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It was only a month ago when Venture Captain Drandle Drenge awoke you in the middle of the night and summoned you to his office.
*cue flashback music*
Drandle Drenge's office is a complete mess; unruly piles of paperwork lie everywhere, and it appears that somebody has ransacked his desk.
Drenge stares in your general direction, his eyes clouded by thick cataracts. He seems oblivious to the odd hour and lights a pipe and begins speaking in a slow southern drawl once you're all in his office.
"Well Pathfinders..." as he stops to take a puff from his pipe "fortune is with us today. I've got a mission fer ya that doesn't involve Varisia. Instead we'll be sendin' y'all to the River Kingdoms, to a little town called Thornkeep. Now you won't be spendin' much time in town for what we're really interested in is a scryin' pool in the 'Halls Under the Hill'."
Drenge stops speaking for a moment as he takes another puff from his pipe and pushes a stack of papers off his desk before picking one up, seemingly at random and continuing.
"Y'all are extra fortunate, as we have reliable intel on the danger's y'all gonna be facin'. The scryin pool is guarded by..."
Drenge takes a moment to review the sheet of paper in his hand.
"...a door. Not just any door, but a magic door. Now here's what I want y'all to do:"
*puff puff*
"Go to the Halls Under the Hill, secure the area between the entrance and the scryin' pool and figure how to get that door open. Y'all got it?"
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Aleister is awakened by the sounds of someone pounding on the door. With the taste of the evening's wine still dancing on his tongue he answers the door and receives his summons to the Venture Captain's office. I just bloody got back from escorting those blasted goblins across the frozen wastes...you'd think I'd be afforded a single night of rest. Struggling to hear Drengle's long winded speech over the voices in his head he manages to pick up something about figuring out how to open a magic door of some sort. He looks around the room at his soon to be traveling companions. Hopefully one of them is listening a bit more closely than I am.
Aleister is once again forced to rejoin the waking world against his will. Nearly a month after receiving the assignment, his group has finally arrived at their destination. "Alright lads. Let's do this thing."
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*flashback*
"This'll make good reading in Pathfinder Chronicles, don't cha think? Gripping tale of six Pathfinders' struggle against overwhelming odds to conquer a door and all.
"Any reason, Venture Captain sir, that we need to bother with opening it at all? Would not tunneling through a wall or ceiling to the scrying pool serve our purpose just as well?
"You mentioned securing the area between the entrance and the pool. What trouble do you expect?"
*Much travel by boat and on camelback later*
"I concur. First let us see if the locals know more about the dangers that await us than Drandle Drenge did."
"Any reason, Venture Captain sir, that we need to bother with opening it at all? Would not tunneling through a wall or ceiling to the scrying pool serve our purpose just as well?
"You mentioned securing the area between the entrance and the pool. What trouble do you expect?"
Drenge stares not quite at you as he answers:
"Well... if you can figure out where to tunnel to, how to do it without collapsin' anything and are sure there ain't any important 'istorical or magical drawin's on the other side... go for it.
As for trouble, ya could try askin' the locals, I wouldn't waste too much time on 'em though, not the kindest folk"
Hidden within the twisting paths of the Echo Wood, the lawless settlement of Thornkeep gives shelter to folk both dangerous and desperate. Here, the hardiest settlers and artisans ply their trades, ready to defend their own with blade or arrow; mercenaries and barbarians brawl in dismal taphouses, fueled by turbid moonshine and illicit backwater drugs; brigands and river pirates come to spend their bloody gold in unruly and dingy establishments; and monsters both benign and otherwise hide among the populace, eking out their debauched existences as they seek to inflict cruelties on their neighbors. Mercy, charity, trust—these virtues are in short supply in Thornkeep. This forest stronghold is a place where the bold and enterprising can make a fortune and perhaps even keep it—so long as they are strong enough to protect their wealth from the myriad dangers, both human and otherwise, that plague the town.
Also here's some background on the River Kingdoms if you want to know more.
