[PFS] 2-24: Shadow's Last Stand—Part II: Web of Corruption by GM Upaynao (Inactive)

Game Master Upaynao

Trix doesn't have much to say at this point, keeping quiet unless further action is required.

"Certainly!" chimes in another actor. "Officer! I demand that you take my deposition forthwith!"

Sensing that things are about to get busy, and unwilling to have to deal with two sources of problems at the same time, the adjutant waves Constantin off. "If we need you we'll come and get you."

And with that the patrol begins dealing with the boat, the bodies and the actors within.

The actors have heard you mention the Lodge, which everyone knows is the old Arodenite Cathedral. Thus, if you need them to testify, you'll be able to meet up with them there. Where to now Pathfinders?

"The Captive Audience, right? All of that kidnapping and slavery is gonna look bad when we link it to Dorianna Ouidda. We need to get proof of The Spider's identity. "

She checks her trident and stores it. "So I think that's our next destination."

"Ha! I'm not much of a high-society type, but I agree with Aquavius; the theater is a promising lead."

It is very late at night, but people are still making their way to and fro in the Theater District of Almas. Filled with old architecture and buildings in the old Taldane style, it is a throwback to ancient times... Save perhaps for one: a gaudy, tall structure painted several shades of bright green; everburning torches on either side of the face of the building illuminating the words “The Captive Audience,” painted in overly elaborate, nearly unreadable letters. Patrons are filling out of the venue at this hour, as all around, theaters are shutting down for the night.

Back to you.

"Step 1: Scope for guards. Step 2: Look for hidden entrances."

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

"If you guys don't see anything, we should demand an encore performance."

Looking about, Aquavius sees a few employees readying themselves to close shop, a side entrance for the actors and stage equipment and little else more.

"Aha! Side entrance. Let's do it. Anyone is really sneaky? Otherwise let's just head in."

Constantin nods and heads towards the side door, The current cast may be complicit in the capture of their comrades, but conflict may cost us clues to our criminal competitor.

Rogar looks down at his armored bulk and then up at Aquavius.

"I ain't sneaking anywhere, lassie... I guess our charms'll have to do!"

Side door sounds good to me.

Noone seems to pay you any mind as you open the actor's entrance and insert yourselves backstage, and with good cause; while representations might have stopped, the theater company is still busying itself, with getting ready for tomorrow's representation. Stagehands run left and right with supplies, as a gnome in a ... vibrant ... coat and other adornments orders people around rapid-fire. "Come on everyone" he yells out shrilly! "Gotta get everything ready for tomorrow's piece, chop chop!"

Well how exciting it is here! I bet they have a lot of fun! Krolmnite bounces from one leg to the next, completely forgetting why they came to the theater in first place, as he watches folks coming and going in preparation.

Rogar gestures at the colorful gnome.

"He looks like he's in charge. Who wants to do the talkin'?"

"Hmpf. Kind of like a crew. I guess I'll assert authority."

Aquavius walks right up to the gnome. "Fancy operation you've got going here." She looks around. "We have heard reports of kidnappings in this area. Some actors disappeared as soon as they finished performing here."

She leans in close. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you? I would hate to see this place shut down..." She grins.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Rogar waggles his eyebrows menacingly over Aquavius' shoulder.

Intimidate aid (size modifier): 1d20 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 4 = 11

Oh yeah, that's a 28 Intimidate check with the size modifier.

Krolmnite scans the area looking for anything out of place.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13

Then snaps too hearing the tone in Aquavius voice, he rushes over.

Look as a fellow gnome, we gotta stick together, but the lady's the boss and she means business. You bet ya. You better tell her what you know.

Aid Another Intimidate: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

The gnome pauses in his invective to determine who dares interrupt. By the time Aquavius is done talking, he speaks in a more subdued tone. "Well yes, I suppose I have some time to discuss things. Shall we retire to my office? I dislike having conversations such as these onstage."

Well thought; why trouble well-trod boards with these bothers.

