Emaray is waiting.
She is a half-elven woman that is wearing a chainmail under adventuring gear. She holds a buckler in her left hand and has a scimitar in her right hand.
You have heard that Emaray is warrior, a scholar, and an unshakable member of any team.
That is likely why the Consortium has chosen her to lead this secretive mission.
Pregen is set up
A dark-skinned tiefling with prominent horns enters the room, placing a bow next to his seat. "I am Falth," he says emotionlessly. "My apologies that you will be joining me on this mission."
You hear a glass shatter from a distance, followed by a servant making hurried excuses for his unexpected clumsiness.
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A brawny half-orc wearing studded leather armor entered the room. This one had brains to go with the muscle. A masterwork composite shortbow that looked rather thick for a bow was on his back with a shortsword of similar quality on his hip. Reinforced gloves on his hands offset the otherwise average clothes for exploring completed his attire.
"Good day brethren, may our mission be successful." he said
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The Hall of Blades is as ostentatious as the rest of the Aspis Building in Ostenso, which serves as the headquarters for Consortium operations worldwide. Thousands of swords and knives of every size and curvature hang from racks, populate glass-covered display cases, and even constitute the frameworks of a trio of deadly chandeliers.
With an expression halfway between bitter and bored, a Chelish man in a richly embroidered jacket silently assesses each of his agents in turn over steepled fingers before taking a glass of wine in one hand. Let it never be said that the Aspis Consortium lacks a sense of humour. Fortunately for some of you, he adds before swirling the glass and taking a sip, it also has an underreported appreciation for mercy.
It is now apparent that the Korholm Agenda, a rogue faction within the Consortium, has been provoking the Pathfinder Society into violence against us, all the while manoeuvring for a power play whose details are above your pay grade. We’ve come to an understanding with the Society that by sharing intelligence about these upstarts, we can better crush them and get back to the ugly business of clawing at each other’s throats. Pathfinder agents recently uncovered troubling evidence that the Korholm Agenda has been siphoning hard-earned gold from our accounts to fund an operation in eastern Nidal. Take note: stealing from the Consortium is a bad idea because a powerful Patron—me—will send a team of armed professionals—that’s you—to make an example by destroying everything you hold dear.
Mr. Ratarion pauses for effect before continuing. This Nidalese facility is hidden within or beneath a plantation known as Wirholt’s Rictus, with which the Consortium does business twice yearly. I’ve never received reports of a clandestine operation beneath those hills, so they’ve no doubt found ways to hide their presence. Your job is to ferret them out; secure any records that can inform me to their plans, contacts, or other safe houses; kill any of the traitorous operatives, and leave their hideout a smoldering ruin that sends a clear signal to their friends. Do whatever you can to avoid raising the alarm. If they’re smart—and assume they are—they’re also prepared to destroy key evidence if they suspect they’re under attack.
He pauses in a moment of self-reflection. I did say something about mercy, didn’t I? Perhaps that was an exaggeration. Regardless, do you have any questions? I hope you have questions. The last team that didn’t ask questions flubbed their mission and found themselves tragically unemployed—fatally so, in some cases.
”Tell us more about the Rictus in Nidal, please. What business dealings do we have with the plantation?”
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The Nidalese are obsessed with pain, and some of them grow bored with whipping themselves and driving spikes into one another’s flesh. Wirholt’s Rictus grows a wide variety of medicinal plants, which its employees convert into a wealth of pain-inducing chemicals and drugs. The market for such curiosities is rather sparse beyond Nidal, but the Consortium makes enough money shipping the stuff to distant ports that we can afford to send a convoy there twice a year.
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Based on the intelligence I procured, the Korholm Agenda is performing some kind of occult research there—possibly with extraplanar influences. It’s also possible that the Agenda uses the site as a training facility or other more mundane outpost. All of you have a wide range of skills that should be enough to handle any challenge.
Well, then we shall not fail you, we either succeed or die trying, no use going home a failure, if we fail, we keep on it until we succeed or die.
Eramay listens carefully and writes down everything.
She then turns to the other agents.
