You are Aspis Consortium operatives, hand-picked by your superiors for one of the most daring missions ever attempted against the hated Pathfinder Society. For centuries the Society has been the hyena of the archaeological world, descending upon legitimate Aspis operations to snatch whatever the Pathfinders want, kill hardworking contractors, and grow wealthy on the profits of their “historical preservation.” As they say, the victors write the history books, and the widely distributed Pathfinder Chronicles paint the Society’s piracy as heroism guided by a moral compass as true as the wayfinder each agent carries.
Despite the thick walls and heavy windows of the rented home that serves as your safe house, the passage of Pathfinders from across the Inner Sea region creates a muted rumble as they make their pilgrimage to the Society’s Grand Convocation, an annual gathering in which Pathfinders tell tales of their exploits, show off their discoveries, and celebrate another successful year. Every additional Pathfinder is another set of eyes to spot trouble and another blade ready to defend the Grand Lodge, yet every voice and footstep makes it even safer to discuss the impending attack.
On the safe house's meeting room table, sealed letters await each of you but you were all summoned with copies of the same missive.
Hundreds of Aspis agents and sympathizers are assembling throughout Absalom in preparation for an attack on the Pathfinder Society’s Grand Lodge. Most of these teams are in position to sow chaos, lure the Pathfinders’ attention elsewhere, and keep the rest of Absalom from interceding.
Your team is the lynchpin of the assault. Infiltrate the Grand Lodge, using the festival and throngs of unfamiliar faces to cover your movements. Gather what additional information you need, meet with any informants your team knows about, and lay the groundwork for your assault — split into smaller groups if necessary. Your cue to enter Skyreach — the towering stronghold the Society thinks unassailable — is a speech given by Master of Swords Marcos Farabellus. Agents will start ushering Pathfinders toward one of the lawns and pouring drinks for a toast, giving you a fairly generous window to get inside.
Once inside Skyreach, you have two major objectives: open the Hao Jin Tapestry gateway, and secure the Sky Key in that order. I have included some notes about how to activate the tapestry, as well as the coordinates within the tapestry where our allies are gathered. However, the notes only address how to send one person inside, not how to bring anyone out. It seems Zey is paranoid about even keeping any notes about cracking the tapestry open, and he only stores them in one of the vaults beneath Skyreach — a section called the Antarnicus Wing, used for most of the tapestry’s treasures. Be prepared to break in. Once you have secured the notes, get to the tapestry chamber quickly. Handle any opposition, open the gateway, and welcome our allies from inside the demiplane. Make sure that they have some sense of where they’re going.
After that, ascend to the small museum where the Society is keeping the Sky Key. It’s the usual routine: take care of any guards, grab the target, get out, and keep the whole operation clean. A second team (listen for the code “Five fingers till Oathday“) should find you soon after; pass them the Sky Key, and get out. Mission accomplished.
Make the Patrons proud,
Myrosype
Joliryn takes her letter and opens the seal, reading it silently to herself... After doing so, and committing it to memory, she burns it.
"Well, it seems we have our orders... finally a chance to take from the Pathfinders instead of waiting for them to disrupt our activities and steal from us."
Shohiraj reads her missive very carefully before looking around the room. She scowls a bit as she realizes that she would have to babysit and make sure that it went off without a hitch. But this was her job and she was determined to see it through. "Indeed."
An elf clad in dark trappings sits in the shadows, her eyes scanning over the same missive the others possess. Her haunted gaze roves around the room, her head moving with quick, jerking movements sometimes as she turns to listen to some sound or another that you do not detect. She stills for a moment as her gaze seems to turn inward and her expression fluctuates between dread and elation. "Yes, the skyyy keeey. Three-twenty-two at your service!" She bursts into mad giggling and then resumes her quick bird-like movements as she listens to the soundtrack inside her head.
Zurnzal firstly glances around at the assembled operatives. Only then he reads his letter. "This is a great challenge and our chance to shine!" "My chance..Everyone in the Consortium will know just who I am!"
Marnarius smiles fiercely as he reads the missives, a hot fire burning behind his eyes. Revenge!
The heart of the Pathfinder Society is a sprawling campus in Absalom’s Foreign Quarter. Behind its white walls, Pathfinders train for upcoming expeditions, academics study priceless relics recovered from across the globe, and the Decemvirate charts the course for the entire organization from the towering keep Skyreach.
Fortunately, with the throng of people coming and going due to the Pathfinder festival, entering the grounds proves easy enough.
So, this is even more crowded than usual... Interesting... and easier for us, I think
The Professional will ask around about Janira.
gather information about the wall of names and it's location and about Arminaldi Charthagnion. (a description might be nice if I can get one)
Shojiro hears from multiple sources that Janira is hanging around the statue of Durvin Gest participating in (and dominating) the storytelling contest.
Joliryn learns that Arminaldi has been seen loitering near the Wall of Names. He's a young chelaxian man in scholars robes with a holy symbol of Nethys dangling from his neck.
Knowing little of the area, the experiment keeps her ear to the ground as roams the crowds. Gleaning what she can from the chattering masses.
Not hearing word of a certain someone, she tries to find out what might be occupying him. "But where is the illustrious Master of Scrolls? Surely he must not be hiding under a rock during such an important event!"
All the while she listens to the hum beneath the hubbub listening for a certain resonance.
Marnarius helps the Professional in her initial information gathering.
Then he thinks back to what he knows about the zoological gardens.
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Shohiraj walks to the statue of Durvin Gest.
After spending a little time asking around, 322 finds that nobody has seen the Master of Scrolls all day. He might not be present at all.
Marnarious hears that the menagerie is quite the attraction, sporting all manner of exotic beasts including a fearsome crisosphinx. They're tended by several talented zookeepers.
