Venture-Captain Roderus sits at his desk in the lodge beneath the popular Winding Road Inn in Katapesh. Maps cover every wall of his workspace, and precarious stacks of journals and papers nearly reach to the ceiling. The venture-captain glances up from his work. “Welcome, Pathfinders. I hope your journey here was not too arduous. I have a fascinating assignment for you.” He plucks a single sheet of paper from the middle of pile on his desk. “This is a letter from the Osiriani investigator Amenira, who works with the Temple of the All-Seeing Eye. Mercy, the town she mentions in her reports, wasn’t even on our map until now. It’s a small settlement out in the Mana Wastes. Magic is unpredictable out in the Wastes, and it sometimes coalesces into deadly storms. People in Alkenstar reported seeing one of these magical disturbances heading in the direction of Mercy, but the town weathered the fearsome storm without so much as a scratch.”
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For *once* Etune is one of the first people at the briefing. This has caused her to fidget a bit, as she's almost habitually the last one to meetings. It's not her fault she's... exceptionally perceptive (read: easily dis--SQUIRREL!). However, the warmer climate of Katapesh and the hustle and bustle of the major metropolis -- though oddly enough, a bit quieter than Absalom in some ways -- has sort of recharged her after the assault on the Grand Lodge.
"So what happens to people who have magic, well, 'in' them when they go to the Wastes? I'm not going to explode or something, am I?"
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Ruth marches into the cramped office looking a little different then she did during the attack on the Grand Lodge. She wears a light traveling outfit without her old armor. A small finely crafted stick and several vials hanging from her belt. As always her gleaming blade is strapped to her back.
Giving both Florin and Etune a slight nod as she enters Ruth stands in the corner with a straight back, chin up and her arms crossed over chest while listening to the briefing.
Roderus hands over a sheaf of papers (see handout 1 on the slides.)
Roderus smiles in a fatherly way toward Etune before answering. “It’s a dangerous place, particularly the farther you stray from pockets of civilization. The war between Geb and Nex millennia ago devastated the land, physically and metaphysically, and the scars linger to this day. Expect areas where magic doesn’t work or becomes unpredictable. Clouds of poison and storms of terrible power erupt spontaneously. There are mutated creatures, undead horror, and monstrous scavengers, among other things. Use your best judgment, be ready for danger, and don’t go wandering off into the Wastes more than absolutely necessary.”
The venture-captain clears his throat. “One of my contacts at the temple received this missive from her four months ago, and he hasn’t heard anything from her since. I’m sending you to Mercy to figure out why. If she’s still there, ask her why she hasn’t contacted anyone in months and help her finish her investigation; if she isn’t, find out what happened to her. While you are there, see how much of the mystery of Mercy you can unravel. Several of the clergy within the temple are intensely curious about why the mana storm didn’t level the town, and so am I. I will gladly provide you with additional pay for the information that you retrieve. I’ve booked a ship to the city of Alkenstar, which is a few days’ journey from Mercy itself. The ship departs in three hours. If you have any questions, ask them now. You’ll have time to purchase supplies when you arrive.”
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"Hmm a Temple delicated to Nethys, God of Magic." She then looks at the documents given to her.
"Carpenters and Blacksmiths? Weavers? Mana Storm? What are Mana storms and are the people divided in guilds or something?" she questions with a furrow in her brow and glances at her companions to see if they have any other suggestions.
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Goldur strolls into the room, his footfalls easily heard long before he appears. "Together again, eh? We did make a pretty good team durin' th' assault, didn' we?"
He listens to the briefing. "Unpredictable magic, yeh say? Sounds like me kinda job." He thumps his chest with one hand. "We dwarves can take a spell er two. Me friends 'ere can do th' investigatin', an' I'll protect 'em."
The ship travels down the coast of the Obari Ocean, tacks northwest up the Elemion River, then sails south down the Ustradi River, finally stopping at the city of Alkenstar. It docks slightly short of a five-hundred-foot-tall waterfall in the middle of the city, where southbound ships painstakingly ride a winding elevator to the river above. Nearby, carriages wait to lead passengers into the smog-covered city. You can see a mix of mainly human, but also significant numbers of dwarves and halflings along the docks. Most surprisingly, you see a number of openly worn firearms on the hips and backs of the crowd.
