DM Púca's Jade Regent (Inactive)

Game Master rdknight

"Damn, tomorrow then we shall begin? Meet here and then head to the Sheriff's office?"

"I told you Ameiko, I am serious this time."

Ameiko's expression turns serious, and she slowly nods.

"If the three of you decide to go after the Licktoads remember Brinestump Marsh isn't a picnic. It mostly unexplored so far as I know, and it's dense. Very few people ever go into it, and nobody knows it well. Try to get a map, and ask around for anyone who knows anything about it."

Ameiko stops for a second, concentrating.

"Actually there may be someone, a halfling. I've heard there's a halfling who lives in the swamp. He comes to town occasionally to sell things, difficult to get ingredients for medicines and the like. Never met him myself, but maybe ask around after him."

With that, Ameiko moves on to fetch another rounds of drinks for Micawber's table as they continue to celebrate their impending victories over goblin marauders.

After agreeing to meet again tomorrow you disperse for the night.

Let's advance to the next day.

The Cathedral

Talene wakes up in the morning bright and early hopeful for a new life. She sighs as she remembers her duty to Father Zantus. Dressing herself and packing for a trip. She leaves her bag in her quarters and seeks out the Father for a talk.

Inari was up late, as usual, but he wasn't carousing this time. He was working, making sure things were fixed up at the Dragon before he left the next day. He made a point to thank Ameiko, and told her he'd look after Yuki as much as he could.

The next day he packed a light knapsack, the one with the really nice stitchwork that Sandru had given him, strapped on his leather armor and his buckler, and came out to meet the others in the Rusty Dragon common room. He leaned his spear against the coat check and set a bear trap on the table, oiling the mechanisms to make sure they were working right.

Yuki packed up her things. Most of the stuff was either for eating or for personal hygiene.
I wonder if that is what a typical adventurer would pack, too. Seems underwhelming, but stuff like potions or wands and that kind of things is so terribly expensive.
Doing her usual preparations as when she accompanied Shalelu on small rangings, she finds Ameiko, asking her if it's really ok for her to do this.

Then she binds her breasts, and slips into the light training outfit she got used to. While it covered more of her body, it possibly left less to the imagination than her waitress outfit, fitting tight on her to allow for maximum freedom of movement. (Think average lady at the fitness studio. I figure the loose-fitting kung-fu garments are a cultural thing and do not need to be a stereotype)
The only other thing, except for her backpack, was a small wooden stick she threw up spinning into the air, trying to catch it again without looking.(and even succeeding a fair amount of times)
Stepping out into the common room, the device on the table Inari is working on catches her eye:"You going to throw a bear trap at the Goblins?", she raises an eyebrow, before looking over at the others, trying, with an unsteady voice, to suggest a course of action:"The sheriff first, then? I think we may want to split for the other preparations to get them done fast. I'll go ask Koya about the Halfling, if anybody knows, she would. The guard probably has the best maps of the area, so Mari could ask them for a copy. Talene could possibly try and ask the cathedral to borrow us a wand of cure light wounds with a few charges. It's mighty expensive but I'll gladly spend a year working off a debt over dying out there. Inari, you....could fix the roof!"
She looks at the others more questioning than decisive, not trying to hide that she is insecure in what she is doing but determined to get this expedition going before her sister changed her mind.
She's probing to see if somebody will take initiative, she could probably bluff those insecurities away, but has no desire to do so. This business is new to her and her only source of knowledge about it is by the stories Ameiko told her of her time adventuring.

The CLW is just a pitch. If we can get a used wand with 5-10 charges "borrowed", to be returned unused or paid after our return, that could make a lot of difference to the "staying power" of a first-level party. If it's not possible, no worries either, but worth a try.

"Think it would work?" Inari said with a slight smirk at Yuki's suggestion about the trap. Then he sighed and rolled his eyes about the roof. "How about I go talk to the folks who were with the caravan that got raided?"

