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Through a combination of sword and spell, Titian and Pandoor finish off the last mite.
As you recover from this brief skirmish with the local cave dwellers, you begin to hear the faint sounds of combat and a familiar woman’s voice half-shouting and half-reciting, "As the legendary Gregaro Voth successfully battled the wild beasts in the deepest reaches of the Mwangi Expanse, so shall I defeat you, foul servant of Lamashtu!" The voice appears to come from a narrow tunnel opening from the eastern wall of the cave you're in.
The route to the surface leads through a maze of tight passages that include steep ascents and short climbs as they wind from west to east. You can now all hear the sounds of a distant battle echoing through the caves, intermixed with inspirational tales of famous Pathfinders and their heroic deeds.
There's no time if you wish to save your halfling mentor! Once you reach the eastern end of the area you're going through, you notice a faint light at the end of the tunnel—reflected moonlight. In addition, the sound of Janira’s oration is close and clear. After running through a long slick tunnel, you manage to emerge from the cave. The light of the surface world above provides a welcome reprieve from the blue and green fungus of the caverns below, and light illuminates a stream whose water is hastened by runoff from a recent storm further up the mountains. A ledge to the west rises up to the nearby forest canopy. The full moon above casts provides dim light over the entire area, bright enough to illuminate even the shaded leaf litter beneath the trees. Nearly a hundred feet from the cave’s entrance, Janira Gavix is locked in combat with her relentless minotaur foe in a clearing on the southern bank of the stream.
(always acts in surprise)
Save Janira! - Initiative - round 1
1. Falco, Pandoor
2. Janira
3. Minotaur
4. Paeter, Titian
Map updated
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Falco's missile grazes the minotaur, who's far too unfuriated with Janira to pay any attention to you.
Janira takes a step back and lashes with her whip, attempting to disarm the hulking beast. She's clearly exhausted by her duel with the minotaur, and misses completely.
The minotaur is aroused by the scent of blood and the feeling that he gets to kill the halfling at long last - the moment he's been waiting for. He charges mercilessly, felling the halfling with his mighty horns. The beast then turns his attention to you.
Save Janira! - Initiative - round 2
1. Paeter, Titian, Falco, Pandoor
2. Janira
3. Minotaur
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The minotaur gives a sinister chuckle as he raises a blood-covered Janira from the ground, her frail neck in her large paw. She is bleeding profusely but appears to be still alive... yet.
"This be your woman?" he asks in a taunting voice marred by a very poor Taldane. "Come get if you dare."
He then drops her to the ground and takes a step forward, placing himself between her and you all. His vicious axe appears to be ready to mow your lives down.
Save Janira! - Initiative - round 2
1. Paeter, Titian, Falco, Pandoor
2. Janira (bleeding, about to die)
3. Minotaur
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Seeing Paeter come closer, the minotaur takes a first swing at the halfling but he misses. However, the backswing is devastating and tearing through flesh and bone.
Meanwhile, Pandoor aims and shoots with his crossbow, managing to inflict a minor wound to the minotaur.
Save Janira! - Initiative - round 3
1. Paeter, Titian, Falco, Pandoor
2. Janira (bleeding or dead)
3. Minotaur
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Titian crosses the slippery log nimbly, coming to help Paeter against the hulking minotaur. The beast swings his axe around, splitting the blows between Paeter and Titian, trying to fend off the swarming halflings.
Save Janira! - Initiative - round 4
1. Paeter, Titian, Falco, Pandoor
2. Janira (bleeding or dead)
3. Minotaur
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Titian and Paeter enter a dance of glory and death around the minotaur, Paeter drawing most of the attacks while deflecting every single blow heroically, while Titian brings down the wrath of the gods upon the monstrous beast. As if echoing the paladin's strike, a vial containting a searing liquid falls from the skies, lobbed by Falco, and break upon the minotaur's horns, setting him on fire! Finally, Pandoor manages to tumble across the stream and conjure a whirling cone of bright, colorful bubbles the swarm your enemy. He seems to shake off the effect at first...
... but ends up standing still, clearly stunned by the halfling's magic.