"I know that some of you have had troubled pasts. Be sure to leave that behind. This mission will require a team effort. And I expect you all to follow the mission objectives. I am sure we will be successful." the half-elf says with confidence.
She then turns to the man.
"Mr. Ratarion, there are multiple routes to enter the complex but a direct approach could be possible if we could have legitimate reasons to enter. Is there any way that you could provide us with a cover? Even one involving the Korholm or the Aspis in general?" Eramay asks.
A tall wizard--that some recognize as the disgraced leader of the recent Khorholm-led assault on the Grand Lodge--speaks up. "Do we know anything about the specific players involved? These turncoats that we're to obliterate; do we know who they are?" Because I certainly didn't when they duped me into leading a mission for them....
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Laovin frowns. No. Not really. Not enough to be certain. Hopefully you'll find out.
Npw .. unless you have other preparations to do, you'd better get going. I';ve arranged for an arcanist to teleport you to Nidel. You should end up a few miles from the Rictus .... unless something goes wrong. He smirks evilly at the possibility.
Yes, teleportation, now we talking the fast route.
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You all arrive on target.
Eastern Nidal abuts the Mindspin Mountains, providing only middling arable land. The same mineral signatures made famous by the nearby Brimstone Springs also leave the rocky soil uniquely suited to grow a range of rare medicinal plants. The plantation known as Wirholt’s Rictus—its grisly name a reverent tribute to the current owner’s great-grandfather—is one of several such specialized farms that produce much of Avistan’s supply of harrowleaf, saw-edge heather, pathos berries, night nettle tea, and a unique strain of somnus root. While these all have legitimate medicinal uses, the Nidalese value them most when converted into a host of pain-inducing drugs that allow Kuthites to experience and inflict chemically induced pain. There are few buyers outside Nidal, yet the Aspis Consortium takes care to supply those far-flung masochists at considerable cost. Beyond the Consortium, few others transport the niche drugs, leaving Wirholt’s Rictus isolated and unaccustomed to handling visitors.
The plantation manor sits atop one of the higher hills, giving it a commanding view of the rolling rows of cultivated bushes, shrubs, and grasses. These provide the PCs sufficient cover to approach the central area surreptitiously if they prefer to sneak in, giving them a good look at the layout and letting them identify key structures before splitting up to reap secrets and sow mayhem.
(see slides)
=== Starting Phase One ===
Falth will peek at the manor (1) and shrine (7), then search the one with a lower density of people in it. He has invisibility, which will last for about half a phase. He hopes to cast it no more than once, to get through an area with more potential observers, but will do so twice if he must.
The Professional decides to check out areas three (the warehouse) and seven (the shrine).
Stealth
Perception
Rataji focuses his attention at the start on the residences (5) and smokehouses (6).
Hunter will check out the greenhouses(2) and plant traps in some good hiding spots.
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--- Falth ---
You look at the manor courtyard. Flowering thorn bushes grow from elevated planters in this courtyard, whose central feature is a rectangular pond flanked by eyeless angels. There are crows about.
At the shrine, the door is heavy, and a thick curtain inside further insulates the building so that sound does not easily escape, and light does not easily enter. There are also several large torture devices, as well as an assortment of more portable tools for inflicting pain. Among the implements are five daggers, a silver light mace, and a silver-tipped cat o’ nine tails.
--- Zurnazi ---
You are able to slip past the pharmacists working in the processing facilities and you see the reinforced chest with the files inside. It is locked but the head pharmacist has the keys.
--- Lillia ---
You overhear or discover the following while sneaking around the warehouse. The warehouse is also full of tightly packed flammable material.
Wirholt’s Rictus specializes in five cash crops: harrowleaf, saw-edge heather, pathos berries, night nettle tea, and somnus root—all of them medicinal plants. Most of the crop is processed in the two central buildings, where it is turned into pain-inducing chemicals in high demand in Nisroch, Pangolais, and Ridwan. Because it is hard to judge the potency of a fresh batch, workers are often conscripted to test the products, whose purity is measured in part by the pitch of the subject’s screams. Causing trouble is a sure way to become the next guinea pig, and the lead pharmacist Halvair keeps records of the grisly side effects in his lab.