@Yuki: It seems Yuki has broached the question of going along with Talene, Mari, and Inari to Ameiko. So here's the answer she received:

Ameiko purses her lips as she listens to Yuki. When Yuki has said her piece, Ameiko replies "I'm not going to flat out say no, but I don't approve of the idea. I know it might sound exciting, or maybe romantic, but trust me it's not. The truth is adventures of this sort are mostly grubby and boring when they're not intensely dangerous. Do what you need to do to see for yourself if you must. But I want you to to take this to heart: Don't toss away your entire future, everything you will experience and become in your life, by taking foolish risks and dying over a few goblin ears. Remember that when you make those kind of choices you're not making them for just yourself. You're making them for everyone who loves you too, like me."

Ameiko gives Yuki a final hard look before picking up a tray of crockery and taking it away to the kitchen.

Mari wakes up earlier than the others in her home, a small little place at Prickleback Lane, to the smell of her mother's baking. Getting dressed in her morning clothing, the halfling trudges off to get breakfast, rubbing her eyes at the dining table. The rest of her family was there; she elected to tell them about her intentions to ask the Sheriff for permission to go along with a bunch of adventurers to take care of the Licktoads. Her father was very resistant to it at first, but relented eventually due to how stubborn Mari was.

After her breakfast, Mari suited up in her guard uniform and armor and, after making sure to feed Flax, her riding wolf, she mounted him and went to work - clocking in at the garrison before making her rounds around her city for the day's short shift.

After doing a few rounds, Mari'll stop by the Rusty Dragon for a short break - and to check on the others who were currently planning the idea. Getting off the wolf - and giving him a small treat of cured animal liver for his trouble - Mari hopped into the Dragon; Inari and Yuki were already there, talking.

"So, what's the plan, guys?"

"Apparently you're going to get copies of the map, and I'm fixing the roof." Inari said with a shrug, still fiddling with his bear trap.

Rusty Dragon

Talene arrives last of the group. "Hey gals and Inari, what did I miss?"

"Yuki wants to know if you can get a cure wand from the temple?" Inari said letting the trap in front of him snap closed.

@Talene: You found Father Zantus and let him know about your plans. He is happy to give you a few days away, you have more than earned it. Are there any other things you want to bring up to him at that time?

Rusty Dragon

"Hmm, a good idea. I'll take care of that first. Then should I meet the rest of you at Sheriff Hemlock's station?"

Mari and Talene arrive at the Rusty Dragon and meet up with Yuki and Inari, who are already there. With your morning obligations met you all are free to do other things now. What are your next steps?

A bit disappointed that there isn't a whole lot for him to do today, Inari fixes the roof.

The Cathedral

Talene heads to see Father Zantus. Once she finds him, "Father Zantus, may I beg for another moment of your time and a favor?"

Father Zantus takes some tie each morning for light gardening in the flower and vegetable patch he keeps behind the Cathedral. That is where Talene finds him. As she hails him, he looks up from his work.

"Good morning again Talene, what is it I can help you with?"

@Yuki: It seems Yuki has broached the question of going along with Talene, Mari, and Inari to Ameiko. So here's the answer she received:...

"I know you don't want me to do this. We already had this talk when I asked if I could accompany Shalelu on a longer tour. But I am not a child any more! I am almost an adult, and I want to see more of the world than mugs and tables. I love being here with you, but this Inn, it's your dream! You came home from adventuring, and I am so happy you did, but you also felt this urge to have more excitement and danger in your life. You must know what it's like...you didn't just do that to spite father. You know I'll take care, and Inari wouldn't dare come back without me. If anybody gets eaten by Goblins, it will be him. So I'll be fine!", Yuki replies, not quite knowing how to deal with her sisters reluctant acceptance, and escaping the imminent guilt trip by pushing forward and re-affirming herself, more than her sister, that she is justified to do what she plans to.

----------------

Now

"Well, I suggested to go visit Koya to ask her about that Halfling...it was a halfling, right? Anyway, to ask her about that Halfling my sis mentioned. If there's still time before we leave, I'll see what I can plunder from the kitchen before Bethana kicks me out", Yuki smiles, heading towards the door.

As the four of you discuss what you need to do before departing, preparations for the day at the inn are underway around you. Bethana, the elderly halfling woman who has worked at the Rusty Dragon for many years is counting and inspecting serving crockery. Ameiko is in the middle of rolling a couple of new kegs of ale in place behind the bar.

