The invitation delivered last night was remarkably simple, especially given the importance of the occasion: “Start where it all began. Meet us at the Pig’s Paunch one hour before dawn.”
The Pig’s Paunch is a run-down building with a faded sign of a large pig standing on its hind legs, arms folded above a corpulent belly. Inside, the air is thick with the scents of human sweat, stale tobacco, and leftover food. In the center of the room, surrounded by inebriates sleeping off their revelries, a familiar elven man stands high upon top of a large round table.
”Welcome! Welcome, my students! Please have a seat!” With that Kreighton Shaine, the Pathfinder Society’s Master of Scrolls, nimbly drops down to sit cross-legged on the the table before looking about the tavern with a sense of reverent wonder. ”Can you believe it? It all started here years ago - well, over four hundred of them at least. Under this very roof the Pathfinder Society was born.
“But today! Today you will begin your Confirmation! Master Farabellus, Master Zey, and I all agree you each have shown you worth and dedication to the Society, so there’s no better time to see if you can handle becoming full field operatives. Allow me to introduce you to Janira Gavix,” he says as he motions for an excitable halfling woman to approach. She wears a large backpack and carries all manner of tools, pouches, and scroll cases around her waist. Shaine continues, saying ”Janira here will be going with you on your Confirmation. She was one of my brightest pupils and will no doubt be an invaluable resource on your journey, for she discovered the caves you're about to explore during your own Confirmation.”
Janira speaks up in an enthusiastic and cheerful voice, ”Greetings aspiring Pathfinders! Six months ago, while I was mapping cave entrances in the foothills of the Kortos Mounts, I witnessed a lone gillman entering a concealed cave. I thought little of it at the time, but I saw another one enter the cave again a month later as my Confirmation stretched on. A few days later, after I completed my assigned task, I entered the cave system, but was unable to find the gillman.”
Master Shaine hops to his feet. ”Initiates, for your Confirmation, you will travel to these caves to explore and document its many passages. Additionally, and most importantly, you are to learn what the gillmen are up to in there. Oh, and you need to come back alive as well.” With these parting words, the Master of Scrolls jumps off the table and strolls out of the building while humming to himself.
Jainira pulls out a large leather-bound journal and opens it on the table. [/b]“Before we set out, we should all get to know each other and review our plan. After all, the most important factors that determine whether an expedition will be a success are cooperation and preparation! I’ll go first!”[/b]
The 2’ 10” tall halfling pauses for a moment smiling, then begins her introduction, “My name is Janira Gavix. I am the oldest of 7 and grew up in Eastgate, where my father still works as a porter who employs a dog cart to transport purchased goods from ships and shops to the homes of customers. I joined the Pathfinder Society about 4 years ago after coming of age. I wanted to see the world and sample all the fine food it has to offer. Though this is still a life-long goal, training with Master Shaine has awakened my thirst for knowledge.” She sits back in her chair and looks at the others at the table, ”Enough about me! I want to hear about my travel companions.”
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A burly man, a shade over 6'4" tall walks into the rundown building. He wears hide armor, constructed of what appears to be various large animals such as bear, and accented with wolf pelts. A great axe is slung over his back, and he wears a cestus over his left hand. He looks around with his hazel eyes, and matted hair as if he had been in the wild for months.
This the right dive bar?
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Luna is (currently) a petite (5' 0") young Tian woman with blonde hair and golden-brown eyes. She is wearing a fancy red dress (see profile for full details) slit up one side as she introduces herself.
"Shiratori Kaori, though my friends call me Luna. I'm a void sorceress from Minkai. As for why I'm here, it seemed like fun." she says with a smile.
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Through the door strides confidently a tall man in parade armor, bald headed with a neatly trimmed goatee, and chocolate brown skin. His eyes scan the crowd, focusing on the petite Tian woman. Ignoring the even taller Viking, he approaches her.
Good day, my good miss. I trust I have found the right spot, and if not so, then your presence makes it right.
He bows enthusiastically.
Ezekias Silverthane, Magus Extraordinaire, at your service.
***
Master Shaine, Master Gavix, pleased to meet you. I confess to little knowledge of the motives and sensibilities of the Gillmen. Do you suspect foul play of some type?