Not everyone who visits the plantation is a merchant. Some of them are creepy enough that the field hands assume these are visitors from the Umbral Court, and that’s always reason to keep one’s head down and not get too curious. Few laborers ever enter the manor compound, which the owner Temarra keeps locked except when there are visitors. Only she and the chief pharmacist Halvair carry the keys, and the former often makes a trip to the Kuthite shrine before returning to the manor. Whenever someone enters without permission, Temarra is quick to arrive, almost as though she could sense when someone goes where he’s not welcome.
There are several concealed pipes that rise from the ground throughout the plantation, and workers occasionally hear faint voices rising from these small ports. Five years ago, a picker called Etan asked Temarra about one of the pipes. He disappeared into the manor and was never seen again. Everyone else has wisely feigned ignorance about the pipes ever since. The pipes are about a foot in diameter—large enough for ventilation, but too small (and obstructed by grates) to climb down.
Cloak-shrouded visitors frequently slip into or away from the manor compound late at night, often carrying packages of odd shapes. Twice, field hands observed figures silently leading a large beast of some form—certainly not a horse—into the compound. Once, the beast seemed to stare back at the witness, who later heard otherworldly screams echo feebly from the concealed pipes.
--- Rataji ---
The smokehouses look like a good place to start a fire as they already contain burning embers.
--- Hunter ---
The greenhouse may be harder to burn because of moisture and green plants but it is certainly possible. You do manage to set the traps without being detected.
--- All ---
Anyone gathering information also discover the return of an especially cruel halfling. Some of you recognise her as Joliryn who has met some of you before.
You may now digest that information and prepare for Phase 2
”The warehouse will be easy to burn. There’s flammable material everywhere. Interesting thing though, there’s something underneath it. I’m guessing some sort of lab or some such. There are pipes leading up to the warehouse. Too small to fit into, in case you were wondering. Question is: do we start destroying things all Willy nilly or should we explore further before trying to make an example of this place?”
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"Lets check the place out some more. Maybe try to find the entrance to the underground area along with a set of keys. It looks like the head pharmacist has a set that can unlock records they have in the lab. Lets see if we can pin down where the leaders are. We might also work towards selectively eliminating them, maybe starting with Joliryn? " Zurnazl suggested.
"The shrine is filled with torture implements. Some of them would fetch a pretty copper, but they just leave them lying around. Amateurs.
"Also, the birds are staying away from the courtyard. Something must be going on there, though what it is is not obvious."
Before moving down to the smokehouses, Rataji casts disguise self to wash away his Mwangi features, dressing himself as a plain-looking native Nidalese in non-destinct but slightly expensive-looking and slightly formal clothing, as would befit someone of minor official stature. Along with the disguise, he includes a clipboard and pen with a stack of forms full of checklists and blank lines for comments, dates, and initials.
Rataji enters the smokehouses for a look around, holding the clipboard in the bend of his elbow, ready to take notes. He doesn't try at all to not be seen; he just makes the motions of periodically checking a box or making a small notation as he walks around and observes.
Hunter will now change shape to make it look like she belongs
to make sure no one questions it.
and plants more traps in the warehouse
Eramay checks out the manor and hopes to glimpse something of note.
The Professional tries to pilfer the keys from the head pharmacist.
Stealth
Sleight if Hands
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--- I guess we're starting Phase Two ---
The Professional succeeds in taking the keys without being noticed. As well as the key to the research chest, there is a manor key there as well.
((You can also steal the research in the same phase of getting the keys if you want to))
Hunter just succeeds in setting a trap.
Ralth will cast improve trap] on Hunter's work to make it even harder for the enemy to find it. [oo](+5 Perception DC)[/ooc]
--- I guess we're starting Phase Two ---
Hunter will try to make it look like he belongs and set a trap near the residences
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Rataji, in phase 1 had discovered that the smokehouses already contain live embers, so it is a relatively simple matter to displace burning fuel or lay a combustible trail so that the building catches fire as much as several hours later.
It doesn't look like getting into the manor via the roof is a viable option.
Sleight of hands