... bonding? Or is that how Halflings mate?" She scratches her chin smiling.
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About that time, said halfling comes racing up to Lady Mae and thrusts the slug's lead back into her hand. "Here," she huffs. "Take her! I'm a ghost wrangler, not a slug wrangler!"
The lady halfling wears a wide-brimmed hat and simple traveling clothes, as well as a small backpack. A few simple weapons can be seen dangling from her side and she carries a longspear, using it almost like a walking stick. On prominent display is a wooden symbol of a spiral, hanging from her neck. Bright green eyes peer out from underneath the hat, framed by short, reddish-brown hair.
"Where'd you even get a slug that big, anyway? They sure don't make them that big in any of the places I've ever been!"
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"Thank you. I think Sunny likes you." She points to a small, acid burn in the back of her cloak.
"Sunny isn't big at all. She's still just a kid... well, whatever a kid slug is called. She'll get a LOT bigger yet. I can't wait." She cracks a smile and pulls out another couple banana leaves.
"So what's that symbol? I don't recognize it from the usual ones I see here." She blinks twice as she feeds the leaves to Sunny.
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"How halflings mate, she says!" Damien erupts into laughter. "Yer a funny one, miss Mae. I think were gunna get along just fine." The halfling has no idea the question was serious.
Then, Lucina walks in, and Damien feels a sense of community. Or perhaps he just felt attracted. Two halflings in one place at one time. Coincidence? He didn't think so. "Oy, yer just like me! Well hello there," he says, extending a big wave and a bigger smile. "Damien's the name, and this here is my bestest of best friends, Ruby. Go on girl, give her a greet." Ruby points her snout up at Lucina's hand. "From Qadira. I think? Dunno anymore."
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"It's Pharasma's symbol," Lucina replies. She pauses a beat. "You know, the Lady of Graves? She shepherds souls to their final reward. But sometimes souls linger on and bodies get up and walk again and spirits rest uneasy. It's my job to send them on to Pharasma's Boneyard for judgement. I do some other work too, with skulls, but that's usually when I'm not on duty or on a mission."
She looks around with some surprise as she's hailed by another halfling, of all things. "Hello! Just like you? If that's the case then I've changed a lot since washing up this morning," Lucina chuckles. She offers her hand for a shake. "Lucina Haventhorne. It's nice to meet you Damien - and Ruby," Lucina smiles, giving Ruby a pat on the snoot. "And uh...you too, Miss...Mae? You never really told me your name, you just left me to babysit your slug..."
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She nods affirmatively to Lucina as Sunny gobbles up more of the leaves. "Sorry. You were the closest person to me. Sunny can get upset if she's hungry. All this travel seems to get her moody." Mae pats the rubbery hind quarter with her little hand, sending ripples across Sunny's back towards her head. Her little eye stalks pull themselves in for a moment before slowly poking back out.
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"Don't forget the big slug and the wolf that they're riding in on," Lucina adds. "That's very important - it gives us even more of an air of gravitas, right?"
Lucina looks around, noting that everyone else seems to be a carting a little more in the way of personal equipment than she. "So, have you folks been on any assignments before? Sad to say this is my first so I didn't have a whole lot to bring with me."
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Mae frowns a bit as Lucina mentions riding the slug "I must admit, I usually have a hard time convincing Sunny to let me ride her. She's pretty tempermental about it for some reason. I know I'm not very heavy."
Mae quickly pulls her hand away as the last of the leaves are dissolved, not wanting any part of the acidic drool coming from Sunny's mouth parts. "This is my.." She begins counting off fingers: one, two, three, four... fifth. As she moves to her other hand. "This is my fifth mission for the Pathfinders. Last one Dawn and I helped some pirates and got to speak with some nice spiders. It ended pleasantly." As she remembers fondly the head she left for the spiderlings to feed on.
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"Huh...that's a really big variety of experience," Lucina muses. "Makes me wonder why they sent me with you, to be honest. I've heard they usually seen the greenhorns out on gopher errands; you know, go pick up a bottle of wine, make rounds to the local orphanage, go map a cave or two..."
The lady halfling stops and smiles wryly. "Guess they know something we don't and figured my talents would come in handy or someone's got it out for me back in Absalom."