"Oh bless me heart, lovey! I ken tell ye all aboot Mercy, lovey!" The old woman seems brimming with information. She tells you the following tidbits: Mercy is located a little over 20 miles south of Alkenstar. The people there worship an obscure nature deity. Rumors speak of a vampire who occasionally hunts travelers along the road.
The people of Mercy have a reputation for being insular and extremely devout to their god Robori. The town has rigid, inflexible rules, but the quality of its harvests encourages traders to occasionally stop by the town to purchase produce.
For the past year, an Osiriani woman from Mercy named Amenira came to Alkenstar every month. She traded for supplies and sent large collections of letters before returning to Mercy.
Goldur, a few dwarves stop and unsling long metal tubes. "Cousin, ye must be new t'Alkenstar! These be fire-arms! They throw small metal bits at yer enemy at high speed and cut 'em near in half. Makes a sound like thunder, and they're powerful expensive. Alkenstar's near the only place ye'll see 'em, I ken."
"Take care," the dwarf says, pitching his voice low so as not to be overheard, "Takin' 'em out of Alkenstar's a death sentence! Very snooty wit' their guns they is!"
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Ruth loved ships ever since she was a child and would go sailing with her dad in the river outside Eto and was enjoying the ship ride past her home nation and down the coastline.
Once on the docks at Alkenstar Ruth stands open mouthed in awe of the great waterfall and ship elevator. "Wow that is amazing!" A few moments pass and Ruth regains her noble bearing. "Ok let's get some information about the area and it's hazards. Come dwarf I need to find a scroll shop." She turns on her heel and moves toward the carriages leading to the city.
Despite your best efforts, no one knows anything about this 'Robori', but a kindly old woman warns you of mana storms. "Strangeness indeed, missy! Sweeps up and makes the magic go all wonky-crazy! Twists things that get caught in it and makes 'em mutate. Change, that is! Don't mess 'round none with those things, missy!"
After doing some shopping, you find the right road heading out of town and set off. The dirt road toward Mercy winds through rocky, tree-lined hills. Sporadic clearings occur where large sections of trees have been destroyed or damaged. Some are only missing a few branches, while others have been split almost in half vertically or chopped down to a short stump. The exposed wood is black and perfectly smooth. One such clearing reveals the opening of a narrow cave in the hillside. The trail splits, leading both into the cave and off to the north.
You get an odd feeling here, as if you're being watched...
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Ruth shivers as the hair on the back of her neck stands up. "Something is not right?!" She whispers sharply as she pulls the finely crafted stick off her belt and speaks a quick word. Ruth's body glows for a second then fades to normal as she places the stick back in place and draws her sword off her back.
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Goldur runs his hand over the blackened wood of one of the stumps. "Hmmm. Like a hot axe that chopped it clean through." He looks around uncertainly. "An' anyone else feel like we aren't th' only ones 'ere?"
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Florin scans, her eyes seeking evil. Somewhere near the rocks to the right and above her, she can detect auras, but they're blocked by the stones. Still, she knows something is there.
Ruth pulls her wand and casts it. When she does, something odd happens: a shower of pine needles erupt from the wand and cover her, producing a pleasant pine scent.
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Etune follows suit and attempts to poke herself with her wand as she watches the rest of the party react.
"It's kind of like someone's dragging a fireplace poker a few inches away from my spine." How she draws that analogy is anyone's guess, but it may have to do something with the white dragon in her ancestry.
You sneak around the rocks to find a ... gnoll? At least it started as a gnoll. One half is mutated into a tentacle and its legs are twisted in the wrong direction. It crouches with a normal enough hyena, murmuring in low yips and growls to it. It hasn't noticed you yet...
The telekinetic blow rings the mutant gnoll's clock, causing it to rock back. It comes back up, spitting what looks to be glowing green blood from its mouth with a snarl.
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"Hah! Knew there was somethin' 'ere!" Goldur draws his axe and moves forward.
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Goldur stalks forward, while Etune casts a spell of... pine needles... that strikes the hyena with a smell of pine. The beast yelps and seems to cower slightly.
Florin steps up and attacks, cutting deeply into the gnoll and spraying green ichor across her shield. Ruth conjures another telekinetic slap that causes the hyena to yip with pain!
The gnoll steps back five feet and downs a small bottle of some brownish liquid. The hyena growls and lunges at Florin! Its jaws snap closed an inch away from her shin, sending slobber spraying over her!