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The invitation delivered last night was remarkably simple, especially given the importance of the occasion: “Start where it all began. Meet us at the Pig’s Paunch one hour before dawn.”
The Pig’s Paunch is a run-down building with a faded sign of a large pig standing on its hind legs, arms folded above a corpulent belly. Inside, the air is thick with the scents of human sweat, stale tobacco, and leftover food. In the center of the room, surrounded by inebriates sleeping off their revelries, a familiar elven man stands high upon top of a large round table. “Welcome! Welcome, my students! Please, have a seat!” With that, Kreighton Shaine, the Pathfinder Society’s Master of Scrolls, nimbly drops down to sit cross-legged on the table before looking about the tavern with a sense of reverent wonder. “Can you believe it? It all started here years ago—well, over four hundred of them at least. Under this very roof the Pathfinder Society was born.
“But today! Today you will begin your Confirmation! Master Farabellus, Master Zey, and I all agree you each have shown your worth and dedication to the Society, so there’s no better time to see if you can handle becoming full field operatives. Allow me to introduce you to Janira Gavix,” he says as he motions for an excitable halfling woman to approach. She wears a large backpack and carries all manner of tools, pouches, and scroll cases around her waist. Shaine continues, saying, “Janira here will be going with you on your Confirmation. She was one of my brightest pupils and will no doubt be an invaluable resource on your journey, for she discovered the caves you are about to explore during her own Confirmation.”
Janira speaks up in an enthusiastic and cheerful voice, “Greetings, aspiring Pathfinders! Six months ago, while I was mapping cave entrances in the foothills of the Kortos Mounts, I witnessed a lone gillman entering a concealed cave. I thought little of it at the time, but I saw another one enter the cave again a month later as my Confirmation stretched on. A few days later, after I completed my assigned task, I entered the cave system, but was unable to find the gillmen.” Master Shaine hops to his feet. “Initiates, for your Confirmation, you will travel to these caves to explore and document its many passages. Additionally, and most importantly, you are to learn what the gillmen are up to in there. Oh, and you need to come back alive as well.” With these parting words, the Master of Scrolls jumps off the table and strolls out of the building while humming to himself.
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A half-orc woman walks up, her human side obviously representing her Tian heritage, and her accent shows no different. She wears leather armor and has a heavy mace by her side. She also carries an metallic ofadu with her.
I am Nuo. I joined the Pathfinder Society not too long ago. I used to live in Minkai along with my brother. He was a Samurai and a devoted follower of Emperor Shigure. Around the time the emperor was captured 11 years ago, our house was raided by ronin who opposed the Emperor. My brother defended me, telling me to run and get far away as I can. My brother died there that night protecting me. Because of that, I was able to leave the continent. The only thing I had left of my brother was the metal ofadu he had given to me for my birthday that year.
I spent several years in mourning of what happened that day. I ended up living in Sothis for a long time, although I never felt I fit in there. Then I heard of the Pathfinder Society, a diverse group of individuals seeking knowledge, and thought I found my calling. And I joined. Through their training, I found out several powers of my own that I had never tried to use before, and it turns out that the ofadu my brother gave me became a focus for that power. And on that topic...I have someone else to introduce.
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A ghostly image of a half-orc man, with the same hint of Tian heritage, rises out of the ground. As he rises, he slowly forms into a full image of a man wearing full samurai armor, a heavy mace and heavy shield by his side. Also in his possession, you see a holy symbol of Qi Zhong, Tian goddess of medicine and healing.
I am Qiang, and I am Nuo's brother. It is pleasure to meet you all. I am looking forward to working with my sister in her journey to find her place in this world, and to this task I am devoted.
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'You need to come back alive..' What kind of cockamamie afterthought is that? I knew the Master of Scrolls was a loon, But seriously???
A tall Varisian woman stretches languidly as Master Shaine leaves the building. Her black hair is cut short enough that it barely touches her shoulders, where the ends sweep around a yellow and black scarf. She wears a obviously new set of darkly-tinted scale armor, with several more scarves and skirts hanging from her waist. A whip, as well as a holy symbol to Calistria, hang off of one side of her clothes. After a moment, she stands.
"We are doing introductions, yes?"With only a brief pause to allow for any contradiction, she continues. "I am called Esmeralda Villasani, from the Kaspakari. Like you, I am here because the Society seeks knowledge, and nowadays, knowledge is power. "
After a moment's pause, she adds,"In any case, if we are to document these caverns, I suppose I should acquire paper and ink for scribe's work?"
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Max shakes his head sadly as Nuo tells her story, and then scrambles back a few steps when the apparition appears.
"Many strange things I have seen in this world since that fateful day when Burning Cloud Devil tried to kill our beloved Celestial Dragon, who is know to many in these lands as Irori. He will save our souls, if only we have the strength and fortitude to stand up and be seen in his image. I trust you all will prove worthy, and I can only assume that this spirit here has some unfinished business. The samurai are noble and strong," he says with a bow, "I respect them. But this, this I may need some time to get used to."
You can see that Max is probably much younger than he appears (or tries to appear) with long, flowing white hair and beard. He wears only brown canvas pants and along, plain grey robe, tied with a simply piece of rope. Sandals barely protect his feet from the ground, and a few small sacks hang from the belt. He doesn't appear to carry any weapons.