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"Well good ta meet ya and all, but I can't help but feel we're waitin' for one more before we hear more of what we were called here ta do. Need at least four of us to form a proper venturing group, but five would be even better!" Damien smiles, looking to see who might enter through the cathedral doors.
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"Well met, Valanthe Nerissia. My name is Uriel, servant of Ragathiel." Striding into the Godsmouth Cathedral, he salutes the priestess of Pharasma and nods with cheerful courtesy at the assembled Pathfinders. "Ollysta Zadrian sends her blessing and her support."
The soldier stands at ease, just under six feet tall and a fit 12 stone. His arms and armor appear well maintained and immaculate, studded leather and light wooden shield, masterwork blade and bow. The paladin displays the sacred colors of Ragathiel, crimson and gold in his tunic and surcoat. His wayfinder hangs from his belt, as does an iron holy symbol of the General of Vengeance, a sword crossed by a wing.
His dark hair hangs about his pale face, the one aspect of the man that defies rigorous discipline. His sharp blue eyes sparkle in anticipation of imminent action.
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Lucina stares up at the man, suddenly feeling very short as well as little too...casually dressed? Informal? She's not sure; all she knows is that he apparently knows how to make an entrance - whether intentional or not.
"Ah, hi there, I guess you'd be the mysterious 'other one' that Damien here was talking about," the little halfling responds, taking off her wide-brimmed hat before offering her hand. "Lucina Haventhorne, servant of Pharasma," she offers in greeting.
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Valanthe nods in greeting to each of you and motions for you to follow her through the Cathedral until you reach a side chapel dedicated to one of Pharasma's martyred saints.
Closing the door behind her she motions for you each to take a seat on one of the pews. "First of all I must admit I was...hesitant to call upon the aid of the Pathfinder Society, as they seem to have gathered a reputation of causing more trouble than they purport to solve. I insisted upon at least one worshiper of Pharasma be a part of your team," her gaze lingers upon the halfling woman who carries the symbol of Pharasma proudly, "and it seems my wishes have been heeded." She adds with a note of satisfaction. Settling in upon a pew across from you her tone becomes all business. "Let me explain the situation — bodies are missing from the Godsmouth Ossuary," she allows that news to sink in before continuing, "For generations, Kaer Maga’s wealthy and powerful have been laid to rest in the Godsmouth Ossuary, and thus far, their rest seems to be peaceful. Furthermore, there seems to be no limit to the number of bodies that can be stored there—the ossuary has existed for thousands of years, before the founding of the current city, and it has yet to run out of room. What few outside the church of Pharasma know is that the Godsmouth Ossuary occupies only a few of the many subterranean levels below the entrance—the lower reaches are mysteries even to the clergy. All entries to the lower levels have been sealed off, and the priests are forbidden from venturing deeper, lest they awaken greater evils slumbering beneath. What this means, however, is that the portions of the ossuary in use are almost full."
As you ponder what the meaning of her words are she finishes, "We know that something else is going on here, and that it must be stopped. If word of the disappearances gets out, people will stop burying their deceased loved ones in the ossuary, and the church will lose perhaps its greatest source of income. At the same time, we do need to expand our burial holdings. If both problems can be solved at the same time, then so much the better. So your main mission is to find and stop the mysterious body thief. At the same time, the church wishes for you to survey the unexplored dungeon and clear out any dangerous inhabitants, thus allowing the church to expand the ossuary into the new level."
"Do you have any questions for me?"
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Mae nods ever so slightly, blinking her large eyes as she follows along the briefing "Sounds very straight forward. Dangerous inhabitants will be convinced to leave by any means necessary? I will speak with any vermin or animals that have taken up house there. Hopefully they will heed my wisdom and relocate." She gives Sunny's rope a tug as she starts to wander towards a succulent looking potted plant.
"This body thief. Maybe it is simply something using them as food. Many things underground would enjoy a free meal that does not fight back." She ponders a bit "Do you have any particular issues with certain creatures around here?"
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"We'll need to see the site from which the bodies were removed and interview the priests who prepared the bodies for interment and placed them in the Ossuary. And anyone else with access to the Ossuary," Uriel suggests.