***
Already carved in larger-than-life proportions, the stone statue of Durvin Gest towers over the surrounding lawn on a pedestal flanked by angelic figures and carved with elaborate friezes depicting some of his most famous voyages.
Shohiraj sees several dozen Pathfinders gathered around the statue. At its feet a halfling pathfinder, she recognizes as Janira Gavix, captivates the crowd with her masterful storytelling.
"So crowded..even an ogre can walk here unnoticed...nice"
"everyone left for their business...and so do I. Outbuildings seems like the place to find the right person
Zurnzal heads towards Outbuildings and looks for preferably well known but susceptible Pathfinders for his "business"
Shohiraj will get in closer through the crowd trying to blend in and will try to take the keys at an opportune moment.
Like a shadow, Shohiraj drifts past Janira grabbing the ring of keys beneath her coat and stepping away without being noticed.
Marnarius decides to have a look at the Zoological Garden in person.
Seeing the others drifting off to follow their own agendas, Joliryn bids them a quick "See you all soon." and wanders through the crowds, seemingly without a set direction in mind but always actually heading toward one general area.
Once near her goal, she zeroes in on the wall of names and quietly observes those here to see the memorial. When she spots Arminaldi, she slips over near him, standing before the wall as if contemplating the names. Speaking softly she says, almost as if talking quietly to herself, "The wall slithers like a snake through grass"
Joliryn and Zurnzal spot Arminaldi easily enough. He glances at the halfling briefly before answering quietly. "None would step on so great a serpent."
Marnarius looks around the garden for any way he could sabotage it or somehow let the creatures loose.
Joliryn nods to ARminaldi and the corner of her mouth twitches in a little half smile and she averts her eyes to the wall again a moment before looking to him again expectantly...
After spending some time walking around the menagerie, he notices that several of the cages are held shut with heavy locks. A few of the zookeepers carry keys but not all of them.
***
After a moment’s hesitation, Arminaldi adds, “But perhaps it is a fool who invites the viper into his home.”
He points to the wall and the countless names etched across its surface.
Zurnzal grins a toothy grin while realizing that this one is his target. He doesn't approach to the wall with Joliryn, instead he hides behind the trees in the copse to be unnoticed by Arminaldi and signalling Joliryn he's ready to assist. "I have to wait till hafling finishes her business with him..." Zurznal also is looking around to be sure there is no witnesses.
Pathfinders pass by the wall fairly regularly. It will be hard to do anything here with no witnesses.
Grr...Too many eyes
Zurnzal signals Joliryn to move informant to a more private location when she finishes with him
The elf listens to the cheery voice of the halfling storyteller as she admires the statue of Durvin Gest. She roams around the area with a dreamy smile on her face, waiting for an opportune moment when no eyes are upon her. She summons up her cloak of darkness, and moves in to leave a little something behind, concealed upon the statue.
That completed, she drifts away to look for her comrades, humming along to the music of the spheres that only she can hear.
Joliryn shrugs. "Only a fool would keep a viper waiting on the doorstep though."
Marnarius sneaks up to each locked cage, one at a time, and tries to pick their locks.
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Under cover of her conjured darkness, 322 plants the device on the statue's ankle. Once installed, a sentence in Aklo appears on its surface: “The Stars command you, Durvin Gest.”
***
Arminaldi begins to reach into his robes until he glances at the wall of names again. "If I do this, how many more names will be joining this wall?"
***
Marnarius manages to get to one of the locks unseen and even starts to unlock it but the enormous grizzly bear inside curiously moves over to sniff him as he works.
"Come, let's talk a bit." she says softly. Joliryn tries to get Arminaldi to walk with her while she speaks, (though aimlessly- no specific direction, could even be along the wall), with a friendly smile on her face as she does so. "Surely you are not losing your resolve this late in the game." she queries, again speaking softly, for his ears only.
Arminaldi sighs. "Very well but let's make this brief. This way, into the woods."
Joliryn cautiously walks with Arminaldi into the woods, keeping an eye out to make sure she isn't being led into an ambush.
Joliryn sees no signs of traps or an ambush. After a couple minutes of walking the treeline grows dense enough to block out the rest of the Grand Lodge grounds.
"I've said my piece but you're welcome to speak your mind."
"As you said, let's make this brief, you have something for me yes?, no more needs be said."
"It's time to live up to your end of the bargain, old man. We don't take lightly to broken promises. Come now, be wise and don't keep me waiting any longer."
Arminaldi sighs again and hands over a thin leather folio. "In Nethys's name."
***
Marnarious manages to shoo the bear away along with a giant sloth and snarling honey badger. A few minutes later, his work is done.
Satisfied with his work, Marnarius returns to the safe house.
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Joliryn takes the folio and gives the priest a little curt bow of thanks. She disappears as quickly as she came... but not before tucking the folio into her clothing so no part of it shows as she walks.
Joliryn slips out of the woods and away from the memorial, looking for signs of her other companions...
Zurnzal follows Joliryn and Arminaldi all the way into the woods.
When their deal is over and there are no witnesses, he sneaks to Arminaldi and knocks him out (Knockout Strike DC 18 Fortitude save to avoid falling unconscious)
He'll then steal his clothes, hide the body and disguise as Arminaldi putting his outfit on and using disguise kit.
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The hapless priest is knocked out by a blow to the back of the head and murdered. Zurnzal finds a nearby dead hollowed tree to stash the naked body.
Shortly after reconvening, ushers begin informing everyone in attendance to gather on the north lawn for a speech by the Master of Swords - the queue for the party to move on Skyreach.
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Zurnzal aka Arminaldi proceeds to Skyreach looking for his companions. When he notices any of them, he'll give them know his identity.