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After a hurried summons to the Grand Lodge in Absalom, a quick conversation with Venture-Captain Alissa Moldreserva, and a wet, stormy trip across the Inner Sea to Andoran, the small, warm Pathfinder Lodge in Augustana is a welcome break from travel.
I can’t believe we are wasting our time on this matter, says Caudron Wallace, the venture-captain of Augustana as he paces the main hall.
Frankly, I want as little to do with it as possible, so I’m passing it on to you. Wallace nods toward a door at the back of the room. The vagrant through there was found collapsed on our front steps gripping a wayfinder of all things. We still don’t know who he is. Talk to him, for the tale he tells is amazing if true, and then come back here.
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The huge tiefling had been standing silent to the side, while the venture captain vented his sense of frustration.
His fiery white eyes simply surveyed the conversation, while his jet orange hair almost seemed to have a life of its own - clad in a well polished breastplate, with a bardiche leaning against the wall next to him, his fiendish heritage was evident with a casual glance towards the hulking figure.
Arrayed with multiple implements of combat, ranging from a proeminent longsword secured in a finely crafted scabbard, to an almost overlooked sling hanging from his belt, the half breed seemed ready to wage a war all on his own, but most evident of all was the glimmering silver around his neck, depicting the well known sword symbol of Iomedae.
He addresses the captain in a deep tone - "Shall we address him immediately, or do you wish to brief us on what he has recounted Sir?" - the formal undercurrent clear in his voice.
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A female gnome steps forward. As you know, all gnomes are kind of exremists in regard to fashion and colors, but this one seems even more so. She wears a kind of leather armor, hidden under a white tabbard and a shield on her back. But, her right brow is colored in six colors, red, yellow, green, turquois, blue and purple. And spots of those colors you can find all over her clothes and armor. Her hair is red at the moment, but there are clear signs in between it had other colors before. She has big earrings with similar colored feathers hanging from them and on her backpack you see a collection of dreamcatchers made of the most different materials, but all colorful and with some prisms.
The blessing of He of Motley Repose for all of you!
Come to me and he shall provide you with rest and shade from the cruel sun of events that plague you. Will you tell me who you are and what happened to you? Fear not, for you are in safety with us here. The power of the rainbow will protect you.
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A Tengu, male, you think, sits by the fire, steam rising from his drying black feathers. One white feather among the black is striking, just over his left eye. He tilts his head and raises a brow - the left one, making the white feather move. "Well, let's check on this fellow. Perhaps this is nothing - a nothing that brought us across the sea..." he adds somewhat bitingly at Wallace. "But perhaps it is not, yes?"
He stands from his chair. Belted at his waist are a pair of simply-adorned, if very finely crafted, exotic blades - Wakizashi to those in the know. He wears a set of quality studded leather armor and a dark cloak.
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The door got opened and the Venture Captain seems forgotten.
Hua what´s that! Holy prisms! You see, even the birdmen are on our side, in which case it cannot be a demon! Ah interesting.
Koemi looks very interested at Rackle Rakis, nearly forgetting the vagrant.
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After becoming aquanted with each other, a Venture-Captains aide leads you to the back of the main hall, were you find a small sitting room with six comfortable chairs and a few bookshelves filled with the latest Pathfinder Chronicles. An old, withered man sits in one of the chairs, half-dozing when you enter.
His skin is shockingly pale and his features are sharp with high cheekbones and a jutting chin. He has an incredibly filthy visage, matted white hair, and infirmity that can not go unnoticed. Hearing the sound of scuffling footsteps, his eyes blast open-
My loyal subjects, welcome! I know that some of you might not recognize me in my current state, but it is truly me, Gandros, the long-lost Prince of Augustana. I have been in hiding since the untimely death of my father, the Emperor, preparing for my return to glory. Unfortunately, I bear ill news. The army I have been gathering in the otherworld has been infiltrated by agents of our enemies. When last I called my forces together for inspection, dark assassins attacked me and I barely escaped with my life.
He pauses for a moment to roll up his sleeve and reveals a series of recently inflicted claw and tooth marks on his right forearm. He then launches into a breathless retelling of how he came to be in the Lodge.
I fled back through the magic portal to this realm. Grievously wounded, and with the assassins in close pursuit, I leapt into the dark river. I floated past the Almsman’s Sanctuary, but couldn’t climb out of the water. I did manage to grab one of the bridges, but a plank fell in with me. I held on for dear life and continued to drift downstream. I went over a waterfall and then emerged in the lake of ships and crawled to shore. Augustana has changed since I last walked my city’s bright streets, but I managed to find this house, bearing the symbol of my father’s empire.” He holds up the wayfinder hanging from a chain around his neck. “I knew I would find help here! If you remove the threat from my kingdom below and help restore me to my rightful place as Emperor of Andoran, I will grant you any boon within my power!
Finally the man stops talking and takes a couple of deep breaths, panting as if he had just run to the central market for the fresh pulls from the sea.
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Meri smiles warmly, "I too am lousy at history, perhaps we can find one who is not? I do not know of anything he says, but I believe the Almsman may be a person. None the less the sanctuary is likely a place. He mentioned it after he jumped through the portal. Perhaps we can ask around?"
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"I am not knowlegeable in History friends, but indeed the tale does seem pretty amazing, Master Rackle" - Helgoron watches the man intently.
"What do you mean by otherworld? And consequently, who created such magic portal, and how did you gain access to it?" - the tiefling approaches the man, asking calmly.
Omar listens, and trying to see through the man's tale
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The man only responds to Meridyth, happy to hear his title used. He looks deep into her eyes and continues to spin his tail. I am afraid that I might have created the portal, and then... the man is overcome with grief and begins to cry. His tears matting the filth and grim that coats the corners of his eyes.
