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As you lay resting in your beds among Absalom (or out partying, or what have you), in the middle of the night, a fellow Pathfinder rouses you from your sleep. It is about 4:00 AM, and before you attack them or complain, they state "Don't blame me. It's ol' Drandle Dreng. You are to meet in Dreng's office immediately."
When you arrive, you see Drandle Dreng in the room, and another man soaking his feet in a small metal bucket of steaming water. Of course, it's none other than Grandmaster Torch. Behind him stand two heavily armored half-orcs, their arms crossed over their massive chests and all four of their eyes constantly scanning the room for danger.
Dreng milky, half-closed eyes, normally offering a bearing of regal decrepitude, instead look sour, and he states, "Welcome! Sorry about the rousing in the early hours. I will begin the mission briefing once everyone has arrived."
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You see a scruffy looking half-elf in regular nondescript clothes. He is holding a simple quarterstaff but you note an array of odd weapons on his person.
*bows*
"Greetings Mr. Dreng, Mr. Torch, and greetings enforcers. I can imagine why the Grandmaster would have need of my skills but I look forward to learning what the Lodge desires of me. *looks around* Us."
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Celebdan steps into the room rather nondescriptly, but almost inevitably, eyes are drawn to him. He is a half-elf with jet black hair, but his features have combined the ethereal beauty of elves and the rugged looks of humans. Although he does not stand very tall, his quiet imposing aura gives him a presence that is hard to ignore. Celebdan is garbed in a simple yet elegant priest vestments, and a wooden symbol of Shelyn hangs around his neck. Beyond the usual adventurer's weapons and gears, he is carrying a well-crafted musical instrument which some of you might recognise as a portative organ.
He bows in respect to the Venture Captain and Grandmaster. In a rich tenor voice, Celebdan greets them, "A good morning, Venture Captain Dreng, and Grandmaster Torch. No, it is not an imposition at all. Certainly, we shall for the rest of the team."
Turning to Huratas, Celebdan continues his greetings, "A good morning to you, too. My name is Celebdan Barhador, a servant of Shelyn. I hail from Greengold in the lands of Kyonin, but have been living in Absalom for a few months now since I've joined the Society."
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A mysterious thin man with dark skin, sharp cheekbones, broad shoulders and bald head enters the place. He has many tattoos spread throughout the body, and a face painted in the eyes line. Under a black robe, he wears a long and colorful robe, ornated with sashes at the waist.
"Greetings. I'm Malakiah Uzamar. And I could not be more excited...", he yawns.
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A hulking man with ebony skin enters the lodge, wearing sleeveless wizard robes that display the thick ropes of muscle up and down his arms. The wands and scrolls in his belt are dwarfed by the glaive and flail sheathed on his back.
He speaks in a thick Mwangi accent. "Well met, allies. You can call me Finn. Hopefully this mission turns out to be worth the trouble."
"Pathfinders, this is Grandmaster Torch," Dreng mutters sleepily. "He’s an… associate of the Society. We owe him a favor after that business in Sedeq, and it seems he’s looking to collect."
"You wound me, my lord," says Grandmaster Torch, leaving Dreng chuckling softly to himself in the background. "I come in the interest of the common good. You see, my good friend and occasional business associate, Nuar Spiritskin, is missing. You may know him better as the Minotaur Prince of Absalom, the head of the Taurean Embassy and something of a famous foreign dignitary, what with his assertions that he speaks for all Minotaurs everywhere. A collection of papers recently entered my possession that spoke of a grand maze beneath the city; naturally, my first instinct was to discuss the matter with Nuar. He seemed as intrigued as I and after I elicited his help, he set out at once for the maze. It has been several days, more than enough time for a minotaur to solve a maze, and I grow worried for my bovine chum."
"Clearly, I cannot take this matter to the guard. Poor Nuar would be scandalized if word got around that he couldn’t solve a simple maze. I can provide you with directions to this maze, called Delirium’s Tangle, if you promise to return Nuar quietly to his home. I’m even willing to let your organization keep the artifact I believe lies in the maze’s center. Some ancient, elven hourglass—my notes aren’t specific as to what it does. Just ensure the Prince’s safety."
Dreng looks incredulous, but solemnly nods. "Nuar is a useful ally to the Society and a lost labyrinth below Absalom herself is too convenient to pass up. Take an hour to prepare and then head out. And be thorough; no telling what you’ll find down there."
They stand around as if expecting questions.
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A man dressed in a well-worn green robe, with a scraggly brown beard, and a wicked-looking scythe across his back, strides into the room, his steps dogged by a strange creature the size of a tall man, appearing to be same strange hybrid between owl and bear.
"Hello! Sorry I'm late. I'm Radagast, and this is Fluffy! Did I hear someone say that someone managed to get themselves lost? Let's go find them!"
Almost as an afterthought, he adds:
"Oh, be careful of Fluffy - he can bite if he gets startled!"
Radagast shrugs apologetically.
"I'm still training him..."
Dreng begins to nod off to sleep. Grandmaster Torch answers all questions.
"Is his claim to speak for all Minotaurs total BS, Or does he at least represent a decent sized heard? Who told you about the maze?"
"Oh, he's very real. He’s something of a local diplomat: officially, he represents Kortos’ minotaur tribes here in Absalom, but most of those tribes aren’t quite as politically minded as Nuar. He seems to know just about everyone, though. Very useful fellow."
"I found out about the maze from a collection of papers I acquired. My notes refer to it as Delirium’s Tangle. The author claims to have once been lost in the maze ages ago and escaped by pure luck. I imagine it’s hardly the simple mines and crypts you’re accustomed to. The design sounds elven, but I haven’t finished translating everything. Perhaps you can enlighten me on your return."
