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Jack finds an old, dried out stream bed that quickly takes you higher into the mounts, and from there it is an easy task to backtrack downhill.
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If you roll 24 or higher, you may ask for more information.
The dense forest opens to a wide clearing at the base of a sheer cliff. Thick vines cover the surface of the cliff stretching 30 feet overhead. “Here! The cave entrance is behind those vines,” Janira says with a broad smile as she walks to the cliff’s face. She pulls back several layers of vegetation to reveal a narrow crack in the cliff’s surface. “This is where I saw the gillmen enter.”
As she motions toward the aperture, the surrounding woods come alive with the sound of small animals fleeing some unseen danger and a large creature crashing through the undergrowth. The halfling worriedly remarks, “Quick, take cover before whatever it is spots us!” As if she’d summoned the creature with her words, a massive horned monstrosity emerges from the trees. Standing eight feet tall on a pair of cloven hooves and wielding a tremendous axe, the bull-headed creature roars with unbridled anger when it spots you.
Wisely assessing that a minotaur is beyond her charges’ capabilities, Janira screams, “A minotaur! There’s little chance we can stand against it. Take this bag,” she continues, pulling off her backpack, “and head deeper into the caves. Finish your mission. I’ll lead it away from the caves, lose it in the forest, and join you as soon as I can. Now go! GO!” She heaves her backpack into the cave, casts a spell, and darts off toward the minotaur before turning to lure it away.
Round 1
Effects none
- Anastasia -
- Jakwin -
- Gardol -
- GM -
- Janira -
- Eurkar -
- Jack -
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Jak is torn. His blood burns to rush the beast, but on the other hand, he can't let his teammates down and endanger their objectives. With a defiant, frustrated shout, he falls back into the cave.
As he rushes into its protective shade, he looks back at the halfling and her massive pursuer. "Give it hells, Janira!" His eyes linger on the minotaur, and he mutters once more, "Give it hells."
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- potion of barkskin
- potion of cure light wounds (2)
- potion of feather step
- potion of vanish
- scroll of entangle
- scroll of gust of wind
- scroll of identify
- scroll of mage armor (CL 6)
- scroll of obscuring mist
- wand of burning hands (CL 3, 4 charges)
- wand of cure light wounds (CL 3, 8 charges)
- acid flask
- alchemist’s fire (2)
- holy water
- smokestick
- tanglefoot bag
- thunderstone
- antitoxin
- sunrod (2)
The caves are damp and slippery, and usually about 7 feet wide and high. Some tunnels are tighter or more spacious though. The walls are covered with patches of blue-green luminescent fungi that provide dim light.
Petroglyphs periodically decorate the walls, mostly with marine animals and spiraling shapes. The deeper you travel, the more of these wall paintings that you find.
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Jak gives the contents a once-over, "I can't activate most of these." He holds up the scroll of mage armor, then cuts his eyes over at Eurkar, noting the half-orc's sturdy frame and thick quarterstaff. "Why don't we get this spell up on him? Six hours of him getting hit less sounds like a rocking plan to me."
He shrugs, "Anyone who wants something should grab it, though. Especially those healing potions, for anyone who can't cast heals themselves."
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"Give", Anastasia says to Jakwin, takes the scroll from him and reads it, then touches Eurkar. Magical field of force surrounds the monk.
Anastasia searches through the bag.
"Potions, anyone. Fire, sticks. Scrolls! Yes, yes, no, why? Good. This, no. Yes!" she mumbles while going through the equipment inside, her toad also taking look at every item. She grabs an armful of scrolls and a wand, smiling.
"These. Rest", she says, nodding at the backpack.
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Jak watches Anastasia’s excitement, letting her enthusiasm melt his frustration from moments before. ”Whatever folks don’t want to carry, we can have Norgy carry.” He grimaces at mention of his mule’s name, ”But seriously, be careful. He’s an evil ass. Be warned.”
As if on cue, the mule tries to bite Jak’s shoulder. Otherwise, the young man seems ready to move on. He moves forward, pulling a coin from his pocket and whispering a heatless flame onto it.
”Let’s see what this place has for us. Anyone a trained scout? I can take point, if not.”
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The narrow tunnel twists and turns for several hundred feet before slowly opening to a wider passage. A large hole spans the cave’s width and stretches ten feet down the path. At the bottom of the pit lies a small bundle of cloth. The corners of the pit are rounded, and the tunnel walls don’t look easy to climb either.
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"He may not be able to tell," Jak responds, "but I guess he can bring it up to you." He looks across the pit, "I mean, we still need to get to that side, right?"
As they wait for Gardol to be able to take a look, Jak goes ahead and pulls out his rope, uncoiling it and making sure it's knotted for easy climbing if it's needed.
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Gardol will climb back down and heal Anastasia with Janira's wand...
"Are you all right, ma'am?"
"Hey Jak, I don't think she can make the climb unaided...toss down your rope and I'll tie it to her. You and Eurkar can pull her out..."
When Jak throws the rope down, Gardol secures it around Anastasia's waist and tells her to hold on while the guys pull her up...
Once up, Gardol climbs back out...
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"Seemed easy", Anastasia says, rubbing her hurt head.
She climbs out, this time the rope securing her to avoid a second wall. She slips several times, but finally with little grace gets pulled on the top of the pit.
She looks at the magic cloak, but then just shakes her head.
"Cannot think. Hurts. Later", she says.