He pauses, thinking. "Are the families of the deceased aware that their loved ones' bodies are missing? It would be useful to speak to them, see if they had any common enemies." The paladin-oracle frowns. That could be an awkward conversation.
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Lucina frowns, looking deeply disturbed at the revelation of body-snatching. "I guess that's why they sent me along," she sighs. "Mae and Uriel have some good questions, though. And what I want to know is if anything else strange has happened around here lately - either before the bodies started disappearing or around the same time."
This is harder since I've never even been here before. Did they say anything much about Kaer Maga or the Ossuary back in class?
But she's rather distracted by Dawn's sudden departure.
"Oh! Uh...bye, I guess? Nice meeting you," Lucina calls after her.
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A human woman walks in, her skin kissed by the desert. She is covered in robes, loose drapes, and a few daggers at her side. On her other side you see a whip and the symbol of Calistria, the goddess of Trickery, Lust and Revenge.
She scans the temple. "The Godsmouth Ossuary..." What do I know of this place?
"Pharasma. Prophecies fight the balance between life and death. I have been called here by fickle fate and my goddess." She peers at the cleric. "Valanthe Nerissia? My name is Annilda. I was guided here by a rather unfocused elf, who told me I would be a better fit here than her. Pathfinders love sending their neophytes into Kaer Maga for some reason."
Pause.
"There are always forces who will do what they can to use and abuse the bodies of the fallen. We will find the thieves and crush them." She checks her knuckles. "Are there other priests we can talk to who manage the ossuary?"
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Lady Mae has heard of a huge subterranean chamber, known as the Dark Forest, that holds a thick tangle of woods, inhabited by a diminutive people known as the Khaei, and home to the legendary dullahan called the Dark. She is unsure of the exact location of said chamber though.
Valanthe pauses briefly to consider the grippli's words, "To be honest, a natural predator lurking in the ossuary had not occured to me. While we are aware of the many undead that lurk beneath us, while it is unlikely the source is a hungry predator I would not put it out of the realm of possibility. Maybe it is a companion similar to your own?"
Her tone decidedly grows more chilly in response to Uriel's requests, "I can assure you none of MY priests had anything to do with this callous blasphemy! That is the first avenue of exploration we traveled down and even our divinations proved none of the priests were responsible! As for letting those whose relative's corpses are missing know of this," she shakes her head vehemently, "that is out of the question. I must impress upon all of you the need for absolute secrecy, and should word of this get out...the church can make life difficult for the Society should they wish to open a Lodge here."
Both Annilda and Lucina know of the Godsmouth Ossuary being the most famous holy site of Pharasma in Kaer Maga, the actual center of the Pharasmin faith in the city is the Godsmouth Cathedral (of which you are now standing) in the Bottoms district. Perched on the cliff’s edge just above the gigantic face that leads into the ossuary, the Godsmouth Cathedral is a huge, gothic edifice dedicated to all three aspects of the Lady of Graves—the midwife, the reaper of the dead, and the mad prophet. In all, more than 300 clerics, midwives, morticians, guards (known as “graveguards”), and lay priests serve at the cathedral under the tripartite leadership of three high priests.
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"As for letting those whose relative's corpses are missing know of this," she shakes her head vehemently, "that is out of the question. I must impress upon all of you the need for absolute secrecy, and should word of this get out...the church can make life difficult for the Society should they wish to open a Lodge here."
"Hmpf. You call us for help, and then threaten us when we give advice? I see. Don't worry, we will clean up this failure with the utmost secrecy. I have no more questions to ask you."
"Besides one: When can we begin? I tire of your political jabs."
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"Sumbudy's been stealin' BODIES?!" Damien blurts out. "Why would they do such a thing? Tryin' some strange evil ritual, I bet. I don't like it, Ruby, not at all!" The wolf snarls as if on command. "I suppose the five of us are just gunna go 'n march right in and kill wutever baddies we might find 'n then triumphantly go fer drinks after? Should be easy if it's anythin' like those Black Echelon dead guys," he says with a glance at Dawn. "Wait, where did Dawn go? Aw, man, ya mean ta tell me a little holy tomb scared her off?"
