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Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch glances out a window as the last wisps of twilight fade over the Fenwall Mountains. Turning from the sight, she runs her hand along the rustic cabin’s wall and stands beside an occupied wooden bed before addressing you.
“This,” the venture captain says, gesturing to the man thrashing around violently, straining against the bonds that lash him securely to the bed, “is our colleague, Kalkamedes. Every night for several weeks now, he has fallen into a deep slumber and tried to sleepwalk right out of his cottage. If not restrained, he marches straight north, eventually falling off a cliff or into a bog as if trying to get himself killed in an attempt to reach an unknown goal.” As though he were expressing disagreement, the man tied to the bed suddenly begins pumping his limbs even harder, the violent spasms threatening to smash the bed into splinters.
“There are those who have recently criticized the Pathfinders for our indifference to the plight of our fellow field agents. It’s time to show that’s not true. I want you to help Kalkamedes, whether he wants it or not. Several of our best spellcasters have attempted an extensive list of magical cures, but whatever sleepwalking curse or effect he’s under tenaciously resists our efforts. All we can do is keep him safe.” Heidmarch pats him with a degree of professional affection, and Kalkamedes rewards her by trying to swat her with his head.
“Kalkamedes’s friends are at their wits’ end, so we are going to attempt the only thing that we have not tried: we’re going to let him go tonight. That’s where you come in. I want you to follow him and keep him safe and in one piece. Let him get to wherever his addled brain thinks he needs to go so badly. Maybe, just maybe, if he gets there, you can find a way to help him. Maybe you can determine who or what did this to him and find a way to undo it.” Heidmarch pulls out a serrated knife. “Now before I cut him free, does anyone have any questions or last minute preparations?”
Kalkamedes is a veteran Pathfinder, though his fame does not extend beyond southern Varisia. Although he is now semi-retired and only forwards the occasional report to the Decemvirate these days, his colleagues continue to respect him for his many prior accomplishments.
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A rugged looking halfling, dressed in leathers stands silently in the cabin listening. He carries an array of weapons, including several chakrams he wears on his belt. At his side, his wolf companion lies relaxed on the floor. The wolf is outfitted with a saddle as well as saddle bags.
"Venture-Captain Heidmarch, I am afraid that having spent so much of my time in the River Kingdoms, helping the Society establish a foot hold I know nothing of agent Kalkamedes here." he gestures to the man restrained in the bed. "Perhaps you can share his previous assignment with us? Or his last successful assignment?"
The halfling makes three short clicking sounds and the wolf perks up and moves toward the bed, sniffing the man and bedding extensively. "I believe I understand why you requested Nightrunner and myself. We are skilled trackers, and will follow agent Kalkamedes as you request."
Turning to the rest of the assembled Pathfinders, pointing to himself "Cutter." Then he points to the wolf, "Nightrunner."
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Quiella looks at the man in the bed with a furrowed brow. "Poor man."
She looks up at Heidmarch "I will protect him to the best of my abilities, Venture-Captain." She bows.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Quiella nods her head to the Halfling. "A pleasure to meet you both. My name is Hollysharp. Or just Holly. Or Quiella. It really just depends."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Halkale stands in the corner watching everything. His fingers absentmindedly trace the outline of the Liberty's Edge symbol sewn in his tabard. He listens carefully, while watching the man struggle. When Heidmarch mentions following him, his eyes instantly go to the man's feet.
Upon hearing the halfling speak, Halkale clears his throat and says. "I am Halkale Timarson, I also have some tracking skill, together we should be able to keep close to him."
Turning to Heidmarch, Halkale asks, "Venture-Captain, you mentioned him falling off cliffs or running into bogs. How is he still alive? I assume others have followed him some?"
"Kalkamedes is a semi-retired Pathfinder, but he still does some occasional work for the society." Heidmarch explains, her brow creased with some worry for the man, "When I spoke to him earlier, he said the last thing he was doing was solo work mapping the nearby Fenwall Mountains. Simple cartography should not cause a reaction such as this."
