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Yep. You had to defeat two specific undead and make sure the paladin survived.
Chronicle sheets are available. Please let me know if there are any changes that need to be made.
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Beyond Azlant Ridge takes place in Mwangi. Please feel free to make your purchases.
Although the city of Nantambu is hot, the interior of Sharrowsmith’s Exports is cool and dim. Aya Allahe gestures to a sideboard of iced drinks and jungle fruits as she settles in behind her tidy desk.
“Please, refresh yourselves, for I’m about to ask you to journey far from the comforts of civilization.”
The only other person in the room is a half-elf named Fola Barun, who has curly hair and dark skin painted with delicate designs. Fola stands behind a massive oak table, meticulously adding details to a half-finished map.
Allahe’s brow wrinkles over her golden eyes, hinting at her worry. “North of Bloodcove is the mountainous Terwa Uplands and a scarp called Azlant Ridge. For more than six years, Pathfinder archeologists at Azlant Ridge have been excavating an Azlanti outpost of vital historical significance; it’s perhaps the only Azlanti outpost on the Mwangi coast.”
Allahe pauses. “Fola, you mentioned to me before that you wanted to learn how Pathfinder agents begin a mission. Why don’t you hold off on that map for a few minutes and listen?”
The half-elf carefully sets her cartography aside and strides over behind the desk. Allahe nods approvingly and continues, “My good friend, Juliet Dias, leads the expedition at Azlant Ridge. During their first year, the expedition was beset by a horde of ape-men, but was saved by the timely intervention of a group of Pathfinder agents. The site has been mostly quiet ever since—Juliet provides monthly reports. Archeology is a slow and careful science, as Juliet is keen to remind me. Not all Pathfinders are reckless thrill-seekers.” Allahe flashes a conspiratorial smile.
Fola Barun speaks up. “Juliet Dias’s monthly correspondence is a week overdue. Her last missive described a strange light emanating from somewhere deeper in the Terwa Uplands, and her intense curiosity about it.” She slides a folded letter across the desk.
Aya adds, “I fear for my friend. Go to Azlant Ridge and seek out Juliet Dias. If she has met danger, please assist her. If my fears prove true, and Juliet is injured or worse, please ensure that the Pathfinder archeologists under her supervision are safe and continuing their valuable work, and then bring Juliet back to me. I have a riverboat to Bloodcove ready to depart, and I’ll provide you directions from Bloodcove to Azlant Ridge. Although I ask that you hurry, it is important that you ask whatever questions you may have before departing.”
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"All this travelling back and forth seems a bit wasteful sometimes." Avril looks to her companions. "Though it's nice to see the world too, but sometimes I wish my missions were a bit closer to home..."
She looks to Aya Allahe after the merchant done speaking. "Bloodcove is controlled by the Aspis Consortium unless things changed since last time I was there." "Can we expect to just buypass that without problems?"
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Harrow admires some new armor-enhancing items he has acquired between adventures, hoping they would make him more difficult to hit. But his attention span does not seem too long, and soon he is distracted by his own pectoral muscles, and he alternates flexing each side of his chest.
Remembering he is in a mission briefing, the half-orc tries to ask something smart.
"How long it take to get there? Pies travel in this heat okay?"
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She looks to Aya Allahe after the merchant done speaking. "Bloodcove is controlled by the Aspis Consortium unless things changed since last time I was there." "Can we expect to just buypass that without problems?"
She gestures to the group, "Avoiding the Aspis should be no problem for experienced Pathfinder field agents like you."
____________________________________________________________"How long it take to get there? Pies travel in this heat okay?"
"You'll get there at the speed of plot. Oh! That reminds me. I received a delivery for you from a... Sir Didymus?"
The aasimar pulls out a basket and lifts the lid. Immediately, the room is infused with the buttery-sweet smell of freshly baked apple biscuits.
"And I received this shipment from some ladies from Kassen's Hold?"
Aya reveals yet another basket filled with apple, cherry, pumpkin, and rhubarb pies.
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While the aroma of the pies and sweets is not lost on Mareq, he ignores it in favor of reverie.