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Toren gives a loud and fake snore from under his shield. The first impatient tap of the booted foot draws another one and his beard splits from a grin. As the boot cocks back for a kick, he shifts his shield a bit. The boot connects with the edge of Tessa and a voice curses. "Don't yer know it ain't polite to wake a sleepin' dwarf? 'Specially one so poor as me!" Toren gets to his feet and grabs the shield. He grunts slightly as he shuffles it onto a shoulder. He takes the letter the now red-faced man is holding and starts reading it. When he looks up from the letter, the man is gone.
He sighs, grabs the Bec de Corbin, and stumps off to the meeting.
*************
"How magical is this place?" Toren asks at a suitable pause in the conversation.
"How magical is this place?" Toren asks at a suitable pause in the conversation.
Drenge shrugs "Don't know but I would imagine the scryin' pool is magical, probably the door too, don't know much else 'bout it though."
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--A Month Ago--
Fresh off his success plumbing the depths of Asad's Keep in the Cairnlands, his first real mission for the Society, Jarlgur has been celebrating for a couple days straight. When the knock on his door comes, he has only been in bed for a short time and had yet to manage to make the room cease its spinning. He stumbles out of bed, no need to dress, he is still dressed from the evening. He makes his way to Dreng's office after only a few misturns and enters wihtout knocking and slumps into an open chair. He listens, dozing occasionally, until the Venture-Captain begins talking about the "Halls under the Hills". He sits up at full attention, the talk of adventure quickly sobering him up. When do we leave he says...Flush with some coin from his previous mission, he upgrades his equipment and joins his party ready to start the journey to the River Kingdoms.
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Arryn sat quietly in the briefing. He smiled and nodded through out but his thoughts were elsewhere.
For Arryn this is something of an adventure - he was given his 'spurs' one day and bustled into the Grand Lodge to start his Initiate the next. Apart from the odd period outside the Grand Lodge to attend religious events or for messenger work he'd not gotten out much.
And now? He was headed to the River Kingdoms! He'd need to equip himself. He mentally debated what he'd need and how he'd spend the small budget he'd been left with on starting with the Society.
He'd learned a few things in his Initiate - Master of Swords, Marco Farabellus, had impressed upon him that "If you can't cut it, you can't hurt it". His preferred weapon was the Great Sword - it seemed to suit him but he decided on a Cold Iron Longsword and a packet of Silver Blanch. Cold Iron was an unusual choice but given that he himself was somewhat vulnerable to its touch he had respect for the material.
Armour was an easy choice - for some reason the Grand Lodge had access to a Tien flavoured armour called 'Four Mirror Armour'. The Lodge must have had quite the stockpile of it because it was much much cheaper than normal chain mail AND they even had a suit in his unusual size that he'd seen before.
For the rest? The normal kit favoured by the society would be suitable, topped up by a few bits and pieces seemed to cover the rest of what he thought he'd need, including rope. One of the Halfling Pathfinders he'd met couldn't stop raving about rope...
He frowned.
His mental calculations left himself with coin in hand - given the Society was covering travel expenses he had no need for it for room and board. He thought a while then decided on a pair of Alkali Vials. They would, he had been assured, work like acid but if used against slimes and oozes (hazards he was warned about in his training) then they would be doubly effective.
"How magical is this place?" Toren asks at a suitable pause in the conversation, breaking Arryn's train of thought.
Drenge shrugs "Don't know but I would imagine the scryin' pool is magical, probably the door too, don't know much else 'bout it though."
Magic? Doors? That's a few areas I'll need to rely on my team, he thought. In spite of his Fey appearance and closeness to the 'First World', he liked dwarves well enough. Good fighters, largely uncomplaining and practical. He had no ire against the Half Orc either - His Lord, Ragathiel was of mixed parentage and he had risen above it by his own Virtues. He didn't really know what to make of the other two but he was willing to bet that they would be handling the 'magic' side of the mission.
After Venture Captain Drandle Drenge's briefing you board a surprisingly luxurious ship known as The Plump Seal. After several luxurious days the pleasure ship makes port at Casimir in Taldor.