Save Janira! - Initiative - round 5
1. Paeter, Titian, Falco, Pandoor
2. Janira (bleeding or dead)
3. Minotaur
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Titian rushes to his mentor's aid, and miraculously manages to stop the bleeding. Using the wand she lended you earlier, you manage to bring her back to the realm of the living. Her wounds were deep, and the paladin can tell that she escaped death by a very narrow margin.
You start catching your breath, healing yourselves as well as Janira when the halfling regains consciousness and greets you with a genuine smile. "I... the minortaur... is it dead? Thank you, all of you. If you hadn't arrived when you did... I dare not think what I would have become. I owe you my life! Master Shaine will hear my praises about your courage and devotion, be assured of that!"
After a time of rest, Janira proposes that you make your way back to Absalom to report. The journey lasts two days, and is mostly uneventful. Master Shaine welcomes you in his office in Skyreach, a tiny room swamped with books and scrolls of all kind. Janira accompanies you, but lets you do the talking - it is your Confirmation, after all.
In this hour of mourning, the ever-positive elf greets you: "Welcome, apprentices! I am glad that you returned safely from your expedition in the Kortos Mounts. From what I've heard, you did nothing short of saving your mentor's life. Not a small feat! But you know as well as I do that hearsay is not what we Pathfinders are interested in, we need facts. So please report your findings now. Did anyone take notes?"
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Very excited, Pandoor begins his report. "Master Shaine! I am sooo happy to begin this report by saying that I could meet, at last, my childhood idol, Master Falco! Well, I could help him climb, I could help him read ancient languages, Azlant, I believe, and I could help him looking at a mini-model of a city and and..."
Pandoor makes a pause to think back at what really happened in the cave and before and after. "Well we had to fight some curious zombies and some beasts, small fey-like creatures. And I made a biiiiig discovery: Minotaurs aren't color blind! I soooo happy for that! Wow! Youhouhou!"
That sentence ends Pandoor's report.
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Falco straightens out a bit at Pandoor's fawning and purses his lips, as if embarrassed by the praise. "Yes, well, there was also a gillman there in the cave that we befriended. He told us that they go there to listen to the waves, as a sort of pilgrimage."
Falco shows Shaine the sketches of the murals. "We were not able to decipher their meaning or origin, but I took as many notes as I could so that we might discover their significance later. The gillman told us that it was once a place sacred in the worship of Aroden so I suspect they have some significance in that regard but I am admittedly ignorant in such things."
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After hearing Pandoor and Flaco's reports in a seemingly absent-minded way, Master Shaine suddenly looks up to you and beams a bright smile.
"You have made us all proud today! Not only have you ventured where no one had before, but you embodied the very values we have been trying to teach you during these three years in the Grand Lodge. Cooperation, as you recently discovered, is paramount to our work as Pathfinders. Without the support of others we cannot strive, much less survive. But enough lectures, you have proven that you are past this point and are able to learn on your own. Today, I am proud to name you Pathfinders in your own right. Congratulations!"
The elven master opens a lacquered wooden box as he speaks those words, and present you with your very own wayfinders, engraved with your name and today's date - 12 Pharast 4715. May this day remain forever engraved in your memories!
You have been stationed at the Grand Lodge in Absalom, awaiting assignment for a mission of utmost importance. Things finally seemed in motion when Venture Captain Drandle Dreng sent out a summons for available agents. Specialized in the history of Absalom, Dreng is known for putting off-duty agents to work on sundry tasks when he finds them resting within the city’s limits. Coming to the meeting place—an odd choice of venue, as it is a street corner far from the Grand Lodge—a lone beggar garbed in baggy robes approaches.
The only figure visible in the constant drizzle, the beggar sticks out his hands for currency. “Have you any coin to spare, fine folk?” The question hangs in the air for only a scant moment before the figure pulls back his hood to reveal the wizened face of Venture-Captain Drandle Dreng. He gives a crooked smile, soaked head to toe from his unprotected time in the rain. His clothes smell faintly of cabbage. “Sorry about that,” he says with a wink. “I always like to play a little joke on agents when I stumble across them during my jaunts into town. Now, why did I summon you fine folk here again…?” Dreng shakes his head from side to side, as though trying to knock water out of his ears, despite the constant downpour. “Ah yes, the Wounded Wisp! I’m undercover now and can’t stray far from the site I’m watching, but I need someone to retrieve a package for me from that fine establishment. It’s among Absalom’s most storied taverns, you see, and one that holds a special place of privilege in the Society’s lore as the place where the organization began. Well, I could drone on and on about it, but standing out in the rain is doing none of us any favors.”