She then addresses Halkale's question, "He reported those incidents to me and his friends. It would appear only through sheer luck he survived those previous encounters, but as you are all no doubt keenly aware, luck runs out. That's why we're asking for your help. You'll be the first to follow him any significant distance."
While Heidmarch speaks, Quiella recalls the letter she received from Ollysta Zadrian just before arriving here.
Vanguard of Valor,
I am proud to hear you have been dispatched to help the Pathfinder Kalkamedes. This is unbeknownst to many, including your colleagues, I suspect, but years ago, Kalkamedes was once a paladin. He strayed from the path of grace but since then he has always done his utmost to stand up for the innocent. It may be time for Kalkamedes to return back to the fold. Lend him aid—however you can—and keep him safe. Afterward extend our invitation: if he is willing, the Silver Crusade will send one of our members to help him atone and return to paladinhood. The order has need of men such as he.
In the divine light of the truth,
Ollysta Zadrian
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Looking up from his notes, T'kk'tck asks while keeping one eye on his paper:
"1) When he's like this, how he is now. Has he been known to speak any languages or to talk to anyone? As if possessed? 2)Did anyone go on expeditions with him or was he solo? 3) Did his diet change? Does he eat or drink anything different now? 4) Has he harmed anyone or thing? "
Each question gets punctuated by a neat check mark with his pen.
Sheila Heidmarch begins to show signs of impatience but continues to answer each question, "If he's kept the maps he's made, I am unaware of where they would be. Feel free to look around the cabin, however. I'm sure Kalkamedes would forgive you for making use of anything you found since you're helping him."
"He is lucid during the day, yes. It's only a problem when he falls asleep. He never speaks, just moves in the same general direction, and becomes aggressive when you attempt to stop him from moving. As I said earlier he went on his map-making missions solo, I'm unaware of any dietary changes."
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"Apologies and thank you for the answers. I understood the solo mission was his last one, but did not know if this was his normal habits. I have no more questions and am ready to proceed of the rest of the flock is willing."
The pen, paperwork and ink bottle the are fumbled into voluminous robes and T'kk'tck stands idly preening behind his left eye with an spare claw.
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A young elf in a chain shirt has been listening intently while staring at the thrashing man. At a pause in the conversation he slowly pipes up with a question as if still deep in thought, his eyes lingering on Kalkamedes until snapping at last to the Venture Captain. "You said this is the only thing you haven't tried, but you only spoke of magical cures. I mean no disrespect, but what about Divination and Abjuration? Also, when you say tenaciously resisting, do you just mean that nothing seems to have stopped the sleepwalking? Or have any of your casters suffered ill effects from their attempts? Oh, and why are we doing this at night? That only increases the danger. Why not induce a magical sleep during the day when less nasties are about?" Just when you think he has spent himself on questions, one more occurs to him. "OH! If this turns into a multi-night trek across the wilderness, have you any suggestions for how we are to keep fresh? I've heard that traveling by night and sleeping during the day can still leave you weary after a while. And has his waking self agreed to this test? I'd sure hate for him to insist on walking back to town once he wakes."
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To the new members of the party, he bows and introduces himself, "Pleased to meet you."[/b], although it takes him several attempts to pronounce T'kk'tck's name.
He aids Cutter in searching the cabin, throwing in a quick sweep with detect magic, frequently changing his position to avoid false positives from the people in the room.
"Kalkamedes normally works solo, yes. At least that is my understanding." Heidmarch adds once T'kk'tck clarifies.
She then addresses Melufiuos' questions, her impatience becoming more obvious, "Different school of magic were used to find a cure, nothing worked. There's been no particular backlash to our attempts besides absolute failure. The majority of the sleepwalking incidents occurred at night obviously, so we deemed it best to have you follow and protect him after dark. Since Kalkamedes will wake up sometime in the morning, I don't foresee your mission taking more than the night. He asked us to help him, yes."
