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You all make your way up the tunnel to the east, which climbs steeply, still lit by the dim blue fungi. As you climb, the breeze becomes stronger, and you can distantly hear what sounds like voices.
After about a hundred yards, the tunnel begins to level out--you're stepping forward, eager to be out of the tunnel, when Benny passes a corner and hears a squelching noise. Looking down the side-passage, he sees a semi-transparent blob of protoplasm rushing toward him, the bones and detritus of past meals still visible swirling around its dark nucleus! Another one begins to creep forward, emerging out of the shadows at the far end of the tunnel, as well.
The slimy blobs rush toward you, but Benny and Thaia are nimble enough to respond in time!
Initiative
Benny, Thaia<----
Blobs
Francis, Gratus, Gunter, Lhunk, Lissaya
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As Benny advances down the passageway and Thaia raises her gun, the oozes lurch forward. The one approaching Benny from the east makes its way down the hallway, into the reach of his spear...
And as Benny staggers back, it slams into him! Thaia's bullet blows a chunk of protoplasm free, but Benny feels his flesh start to sting where the ooze rammed him. The other ooze moves out of the side passage and, sensing Lhunk, lunges at him, ramming into the big man! It tries to wrap him in its slime, but he shakes it off.
Initiative
Benny, Thaia
Oozes
Francis, Gratus, Gunter, Lhunk, Lissaya<----
Red HP: 4 (low AC due to charge)
Blue HP: 15
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Lissaya orders the bird to take her down the side passage and casts a spell. "Draw it back here so we can flank it, Ben!"
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Not stopping to reload, Thaia fires a bolt of unerring force from her rifle using it as a focus.
[dice=force missile damage v red]1d4+1[/dice]
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Thaia's magical bolt splatters the weakened slime, and the little bit that's left staining the floor moves far too feebly to be a threat. You all breathe a sigh of relief.
Now that the noise of spells, slime, and gunshot have faded from your ears, you're able to catch your breath and listen more closely to those voices you heard. Down the eastern tunnel, you see a faint glimmer of light and, approaching it, the muffled voices become more and more familiar. You need traverse only another 120 feet of slightly damp tunnels before you emerge, suddenly, on the side of a hill at a cave mouth heavily screened by trees. One of the voices is definitely Janira's and, pushing your way through the trees, you make your way back around the hillside to the entrance where you began your exploration.
Janira stands there in the moonlight, chatting amiably and animatedly with the gillman that you met in the caves. Seeing you emerge, she waves to you excitedly.
"You're back!! Did you find much of interest in the caves? Uori here has been telling me the most fascinating stories about his people!"
The gillman smiles at you gently as well. "I take it from your appearance that you managed to drive off the vermin infesting the caves? If so, I thank you. My people owe you a great debt. I would be happy to repay it by answering any questions you may have."
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Uori, the gillman, smiles gently at Lhunk and pats him. "I shall be fine as long as I return to the water before the day is out. I thank you for your concern, though."
To the rest of the group, he says, "As you've discerned, this cave was once a holy shrine of Aroden, dead god of humanity." He sniffs, a brief moment of what might be...distaste? "However, it has lain untended for many, many years, perhaps since even before the god's death. My people have been coming to the cave to listen to the waters here for the past three generations. The purity of the waters in that spring is like nothing else, and we believe it to be a sacred sign. That, coupled with the way the carvings of Aroden's Twelve Guises--you saw them on your way in?--are fading despite the lack of weather or water in that chamber, makes me believe that the water here is reclaiming this bit of earth from the god who raised it out of the sea. Aroden's power, as we all know, is fading...if not faded completely." He smiles slightly. "Who knows...someday, perhaps, all of this will be underwater, the waters of the spring running out to connect to the sea and at last obliterate all traces of that god. But it will be millennia before that happens, if ever..."
You spend a few minutes saying your goodbyes, and then Uori makes his way off into the forest to return to the sea. Janira Gavix, seeming very pleased with how your expedition has gone, suggests that you all camp in the lee of the mountain for the night, and head out the next morning.
The next day dawns bright and sunny, and Janira leads you out and back toward the road to Diobel. The two days' march passes uneventfully, and as the sun is sinking toward the western horizon at the end of the second day you find yourselves back in Absalom.
Master Shaine is delighted to see you all again when you track him down in the halls of Skyreach. "You've returned! Most excellent, most excellent! I hope you all took good notes and have much to report? Yes? I'm so excited to hear what you've decided to name the caves!"
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With Uori finally sharing what he knows, Gratus gleefully takes notes.
Once back at the Grand Lodge, he hands over his journal to the Master of Scrolls.
Entry 1:
The wildlife and "locals" somewhat hampered our trek to the Kortos Mount's foothills, but our initial foray into the caves has already yeilded items of note (see attached rubbings of piscine pictographs).Entry 2:
The tunnels lead further underground, and it would seem, that we've stumbled upon an ancient Arodenite holy site. We've managed to decipher 4 carvings, each depicting one of Aroden's 12 guises; the Soldier, Craftsman, Shepherd and Tailor, to be precise. They do seem to deviate from the commonly known teachings from The History and Future of Humanity, though, perhaps hinting at early sectarianism among Aroden's faithful.Entry 3:
We've established diplomatic contact with the gillman we were hoping to find. He proves reticent in sharing his knowledge with us, but hopefully by clearing out some encroaching Darklands denizens, we will gain his trust.Entry 4:
The gillman finally divulged what he knows about the site; the Arodenite "temple" has been abandoned for some time, perhaps since before Aroden's death. The gillman mystic, named Uori, commented on the rapid deterioration of the carvings and pondered whether the dead god's waning or already non-existent influence is to blame. Never-the-less, the gillmen's reverence for the site is apparently a much more recent development, and with no obvious ties to its original purpose.