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"The Society also tries to have a reputation for being thorough," Lucina responds grimly as she folds her arms over her chest. "You can't blame us for asking questions, especially since you didn't mention that you'd done some divination work already."
Uncrossing her arms, Lucina shrugs. "But okay then, none of the priests here are responsible so that eliminates another obvious answer. Good deal and I'm glad for it," she continues, sincerely. "There aren't any hazards or wards down there that you know of, are there? Anything put in place by the church to prevent this sort of thing?"
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Mae follows along with a passive face for the most part, not one to get involved in politics or get too excited most of the time, at least not outside of the swamps, jungles, and forests she called home.
"Have you ever had to deal with the Khaei? From the Dark Forest? Or is that far deeper than you travel? Let us hope they are not there, it would not be something we could help with no doubt." She gets up and moves to another spot on the bench, closer to a few flies. Those look tasty...
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Hoping to diffuse the unhelpful tension, Uriel smiles and raises hand to indicate Valanthe mistook his meaning. "Please, take no offense. I accuse no one, least of all your fellow priests. I meant only that speaking with them might enable us to elicit and investigate clues your colleagues and the divinations missed." He pauses a moment and then continues, "We respect your need for discretion and do not want to upset your patrons. Perhaps, someone from your archives could show us any records you might have about the missing bodies. There might be a common denominator that could provide clues."
He nods at Lucina's question. "Lady Mae or Valanthe, what can you tell us about the Khaei and the Deep Forest? I'm not familiar with those terms, either."
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Mae nods "I have heard of a huge subterranean chamber, known as the Dark Forest, that holds a thick tangle of woods, inhabited by a diminutive people known as the Khaei, and home to the legendary dullahan called the Dark. I am unsure of the exact location of this chamber, or what a dullahan is exactly..."
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Valanthe gives Uriel a doubtful look before shrugging, "Perhaps you raise a valid point. While our initial investigation of the missing bodies showed no connection there may be a clue that we missed. Once you have finished your explorations of the Ossuary then we will allow you to peruse our records, should your investigations prove fruitless."
She nods in reply to Lady Mae, "We know little of the khaei but that are a race of diminutive humanoid creatures with long, gangly, and disjointed limbs who reputedly dwell in the deep caverns beneath Kaer Maga. Their touch is known to cause rapid, debilitating aging, so beware should you encounter one, yet they are a reclusive folk and have not ventured into the city proper. I trust you will verify one of them has not ventured into the Ossuary."
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Uriel racks his brain, trying to recall any other conversations he might have had or information he might have learned that would pertain to this mission.
Still concerned that he has offended the priestess of Pharasma, the paladin-oracle summons his dignity and formally drops to one knee before the woman, extending his arms and holding his sword in his outstretched hands. "Velanthe Nerissia, I, Uriel, vow that I will not betray your confidence, nor leave any stone unturned, as I investigate this matter." He looks up, unwavering and steadfast, to meet the priest's gaze. "This faithful servant asks Ragathiel's eyes to fall upon him and for his wings to shield him."
Solemn vow spoken, he rises to his feet, ready to begin.
EFFECT
Whenever you break your word (either purposefully or unintentionally), you become sickened for 24 hours or until you meet your obligation, whichever comes first. However, once per day, you can make a vow to yourself that grants a +4 morale bonus on any one roll you make while trying to fulfill a promise made to another individual.
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Dullahan? Khaei?
"Sounds downright grotesque - my kind of work," Lucina chuckles softly as she tries to call any useful information about the dullahan at least.
"That's quite the goal, by the way," she remarks to the newest arrival. "Is crushing things in your bare hands a rite of passage or do you do it for personal enjoyment?"
The halfling falls silent as Uriel takes a knee, watching curiously.
And this right here is why I'm glad I didn't join the clergy proper!
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"That's quite the goal, by the way," she remarks to the newest arrival. "Is crushing things in your bare hands a rite of passage or do you do it for personal enjoyment?"
"Always be prepared, I say. What happens when you are caught off guard? No weapons on hand? All you can rely on is your own strength." Annilda puts her palms together and folds her fingers together, methodically. "Besides, imagine how it must feel to be a frightening monster who picks on smaller creatures, only for one of them to punch a hole through you. Quite surprising, don't you think?"