[PFS] GM Derek's W's The God's Market Gamble (Inactive)

Game Master Derek Weil

The summons from Drandle Dreng is brief and a bit odd: "Meet Kreighton Shaine in the stables to discuss missing artifacts." Aside from some briefings during training, few Pathfinders deal with the Society’s elven Master of Scrolls. In the muddy stables, Kreighton’s scholarly robes drag through the muck, and his soft shoes are clearly soaked through, though he doesn’t seem to notice.

"I’ve been working on an extensive study of religious relics, trying to ascertain whether items gain a certain aura of divinity that cannot be detected through normal means. I’ve been collecting these artifacts through a series of well-known dealers in the God’s Market. We’ve never had any trouble before, but recently several of our couriers have been waylaid by a particularly elusive bandit." Kreighton pauses briefly as his mud-soaked robe snags on a nail and he nearly falls over, but a stable boy catches his arm and steadies him.

"As they were headed through the Ascendant Court," he continues, "a group of thugs ambushed our couriers. The first time I thought it was a coincidence — a random mugging. After the second time, however, Grandmaster Torch had some harsh words with me. He suspects someone has targeted our couriers specifically. The Drandle boy suggested I have you investigate the disappearances." There is a long, uncomfortable pause and for a minute it seems the elf has completely forgotten he was discussing something.

Finally, he glances up with a sort of stunned look on his face. "Oh yes, here, this list will help you. The Grandmaster has helpfully provided it as a starting point."

Belvica looks up after staring at her axe and smiles.

dotting

here

Before we start, Justin wants to make/buy a cold iron axe and a silver dagger. I'm not sure how the weapon making stuff works. If you want, I'll pay full price and we can just say Justin made them, assuming cold iron and silver are even within his abilities. If not, he will begrudgingly buy them.

Relics, huh? This should be good.

Contilo blankly stares at the elf while he explains the mission. Then reads the note.. Blankly stares again..

sooo, we need to find who ever is taking our artifacts? or the artifacts themselves? or both?.. contilo trails off.

eitherway! i think we should speak to the shopkeep first, then the tavern guy, then the guy selling the artifact - he might be in on something and we should have are knowledge weapon drawn and ready for him!

I'm with the halfling, of course! Smartest guy I know. To the shop!

Yet another halfling, smelling of the sea, his desert clothing interlaced with the clothing of a sailor, follows the elf. It is hard to read his expressions behind the mask that hides his face, but it is fairly certain he is just as confused as everyone else. A dodo, a good couple of inches taller than the halfling, trots along behind its master. Upon reading the note himself, the halfling speaks. "Oh good, finally a mission that doesn't sound so dangerous!" The dodo nods in agreement.

Checking in, will post IC later tonight

What the hell is that? Xavian will ask the third halfling, pointing at the "thing" following the masked individual. And I wish you hadn't said anything about danger, it takes all the fun out of the adventure!

Heccan Abraxi comes stumbling into the stables a half second after the meeting starts. He smells slightly of fair to good wine and perhaps a faint hint of faded perfume. His eyes are slightly reddened, betraying the fact that he may have indulged in a few too many vices the previous evening. He tries desperately to blink his eyes open as he strains to follow the elven master's explanation. Furloughing his brow, he reads the note and seems to finally get the gist of the assignment.

Hello my good fellows! My sincere apologies for my tardiness. I had some...well let us just say pressing Society business to finish up. Another disappearance, hm? I dare say we are finding a niche. Starting with the tavern is sound. Heccan looks down and seems to notice for the first time that he is standing in a stable and, more specifically, in a thick spot of mud. His face wrinkles and he looks about the stable and looks to the three halflings, appearing to see them for the first time as well. Egads! Why are we meeting in a stable of all places? Am I at the right party? I am feeling rather, well tall, and somewhat over dressed to be honest.

Heck grimaces as he looks down, trying in vain to lift the hem of his cloak off the muddy floor of the stable.

Not sure its a party, but it seems we are the party now. If there is no further cause for delay, lets go! C'mon Belvica! You too!

Belvica looks at Xavian, then pets him like a puppy and then says, "Mesa goins...wassa party ifsaso mesaneedsa a palmswine... mewantsa

No trail of bodies? That just means we have to hide them, right? Justin grins at his own cleverness and leaps off of stall wall he was sitting on, landing in the mud and spraying his neighbors. Oops! Sorry, little dudes.. Master Heccan... he says in genuine dismay. I'll buy you a drink on the way

Contilo turns to Xavian and Kobad, i dont know why mr heccan doesn't like it here. i mean HayHead loves it here...
i certainly have been ignoring her a lot lately.. maybe i will make sure she get well treated here.
snapping out of thought contilo realizes that the gang is probably about to leave on this next adventure. He loads all of his possessions up onto HayHead and starts to roll out.

Contilo will buy a wand of Mage armour before we go.

