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A dwarf wearing armor that looks to be made of solid stone trudges into the room, grunting as she wrestles her helmet off and reveals a middle-aged face with deep wrinkles and gray streaked hair.
"Hrmnf. So you're the young'uns I'll be partnered with, eh," she says, squinting around at the others, especially at the gnome. "I hear the 'where' is somewhere up in the Iron Peaks."
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A middle aged tien man sits at a table while he waits for the meeting to begin. He is wearing flowing formal robes, with no visible armor or weapons. In front of him he has an expensive tea set out and is brewing tea. When Magna enters he looks up. "Hello, Ozak Zhou." He introduces himself. "Tea?" He offers.
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An ageless woman enters. Her hair is bone white and her face has a metallic sheen to it, evidence of some kind of outsider blood. Her features are perfect yet too sever to be considered comely. Her movements aren't so much graceful as studied, her every movement planned. She is dressed in unassuming clothes (with no visible armor) except for an extravagant cloak in brilliant red and gold with the emblem of Ragathiel emblazoned on the back. She has a variety of weapons about her body and a long spear tickling the ceiling. As many of the others in the room her body is orbited by a number of familiar ioun stones.
"Well met." she says perfunctorily in an androgynous voice that demands notice only to be met by a stare that could wilt a powerful demon. "Call me Marta."
An aura surrounds her and changes nature as she shifts from shadowy tendrils, to white motes, then metallic stars, and finally coruscating worms. By the end of things, barring any magical misdirection, she will know the alignment of each member of the party - a task she always performs when she is teamed up with a new group.
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Wearing a cloak, headband, a set of explorers clothing with a bandolier of alchemical items, a half-orc glanced around to see the others assembled. " Greetings, I am called Rognak. Is this the right place?" he asked.
At the mention of tea, he nodded in agreement as he took a studied eye at the process.
You finds yourselves in the Magnimar Pathfinder Lodge at Heidmarch Manor, where you await their briefing in the sitting room. Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch enters the room, gives you a quick once-over and launches into the assignment in her characteristically deep voice.
"Thank you for coming, Pathfinders. You look well qualified for the task at hand, and I'm relieved a team such as yours was available so far from the Society's heart in Absalom. How familiar are you with the ruins of ancient Thassilon? Well, you're going to be getting a lot more familiar with one of the most strategically important sites in the entirety of Yarisia-the Storval Stairs.
This stairway-carved by giants and scaled appropriately for creatures of their size-provides the easiest means of climbing the Storval Rise west of the Iron Peaks. Thus, it also provides the swiftest means of getting supplies and personnel to and from the ruins ofXin-Shalast and other sites of interest on the Storval Plateau. We had a supply caravan go missing a week ago; its last reported location was near the stairs, and rumors I've been hearing from as far away as Riddleport indicate this isn't the only similar situation in recent months. Some reports claim a tribe of hill giants have claimed the Storval Stairs as their territory and are demanding exorbitant tariffs to pass in either direction. Apparently they're led by the self-proclaimed l<ing of the Storval Stairs, who doesn't like the idea of anyone traveling through his kingdom without paying their due."
A knock sounds on the door, and a messenger sticks her head in shyly. In her hand she holds a leather scroll case embroidered with traditional Varisian beadwork.
"A message for you, Lady Heidmarch. From your cousin Guaril in Riddleport."
Sheila accepts the missive, tips the courier, and turns back to the matter at hand, shaking her head.
"I've told that greasy charlatan to stop calling me family..."
The venture-captain draws the scroll from the case and quickly reads it, raising one eyebrow inquisitively.
"Well, this is fortuitous. It seems 'Cousin' Karela is also interested in your mission, and wants to ensure your success in a timely fashion. No doubt he has some ulterior motives that don't align with our own... Then again, we're likely to use his influence among the Varisian people to populate the supply caravans to and from the Storval Plateau, so perhaps his motivation is not so different after all.
Travel to the Storval Stairs and confirm what happened to our supply wagons. While you're there, take care of this so-called king and ensure he and his giant followers don't present a problem for us in the future. Then hold the location until a larger contingent of Pathfinders arrives to set up a more permanent way station there. It's nearly a five hundred mile journey, but our 'cousin' has seen to it that won't be a problem for you-he included a scroll here to teleport you to a location another 'relative' of his divined as the current location of the supply caravan. He says it was expensive but a good investment, and that you're worth it."