When Yuki brings up the swamp dweller, Ameiko reaffirms the person is a halfling with a grunt and a nod as she wrestles with one of the wooden barrels. There is no sign from Ameiko this morning that her conversation with Yuki the evening before had been anything other than a light chat.

The Cathedral

"Father I know it is a lot to ask but do we have any spare wands of healing that I could bring with me as I take my leave of absence for a few days?"

@Yuki: You leave the Rusty Dragon to find Koya. Your walk is a short one since Madame Mvashti's House is only down to the end of the street and a little ways around the corner. Old Niska, THE "Madame Mvashki" referred to by the house's common name, died only recently. She was Sandpoint's oldest resident by a wide margin. Koya her daughter, who cared for her during her latter years still lives in the house, at least temporarily. The original deal struck between the town's founding families and the local Varisians provided a house be built for their seer, but to revert to the town's ownership after her death. There has been some recent wrangling between the mayor and some members of the town council because the mayor has favored voiding the transfer and leaving the house to the family.

After Yuki knocks on the door, and old woman dressed in the bright flowing clothes associated with traditional Varisians opens it. She is smiling, her eyes sharp and inquisitive.

"Why Yuki! Good morning! Come in, come in. How nice to see you."

@Talene: Father Zantus thinks for a few moments before answering.

"I'm sorry to say we do not have any wands right now. I myself cannot craft them and Father Gwyddym hasn't done so in some time I believe. I do have a small cache of healing potions that I've put aside though. I could give you those."

Father Zantus leads you inside the Cathedral to a pantry near the infirmary. He opens it and takes out five small glass vials containing sky blue liquid. Handing them to you he says "I sincerely hope you have no need of these. Consider them a gift for your long service to the Cathedral. Just return any you have not used when you resume your duties here."

The Cathedral

Talene gives Father Zantus a big hug, "Thank you so much Father, I hope we do not need them either".

Once the potions are secured, Tal heads to Sheriff Hemlocks' office.

"Nice to see you too, Koya, good morning!", Yuki enters, enjoys a cup of tea and does some small-talk with the elderly woman, before broaching the subject that actually brought her here:"Me, Talene of the Cathedral, Mari of the Guard, and our freeloading handyman Inari will try to help out the Sheriff with his Goblin problems. Amy told me about some swamp-dwelling Halfling in brinestump marsh sometimes delivering ingredients for medicine to Sandpoint. So I figured if anybody in town knew about where to find him, it would be you. Can you help us?"
Hesitating, Yuki places some coins on the table, before adding:"And maybe read our fortune, if you could?"
It's not that Yuki really BELIEVED in fortune telling, expecting to be master of her own fate, but the old woman had proven to be knowledgeable and right on so many things in the past, that Yuki could not help but value her opinion and judgement.

Koya asks Yuki to sit and make herself comfortable while she fetches some tea for them to share. After some pleasant smalltalk, Yuki broaches the reason for her visit by inquiring after the halfling.

"Yes, I have heard of him. His name is Walthus if I remember correctly. I haven't dealt with him or met him directly though. You would do better to ask one of the more prolific potion makers here. Either Hannah Velerin or Aliver Podiker. They have more need for unusual ingredients than I do, and I know they both have purchased from him in the past."

Koya leans back in her chair and arches an eyebrow when Yuki suggests paying for a reading.

"You would like to see what the Harrow can tell tell you? Well... the time for a reading is decided by the Harrow, not me, or the seeker."

She waves dismissively at the money Yuki laid on the table.

"I do not consult the Harrow for payment, I am not a performer in that way. It is important to understand the difference between a consultation and a service. THe Harrow can advise one, and advice can be requested. But it cannot be purchased. Purchased advice is entertainment, and that is not the Harrow's true purpose."

Koya says this kindly, as if correcting a small child's manners.

"The time is not right for you to consult the Harrow's advice with a full reading. Still, perhaps we can take a peek to see what is stirring underneath." she says with a smile.

Koya reaches into her sash and produces from it a silken bundle. She lays it on the table and carefully unwraps a Harrow deck from the layers. Taking the cards in her hands she shuffles them, then and places the deck back on the table.