As Shelia Heidmarch continues to answer questions, Cutter begins an in depth search of the cabin.
Inside Kalkamedes' wardrobe, he finds an explorer’s outfit and a pair of strong boots.
A series of unfinished charts mapping the Fenwall Mountains are discovered inside a drawer in the end table next to Kalkamedes’s bed.
The interior of the stove yields a crumpled and burned charcoal sketch.
Cutter also discovers a hidden lever in the back of the stove. When pulled, it reveals a secret compartment concealed in the floor under a stack of water barrels. Inside is a locked metal chest.
Melufiuos ascertains that none of the items found so far are magical.
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Try as she might, the young Varisian woman sitting quietly in the room has heard nothing of Kalkamedes. She holds her hands folded in her lap, a well-kept coat of scale mail shining in the moonlight from the window. A fine silver chain hangs from her neck, bearing a single pearl; a longer, thicker one bears a pendant of Pharasma's death-spiral. Her thick black hair is pulled back into an elaborate knot, kept high off her face. Dark eyes lined in blue and purple glance at the new faces.
"You ask too many questions, Melufiuos," she chuckles, a small smile playing about her lips. To the new faces, she nods slightly. "I am Ophelia, a priestess in the service of Pharasma. And while I love my goddess dearly, my job is to make sure none of you meet her yet."
Kalkamedes struggles against his bonds while Cutter searches him, making the process slightly more difficult. The halfling finds no possessions on the man other than the wool pajamas and cloth nightcap he's currently wearing.
It appears that Kalkamedes uses an unique system of labeling spots on the map that is not immediately obvious.
Melufiuos is unable to pick the lock on his first try, although he's not quite sure if there is anything magical inside since the box probably blocks Detect Magic from its contents.
Taking a moment to analyze the map, T'kk'tck quickly deciphers the legend and discovers the location of several active gold mines and other natural resources Kalkamedes found while exploring the region.
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"Tk. Tk. Tk. If you look here, and here and here. Gold mines. These here and over there. Resources. May not help us but perhaps the information could be sold to pay for the care of Kalkamedes while he's been oppressed? Tk. Tk. Or for any nest he supports?"
While talking T'kk'tck points rapidly at the map with a claw, snapping his beak in a "tk" sound when he pauses to think.
"Just an idea, a thought. Tk. If he has no nest, and no need of the funds, then I don't see how the mines would help. Tk. Tk. Maybe others have the same symptoms? In these mines?"
With a shrug he goes back to preening.
Inside the chest are 6 items that all possess magical auras when examined with Detect Magic.
Item 1: Bracers
Bracers of Armor +1
Item 2: Mud-splattered Cloak
Cloak of Resistance +1
Item 3: Light blue Potion
Elixir of Swimming
Item 4: Potion contained in a dried gourd
Potion of Cure Light Wounds
Item 5: Potion contained in an irregularly-shaped mithral flask with jigsaw-like edges. The unusual bottle design could be used as a caltrop or improvised dagger.
Potion of Hide from Undead
Item 6: A glittering longsword with a rippling break that runs from its tip to its hilt like a crack in a broken window.
+1 allying mithral longsword
Looking relieved she can finally cut her colleague loose, Shelia Heidmarch slices through the ropes binding Kalkamedes and the man almost jumps out of the bed and walks to the door, opening it quickly and tottering out into the night. The small amount of moonlight does not seem to be an impediment to the sleepwalker, as he appears to be blindly propelled forward to some unknown destination.
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Cutter will take the potion of hiding from undead or the cloak of resistance unless someone else wants either.
As Kalkamedes heads out into the night, Cutter climbs up into the saddle on Nightrunner's back and spurs the wolf forward. He says a word to his companion, and the wolf heads out of the cabin into the night....
Once outside, Cutter touches the wayfinder on his belt, activating the light.