"Can you tell us more about this Delirium’s Tangle? Its history? Any mystery that surround it?"
"I know little about its history or mystery. It's below the Ivy District, but I couldn’t possibly tell you how deep, or even its surface relation. My notes only tell how to reach it, and even in that they’re needlessly confusing."
"Grandmaster, you know Nuar well. What might possibly have deterred him from returning if it was a simple maze? I trust he had taken some precaustions before he entered, which it seems now, were not sufficient."
"Perhaps he got caught up searching for artifacts. The notes mention a large hourglass of elven design. I believe this may be Izryen’s Hourglass, an artifact left behind when the elves first fled Golarion. It appears often in elven astrological writings, and sounds like a complicated timepiece. Should the Pathfinder Society have no interest, I’d love to add it to my own collection."
"Minotaurs do not simply get lost in mazes. There is either some magical trickery at work, or he fell victim to a trap or some villainous resident of the labyrinth. We should be prepared for danger."
"Very few citizens of Absalom go crawling about beneath the streets, let alone below the sewers. Even I didn’t realize there were any natural caverns below the city; it seems a trifle unsecured to my mind. But even then, it almost sounds from my notes as if the Tangle somehow hides itself, or subconsciously steers people away."
Grandmaster Torch looks over at Dreng and raises an eyebrow at Dreng's slumber, then Torch looks back at the group, "I except you should make preparations quickly and then leave immediately, barring having any more questions for me."
"Can we see those papers, Grandmaster?"
"No. Simply put, they are very old, and likely hold some value. I don’t fancy them being folded and crumpled and dragged through mud. Besides, they’re far from useful—mostly nonsensical ramblings and gibberish. It’s taken me a month to understand them as well as I have."
You head to the Ivy district, and follow the directions given by Torch. The descent down through the forgotten maintenance tunnels and natural caverns below Absalom is mercifully uneventful, an it takes about one hour to travel here.
There are many little tracks down here as well as bigger tracks which look to be originated from the Minotaur, and the caverns split in all different directions. It's hard to tell the tracks apart at times as there are so many.
Radagast manages to directly follow the Minotaur's tracks. Through his expertise, you manage to only take 1 hour until you find a change in scenery from dull caves to something more interesting.
The cavern opens from a bottleneck into a large, smooth cavern of striated blue stone and pale, sandy floors. The walls glisten with moisture, and a small pool sits on the eastern side of the chamber. All across the area, thick carpets of fungus blanket the stones.
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Before entering the caves, Celebdan pulls out a wand and luckily manages to activate it on himself on his very first try.
In the caves, Celebdan generally keeps to the rear to let his more martial teammates take the lead. He assists to summon some dancing lights as well to illuminate the area.
Reaching the cavern, Celebdan goes and examine the fungus to determine if there's anything unusual about them.
People begin to spread out into the room.
Celebdan knows that the fungus in this cave is pretty typical cave fungi growth, and nothing really dangerous.
A very slight tremor is noticed by the majority of the party near where Radagast is standing.
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- Bolded Characters May Post Their Turn
Huratas (-0) - Mage Armor
Malakiah (-0) - Mage Armor
Celebdan (-0)
Fluffy (-0)
Radagast (-0)
Finn (-0) - Mage Armor
Blue (-0)
Red (-0)
Both Huratas and Malakiah move forward.
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- Bolded Characters May Post Their Turn
Huratas (-0) - Mage Armor
Malakiah (-0) - Mage Armor
Celebdan (-0) - Longstrider
Fluffy (-0)
Radagast (-0)
Finn (-0) - Mage Armor
Blue (-0)
Red (-0)
A beetle comes out of the ground and tries to sink its teeth into Radagast.
It misses!
The beetle actually looks like it glows a bit, creating normal light within 10 ft. of it.
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Another one comes up on the other side and also tries to bite Radagast.
Another miss!
This beetle also glows.
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- Bolded Characters May Post Their Turn
Huratas (-0) - Mage Armor
Malakiah (-0) - Mage Armor
Celebdan (-0) - Longstrider
Fluffy (-0)
Radagast (-0)
Finn (-0) - Mage Armor
Blue (-0)
Red (-0)
Between Radagast's, Huratas's, and Fluffy's beatdown, the beetles are now unconscious, but still alive.
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Huratas (-0) - Mage Armor
Malakiah (-0) - Mage Armor
Celebdan (-0) - Longstrider
Fluffy (-0)
Radagast (-0)
Finn (-0) - Mage Armor
There are various tunnels in this cavern that branch off. Most of them bear the tracks of beetles. There's also a large cavernous exit to the Northeast that looks like it has lots of heavy foot traffic, among that foot traffic is a Minotaur's tracks.
Searching around, there's a nest that the mining beetles have made. Inside, there's a scroll and three potions:
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Radagast casts Stabilize on each of the beetles, followed with Read Magic, and then gives the potions a sniff as well (I automatically pass the DC).
"That's a Scroll of Lesser Restoration - handy if you get poisoned. The three potions are Potions of CLW - handy if you get hurt!"
He then continues on his way, exploring the passage beyond this chamber.
The natural caverns suddenly give way to worked stone and metal fixtures. Dangling glass balls flicker and cast a weak, greenish glow across the chamber. Ahead, a series of greentiled, wide, terraced stairs slope up to an imposing bronze door, partly torn from its hinges. The stairs bear hundreds of symbols that seem to warp and flicker.
The reek of decay, along with a pungent, acidic smell fills the chamber. Heaps of bones and garbage are scattered about the room. On both sides of the bronze doors, numerous small idols sit in niches and nooks. Their clumsy design clearly contrasts the delicate swoops and strokes of the walls and door.