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It was a ragtag group that made its way all the way up to Lastwall, there to meet up with the Venture-Captain Shevar Besnik in the back room of the Ace of Dreams, a gambling house that serves as the Pathfinder Society’s Uscalin Lodge.
Loud and raucous conversation filters through the door from the common room of the Uscalin Lodge, which doubles as the Ace of Dreams gambling house. “I know it’s here. I had it just a moment ago.” Venture-Captain Shevar Besnik lifts piles of papers and numerous boxes off of his desk, stacking them on various side tables and chairs in his clean but overly cluttered office. The tall, Varisian man’s face parts in a toothy grin as he lifts up a solid oak box. “Found it!” As if to punctuate his discovery, a crowd of players in the gambling hall erupts in cheers.
Distracted for a moment, Besnik stares at the closed office door that leads to the common room. “Desna laughs. Well, she laughs at me, but she smiles on them.” The venture- captain shrugs. “All they have is gold; what I have in here is far more valuable.”
Besnik opens the box’s lid painstakingly slowly, careful to keep the contents out of sight. With reverence, he lifts a large tome from the box and gently sets it on the table. “Careful, the binding hasn’t held up well. This is one of the few Tomes of Righteous Repose left in the world. I’m pretty sure there’s one in the library of the Sancta Iomedaea in Vigil, but I’m—well, let’s just say I’m no longer welcome there. That’s a story for another time.
“Up until today, I’ve only skimmed the pages. I didn’t want to damage it, but now that you’re here, I can’t wait any longer. Care to plumb the depths of this most ancient and wonderful storybook? Oh, the marvelous adventures we will soon read! This tome is a collection of tales describing how various crusaders died gloriously and honorably. I’m hoping to find some clues in the text that will lead us to an as-of-yet undiscovered site or relic. Maybe we can trade a bit of what we find with the Knights of Ozem and earn ourselves some goodwill. After what happened last time, we need it.
“Care to peruse the pages with me?”
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The black leather clad catwoman smiles at the gambling den, "My sort of place", moments later a miniature elf woman with black and white streaked hair and attired in a black leather outfit wanders in to join her "Such lovely smells, gold and desperation"
Listening to the brief, the pair pay attention closely, allowing the Venture captain to talk without interruption.
"This is a lovely place you have here, a gambling hall in Lastwall? Do you have trouble with the authorities?" Scarlet asks, only half in jest "...and what happened 'last time'?"
***
"Hmmm" Scarlet scratches her chin as she looks at the book "I don't normally deal in antique books, not my field" she looks across at the frowning brownie who equally seems a bit unsure about the tome "Do we know it's genuine Boram?"
Leaving the halfling to his studies, the pair of rogues, one big one small, start to ingratiate themselves to the locals...
Scarlet
Diplomacy
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The Keleshite is in his late twenties, wearing loose clothing typical of Qadiran origin and a metallic armor covering his chest. A turban covers his head, revealing his piercing blue eyes, aquiline nose and well-tended short beard. His face has already known too many hardships, as his many scars testify. He is quite muscular and has the strong hands of one who has worked since the earliest days of his childhood. A tall, shafted weapon called a fauchard rests next to him, the blade bearing many engravings and arabesque dedicated to the Dawnflower.
When one of his companions shows up, he extends his hand and introduces himself. "Well met, I am Jhalan Aajav, blade of the Dawnflower and righter of wrongdoings. I understand we are to work together on this mission."
"Now let's see what we can find."
A broad smile crosses the catwomans face, "Scarlet, and that is Poppy" she points over to the brownie "Rusty the Wonderdog is outside" she gives a slightly theatrical bow "Nothing but an honest travelling circus troupe in miniature to all who may enquire - but also handy with a range of sideshow tricks, such as unlocking boxes, sleight of hand, acrobatics and..you know...circus stuff"
She appears to carry only a well-made crossbow, and the elf-in-miniature brownie likewise carries a small crossbow, but appears overly large in the tiny hands.