He remembers Azlant Ridge. He had only recently escaped the City of Brass via the great maw of the Chain of Fire. He still remembers the cold. This place was so cold compared to Fommok Madinah upon the Plane of Fire. It actually rained water that first week he wandered about the City of Absalom.
And then, blessed relief, when a pathfinder had recommend he follow he and his team to Bloodcove to rescue these foolish archaeologists. It was with GREAT pleasure that he employed his thrall to slay the ape-men. The ape-men, to Mareq's prejudiced eye, resembled all of his hulking, brutish, efreet half-brothers. Watching them die had been a balm upon his soul, assuming he possessed such.
<shake> "Ah, yes, Venture-Captain, could you refresh our memories? What does Juliet look like? It has been some time since I have been to Azlant Ridge."
"And what of the ape-men, the charau-ka? Have they been sighted again? And what of the Gorilla King? Does intelligence suggest a presence?"
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She'll give you a description of Juliet.
"The reports we received didn't make any mention of ape-men. The terrain between Bloodcove and Azlant Ridge is dense jungle, but the area around Azlant Ridge is mountainous and mostly above the jungle canopy. Creatures such as snakes and monkeys are common, including the violent charau-ka ape-men. There aren’t any communities nearby; Azlant Ridge is quite remote."
"Six years ago, a group of Pathfinder archeologists at a remote dig site in the Terwa Uplands made an incredible discovery: clear evidence of Azlanti occupation, refuting the common belief that the Azlanti had no settlements in the Mwangi Expanse. The archeologists came under frequent attacks by the charau-ka, the vile ape-men of the Mwangi. The Pathfinder expedition’s leader, Juliet Dias, directed construction of a wooden palisade, but the charau-ka called forth an enormous Abyss-touched champion to smash through it. Fortuitously, visiting Pathfinders activated one of the site’s ancient defenses—an enormous iron golem. This golem defeated the vile champion and scattered the attacking charau-ka. The attack also scared off the researchers, who hastily covered up the site and vowed never to return."
"Here's Juliet's last missive. As to the rest, I'm afraid you'll have to conduct your own investigation."
Good friend,
Our work proceeds well, and my cleverest linguists are working to decipher the runes uncovered in the cliff’s deepest room. They seem to con rm that this site was no mere Azlanti outpost, but a weapons repository to aid the cyclopes of the declining Ghol-Gan empire against the serpentfolk and their endish allies. I’ll send a full translation and rubbing once we’re complete. One other item of note: we’ve recently spotted a pale, steady light deeper in the Terwa Uplands, about a day away. It’s persisted for two nights. I’d like to investigate, in case it’s a temporary phenomenon, but we have our ongoing work for the Society to consider. The journey should not take too long. I’ll update you next month.
Juliet Dias
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"Ah pies! A girl gotta eat if she's to keep her strength!" Avril says with a smile as she partakes in the eating of pies. She eats an impressive amount for her stature, but considering how strong she is, maybe it's not surprising after all.
"How do you know a light can't be scary? Do you know what it means Harrow? I have no idea what it means, which means I'll prepare for the worst. It could be some danger threatening the expedition. I rarely run into nothing when I go on a mission, even when we think we know what to expect." Avril replies somberly to Harrow's optimistic comment.
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Aya Allahe offers one more bit of information. "I know nothing more than Juliet put in her note. However, there is a large ivory sphere at Azlant Ridge that started glowing six years ago, when an Abyss-touched monster attacked that site. It ceased glowing once the monster was defeated, and hasn’t activated since. Perhaps the glow Juliet reported was a similar phenomenon at a different site."
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Some of you might know more about the ancient inhabitants of the Azlant Ridge region with a knowledge (history) check.
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Observing the gusto with which the party dives into the food, Aya pulls out a tray and offers, "This is a special Nantambu dish we make here. These are confections made from local fruits and honey; their shapes and texture are meant to represent the spirit of our fair city."
She lays out the platter to reveal pastries in a variety of colors--each representative of a different fruit or fruit combination. From the slight glaze on top, it looks like they've all been brushed with honey and then baked. They're surprisingly light, yet very flavorful.