Sheila holds the scroll out for the taking, the sketch of the location one should use as its destination visible in its uncurling corner.
"Best of luck, Pathfinders."
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"Hmm, I'll take some tea, yes," Magna concedes with a slight easing of her grumpy smile at the Tien chap's manners. "The name's Magna."
"GIANTS!" Magna booms with a grin. "Ah, now there's a foe worth pounding into dust... I hear the Shoanti humans used to hold these stairs, but the stone giants have cleared 'em off. Perhaps we can return the favor. You'd better come prepared for climbing, children-- everything there is going to be giant-sized, just like in old Thassilon," she snorts.
"We might also run into harpies and trolls. The stairs are the easiest passage between the lowlands and the plateau, so it's ripe with foul critters like those to watch out for."
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FYI: Marta has heightened awareness and heroism going during the meeting gaining a +4 to knowledge rolls and +2 to diplomacy.
She will get an additional +6 if the knowledge roll deals with monsters as per monster lore. I won't peek but let me know if I can open a spoiler because of it. Even a +6 won't help here.
She didn't learn much and has nothing to add.
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Giant stairs?!? Ho! How will I ever climb them? Human stairs are problem enough sometimes! Haha! Bizzle affectionately pats his somewhat rotund belly as he talks of the stairs.
Anyhoo, from what I can gather, some Magnimarian merchants are said to have negotiated a deal with the Shoanti Hawk Clan to guard a caravan through the stairs. Rumor has it the missing Pathfinder expedition had a Hawk Clan escort! Another juicy rumor is that some powerful Kellid witch has taken the King of the Storval Stairs as a lover, and they sacrifice prisoners and slaves to a god of the giants on the Storval Plateau! That must be some date night!
Bizzle then clears his throat as his face blushes, then his eyes go wide. Oh! This could be important to know! I also heard that this King of the Storval Stairs is a powerful cleric of Minderhal, a giant god of creation and destruction! You gotta watch those clerics sometimes! Haha!
So, I hope you guys can handle giants!
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Rognak looked over the scroll to see if it was the same spell that he already had written in his tome. "This appears to be correct and rather powerful if it is able to transport us all at once." he said, as he started looking over the location before frowning. Let us hope that the location is right or we could end up in the middle of a volcano by accident."the wizard added as he asked about some details of the location and the caravan.
"Who is the caravan master? How many vehicles and people? What were they transporting?" Rognak asked as he started digging into the pouch next to him and another in his funny looking backpack. "Please give me a minute or two before we go as I want to make sure that I have some additional tools now that I know what we are up against."
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"Well if nothing stands out as a problem, I think we should try it. If we don't we risk alienating an ally. If we do and the teleport puts us somewhere unexpected, we will have proof of treachery. In either case, a few preparation spells would be in order. I know I plan on casting a spell or two before we try the scroll."
Marta will cast Shield of Faith and Shield before the transition, besides all her long term spells she inevitably has going such as Mage Armor and Greater Magic Weapon. Speaking of which...
"If one of you arcane types could prep an extra Mage Armor for me I would appreciate it. I have a wand but it only lasts an hour. Normally that is fine, but if we are going to do any serious travelling I prefer to have it cast with a longer duration. Also, though I can cast the spell myself I find the wand to be a tricky thing. I would much prefer to have an arcane caster cast the spell from the wand. I also have a wand of shield I use to load my ioun stone so I can cast shield on myself. It would be helpful if between encounters I could get someone to load that spell too."
Sheila gives Rognak am assessing look.
"I don't know who it exactly was that led the caravan, but it consisted of half a dozen wagons and was transporting mundane supplies to the Cinderlands."
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Arriving late from the orient, Fendahl, appears to be a half-elf with a hint of wild in his appearance, especially his silvery hair and sideburns. His dragon hide armor has bits of horn and covered with markings from the far East.
Closeby, there is a lioness that follows Fendahl closely, watching for commands or an occasional treat from his companion.
Fendahl bows in recognition of the other agents.
"Fendahl here. It is my honor to serve with you."