Yes, certainly we can, let's go! Krolmnite follows the other gnome to his office.

"Makes sense. To your office then. No funny business." Aquavius almost reaches for her trident, but remembers that she's in the city. They are "civilized" here.

"Oh, well. It's better to not fighten the artsy types with our 'inquiries'."

Rogar saunters after the others.

As you file into the gnome's office, a door with a placard marked "Director Senlokto Boraminder" the gnome offers placatingly "Yes, yes, what you speak of is serious." And as he closes the door, he chuckles. "Deadly serious." He reaches into his vest and cracks a stick like object in two; and with that done the room is filled with a gout of smoke.

Round 1

Constantin 7 dmg
Ivar
Krolmnite
Khana
Trixalana
Glenn
Rogar 3 dmg
Senlokto
Aquavius

Battle Map

The affected area is treated as if it were affected by a Fog Cloud. You were placed in such a way that is disadvantagious to our opponent, but that's all you are going to get (no healing ret-con).

Giving Constantin and Aquavius the opportunity to strike up the band, if that's what they choose to do.

No worries on the healing, but I think I'm only down 3 hp after the last fight since I got healed part way through it

Our foe may not be filled with folly, I'd not fain find him fantastically fearsome due to fatuous feelings from our favored positions! Inspire Courage/caution

I'm providing a +2 to hit and damage in a mixture of competence and morale bonuses, as well as a +1 morale bonus on saves against charm or fear. If you can't see me, I only give +1 to hit and damage instead of +2

Did we forget to heal up -- doh! This little theater room sees so much action!

Well we are packed in here like sardines. Who set off the special effects! Did I step on something by accident...wait 'Deadly serious', the other gnome is a heel! Krolmnite chatters on as it slow dawns on him what is occurring.

With all the smoke and no way to really get at the other gnome. Krolmnite takes a defense stance.

Total defense

"Ah! Smoke and mirrors? I'll show you! Get 'em Ivar!"

Rogar draws his axe and takes a two-handed swing at the gnome.

Attack, IC, PA+FF: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 7 + 2 = 19
<20 = miss: 1d100 ⇒ 96
Damage, IC, PA, two-handed: 1d10 + 6 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 6 + 2 + 3 = 20

Ivar tries to get a taste of the smoked gnome.

Attack, IC: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 2 = 25
<20 = miss: 1d100 ⇒ 23
Damage, IC: 1d4 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 2 = 7

"Nice theatrics - but all things considered, that was very stupid of you."

masterwork greataxe, flag, courage, flank: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

"Raising my axe like so when your big dartboard is inches behind and above me, THAT, on the other hand, was stupid of me."

"Heh. Now I can get my hands dirty! Heh, where did you go?" Aquavius looks and tries to peer through the fog.

Well. That was easy. Oh Season 2; you tease.

And in the blink of an eye, fang and blade dispatch the gnome, who barely has the opportunity to draw his oversized sword. As the smoke dissipates, there is no trace of the gnome, but a rather unsettling creature lays where he once was.

The swiftness of the response to the creature's actions has ensured that for the time being noone knows that a fight has even broken out.

Back to you!

Bardic Knowledge: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

"Well, that was fun. Wanna search the room? Or do we hide the body?"

Aquavius continues the search of the room, unbothered.
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

Constantin is uncharacteristically speechless for a moment as the gnomes features seem to melt away. But that can't really remain the case for any length of time,

The company might care to know that their commandant was some caricature, but clues of his calumnies may cease any contrary cases against our own character.

Constantin then helps Aquavius poke around the room.

Perception Aid: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 5 + 1 = 11

Inspired Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (16) + 7 + (2) = 25

"Huh. A doppelganger. A young one, actually. Young and foolish. Question is, was it just fooling around, or was it working for someone?"

"Well, hope he has some kind of incriminating evidence."