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A tall, solidly built young Ulfen woman makes the rounds shaking hands with her new companions. She smiles broadly and her blue-grey eyes flash with excitement. She wears scaled armor that could use a polish. On her heavy belt there is a long sword with a slender, pointed blade and a pewter mug.
Hello, hello, I'm Vigny. Very pleased to meet you and all the rest of my new friends here. Can you believe this day has finally come? I have met Janira before, and it's so great that she will be coming with us. You will absolutely love her!
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A strong looking Nagaji walks in. Though short in comparison to his comrades, he is of average height. He wears leather reinforced with studs, a katana sheathed on his back. His scales are black with a few faint yellow. "I am called Kaa. I am the only hatchling in my nest. I hope to be of use to you."
Jaina listens intently to everyone's stories intently. "Oh, so many new faces, and one familiar one," Nodding at Vigny. "This is going to be a wonderful adventure. So, onto the details of the mission at hand,” Janira says with an eager grin. “After reviewing my mission reports personally, Master Shaine believes it is no coincidence that each time they entered the caves it was during a full moon, so it is also no coincidence that you have been called here now, just a day before the moon is full again. We both believe that tomorrow night is our best chance to find out why these caves are important and what exactly the gillmen are doing in there.
“The caves we’ll be travelling to lie under the base of the Kortos Mounts. We’ll need to spend every minute of daylight possible to reach the caves by foot, crossing over the Cairnlands, taking the paths to Diobel, and finally making our way through the wilderness. With any luck we won’t run into any of the local inhabitants. Once in the caves, we’ll need to work together to explore and determine whether any gillman are present or have been recently. Keep an eye out for any other clues that might hint at the caves’ significance, too.”
Looking at Ezekias, “The gillmen are a humanoid race much like humans save for the three piscine gills on both sides of their necks. They’re a little secretive but not outright hostile. Most live in or near the water.”
Everyone may make a Knowledge (Geography) check and a Knowledge (History) check if they'd like.
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Another tall woman with short red hair arrives as the halfling finishes her story. "Whew, crowds out there are crazy. I'm Volanya, pleased to meet you all."
The new arrival is wearing simple robes with an odd bundle of metal rods at her belt and rough, calloused knuckles. The only adornment is a necklace of prayer beads around her neck.
Those that got 10+ on Knowledge Geography know that at the center of the Isle of Kortos stand the Kortos Mounts.
Janira looks over at Brud, "There’s always the chance we may run into bandits along the way, and there are dozens of kinds of predators
in that forest. That’s why we should always be as prepared as possible. Also, Centaurs control the lowlands and surrounding wilderness of the Kortos Mounts. The areas farther up the Mounts are controlled by minotaurs, and the icy peaks are home to tribes of harpies. They’re always vying for territory, but with any luck, we should be able to avoid them and reach the caves without conflict."
Janira pauses for a moment waiting for more questions, then speaks up, "Now, before we head out, if there aren’t any more questions, we should take a moment to go through your gear and make sure nothing important gets left out." For those that let her, Janira takes a quick inventory of everyone's gear, recommending to those that don't have any rope, light source, food, or a way to make fire, that they aquire such adventuring gear. "If you have the coin, I might also suggest picking up some Alchemist's Fire or Acid Flasks and maybe an Antitoxin, as you never know what you might meet up with. Go ahead and make any purchases, I believe the shop across the street there just opened up, and meet back here in a half an hour."
As soon as the last member of the party makes it back to the Pig's Paunch, Janira jumps up, and hands everyone a piece of parchment and a quill. "Part of being a Pathfinder is keeping detailed and accurate records of your journeys. Explore, REPORT, Cooperate. Right. . ..Excellent! Let's get going, daylight's burning." With that, Janira leads the party out of Absalom as your journey begins.
You travel, the better part of the day as you make your way into the wilderness surrounding he Kortos Mounts. As the party progresses deeper into the forest, the trees towering overhead begin to shield most of what remains of the day’s sun and the vegetation beneath grows denser. Janira pauses a moment and pulls out an intricate silver compass emblazoned with the Pathfinder Society logo: the Glyph of the Open Road. “I received this wayfinder when I successfully completed my Confirmation. Should we be successful on our journey, you will get your own as well.” She flips open the device and holds it in front of her; the initials J. L. are engraved into the inside of the device’s lid. After studying the compass inside for a moment, she remarks, “We’re on the right path. We need to keep heading northwest past those large rocks up ahead.”