In Casimir you are quickly transferred to a heavily armed river barge consisting of a dozen men-at-arms in addition to the crew. While the large force seems unnecessary at first, its value quickly becomes apparent after you cross the Taldan border into Galt.
As your barge passes through Galt you are forced into several pitched battles with local rabble who attempt to repossess your barge for The People’s Council. Fortunately your large host of men-at-arms is able to fend off the rabble.
Crossing from Galt into the River Kingdoms is not much of an improvement. While your heavy armaments are enough of a show of force to keep any pirates from engaging you head on they do little to deter midnight raids from pirates hoping to help themselves to your stores. Once again you manage to defeat any attackers but your host of men-at-arms is beginning to look a little thin with only nine members remaining from its initial twelve.
Crossing over into Razmir is a definite improvement. Here you only have to deal with proselytizing followers of Razmir, the Living God. While not a pleasant experience it certainly beats people trying to kill you.
Soon after, you cross back over into the River Kingdoms and leave the safety of your barge near the Mosswater ruins. After about 12 miles of walking along a poorly maintained road you finally arrived at Thornkeep.
Here is a map of your journey.
Thornkeep is about as safe and friendly as the rest of your trip. You find snake oil salesmen on every corner, desperate drug addicts, violent gangs, bloodthirsty mercenaries and no sign of any law enforcement. Fortunately you are able to find reasonably safe accommodations and not only are fresh when you make your way to the Halls under the Hill but you have even managed to eke out a useful piece of information despite the seemingly infinite number of useless rumors the locals tried to use to part you from your coin.
Apparently there has been some goblin activity in the area recently and they were equipped with mining equipment.
*Cue end of flashback music*
Having made your way safely to the Halls under the hill you see the following:
This large hall is held up by a number of carved columns. Directly ahead, a doorway is sealed with stone blocks. In the center of the floor, the flagstones have been pulled up, revealing a staircase leading downward. The stench of rotting meat hangs in the air.
Also please see the Campaign info page for standard info about rooms etc.
Survival: 13
The sandy floors make it easy to pick out the footprints of about dozen small humanoids you can only assume are goblins. You would guess that a few other creatures passed through as well but their tracks are largely obscured by all the goblin tracks.
"Pleasant place...anyone see anything interesting?" Perception 13
Cast Detect Magic.
You think the smell of rotting flesh is down those stairs and fairly nearby.
Spellcraft
Several rounds of concentrating on detect magic will reveal that the light is being provided by continual flame spells. Other than the light and your party's magical items you detect nothing else of interest.
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"Look there at those tracks, Pathfinders. Goblins by my guess, and maybe with some other critters for company. Think they used this mining equipment we heard they'd been seen with to dig up these flagstones and get into the Halls before us?"
The dwarf in the heavy stone armor takes his heavy flail from it's resting place on the side of his laden pack, clearly convinced that something dangerous is afoot.
Barrin looks at his comrades and gives a now or never shrug, then moves to the top of the stairs and looks down.
I changed the map from view to edit and moved the group up to the stairs feel free to move minis around as necessary. If the map gets a little messed up don't worry about it, I'll fix it when I get a chance.
The stairs appear to go down at about a 45 degree angle for about 20 feet before opening into a cross. Near the bottom of the stairs a rotting pig carcass is spiked into the ground.
Perception 25
There does not appear to be any pork eating monsters nearby, and it looks rotten enough that you don't even think the dwarves would eat it.
Knowledge (history) 9
You do recall a goblin song you heard once...
Goblins chew and goblins bite,
Goblins cut and goblins fight,
Stab the dog and cut the horse,
Goblins eat and take by force!Goblins race and goblins jump,
Goblins slash and goblins bump,
Burn the skin and mash the head,
Goblins here and you be dead!Chase the baby, catch the pup,
Bonk the head to shut it up!
Bones be cracked, flesh be stewed,
We the goblins—you the food!
...but it makes no mention of pigs or carcasses.
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Toren looks at his companions as they each offer something. He kneels down to the ground, an action that takes less time from him that it would from his taller counterparts. His ear to the stone, he listens closely. He murmurs to his tower shield Tessa, "Sorry lass fer the unceremonious droppin', but yer no help when I'm tryin' to do somethin' delicate." The shield slips from his shoulder and comes to rest flat on the ground.