Trix blinks at how quickly everything devolved into bloodshed and violence. "Yes, I agree that we should quickly search the area before anyone is alerted by all the commotion. I'll go keep an eye out in the hallway and direct everyone away for a brief time."

She then steps into the hallway and shuts the door behind her... 'I do hope they find something. Otherwise this looks bad on our part!'

Rogar gives the gray corpse at his feet a confused look.

"So, this thing isn't a theater director? Eh, artsy types and their weird ways..."

He then gives Aquavius a hand.

Perception aid: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 8 + 2 = 28

SOrry glenn just doesnt have a whole lot of useful actions to take here

Glenn will search around as well, turning up his nose at the silly gnome. Well that's acting for you Rogar and Ivar. Always pretending to be something you aren't

A quick search of the room yields another letter, but of greater interest, even beyond the creature's masterwork crafted sword, is a trapdoor cleverly concealed beneath a rug on the floor. Opening it, there seems to be some sort of crawlspace beneath the room, although it seems to be at least 15 feet deep. And from it, a ghastly smell arises.

Out in the hallway, Trixalana looks upon the coming and going of stagehands, prop-makers and other helpers. And that is when it strikes her. Where are the actors? Especially after the last representation. None. Not a single one. Even as they entered, Trix doesn't recall seeing a single actor.

Krolmnite reads over the letter. I bet they are advertising for new actors and then when they show up they turn them into slaves, like those poor folks we found on the boat.

Studying it a little longer, It's signed DO, now I feel like I should know who that is, but I simply don't recall...anyone know?

Then as the crawlspace is revealed Oh, what that smell? I bet I don't wanna know, but we should probably find out, someone should grab Trixalana The gnome stubs up his nose at the smell.

"Hungry for stardom, easy to make slaves." Aquavius reads the letter with a grin. "Genius plan. I mean, uh, deplorable of course." She elbows Constantin. "Make sure you check your employer when you and your bunny perform next time."

"D.O. could stand for Dorianna Ouidda, our number one suspect. This document will help implicate her. And this guy as her infiltrator. Let's stuff him, her, it- thing- under the trapdoor once we head down there."

Aquavius opens the door a crack and gets Trixalana's attention. "Hey! The director had some words for us. Come on in, we need to explore the deal a little deeper."

Of course, Dorianna Ouidda! It was just on the tip of my tongue. Krolmnite does his familiar bounce from leg to leg that he does when excited.

Potential proof, though not damningly decisive.

Constantin will shine a light down into the crawlspace to see what horrors await.

Rogar looks down into the crawl space and sighs.

"I guess I'll 'volunteer' to go down there first..."

I'm glad he's so relentless! Krolmnite thinks to himself, but actually says it outloud.

Down in the crawlspace, Rogar finds the source of the smell, hiding beneath a pile of rags. A gnome, looking very much like the one the Pathfinders faced in Senlokto's office, very much dead, very much hidden away, along with some discarded paperwork.

Sorry about the spotty posting, the next few weeks will be hell.

"Kill and replace." Aquavius looks at the Gnome. "Weeks old, so we couldn't have possibly done it."

"So we have a slave trade. D.O. hired this doppleganger to take over the play and ship actors. What we don't know is where they shipped the slaves. We find that, we find their base, and we should find plenty of evidence to implicate someone, or something."

"So, do we keep this murder quiet? It will be pretty hard now that the stage director is gone. But we gotta act fast. Once D.O. learns the ruse has been caught she'll scrub the evidence."

She reads some of the paperwork, looking for more clues.

In the stack of papers is the deed for the Captive Audience, as well as some contract copies for the renovation of some parts of the theater.

The Swiftsail's scallywags were surely the slave-shippers, so our search should be to show that she's certainly the spider!

Linguistics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

These papers are phony. Clearly the charlatan creature that claimed command was a change.

Constantin examines the documents to see if there's anything tying them to Ouidda.
Perception if needed: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 5 + 1 = 24

Some of the forged papers have both "Senlokto"'s signature and that of councilor Dorianna Ouidda.