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These parables are slightly different than those that appear in the known version of the History and Future of Humanity, suggesting that these might represent an earlier version of the work.
Even though Aroden disappeared over a century ago, these caves store a hint of his divine magic (like a wand with a single charge left) that can impart a minor blessing to those who perform a short series of rituals based on the parables.
- Anastasia - 2 damage
About 50 ft. after the pit, the tunnel curves and you find a plank big enough to span the pit. The tunnels continue on, leading deeper beneath the Kortos Mounts until they eventually open into a large cavern. What must have once been beautifully carved reliefs and inscriptions have since weathered heavily, their features dulled and softened to the point that it is hard to distinguish what each once depicted. A wide tunnel exits the cavern on its far side, and blue-burning torches line the passageway’s walls.
The carvings here are different in style from the petroglyphs found elsewhere. It seems like there might have been a dozen carvings at some point, but only four are still decipherable. As best you can tell, they are images from the History and Future of Humanity, the principle holy text of Aroden.
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"Ancient. Scroll, Anastasia says and reads her comprehension scroll.
She pulls out her papers and pen, then starts to run back and forth between the carvings.
"Artist, Merchant, yes. Sailor. Scribe. Earlier, not. Fish! Learning. Write, share. No. Scholar. Earlier. Many, together!" she talks while examining the reliefs.
"Done!" she declares, delighted. She shows the rest of the team a paper, scribbled single words all around, all angles, without any clear connections between them.
"Ribbit." The toad stands before the more eroded reliefs, but doesn't seem to communicate anything to anyone.
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The soft light of the surrounding fungus mixes with the flickering glow of the nearby torches to reveal a grand chamber. A large pool of water along the chamber’s southern edge reflects the blue and green radiance to illuminate the massive stalactites that cling to the ceiling overhead. Two other tunnels branch off from this area, leading to the east and west.
Rising up from the pool is a column of rock with steeply sloped sides and a flat top, as if someone had sawn off the top of a massive stalagmite. A miniature city carved from this same stone occupies nearly the entire surface. Tiny trinkets such as ancient coins, polished semiprecious stones, and ornately braided loops of string are scattered throughout the diorama, and pale cave frogs clamber atop it. The smooth cavern floor is covered in gravel and pebbles along the edge of the pool, and several foot-long centipedes prowl among the gravel in their search for prey.
This cavern is not unoccupied though. A lone gillmen kneels in the water, seeming thoughtful and unaware of your presence.
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The young Taldan scrunches up his face in confusion at the carvings. ”Are these the gillmen’s caves? And if so, why do gillmen care about Aroden? I thought he was a human god.” He looks at the collected works in the room, then scratches his head, ”Next time, I need to remember to bring some charcoal. We could’ve made rubbings or something.”
Then, when the group is ready, he moves into the next chamber, pausing to gawk at the whole thing. As much as the tiny carving of the city is interesting, Jak can’t help but be drawn to the gillman in the water.
He looks over at the team, then shrugs before making sure his weapons are obviously not in hand before stepping forward.
”Hey … uh … fella! We don’t want to spook you. We’re here with the Pathfinder society, and we just want to talk. You look like a guy who might be able to help us out, and maybe we can even figure a way to maybe help you in return?”
As he talks, he watches for threats … either from the gillman or any hidden surprises.
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The gillman looks at Jakwin as the human speaks, but his expression says little, and he says nothing at all. He seems rather indifferent at first, but after a minute or so of silence, his expression finally softens into a smile, "Greetings, Pathfinder. My name is Uori. Where are these companions you speak of? Please, there is no need for them to hide in the other cavern.
"In fact, here is a gift you show you my good intentions. If one among you possess a connection to the divine, she may speak the words faythe sheafe for protection."
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Gardol, initially staying back from the gillman and Jak, comes forward when he hears the gillman's words. Approaching, he notices the robe and it's similarities to the one he retrieved from the pit. He bows and addresses the gillman.
"Greetings, elder. I believe this belongs to your people.". He hands the cloak to him.
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Jak grins as the group walks in, stepping forward to accept the gillman's offering. As Gardol hands over the cloak, his face sobers, "So how did that end up at the bottom of a pit trap? I hope whoever wore it is okay?"
Hoping to steer the conversation in a more positive direction, he gives the cavern around him a sweeping look, "So, what is this place, anyway? We saw carvings out there. And you don't exactly see scale models of major cities carved into cave waters every day."
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Uori gently folds the cloak and places it atop his own, "Thank you most sincerely. This cloak indeed belongs to one of my people, one that I suspect and hope is still alive--since you did not mention finding his body inside the cloak. With luck, I will be able to return this garment to its rightful owner."
The gillman looks at Anastasia a moment before turning to Jakwin, "As to those carvings and this city: they are human things, and I know little of them. We make a pilgrimage to this sacred pool at neap tide, the only time when the water is high enough to submerge in."
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Upon hearing Anastasia's words, Gardol reflects a moment on the one carving he could identify, the Artist...while he doesn't have any paint, he does have an idea. He takes of his boots and wades into the pool to the miniature city of Absalom...trying to find a building in the proximity of the Grand Lodge, he retrieves his pen and tries to draw a small mural in ink, existing of the Grand Lodge insignia, on the side of the building...
Upon finishing he leaves the pool, puts his boots back on, and, still having his pen out, writes notes concerning his experience on this adventure thus far...