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Noticing Helgoron's efforts, Meridyth attempts to sooth the old man so that he feels comfortable finishing his tale.
to have Noni pick up the mans scent so that we might be able to follow his trail back to the dark river from whence he came.
On a side note, I put up Noni's stat block since I had forgotten earlier. . . Oops!
Edit: Probably should roll her (Noni's) survival to track eh?
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Koemi seems a bit strained, looking from the birdmen to the possible prince of dirt. Obviously it takes her some willpower to focus on something.
Huh human history...so many feathers...wait did you say you created a portal? Are you a mighty wizard? You don´t really look like it at the moment. Where does the portal lead too? How did you create it? And what happened then? Please tell us! It´s so exciting!
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Meridyth, despite her excellent attempts to sooth the man, is unable to learn anything more from him. He does calm down after a bit, but he only repeats his story and stares at you all as if you were hundreds of miles away.
Only the Wayfinder shows to be magical.
He is not evil.
Noni, Meridyth's familiar, has a strong scent on the man.
Convinced you have learned all that you can from this man, you all finally leave his room and return back to Venture-Captain Wallace.
My diviners say that there is some truth to his story. There has never been a Prince of Augustana, nor an Emperor in Andoran, but the old fellow has a surprising amount of knowledge of the pre-revolution noble families of the city. He may be the lost scion of some noble line. If so, he’s fallen far. From the filth and stink on him when we found him, we’re fairly certain he’s been living in or near a sewer. The wayfinder is also a mystery, but for now, it makes him one of ours. However, I’m more interested in his supposed gate to the otherworld. If it exists, I want to know about it. Implausible as it may seem, I’m certain that his injuries were caused by otherworldly beings. We must take the possibility of a portal seriously. I don’t want to dirty my hands with this, but you don’t have that choice. Retrace the old man’s path through the sewers. The Almsman, whom he repeatedly mentions, is rumored to be an eccentric priest who runs some sort of hidden beggar’s sanctuary in the sewers. He may know where our prince’s portal is, if you can find him. But be warned; a local gang calling themselves the Steel Wyverns claims the sewers near the Almsman’s Sanctuary as their own territory.
Venture-Captain Wallace shows you the spot on the map of the likely sewer outlet from which the man ,Gandros, came. It’s near the north end of the crowded Augustana harbor, near where the north harbor wall hits land.
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Meridyth is able to find her way towards the Hall of Records. However, after spending a few hours with the clerk it is clear that the records of sewers and their construction and maintenance were lost after the People's Revolution. It does however lead you towards the docks, where the sewers open into the sea.
Once there, Noni starts to pick up the scent of the lost prince.
Koemi, looking at the Wayfinder shows that it is genuine, but it offers no more clues to this tail.
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Rackle and Liriann lead the group to the docks and easily find an entrance to the sewer system. It takes a few seconds to find a hole in the grate large enough for the party to enter.
You can see some light some 200 feet up ahead. However, the tube is about ten feet wide with no walkway. In order to make some headway, you are going to have to enter the muck.
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Unless someone jumps up with a plan ...
"Well, they say fortune favors the brave ... says Ahn as he eases forward, then as the fetid water oozes into his boots as he walks deeper, the sludge beginning to cover his brand new banded mail he mutters, "... and ridicule awaits the stupid."
Disgusted, Ahn trudges forward proding with his sword, looking for threats, or uneven ground ...
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Koemi takes her shield, begins running 10 feet away, throwing her shield into the water and trying to surf to the other side on it.
Only in the last second she stops.
Seems a bit far for that...
Then she looks to Meridyth, looking even more innocent than normaly:
You think i can ride on your tiger through there? I´m smaller than you all and might very well drown in there!
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"Hmm, assuming long pipes are straight and narrow, it might serve me well to buy a crossbow on the way across town to the sewers. . . Probably should do something about swimming in waste as well. . . "
Meri
Noni
"Before we wade in, perhaps we should get down to the minimum armor necessary? I, for one, suppose it is rather hard to swim in armor. You know, because metal doesn't float well. . . "
Meridyth quickly strips out of her armor and stows in in her pack before crossing. Once safely across, she dons her armor again, asking politely for aid in doing so in some semblance of efficiency.
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Helgoron had been following the group around without much to say, trusting the ability of his companions to guide them to where they needed to be, and trusting Iomedae to show him when the time would be upon him to act.
As they reached the grate, he again without a word follows behind Ahnastasios, the resolute gnome, his weapon at the ready, plodding through the disgusting muck.
"Would you like to ride on my back?" - he offers matter of fact to Koemi as he passes her by - "I may have to drop you if we come to find any opposition, but until then, I believe I should be able to carry you friend, and keep you astride this foul drainage" - he smiles.
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As you all wade through the filth you finally find a ledge and pull yourself up. Quickly the more perceptive of the group notice some lights coming from just ahead. The smell of rot and waste are strong. You see a series of raised stone platforms that are loosely connected by a single wooden ladder laid on its side. On the platform is what looks to be a makeshift alchemist lab - beakers, glass vials, dirty bottles, and moldy buckets.
The alchemist is surrounded by two thugs who look up from fiddling with their knives and such- they stand their feet and demand that you go back the way you came... or else!
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Meri will assist the smaller members of the group out of the sludge, then her tiger. Once she is out, she asks help in donning her armor again before moving forward. Upon noticing light ahead, she draws and loads her crossbow.
When the thugs begin to threaten the group, Meri takes aim at the only thug she can see, and prepares to fire.