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Leading the group to the foot hills of the Kortos Mountains was no easy task given the plodding pace of most of the halflings in the party, yet with perseverance we made it there in time to beat the tide despite the delay of a pair of hungry hunting hippogriff.
Once at the opening, we were immediately set upon by one of the local minotaurs. Janira, fool that she is, concocted the wool-headed plan to lead the long-legged beast away, as if she were our nanny, and as if she could with those short legs. It is possible that in the woman's stupendous pride got the better of her and she deluded herself into believing she could overcome the minotaur herself, and thereby reap all the fame.
As most of the rest of company particularly that slanderous, and unsavory Bennybeck wavered (or in Bennybeck's case actually coward in the cave) I moved boldly to engage the beast in hopes of saving poor Janira from her own foolishness, the creature's immediate wroth, and perhaps save ourselves later from an ambush at the mouth of the cave, when we exited worn from our explorations. Rallying those in the party with heart, we were able to defeat the enraged monster--though I of course could have done it on my own if pressed. Needless to say we prevailed, and I applied the coup de grâce.
Janira, her pride stung, as well it should have been, proceeded to pout in an unwomanly manner, and refused to enter the cave, and explore with us even though she is purported to have had the most experience with the subject. Most of my own experience being in the depths of the dangerous Mwangi Expanse rather than Absalom's backyard as it were, but I digress.
Under the mountain, we encountered a gillwoman man, Uori, in a chamber containing a shrine dedicated to ancient Absalom and its 'deceased' patron Andoran. I of course stepped forward to handle the negotiations. The gillwoman man was obstinate being a man after all, no matter the configuration of his neck. My background in mercantilism won the day as it did in Alabastrine a month past, and we were given the man's blessing to explore, with the understanding that we would clear any foreign dangers from the place. And we did so eliminating a nascent undead threat, a kobold incursion, and some small oozes or perhaps colossal germs from the premises.
Appended are notes taken based on comments made by Uori, and a rough map of the site.
I have appended two additional forms detailing the unprofessional conduct of Janira Gavix, whose vast ego, I believe, stands in opposition to the Society's motto: Explore, report, cooperate! And the even more egregious words, and actions of Bennybeck Wabbittracks, who in my opinion, should be summarily drummed out of the Society, if not taken to the docks, and placed on the first cargo barge headed for Cheliax.
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From the hand of Bennybeck Wabbittracks, Pathfinder and proveurer of lost stuff.
We the esteemed members of the Pathfinder Society, well, and a lady with a gun, Stable Mable, who I really think is compensating for a lack of whatever she is lacking in, thought that she was the leader of the group. Kinda of violent and not so smart because she usually comes out both barrels a'blazin which does not always help situations. Anyway, to each their own I guess, I just hope that in the future that Stable learns how to be nice to people or else she will be a lonely ol' hag. I'm just saying. Here he draws a an ugly picture of a lady with a gun, warts and tongue sticking out.
We came across a minotaur that was trying to get us. Well, we showed him a thing or two. Here he has a picture of a cow man figure but gives it spots like a dairy cow.
We went into the caves and found a gillman. He was pretty nice and he asked us for help in clearing out some caves 9picture of a gill man) so we did. We got rid of skelentons and also some kobolds and some oozes. [pictures of each] I think that the oozes might have been attracted to Ms. Stable Mable since such creatures tend to bring the same kind of creatures. I wonder if they might be related?
Well we cleared up the caves and the gillman told us that the caves were once sacred and holy to Aroden. So I think we did a good thing here and I am happy that it becomes a part of the record of the distinguished Pathfinder society. Just be careful of Stable Mable.
From the Hand of
Bennybeck Wabbittracks.
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...Leading the group to the foot hills of the Kortos Mountains was no easy task given the plodding pace of most of the halflings in the party, yet with perseverance we made it there in time to beat the tide despite the delay of a pair of hungry hunting hippogriff.
Once at the opening, we were immediately set upon by one of the local minotaurs. Janira, fool that she is, concocted the wool-headed plan to lead the long-legged beast away, as if she were our nanny, and as if she could with those short legs. It is possible that in the woman's stupendous pride got the better of her and she deluded herself into believing she could overcome the minotaur herself, and thereby reap all the fame.
As most of the rest of company particularly that slanderous, and unsavory Bennybeck wavered (or in Bennybeck's case actually coward in the cave) I moved boldly to engage the beast in hopes of saving poor Janira from her own foolishness, the creature's immediate wroth, and perhaps save ourselves later from an ambush at the mouth of the cave, when we exited worn from our explorations. Rallying those in the party with heart, we were able to defeat the enraged monster--though I of course could have done it on my own if pressed. Needless to say we prevailed, and I applied the coup de grâce.
Janira, her pride stung, as well it should have been, proceeded to pout in an unwomanly manner, and refused to enter the cave, and explore with us even though she is purported to have had the most experience with the subject. Most of my own experience being in the depths of the dangerous Mwangi Expanse rather than Absalom's backyard as it were, but I digress.
Under the mountain, we encountered a gillwoman man, Uori, in a chamber containing a shrine dedicated to ancient Absalom and its 'deceased' patron Andoran. I of course stepped forward to handle the negotiations. The gillwoman man was
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Kreighton Shaine seems delighted by your notes. "Good, good, very excellent good! I'll file these away, and you can expect to hear from your Masters shortly!"
Indeed, within three days, each of you is approached by the Master you've worked with most closely in Skyreach. They confirm you as a full Pathfinder Field Agent, presenting you with a personalized wayfinder as well. You are now officially members of that old and glorious institution: the Pathfinder Society!