Contilo ties his newly purchased wand onto his belt, it is a thick wand made of bone with leather wrapped around one end presumably the handle.

Tristan is not uncomfrtabel in the stables, or surrounded by a host of halflings. He does look a bit askance when Kreighton mentions the Lance of Iomedae.

"I don't know of the Inheritor's Lance, what can you tell us about it? If someone is stealing, especially relics of my Goddess, then we will certainly bring them to justice!"

Would I know anything about this lance? Knowledge check Just in case.

Know Religion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

As Contillo suggests a course of action, Tristan nods and urges the others to follow. "You can wet your beaks later, we have to follow up on these relic thefts first..."

Kobad will also be purchasing 2 spring-loaded wrist sheathes and putting his wands in them

Kobad looks to Xavian. His mask glares at his halfling brother. "That thing, as you put it, is my friend, Waldo. He is a Dodo. We met in the Shackles." After hearing Justin talk, Kobad puts Waldo between himself and the human, after all, Waldo is taller and can hide the halfling easily.

Belvica walks over to Waldo and pets it on the head. Wild Empathy 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13

"Maysa wese goesa, HAHAAHHAHAHA, Isa likesa yur birz"

Master Shaine turns to Tristan:

"The shard came from a lance that Iomedae used in battle with a demon while she was mortal. It wasn't her most favorite weapon, but anything belonging to a god, especially one who passed the test of the Starstone, is very valuabl eot certain collectors, and to us for study."

You can't recall anything special mentioned about this particular lance in any of Iomedae's holy texts.

"A word of advice to you all. The Graycloaks are a force of professed nonbelievers who police the God's Market and the whole Ascendant Court Their atheism is meant to ensure they favor no group of worshippers over another. They are not likely to be impressed with overtly religious displays, and have not always been on good terms with the Society, so please be discreet."

Any other questions for Master Shaine before proceeding?

Heccan laughs and slaps Tristan on the shoulder. Ha ha! That's a good fellow. I will accept your most generous offer, but I am afraid our perpetually sober compatriot is right. Business before pleasure. Have no fear my friend. We will make quick work of this assignment and be into our cups beige nightfall. Oh, and my good eleven master, why are we meeting in the stables? Do you fear you are being watched?

A dodo? I've never seen such a thi.... err, creature! What can it do? Can you ride it? Xavian continues to stare at the dodo as he falls in line behind said human. I never knew you could find something like that in The Shackles. The halfling doesn't even seem to notice being sprayed by the mud caused by the fighter's movements. I wonder if I could find something like that.

Waldo makes happy dodo sounds when Belvica pats him. "Oh yes, he is very friendly," he replies to whatever she just said. "Xavian, I can't ride it, he is my familiar. He stores my magic for me so that I can access it. He also helps make me more alert." "He gives me +4 initiative and he is AWESOME!!! Also, if I were tiny I could ride him."

To the elf: "Do we have any suspects as to whether or not there is an organization involved here?"

Oh, a familiar! OK, I've heard of those. Stores magic? Handy fella. Xavian will also kindly pet the dodo. Glad to have you along, Waldo! Speaking of along, are we there yet?

"Well, to answer your questions, no I can't say why we're meeting here. All Torch's idea, you see. It's hard to say what his reasons are. The man is always suspicious of everyone and everything!"

"And whether or not there's an organization such as the Consortium behind this, we simply haven't got enough evidence to say for sure. It could even be a lone thief for all we know."

Heccan sighs audibly. Very well, off to the tavern we go. For knowledge instead of drink, though. Pity.

So Contilo suggested visiting the shopkeeper first, and Heccan says the alehouse. I'll tell you the order won't mess up your mission, so the next one to chime in breaks the tie!

well maybe mr heccan was right.. Those people at alehouses tend to be very wordy.. and you drunkards.. i mean you fellows can grab a drink too.

Oops! I meant to agree with Contilo. To the shopkeeper!
On second thought, I am not certain I can handle going to the tavern sober at the moment. Let us harass the shopkeeper instead.

LOL

Very well Contilo. The tavern it is, you have swayed me once again.

Waldo roll his eyes at the dialogue unfolding before him, and he and Kobad plod along behind the group.

Justin plods along with the party, bringing up the rear and watching for trouble.

Tristan grimaces as the party heads to the tavern. "Keep alert, and not in your cups. We may miss something important here. If I read the note correctly, we will be going to Erastil's alehouse, and seeing a Friar. A priest of Old Deadeye should be friendly to our cause. Let's see if we can find him."

Tristan, assuming he knows the way, walks at the head of the group clearing the way and moving at a swift pace.

Belvica smiles and starts humming a song Gensa aleshouse wesa goes, Gensa aleshouse wesa goes nada bessera thingsatodoos buts gensa aleshouse wesa goes!!!! as she walks towards the alehouse.

Tristan is easily able to lead the team to the alehouse.