"Draw a card for yourself and place in on the table." she murmurs, nodding her head toward Yuki.

Yuki draws the top card and lays it down. Koya regards it for a few moments.

"The Dance. You have a strong urge to seek harmony. It is something you desire in relationships and in life. Take care though that you do not walk in lockstep with others to obtain it. Harmony can be a prison if you seek peace with others at all costs to yourself."

Koya points to the deck. "Draw another card and lay it beside your own. Then three more and lay them in a row, left to right below the first two."

Yuki lays out the cards as instructed.

Koya looks at the card beside Yuki's. " Your adversary, or perhaps your obstacle. The Publican. There will be no refuge for you. Safety and security will elude you, or be taken from you."

Pointing to the lower tier of cards starting on the left, Koya tells Yuki:

"Your past. The Desert. You have suffered a difficult passage of some sort. A bleak time of movement that is concluded in the present."

"Your present. The Eclipse. You doubt yourself in some way. Or perhaps you cannot find your purpose. You do not know yourself, or you do not believe you do. This makes you weaker than you need be."

"Your future. The Joke. You will face significant danger. Self-knowledge will not be the thing that protects you from it. Cleverness and skill will be what saves you, if you can be saved."

Koya looks at the set, concentrating on what she sees. Then she looks at Yuki. "This is not a simple array. It is vague and the cards don't make a coherent whole, at least to my eyes. I hope you see more in it than I do."

After the Harrow reading is concluded, Koya tells Yuki one more thing.

"I'm sorry that I could be so little help with Walthus or the Harrow. But there is one piece of advice I can give you. If you are going into the Brinestump, be wary of Old Megus, the witch who lives in the swamp. She has lived there for many decades and considers the Brinestump hers. Be careful in your dealings with her if you meet. She is not kind hearted."

Talene has finished her first visit of the morning. Yuki has as well, although she was directed to a third party for information on the halfling named Walthus.

Does the party want to proceed to try to see Sheriff Hemlock now as planned? Yuki, will you join them or continue on your own to visit potion makers?

If we agreed to meet up and go together, I will let them know that I will visit the potion makers and the others should visit the Sheriff without me.
Otherwise Yuki would go there directly.

Also, for the record, I was considering how to answer to your wonderful reading, but most I could come up with seemed either too bland "Thanks", too stalling(ask things, prolong the scene), or generic(conversation for conversations sake)...I think I'd prefer to simply let it stand by itself and instead state that Yuki was impressed and will try to act on it.

Talene would head to see the Sheriff next.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked the reading! Except for your personal card, all the cards were selected randomly as if drawn. Everyone has a personal card, selected using a sort of formula. Harrow will be coming up again in the future.

While Yuki goes to find a potion maker who knows Walthus Hannah or the Pillbug? Mari, Talene, and Inari go to the Sandpoint garrison.

As you arrive you see Sheriff Hemlock out front talking with a couple of members of the Watch. Mari gets his attention and asks if he has a few minutes to talk with the group about collecting on the bounty. He gives a nod in the affirmative and motions you all inside. You follow him into the building and he leads you to a room that he uses as an office of sorts. There is a table with a couple with a few chairs around it, and he takes a seat in one of them where some papers are stacked into a couple of small piles.

Hemlock is a middle-aged man whose nut-brown skin shows his Shoanti ancestry. His salt and pepper hair is cut short. His expression is a friendly if careworn one. He takes the small cigar he has mostly smoked and stubs it out on the sleeve of his chainmail. The links around that spot are ash-blackened from his habit of doing this. He stows away the remainder of the cigar and looks around at you.

"So you want to collect on the goblin bounty? What would you like to know?"

Yuki heads to Hannah, having had...dealings...with her in the past, when Koya redirected her inquirys several month ago towards her, and learning about the use of pinberrys as a result.
The woman seemed trustworthy and by her profession, discreet, and while she was often out gathering herbs and ingredients on her own, it was especially her dependence on nature's bounty suggesting to Yuki that Hannah would also want to use whatever a swamp-dwelling halfling could provide.