Most of the trees in this section of the forest have trunks that are too big for any creatures to share their space. Sporadic patches of light undergrowth provide areas for creatures to hide while restricting movement for those passing through. A large rock outcropping to the east rises nearly 20 feet above the forest floor, and a small sinkhole to the northwest drops off sharply, descending
to the ground 10 feet below.
As Janira puts the wayfinder away, n awful, scuttling mass of legs and mandibles scrambles forward out of the darkness. 2 spider swarms come crawling out of the dead stumps surrounding the are.
Initiative:
Round 1
Janira
Ezekias
Volyana
Luna
Kaa
Spider Swarms
Vigny
Brud
Janira: Janira backs away a bit. Let's see how they handle this. She starts to give a rousing speach, “Let us remember the sacrifice of the fabled Yasmin bint Faroud, favored of the Ten, who gave her life distracting Zythrustianax, draconic scourge of the Society, so dozens of junior agents could survive. Her act of benevolence is the epitome of cooperation within the Society.”
She Inspire's Courage. +1 Attack, +1 Damage, +1 Save vs. Fear for everyone.
Ezekias takes a step toward the Western Swarm and throws an Alchemist Fire dealing a bit of fire damage, and catching a bit of the swarm on fire as well.
Initiative:
Round 1
Janira
Ezekias
Volyana
Luna
Kaa
Spider Swarms
Vigny
Brud
End of Round
Ezekias throws an alchemist fire which does 9 points of damage dispersing the first swarm.
Volyana throws her alchemist fire which hits Ezekias.
Luna uses her Sorceress ability, calling Black Motes
The cold damage is effective, dispersing some of the swarm.
Kaa throws an acid flask dispersing the rest of the swarm.
All is quiet.
Janira claps excitedly, "Well done. Well done. That WAS exciting, now wasn't it. Well, daylight is burning, we're almost there."
As the group continues to travel through the wilderness, you find trails blocked by fallen objects, shortcuts overgrown, and other minor delays that cost extra time.
I need Everyone to make a Survival Check.
As the forest twists and turns, Kaa is able guide the party through the dense forest, despite Ezekias's attempts to catch that six-legged rabbit.
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 the group.
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.
Do you heed Janira's orders and run into the caves, or stay outside and face the minotaur?
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Ezekias' rapier makes it halfway out of his scabbard before Janira's words reach him.
We are trained to follow the orders of our Pathfinder Society superiors. Much as it burns me to let her take on that foe single handedly, her plan sounds good and her orders are clear.
Gods be with you!, he calls after her as he enters the cave behind Kaa and Vigny.
Eazy grabs the backpack unless someone else wants to. Once in relative safety inside the cave, he takes inventory of the contents.
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Brud bangs his axe against his shield towards the overgrown bovine.
I am no coward! NOR shall I let this overgrown bull tell me otherwise. I say we stand and fight as one! Lest you "tell", this creature it holds power over us?!
Brud doesn't go in, he stands right next to Janira, facing the threat head on in glorious battle.
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Eazy steps back outside.
What's going on? Brud, no one thinks you're a coward. But our esteemed Venture Captain has a plan that doesn't involve facing a minotaur face-to-face. If you disobey her orders, you risk putting her in even more danger.
He puts a hand on Brud's shoulder.
Come, my friend. Janira is wily and quick. She will lead the minotaur away and join us later. Until then, we will need your axe to keep us safe. Come.
Ezekias attempts to gently lead the mighty Viking into the cave.
Janira, looking over at Brud a bit of surprise on her face, "I understand your zeal, but now is not the time for heroics. I'll catch up with you shortly after I lead it away." With that she starts to run off away from the cave entrance, her crossbow out.
She hollers at the minotaur, about to take a shot at it with her crossbow.
Brud and Ezekias notice that she seems to be moving faster than normal.
Eventually, everyone makes it into the cave, some more reluctantly than others. You grab Janira's backpack and open it, taking inventory of the contents.
In the backpack are: 5 Potions, 5 scrolls, 2 wands, acid flask, 2 alchemist fires, holy water, smoke stick, tanglefoot bag, thunderstone, antitoxin, and 2 sunrods.