As if anticipating agreement, the bedraggled venturecaptain produces a small slip of folded paper from one of his many stitched pockets. Dreng quickly shows a glimpse of the page’s contents: a map detailing the location of the Wounded Wisp bar.
“The bartender is a woman by the name of Heryn Gale, a fine lady who came to own the Wisp after the passing of her father from—oh, bah, it’s really getting too cold for me to give a proper history lesson! If you could just go to the Wisp, and tell Heryn you’re there to pick up my parcel, it would be most appreciated. I’ll be around here for several more hours at least.”
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Another Flaxseed joins you for this mission. Known in the family as a "happy-go-lucky" and a carefree character, Jonah has taken the path of priesthood, preferring the wide open roads to the seclusion of a temple to serve Desna.
"Greetings, cousins! I'm glad I could join you for this mission, I just finished my own Confirmation and I'm eager to see what important business Drandle Dreng has for us! Shall we go check it out?"
"A mission of great importance, no doubt! What is this parcel you're asking us to fetch? You know me, some say I'm too curious for my own good."
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Paeter pulls off his wide-brimmed hat and shakes it off before redonning it in the rain. He takes the map and finds shelter under an overhang before unfurling the parchment.
"Hmm... I can find this place." Paeter states. He rolls up the map and stows it in his cloak before heading off in the direction stated on the map.
Dreng smiles and nods at Jonah. "Sharp lad, aren't you!?" He smile then disappears as he says. “Before you judge, despite my current attire, I’m still a man of taste. The parcel is actually a special vintage of wine from the cellar of the Wounded Wisp. I’ve been sampling their finer wines in descending order of bottling. I dare not disappear from my current role in this district, but I also would appreciate some comfort items. After all, I doubt anyone would judge a supposed beggar sipping from a bottle of wine!”
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"A bottle of wine? What nobler quest could there be?! Of course we'll do it."
I have to taste that one! If it's worth sending four good halflings on a mission, it must be worth it!
-Posted with Wayfinder
Taking leave of Dreng, you head to the Wounded Wisp, easily finding the establishment with the map Dreng provided.
Built from dark, discolored wood, the exterior of the Wounded Wisp is the image of an iconic dive bar. Stained and barred windows obscure direct vision into the establishment, though ruddy yellow light bleeds from a
window in the front hall. In the hours just before dawn, the building closes long enough for menials to clean and to give staff a rest. The only distinguishing feature on the Wisp’s exterior is a thick wooden sign hanging from above the bar’s entrance. A brass ring fitted onto the sign anchors a lantern—referred to by the staff as “the wisp”—that hangs there during the evening hours.
You enter a long wooden hallway that is the entrance to the Wounded Wisp, heading north into the building itself. The walls are covered in numerous decorations and trophies left by successful Pathfinders who’ve donated minor paraphernalia to the bar. Passing the coat check, you enter the mail hall.
The smell of smoke and spilled ale assails the senses in this wide-open area. Walls of dark-stained wood make up the sides of the Wounded Wisp, while well-used wooden tables are spread throughout the space. A raised area in the back of the establishment houses several additional tables and eating areas for groups seeking more than just a good drink. An austere bar supported by kegs instead of wooden panels commands the northern end of the room. A stained-glass cabinet stands behind the bar, its dark panes cracked in several spots, yet not so opaque as to conceal the several dozen types of hard liquor within.
A handful of different groups are already relaxing around the bar, enjoying drink and food offered by the Wisp’s staff, including a pair of boisterous and what appear to be twin half-orcs, a halfling, who most of you recognize as Janira Gavix, surrounded by a group of young Pathifnders, as she reads a tale to them, a stolid looking Keleshite man mulling over his wine, and a middle aged man with wispy hair, pouring over a large tome.