@Yuki:

Hannah, a tall, lithe elven woman with golden hair is open to see patients when you arrive. You wait a few minutes as a tired looking woman with a colicy baby talks with Hannah about a herbal mixture Hannah has given her.

After the woman leaves Hannah welcomes you and asks what she can help you with today. When you mention your plans to foray into Brinestump Marsh and your desire to contact Walthus, the halfling who lives there, she immediately knows who you are talking about.

"Yes, I know Walthus Proudstump. He does live in the Brinestump, and raises snakes. He's something of a hermit. To my knowledge he only comes to town on those occasions when he has milked enough venom from his snakes to make coming to town to sell it worth the trip. He may not socialize too much, but he is pleasant enough and deals with me fairly. Having him around is a great boon to me. I would not venture into the Brinestump myself, or risk handling the snakes he does. If not for him there are several curatives I would not be able to offer."

"I can't tell you precisely where he lives, but he has mentioned that he lives some distance in, closer to the shoreline. He takes the New Fish Trail out when he comes to town, so he must live on or near it. If you are not familiar with the trails there, the New Fish Trail is to one farthest to the north of the swamp. The trail head connects to the Lost Coast Road, so watch for it leading away to the southwest as you near the Brinestump."

"Do be careful if you go there Yuki. The Brinestump may not be very large, but it is a dense and trackless place. You could easily become lost in there."

As you and Hannah talk, a older man comes into Hannah's place. His clothing indicates he is a farmer, and you can see that much of his exposed skin is covered in painful looking boils. As you and Hannah finish, he pipes up. Obviously he has been listening in.

"Going after goblins huh? Well the Sheriff has put out the wrong bounty! Goblins are a nuisance for sure, but they're nothing compared to the Soggy River Monster! Sure, a caravan or two gets harassed by goblins and everyone here in town is all up in arms about it. But what about the people who've disappeared over the last few years down around the Soggy River and the marsh? They don't get no mention do they? And it's the Monster who's taking and eating them!"

"Why only last week Jokler saw it across the river from him when he was down there fishing. Said it was busy eating a goblin so he was able to sneak away. Said its whole face opened up so wide it could stuff the goblin down whole!. Lots of people have caught sight of it over the years, but Old Parthay and his son probably saw it best. They said it was white skinned like a dead fish. Taller than a man and wearing rags. And you know what? Even though it walks on two legs, its legs bend backward like a dog's!"

The man shudders as he thinks about the creature he's described.

"The monster is what the bounty should be about!"

I figured you would be asking about Walthus of course, so I went a head and botted you through to save an exchange or two. But if you have any other business or conversation you want to carry out with Hannah, go ahead.

"So you want to collect on the goblin bounty? What would you like to know?"

Inari glances around for a moment, seeing if the others were going to speak up, and then said "Any recent reports that might give us an idea of where to start?"

Hemlock rests his elbows on the table, his fingers laced together and his thumbs rubbing back and forth against each other. He looks at his thumbs for a few seconds, then looks at all of you and frowns slightly.

"Well,.. the bounty covers any goblin anywhere. There are almost no limits on where you could find them if if look hard enough outside town. The Tickwood, Nettlewood, Mosswood, Devil's Platter. Most places out of the way, that don't see much traffic or too many residents, have a tribe living there."

"You can even watch them scavenge the garbage if you want to stand and look down the cliff from Junker's Edge over there. I'd not bother with them though. They never come up to town, and they're the reason the bounty was cancelled a few years back. It had been in place for decades and goblins were getting rare. A little group from town, kids really, a couple of the farmer's sons and Larz Rovanky's boy, got together and decided it would be easy enough to make some money off the Junker's goblins. They took a rowboat out and around Chopper's Isle and the north bluff to get to their caves. They got the tides wrong though and were swept out to sea, never found. After that the bounty was cancelled. It wasn't worth it anymore. I hope I won't have to keep the bounty going long this time, get the problem tamped back down and finished before anyone does something foolish and gets themselves killed"

"The bounty does call out the Chief of the Licktoad goblins, Gutwad. The Licktoads are in the Brinestump Marsh south of here. If you're looking to claim the big bounty that's where you'd go. I'm afraid I can't tell you much about the place though. We've never patrolled it, too far away and too difficult to navigate. Nobody really goes in there except sometimes for fishing. Besides that, the Licktoad Tribe hasn't been particularly troublesome in the past. They've kept to themselves, so we've let sleeping dogs lie. This fireworks thing is new,.. and disturbing though. And I don't know why they have them all the sudden."