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An unusually gruff-looking dwarf stands nearby, his arms folded across his chest. He wears a sturdy-looking set of studded leather armor. His skin looks almost as if he had been hewn from solid rock.
He steps forward, and it is as if the weight of a giant landed where he stepped. Pebbles at his feet are displaced and shake.
"Terros deepdelve, at yer service," he nods.
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Ellie Doubledown is never still. If she is sitting, she fidgets. If she is standing, she shuffles. If she's expected to sit still, she will continually flip coins or shuffle cards or spin a starknife on an axis or carve designs in tables with a handy dagger or nearby spoon. Her brown hair is tied back in an utilitarian kapenia, and numerous sharpened bits of obsidian are symmetrically arranged on her person- -starknives, daggers, javelins- -or would be if she wasn't constantly picking one to keep her nervous attention in check. Her smile is constantly shifting between 'noble schemer' and 'full-on schemer.'
"So, when do we get to start? 'Coming back alive' isn't going to do itself," Ellie says, tapping her fingers to a seemingly random rhythm. "How long ago was the last gillmen sighted, anyway?"
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My noble human, I can completely understand your skepticism, and I will try to prove to you that I am as loyal and noble in my afterlife as I was in my previous life. I don't quite remember all of my previous life; I only remember small glimpses and flashes in fact, but Nuo has filled me in on many details.
Excellent questions everyone. I am also interested in whether there are any other inhabitants in the cave as well.
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I met many Nagaji when I was in Tian, many of them samurai. It's a pleasure to see someone who is native to my continent. Brings back some memories.
Knowledge is power indeed. We should document everything we find. I am an excellent scribe myself. Nuo still has that fresh agent spirit among her.
Nuo seems a little frightened as Terros approaches, mostly due to the ground itself shaking.
No need to be nervous. We can count on each other.
What’s a gillman? “The gillmen are a humanoid race much like humans save for the three piscine gills on both sides of their necks. They’re a little secretive but not outright hostile. Most live in or near the water.
I'm sure other things live in the caves. Bats, rats and what not. Coming back alive is usually something you try for. And you have me to protect you so tou should be fine. It was probably last seen when I did my confirmation. Oh and it was a full moon both times I saw them.” She says with a smile.
"Its not far. We will be there with just a couple hours walking. And tonight for the full moon." She says.
"Well I have my stuff in my pack but we shouldn't need much. Just make sure you have the basics." She says cheerfully.
"I have plenty. No need to worry about that stuff." The Halfling says with a smile.
The journey through the City at the Center of the World is swift and without incident, and the long trek across the Cairnlands provides a great opportunity to discuss Master Shane’s class on the history of Absalom. Most of the journey is uneventful, but Janira might point out landmarks such as siege towers, distant mountains, or distinct flora and fauna along the journey.
As the party progresses deeper into the forest, the trees towering overhead begin to shield most of what remains of the day’s sun and the vegetation beneath grows denser. Janira pauses a moment and pulls out an intricate silver compass emblazoned with the Pathfinder Society logo: the Glyph of the Open Road. “I received this wayfinder when I successfully completed my Confirmation. Should we be successful on our journey, you will get your own as well.” She flips open the device and holds it in front of her; the initials J. L. are engraved into the inside of the device’s lid. After studying the compass inside for a moment, she remarks, “We’re on the right path. We need to keep heading northwest past those large rocks up ahead.”
As you walk along on a mostly uneventful day a swarm suddenly descends form a tree and attacks!
Upon seeing the swarm Janira begins to sing!
Round 1
Janira
Ellie
Terros
Quang
Max
Swarm
Nou
Yelek
Esmeralda
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Terros walks heavily through the woods until Janira stops them.
"Bugs? Spreid it an' dornt get bit!" he shouts.
The dwarf plants his feet in the soil and holds out a fist. His eyes begin to glow a soft blue light.
Suddenly, the earth at his feet begins to shudder, and then the dwarf opens his fist, and earth, pebbles, and other debris fly toward the swarm of insects.
As a standard action, the kineticist can unleash a kinetic blast at a single target up to a range of 30 feet. She must have at least one hand free to aim the blast (or one prehensile appendage, if she doesn't have hands). All damage from a kinetic blast is treated as magic for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction. Kinetic blasts count as a type of weapon for the purpose of feats such as Weapon Focus. The kineticist is never considered to be wielding or gripping the kinetic blast (regardless of effects from form infusions; see Infusion), and she can't use Vital Strike feats with kinetic blasts. Even the weakest kinetic blast involves a sizable mass of elemental matter or energy, so kinetic blasts always deal full damage to swarms of any size (though only area blasts deal extra damage to swarms). A readied kinetic blast can be used to counterspell any spell of equal or lower level that shares its descriptor. A kinetic blast that deals energy damage of any type (including force) has the corresponding descriptor.
Terros blasts a big hole in the swarm! The swarm starts forward for vengeance!
Round 1
Janira
Ellie
Terros
Qiang
Max
Swarm
Nou
Yelek
Esmeralda