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The pale elven man silently watches the Venture Captain with a certain detached air about him. Hailing from the frozen arctic wastes far to the north, he is still not used to such large gatherings of living things, nor is he comfortable with the noise they produce.
Still, he is a Pathfinder and has seen more of the world than anyone in his clan before. Rhanloi nods a greeting to the familiar faces, thankful for their partnership now and in the past. Once the Tome of Righteous Repose is revealed, though, his intellectual curiosity is instantly sparked. He looks through the pages and attempts to recall what he may know of the book or its contents...
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A small gaunt creature with a staff in hand glowers from within the shadows of it's heavy cloak. Pulling his hood back just enough to reveal a dark gray Wayang face marked by raised geometric patterned scars as he grumbles "An ancient and wonderful storybook, that been overlooked. It may have some interesting shadowy nooks to investigate."
Giving a nod of recognition to Scarlet, He address the others "For those I haven't meet yet, I am Mogall an Illusionist lets see what secretes we can find."
Mogall aids Broam and Jhalan and attempts to recall what he knows about the book and the adventures contained within it's covers.
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A thin, sharply featured half-elf bows to companions and then straights his posture. His long, blonde hair moves almost magically back into place.
I have yet made the fortune and pleasure of adventuring with you. However, I usually frequent establishments such as these. You can call me Krux. Pleased to meet all of you.
Krux spends the reminder of time socializing with the patrons of the gambling house picking up gossip and offering short-term proposals of romance while some of his new companions read through dusty old tomes.
Jhalan and Scarlet fill in some of the background details, while Rhanloi knows most about Lastwall's history :
The tome of righteous repose provides a rare account of the Shining Crusadde, the fight against the lich called the Whispering Tyrant, which eventually led to the establishment of lastwall. It was written by Rellakarabee Fustbickle, a gnome poet, who interviewed dozens of crusaders and wrote about the most heroic and tragic deaths in this book.
Rellakarabee Fustbickle is a gnome poet, known mostly among literary scholars. His subject matter revolves around heroic figures and tragic deaths. His style is too melodramatic to gain significant acclaim, though he is popular in some circles.
Fustbickle based his poems on true stories from the Shining Crusade. However, the finer details are ambiguous at best. Rumors suggest he was on speaking terms with the mortal Iomedae.
Lastwall was established in 3828 ar, when it seceded from Taldor. It is a military dictatorship, primary focused on keeping the Whispering Tyrant locked away and the orc hordes of Belkzen at bay.
Lastwall originated from the remnants of crusaders living in the area after the conclusion of the Shining Crusade, the great war against the evil wizard-king Tar- Baphon (also known as the Whispering Tyrant, who rose after his death as a lich).
Lately, Lastwall has had to recruit less pious individuals to fill its ranks. On the borders, followers of Gorum and Kurgess are more common than paladins of Iomedae and Sarenrae.
The Venture-Captain allows the adventurers to browse through the tome. Soon, they come across a significant piece of art next to one of the poems in the Tome of Righteous Repose. The piece depicts three samurai in a Minkai art style.
The Venture-Captain jolts upright. “Minkai art! Let’s see, the Minkai Empire was founded in 3619, and the empire’s first explorers didn’t reach the west coast of the continent until at least 3691 ar, which leaves only sixty years before the beginning of the Shining Crusade itself. These women could have been among the first Minkai citizens to reach the Inner Sea! Let’s see, what secrets does the poem on
this page hold?”
Besnik smiles reassuringly. “We may not be able to read every word of this poem, but what we can read is more than enough to tell us that we need to investigate this site. What is clear to me is that the poem references some sort of protection against the Whispering Tyrant. The Knights of Ozem have always been secretive about the many and varied ways they keep that old lich locked away in Gallowspire, even among themselves. It’s possible that they have no idea this particular protection exists. Whatever Gydular is, it must be important.”
Jahalan and Scarlet are the first to come forward with some basic knowledge on Ustalav and Virlych:
Virlych is a desolate, mountainous county of Ustalav where nothing natural lives. The weather is punishing and the ground rocky. Travelers do sometimes pass through the accursed land, though.
