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You arrive in Diobel via the overland route from Absalom to meet a contact in a pub known as “The Tails”; a dingy, brine-soaked shack covered with swordfish tails located in a rundown section of town called South Reach. There, bitter longshoreman coming off the graveyard shifts pile in and slam rounds of a potent shark-fin liquor, cursing and complaining until they’re drunk enough to be carted home by noon.
The disparaged scene has few prying eyes—the ideal place for Pathfinders to pass along their covert whispers. You enter early in the day, when the small crowd of older men is at its most drunk and rowdy, the revelry within barely contained by the boarded-up windows. You stand out like sore thumbs among the ruddy-faced dockworkers, most of whom have more ginblossoms than teeth. The crowd immediately heckles you for being up-scalers and gold-thumbers, demanding you spend some of your coin to buy the bar a round, but quickly fall silent when moments later, a dark, cloaked figure rises from the back of the bar.
Then, eyes averted, everyone returns to their former conversations. Drawing back his cloak, your contact reveals himself—a man his late forties with obvious Chelaxian features and a faint beard. He introduces himself only as Osprey, then invites you to sit before he finally tells you why the Society dragged you to Diobel: “We’ve word that the accursed Chelaxian pirate Darsielle Du Moire’s has anchored his much sought ship, the Hydra’s Fang, in the harbor. Everyone’s looking for that bastard. He carries with him some ancient tablets of extreme historical value to our organization. Unknown to most, Wittlestone, the small Andoren town Du Moire razed to the ground, was also home to Myraxus Threeshadows, a noted but aging sage and umber mystic supposedly of ancient Azlanti decent. Among Myraxus’s possessions he kept ancient forgeries of several tablets used in ancient rites during Old Azlant’s height. When Darsielle destroyed the village, he slew the wizard and took the tablets, hoping to pawn them to one of his buyers in Diobel."
"The tablets are a priceless archeological treasure, one greatly desired by the Pathfinder Society. In fact, just prior to the Azlanti’s death, we placed several bids to purchase the tablets and so naturally were the first to realize they’d gone missing. You must race to get Du Moire and recover the stolen tablets before his pursuers find him or he flees port."
“If our sources are correct, we’ve learned that he owes a substantial amount of money to one of the Consortium’s more ambitious Enforcers, an importer named Lubor Staizkal. Likely he needs to settle with him at some point. Go to Lubor’s shop on Meldon Lane, near the docks, and see if you can pick up Du Moire’s trail from there, then do whatever you can to get those tablets. May the Gods speed you in this task.”
"Any questions? Half the Inner Sea is hunting Darsielle Du Moire, and the Society needs you to get to him first."
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Horef blends well with the rabble of this town as he is quite rough and not well dresssed himself. Horef remains cloaked while sitting at the table and stands with his back to minimal traffic while listening to Osprey. Before speaking Horef checks the crowd for listenors or people paying a little extra attention to our details.
"Osprey is it, it seems you might be leaving out a little information on Du Moire, his boys, and business partners. Is there anything you might add or might be able to provide to catch him besides Lubor?"
"I can't recall anything about this town or people, anyone else? hmm let me think."
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Rhuul has been quite enjoying the atmousphere of the tavern.
"What do fish and women have in common? They both stop shaking their tail after you catch them!"
At the words of Osprey, he wracks his mind to thing about what he knows of the area, the pirates, the old wizard, tablets and other items of interest such as this enforcer.
"What more can you tell us about these tablets? How big may they be? Who else may be specifically looking for them?"
He thinks a little more.
"And will the Hydra's fang be small enough to come into the port, or will they be rowing backwards and forwards."
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No one seems to be paying any particular attention, as for whatever reason, seem to give the man you are speaking to a wide berth.
"Here's what I know, Osprey says "Nobody likes the bastard. Absolutely, bloody nobody. Born the third son of a wealthy Chelaxian count, the young blueblood prided himself for squandering his family’s fortunes on debauchery and hedonism. Mocking the courtly traditions and old laws with arrogant disregard, the pampered brat recklessly offended high-ranking Chelish nobles, evoking the scorn of his father’s once trusted allies."
"His pops just wanted Darsielle out of the picture, so bought him a ship for him to go sow his royal oats, and by that I mean try his hand at pirating and get himself murdered. Ironically, Darsielle took to a privateer’s life like a jackal upon the carcass of a fallen stag. In a few short seasons, he sank half a dozen pirate ships, as well as one or two Andoren vessels that he claimed were unmarked. Due to tales of his ruthlessness, the infamy of his sip, the Hydra’s Fang, spread. He's know to kill his own crew if he thinks they are "too honorable", and by the end of the year, Darsielle commanded a crew of nothing but contemptible bastards."
"A few years back, Du Moire sailed into Westcrown and superciliously demanded to be crowned admiral of the Chelish dragoon fleet, but was essentially laughed out of the country. Compounding matters, the Andoran government accused Du Moire of deliberately attacking free Andoren ships. Dubbing his attacks “acts of war,” they threatened to retaliate unless the Chelish government placed a cease and desist upon the Hydra’s Fang. Wanting revenge, on Cheliax, Darsielle fled Westcrown and went on a rampage, foundering ships and looting small towns up and down the Andoren coast. This time, the Andorens responded with a formal declaration of war. Hoping to avoid conflict, the Chelish diplomats promised to permanently rid the Inner Sea of the Hydra’s Fang, provided they stay their attacks. Andoran accepted a temporary treaty, giving Cheliax 30 days to make good on their offer."
"A fortnight later, Darsielle struck the small Andoren village of Wittleshine, burning it to the ground. He churned the ivory sands to black ash, butchering scores of fishermen and seaweed farmers before dragging off the living in slave chains. Cheliax's navy, attempted to take him there, but failed horribly. This is the only port left open to him, and we know that his ship was damaged, so he needs to make repairs."