Sheila nods at Rognak's summation of the task at hand.
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"Givin' we're jaunting across hundreds and hundreds of miles with that thing, and saving weeks of travel in the process-- I imagine we can spend a day buying things we need or thinking about spells and prayers and such," Magna says with a puff on a pipe.
She pounds her fist into her hand. "I can 'convince' the giants to not be a problem... eh? Eh?"
"What's the weather supposed to be like up there, eh?" Magna asks the VC. "Should we expect snow?"
The Venture-Captain turns to a large, detailed map of Varisia.
"At this time of year, the weather is not an issue, but I suppose it might be somewhat windy on the stairs, when there is no cover to be found."
Magna agrees with her assessment.
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No-one has mentioned that they have the Mage Armor spell, but then again that may be because Marta asked for a freebie. She'll try again.
"I can get a pearl of power and a scroll of mage armor if one of you could cast Mage Armor prepared and would like to add it to your spellbook and don't have it already. Or a Runestone of power if you have the spell and can cast spontaneous. How about it? We should introduce ourselves and explain what we are good at. Right now I'm just guessing that there even is a spellcaster in the group, though your familiarity with the scroll suggests that you are one, Bizzle."
"I'm an inquisitor of Ragathiel and fight mostly with my fists, a trick I learned from some monks. I don't dish out as much damage as the more dedicated fighters, but I have a few tricks. My main weakness is lack of armor which is why I really don't want to be caught in melee without some protective spells going. "
She will purchase a potion of spider climb and one of the two items above if she can convince a caster to help her out.
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"Save the scroll there Marta as I use it myself as part of my morning rituals. I have a piece of magic that helps keep the spell going almost all day. I can use it on you if you wish." Rognak said.
That would be great. I also have a rod for extending spells too I could have you use instead of one of your own charges.
She hands him the pearl and the rod.
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Arriving rather late Sabrina makes her way to the room.
A blonde haired human female clad in mithral field plate armor A long sword at her side and buckler on her forearm. the emblem of the Inheritor decorate various parts of her armor and weapon.
my apologies for arriving late. sometimes demon hunting never seems to end.
she gives a short bow, Sabrina De'foe, knight of Mendev Veteran of the 5th crusade.
With the party assembled and prepared, you teleport out to your destination the next morning.
After realigning your senses, you see that you're five hundred feet from the foot of the Storval Stairs, where the remains of what appears to have recently been a small caravan lie, now scattered over a large area. Most of the wagons are overturned, and the corpses of livestock, hill giants, and a few humans litter the area. The smell of rotting flesh permeates the air, and a haze of flies surrounds the carcasses on the ground. A pile of broken wagons burns in the center of the wreckage, sending a plume of thick, black smoke into the afternoon air, visible for miles.
Among the shattered wagons, four hill giants roam about, picking through the debris. They have not spotted you.
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Sabrina seem unfazed at the smell of death lingering about. a veteran of the battlefield she scans the area for additional threats beyond the giant in among the wreckage.
She looks to the dwarf, Is it true that your people are trained to fight such creatures? perhaps you can share any tips before we proceed
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Magna gives a measured nod to the newest arrival. With the teleportation complete, her old, shrewd eyes scan the scene of carnage before them. "Gods wept, we're too late." She keeps her voice low to keep from being heard.
Grimly observing the four giants scavenging from the dead, Magna spits onto the earth.
"Tips for fighting giants? Do it from a distance," she snorts. "They hit hard and they can take hits themselves. Spells are better-- they don't tend to have so much going on upstairs, so if anyone's got mind-mojo, better to throw some at them and let them soften each other up first.
"I'm good at slowing folk down if they're walking on earth," she adds gruffly. "I can turn all that ground they're walking on to spiky nasty rocks to cut up their feet-- make 'em take some pain before they get to us, if no one has objections."
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Marta will slip automatically into Dragon Style and casts Divine Favor on herself. She then moves behind some cover to hide from the giants but, for the moment, stays near the group and says "I'm going to move forward in case they start lobbing rocks. Been there, done that. Magna, I hate to differ but I prefer up close and personal myself. I'll give you spell-casters a couple seconds before I start making my way forward to cast any helpful spells."