Gallowspire is the Whispering Tyrant’s former fortress. When the Knights of Ozem imprisoned him there in 3827 ar, it marked the end of the Shining Crusade. They placed numerous secret wards and protections over his prison so that he could never escape.
The forces of Lastwall no longer have a direct presence there, having been expelled by cultists and the unholy presence of the Whispering Tyrant, even in dormancy.
Jahlan also mentions some things about the Rondeau of Righteous Retention
To keep the Whispering Tyrant locked away, the Shining Crusade implemented a layered defense. Even if one line of defenses fails, there are several others keeping his immortal powers at bay.
The Knights of Ozem have compartmentalized knowledge of the locks on Tar-Baphon’s magical prison. This removes the threat of any one Knight becoming compromised and allowing an enemy to gain knowledge of all the prison’s safeguards.
Boram reads the poem thoroughly, and his knowledge of the wild gives him a good idea of where Gydular's Point might be. It was once a famous peak in the Hungry Mountains, as the view if provided of the surrounding area was both majestic and militarily strategic. In 4187 ar, a powerful earthquake crumbled the peak, leaving massive slabs of jagged rock that locals renamed the Greyshards.
Besnik gives the PCs a traveler’s any-tool, a wand of cure serious wounds (5 charges), and a wand of protection from evil (7 charges), as well as six flasks of holy water, one scroll of lesser restoration, two potions of lesser restoration and one soul stimulant.
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The journey through the Hungry Mountains takes several days. As the group travels through the lifeless Hungry Mountains in Virlych toward their destination, a drizzle transforms into an ever more aggressive snowstorm, as if the weather itself were keeping them away, and strange whispers fill the air.
It is a small consolation that the tedious climb is shallow enough to not cause altitude sickness. Eventually, a toppled obelisk on a peak marks the entrance to an underground fortress. A skeleton lies just outside the entrance, and a staircase descends 30 feet into the mountainside.
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Krux dons his cold weather outfit and performs some holiday shopping. He procures a wand of endure elements and a scroll with five castings of Spider Climb. He purchases six bronze cups, a months worth of trail rations and a small barrel filled with 30 gallons of ale. He also hires a porter to carry his supplies.
He whistles a tune and constantly looks up for danger.
Beautiful weather we are having on this pleasant journey. Won't you agree, Camela?
The tan, stout black-haired female half-orc nods quietly shuffling her feet along the path.
The avdenturers are on edge at the sight of the skeleton. It looks in good shape, as if it hasn't been exposed to the outside weather for long. Unlike the experience most had during their confirmation, or some other time, this skeleton has no intention of moving around.
A maze of sprung traps obstructs this large entrance hall (). Blades, spikes, blast marks, and bones litter the ground. Carved holy symbols of Aroden, Sarenrae, and Pharasma cover the walls, but many of them have been vandalized. Off the south end is a room (), where a single sarcophagus dominates the east end of the room. The walls are adorned with engravings of soldiers in plate armor holding their helms reverently to their sides, eyes downcast. Minkai writing marks the lid of the sarcophasgus, probably a family name. A holy symbol of some sort lies on the dusty ground. The lid of the sarcophagus is slightly ajar.
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Camela, please stay outside with the supplies near the skeletal guardian. You two are a perfect match for conversation.
The milk-skinned half-elf gingerly steps around the sprung traps and quietly examines engravings. He withdraws a wand of Mage Armor and triggers it on himself after spying the empty sarcophagus.
It will take some time, but we could thoroughly search for additional clues. I'd hate for one of us to end up like these would-be graverobbers. It appears this undead resident was kidnapped or went to the kitchen for a snack.
Krux searches for traps, but find none but the sprung ones. Meanwhile, Mogall figures out that the holy symbol is dedicated to the god Shizuru ().
From what Rhanloi can discern, the Minkai writing is indeed a name. It reads よ は な と つ, Yohanatotsu.
The holy symbol looks like it was made of silver, and looks like a special design. There's a good chance it was made to be part of a holy ritual.
Krux has a look inside the sarcophagus, and confirms it is empty.