"Andoran and Cheliax both want his head. Myraxus Threeshadows, one of the men he murdered likely had friends and family. We think the Aspis Consortium is interested as well, though we don't think they know of the tablets. As for the tablets, there are, we think, four of them. Each is made of a different material, copper, gold, lead, and black slate. They are about so, so," holding his hands about a foot apart, "and each is written in true ancient Azlanti, which is why w want them."
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On your contact’s advice, you arrive at the shop of one of Du Moire’s supposed connections. A sign over the door reads “Lubor’s Imports.” The door hangs slightly ajar. All is dark within, and eerily silent. As you peer inside, you witness the scene of a recent brawl. Furniture lies smashed and strewn about. Near a closed door at the back of the shop, two bodies slump upon the floor, their blood pooling slowly beneath them.
A teenage girl hovers over the corpse of a middle-aged merchant. Her silent eyes filled with tears, she mouths the word “daddy”.
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Walking across town and now upon the contacts directions to Lubor's Imports Horef contemplates the many different possibilities that lie ahead. He turns to the others with questions but is stopped by the sound of whimpering from within the shop.
He peers inside to see the placed turned on its head. He immediatly pulls his falchion out to the ready. That's when he hears the girl.
he whispers to the others"Follow me."
Horef moves inside falchion first looking around as he approaches the girl.
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So storm tooth will be trying to pick up scent or trail of whoever did this. It starts at dc 10 because of scent and then gets modified based on time[=+1 dc per hour], weather, and terrain.
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The two guards are clearly dead, and checking for vitals confirms that fact. From what you can see, they where beaten and stabbed to death, and very recently. The younger girl seems uninjured, but simply points towards the door. "They killed him. They killed them both and went through there."
Storm Tooth seems to agree, as he (?) can detect multiple scents, and follows them towards the nearby door. It seems quite on the other side.
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The girl seems to take some comfort from your attempts to calm her, and sticks near Rhuul as the others check the door. Seeing it's unlocked, and unable to sense any traps, you open it and send in the dinosaur. The Room is dimly lit inside, or perhaps magically dampened, leaving those without Darkvision with some difficulty seeing, though you are not blind.
As soon as you open the door and begin to enter, four ruffians within, having been lying in wait spring out of their hiding places and attack. Each has a short bow ready, and immediately after the attack, the two closest ones drop it, adjust and draw a Longsword.
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Each of the four thugs is wearing studded leather, and has a buckler on their arm. #1 and 3 are now armed with Longswords, while #2 and 4 still have out their short bows. All four of them, while human do not seem affected at all by the darkness, and each also seems to be distorted, sort of blurred and wavering, even to those able to seen in the dark. The only light comes from behind you, and on the floor near the thugs, you can see eight empty potion vials smashed on the ground.
ROUND 1
Players (Vroth, Rhuul, Savage, Horef, and Kryssa)
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Thugs, (1-4)
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"I was in Almas the other week, and saw a mugger hold up a senior citizen. 'Give me all your money' the knave said, waving a dagger at the grey haired gentleman. 'Don't you know who I am?' said the old guy. 'I'm a People's Counciler!'. The mugger waved his knife and said 'In that case.. give me MY money'"
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As you rush into the room to attack, you leave a few wounds on the thugs, but do not manage to remove them from the fight. Suddenly from behind you, you hear chanting. The young girl casts aside her disguise, revealing a middle aged woman casting an Arcane spell.
Thugs 1 and 3 then take to attacking Savage, hoping to maximize their flank and sneak attack.
Thugs 2 and 4, seeing that they are being engaged directly drop their bows and draw Longswords (no AoO due to Blur), then likewise attack Horef.
ROUND 2
Players Vroth (), Rhuul (prone), Savage (), Storm Tooth (-3), Horef (-13), and Kryssa (prone)
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Katiya (), Thug 1 (-9), Thug 2 (-11), Thug 3 (-9), Thug 4 ()
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[ooc]Vrothum will swing his falchion and try to bite the closest enemy to himself.
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Rhuul continues to tell jokes.
"Woow, Did someone see the Gorilla that dropped that banana skin? I'm going to need a cushion to sit for the next week."
Deciding against trying to stand, he lashes out with his dwarven war-axe from the ground.
"Hey little lady, thats no way to treat someone trying to help you."
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Horef, not liking how things are looking swings his weapon again, aiming at Thug 2 again.
Nearly all of your attacks miss as you curse their stupid Blur. Vroth manages to drop one of them into a bleeding heap on the ground, but even his limp body continue under the magical effect, and as he goes to bite his throat out, can't seem to latch on. Krysa stands, and swings, but her flail bounces off of the thug's shield, and she nearly receives a scratch to her chaps in return.
Both Savage and Stormy go all out, unleashing a barrage of tooth, caw, and club, but just can not seem to land a blow. Rhuul, does not stand, but instead swings his axe as the girl that became the mage that moved up beside him, scoring a nasty gash straight through her robe and deep into her chest, but not enough to kill her. A lesser mage, perhaps.
She reaches out and closes the door, leaving the inside room in total darkness.
She then begins to cast a spell, looking at Rhuul, "her protector" with a cruel glare.
The remaining thugs continue to attack, seeming unaffected by the Darkness at all.
ROUND 2
Players Vroth (), Rhuul (prone), Savage (), Storm Tooth (-3), Horef (-13), and Kryssa (-5)
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Katiya (-11), Thug 1 (-9), Thug 2 (-11), & Thug 4 ()
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Vrothum slings the blood from his blade on the ground and looks for his next victim.
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