"General advice? There are two things that will get you killed aside from plain bad luck. The first is overconfidence. Don't think goblins are easy prey. They don't think like us. They just don't think in terms of self-preservation once they get excited by something. A worked up goblin is maniacal and suicidal. The second thing is their numbers. Individually goblins don't look like much, but they are really pack creatures. You might think you've found two or three and they're an easy mark, but suddenly there's another dozen showing up all around you. Then they tear you to pieces. They're deadly in groups."

Any further questions or requests for Sheriff Hemlock?

"Ah, great. I...I'll try to remember all that, but we hope to obtain a map, too. could you just make a rough sketch from memory on some parchment so we have more to go by than just my sense of orientation. I mean, my memory is great, but if I take a wrong trail...", Yuki laughs it off, fully aware that this is very serious business. Getting lost in the Brinestump was definitely not on her to-do-list. Considering for a moment, she decides to add an incentive: "When I return victorious, you won't need to worry about your tab at the dragon for a while! So thanks a lot for your help. I mean, ALL you've done for me."

No need to continue here, lets reunite us and get us on the road. But I felt a desire to write back

Hannah replies "A patient's needs are not always simply physical. I consider meeting ALL of them an obligation. You are welcome."

Hannah isn't a cartographer by any means but she does draw you a very simple map showing where the New Fish Trail meets the Lost Coast Road. She also suggests that if you want an actual map, it would be a good idea to visit Veznutt Parooh, at The Way North. It is a map and chart shop.

You can use the "Sandpoint Hinterlands" map as a stand-in. If you follow the Lost Coast Road south on the map, you will see the Lost Fish Trail as a short dotted line leading to the Brinestump.

The old farmer isn't interested in a debate with some girl. He simply huffs "Right. Outside of town, where we live. Typical townie attitude."

Yuki blushes at the old mans comment, figuring she didn't even consider people voluntarily living near a deadly monster, says her thanks to Hannah, then leaves to meet up with the others.
Well, lets see if Mari managed to score a reasonable good map at the guard...otherwise the tip with Veznutt Parooh could come in handy.

I'll assume the question of a map comes up in the meeting with sheriff at some point. No, he doesn't have a map of Brinestump Marsh. Since it is not patrolled he's never looked into it.

That's a prepared guard captain. Those guys murdered dozens of civilians only a few years ago, attack caravans, and they don't even have a map. See, that's why Golarion law enforcement is dependent on Adventurers. *smile*

With Sheriff Hemlock

"Sheriff, do you have any suspicions that someone from town is helping the Goblins all over again?"

...all over again

Inari looked at Talene, a bit shocked. "Someone... helped the Goblins? That's crazy.

Yumi, see the "Sandpoint Garrison" entry in Campaign Info :)

Hemlock's face flickers surprise for a split-second at Talene's question, as if he had not considered such a thing.

"I don't know how the Licktoads got fireworks, so there's that to consider. I can't say it could be ruled out of course. But no, there's nothing to suggest someone from town is involved."

"What's a 'firework?'" Inari asked.

With Sheriff Hemlock

Tal shudders at the memories of the fight with the Goblins to rescue Ameiko, "Yes sad to say Inari that did happen.

Sheriff do you know who sells them here in Sandpoint?"

Inari's brows furrowed and he blinked hard. The sensation of a deafening bang and blinding flash flickered through his memory.

"Oh. That's... what that was." he said absently.

"Sheriff do you know who sells them here in Sandpoint?"[/b]

"Nobody in town sells them" says the sheriff. "Caravan traders bring them to town occasionally, but they're not seen much around here."

With Sheriff Hemlock

"So they may have taken them from Trader's then but how would they know how to use them without...

I say we get another good night's rest and then head out. What do you think Inari? Shall we let our friends know that we have learned all we can here in town for now?"