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Toren looks up after a moment and notices his teammates moving forward. He gets up as hurriedly as he can and grabs the shield, setting it in front of him. "Hey, wait fer me!"
As he approaches the stairwell and sees the pig, he says "Whew...kinda thick there innit? Wonder who woulda left a good meal like that?" He cranes his stubby neck to look around the stairwell. "Anyone wonder what's in that doorway round back of these stairs?"
Toren looks at his companions as they each offer something. He kneels down to the ground, an action that takes less time from him that it would from his taller counterparts. His ear to the stone, he listens closely. He murmurs to his tower shield Tessa, "Sorry lass fer the unceremonious droppin', but yer no help when I'm tryin' to do somethin' delicate." The shield slips from his shoulder and comes to rest flat on the ground.
1d20+6
Even an 8 will tell you that the digging up of these flagstones is not particularly recent and almost certainty not the work of goblins.
Perception 9
The antechamber up here has a 15ft tall ceiling while the chamber below appears to be about 10ft tall.
The Pig appears to have been hammered into the ground with iron spikes.
Jarlgur begins peering at floor and into any recesses. This corpse could be bait for something...something we may not want to meet.
No traps, perfectly safe.
After getting your gear sorted out you head down the stairs the stench of dead pig becomes even more pungent. Ahead the passage appears to continue for about 40ft past this chamber before opening up into a larger room. To the east and the west are rubble and debris piled along the far ends making for difficult terrain, likely from the excavation of the very stairs you just came down.
Being on your guard and wary for pig eating vermin you easily notice a pair of these rising from opposite ends of the room, they are both over 6 feet long and seem hostile.
Monsters
Arryn Wildblood
Toren "Stand" Still
Kardak the Feared
Barrin Ironhite
Aleister Marlowe
Jarlgur Flamnord
Initiative Order:
Toren
Monsters
Kardak
Jarlgur
Aleister
Barrin
Arryn
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Toren glances back at Kardak, struggling a bit with the gear that is carried. He splits his beard with another grin and says, "Kardak, yeh look like you could use a lighter load. I kin carry some o' that fer yeh if'n yeh'd like."
"Yeah, I think I overpacked just a bit. You're in front and can probably put some of this stuff to better use than I can, anyway." Kardak passes Toren a periscope, a saw, and a crowbar.
Toren exclaims in disgust at the bug-like creature. He puts his shoulder to Tessa and charges forward. "I'll try and hold that one against the wall!"
Kardak flies down the stairs, uncertain of what to expect. Upon seeing the foe he thinks that sure doesn't look like anything I could reason with.
Toren exclaims in disgust at the bug-like creature. He puts his shoulder to Tessa and charges forward. "I'll try and hold that one against the wall!"
1d20+2+4
Toren's fast reaction catches the critter off guard and pins it against the wall.
"M1", the many legged critter pinned to the wall by Toren latches on to the over sized shield with many of its legs while attempting to find a way around to the fleshy bits it knows are on the other side. Toren manages to shake it off before it can find it's way around though.
"M2", the other many legged critter charges, for a moment you're not sure if it's going for the pig or for Barrin, for a moment it doesn't know either and it's hesitation leaves it with nothing but a small stone chunk from Barrin's armor, which it immediately spits out in disgust.
[dice=Attack; Damage]1d20+6; 1d10+4
One swift blow from Kardak leaves the critter motionless, black ichor pooling beneath the creature.
[dice=K. Nature]1d20+7
They are giant centipedes
Mindless: No Intelligence score, and immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms). Mindless creatures have no feats or skills. A vermin-like creature with an Intelligence score is usually either an animal or a magical beast, depending on its other abilities.
Darkvision 60 feet.
Proficient with its natural weapons only.
Proficient with no armor.
Vermin breathe, eat, and sleep.
Additionally you know they have a poisonous bite that drains agility from their victims and can climb walls and even ceilings at a surprisingly quick rate.