"Please help yourselves to these, and take another tray with you for the road."
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"Ooh! says a delighted Berosius. The little halfling is a lover of fine foods, as his tightening waistcoat can attest. He digs in, trying a little of each fruit...and then a little more.
Later, stuffed and not overly eager to move from his equally stuffed chair on the lodge's porch, he contentedly puffs a small meerschaum pipe of fine manufacture. "We should get started bright and early tomorrow. There's nothing like the morning sun in your face for the start of a long journey."
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The journey through Bloodcove and into the Terwa Uplands proceeds without incident. After that, a series of thin switchback trails climb ever higher out of the jungle. Near the top, a dilapidated camp comes into view. The camp is surrounded by a wooden palisade wall forming a semicircle that both starts and ends at an imposing cliff face looming hundreds of feet above the camp. A gatehouse towers over the palisade, guarding a wooden gate. Near this gate is a large gap of splintered wood, as though some enormous creature recently smashed its way through the wall.
Here are the areas on the map:
A1. Fortified Gate
A2. Palisade Breach
A3. Ivory Sphere
A4. Excavation Camp
A5. Abandoned Dig
A6. Metal Doors
A7. Azlanti Monoliths
A8. Empty Sarcophagi
A9. Monolith Control Room
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As the group nears the breached palisade, Harrow says "Seems like pass lots of time with nothing happen, then all the sudden lots of stuff happen. Seems like maybe lots stuff happen now."
The half-orc swings his arms back and forth, then lowers his neck to each shoulder in turn.
"Harrow ready now. Maybe check out that circle-thingy first?" he says, pointing to the ivory sphere.
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Harrow approaches the Ivory Sphere.
A3. Ivory Sphere: A precise and professional terraced dig site surrounds what appears to be a half-sphere of a smooth, almost mirror-like white material resembling polished ivory. This sphere isn’t currently glowing, but the archeologists remember hearing that it shone 6 years ago when an Abyss-touched creature attacked the excavation. A large sheet of rolled canvas is near the sphere, as the archeologists intend to cover it before they depart.
As the half-orc draws near, he espies that eight archeologists remain in the camp. It looks like they're carefully packing up and tending to artifacts in preparation for departure.
One of them, a round-faced man, notices the party. "Hello! I'm Happ Voltz. I'm the most senior archaeologist on site with Juliet and the others gone. Are you here to escort us out?"
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"Juliet is gone? That's troublesome. We came here to meet her and help her in case she needed any assistance. But I guess if she was unhindered she would have just sent word back in the first place and there would be no need for us to come. What happened to her? Why do you need an escort out?" Avril tries to ponder the implications of what the archeologists say, but she's having a hard time of it as he pretty brow furrows in concentration.
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Berosius senses no duplicity in this man. He's an academic who loves his work, but has gotten in over his head in this dangerous corner of the world.
"Two days ago an enormous creature, it looked like a golem, crashed through the palisade and trampled several of my archaeologist colleagues. Concerned that the golem was a dire harbinger, and lacking Juliet's leadership, many workers immediately fled the site. The rest of us are unwilling to simply abandon an important site, so we are covering and securing the dig site before departing."
Knowledge History, Profession Archaeologist, Sense Motive, Perception and all other relevant checks support this man's statements.
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A2. Palisade Breach: The Pathfinder archeologists have been too busy packing the camp to properly repair the fence, and have done nothing more than drag the palisade logs into a haphazard pile that does not provide cover or impede movement.
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Official Synopsis: "With supplies in hand, you rush from Bloodcove to the Pathfinder expedition site at Azlant Ridge only to find it under siege. You must brave the newly discovered halls beneath the ridge in order to find the key that might save everyone."
At the end, hopefully your party figured out the controls to the guardians and used one to fend off the BBEG.
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"Where was light Juliet see?"
"Through the Terwa Uplands. Given that the mountainous terrain features multiple switchbacks and stony sections where the path is unclear, we guessed it was about a 6-hour march from here. Give or take."