Erastil’s Alehouse is a thriving brewery and alehouse run by monks of Erastil. Located near the edge of the Avenue of the Hopeful, it’s currently a challenge to enter, with a mob of followers of a would-be god crowding around the entrance hoping to catch a glimpse of the future godling drinking a swig of ale. A monk stands at the entrance blocking the path of some of the more aggressive followers who are trying to squeeze into the alehouse.

As the you approach, the monk at the entrance looks up with a frustrated expression on his face. "I’m sorry, my friends, but the Alehouse is a mite full at the moment."

When you explain the urgency of your business the monk nods sympathetically and arranges for you to meet with Friar Horace in the alley behind the alehouse. Friar Horace is a thin, precise man with a hawkish nose. His description of events is precise and to the point.

"Aye, I saw what happened; they attacked that Pathfinder right over there," the friar says as he makes a curt gesture to a patch of dirt in the alley behind the alehouse. "They were wearing gray cloaks, but I don’t think they were guards. Your friend was holding her own, but then someone shot her from that rooftop." He makes another precise gesture pointing to a building across the alley.

"I called out for Brothers Ellis and Freel and grabbed my staff, but by the time I got outside, it was all over. We were able to help your friend back into the alehouse and Brother Freel went to fetch the Graycloaks."

"I didn’t see what happened to the relic your friend was carrying - they must have grabbed it while I was getting my staff. When Brother Freel tried to follow the thugs, he found their cloaks discarded at the delivery entrance to the bakery. After that, things open up to the market proper and it’s almost impossible to follow anyone out there.”

Tristan keeps a close eye on the Friar as she speaks his testimony. He watches closely for any tells that might tip if the man has more to say or is saying anything untrue.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Maybe we should check the bakery as well. See if the thugs went through there. Also, see if we can get hold of the cloaks to look at; maybe we can glean something from them

Heccan attempts to aid Tristan's Sense Motive check.

Sense Motive Aid Another: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

While at the tavern, Heccan will also try to Gather Information if possible to see if there is any word on the street regarding the thefts or of those responsible for the thefts.

Diplomacy Gather Information: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

Tristan and Heccan can tell that the Friar is being completely honest. He really didn't get the best look at what was going on.

Heccan asks around, but unfortunately no one he speaks to is able to prvide more information. It seems the Friar and his associates were the only witnesses.

Who wants to search the bakery? Anyone going ot try to check the rooftop? And if so, you can take 10 or 20 on searches, just let me know your plans.

Contilo climbs up to the rooftop that the monk had pointed too.
perception = take 20 + 4 = 24

Belvica climbs 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13 and then takes 20 on her perception 20 +5=25

Waldo is not so good at climbing. Kobad and he will go with the group that searches the bakery. "Let's get a good look, Waldo."

Kobad has a 22 and Waldo a 23.

Belvica stumbles a bit on her first try, but then makes the climb easily. Contilo scrambles up as well.

Justin pats both Waldo and Kobad on the head, "Good work guys. Let's see if they found anything on the roof. Then maybe we can hurry over to that pub.". How long will it take to get to the Pitview Pub?. When we meet back up with the others, Justin lets Kobad show them the note. He seems quite pleased with himself and hums while cutting at his forearm with his new silver dagger, Angel.

Xavian will make a careful search of the discarded cloaks, if they were ever recovered. Take 20

The Pub is relatively close by, probably less then half an hour's walk. You probably have time to visit another witness first if you like.

Xavian gives the cloaks a good shaking-out, but his efforts are rewarded only by making the cloaks slightly less dusty.

"Might I suggest we head to the Pitview Pub and do a little reconnaissance? It wouldn't hurt to know what we are getting into. But I do hope this doesn't go to a fight..."

Ha! This assignment is turning into a pub crawl. By all means , to the Pitview.

Justin crumples his face in deep concentration before slowly speaking, "Err.... hold on a sec..". He rushes over, as if in a daze, to a nearby wall and pulls out one of his daggers (you cannot tell, and probably don't care, which one). He begins scratching some math on the wall, slowly at first, but with increasing speed and enthusiasm toward the end. When he is done, he turns around and says simply, "No." After an awkward pause, he realizes that no one else could hear the conversation in his head. "I mean.... not yet... we have time," he gestures back to the scratches on the wall behind him, "to go visit at least one other witness. I want to talk to the guy who was selling the relic." He grins, "And I bet Mr. T. is just itching to thump some sense into that guy as well. So it is settled, right?"

Contilo glances back and forth between the excessively large human and all his weapons and the rest of the group...
uhhhh..... sure... well actually we would have time to talk to one other person, but then again being better prepared at the pub might give us an advantage as apposed to rushing in at the last second.
contilo nervously fiddles with his hands.. sooo im up for anything, you guys can decide! contilo quickly pretends to be busy looking into his backpack for something or nothing.

Heccan shrugs at Justin's suggestion, then nods his agreement. Having more information before heading to the Pitview would be advantageous. A sound course of action. Let us have words with this shady merchant.