The party decides to take its much deserved break. There are plenty of drinks and food. Sleep finally comes easily, not because the mission is over, but because you have a goal; one name at a time you're going through Adril's list. Unfortunately, like all Pathfinder missions, you hit a snag.
One night while meeting with Eliza, a servant comes crashing into the office to report that someone has stolen the erstwhile venture-captain's body from the lodge. Eliza is furious at the news, and adjourns the meeting to formulate a plan and "meet with someone about a thing."
Later that day she calls you back. She's going to look into the body thief, while you continue YOUR mission. You meet up in the largely repaired office of the Lodge. She is joined this time by a dark-haired man, slender and silent, clothed in a simple traveler’s cloak, heavy shirt, and wool pants. The dark-haired man stands behind Eliza as she gestures for you each to sit, a heavy chest set on a table beside him, a thick iron lock sealing its contents. Once you’re settled, Eliza makes a few gestures, muttering a few incantations before sighing heavily and directing her attention to you once again.
Eliza speaks: “The man beside me is one of my agents in the Grand Lodge in Absalom. He is not a Pathfinder, is not employed by our illustrious organization, and is my little secret. Therefore, you need not and will not know his name. He has spent the better part of this week gathering a host of information on Adril Hestram—his motivations, his reasons, anyone he spoke to in the Grand Lodge, and most importantly, the contents of his personal quarters.” Eliza reaches back and thumps her hand on the heavy chest. “All of that is in here. You can look through it if you like—I have—but it hasn’t told me anything I didn’t already know save one piece of information: I know where Odrian is.”
Eliza waits a moment to see your reactions and then continues. “If you recall, Odrian was on Adril’s target list, but it seemed as though Hestram didn’t know where Odrian was. At some point just prior to joining you in the journey here, he found what he was looking for. It seems Odrian leads a double life— apart from being a venture-captain and, let’s face it, likely a member of our Decemvirate, Odrian is also Prince Odrian, the Thurok of Arl, a city high in the cold mountains of the northern region of—" Eliza pauses for a moment. “Well,” she continues, “a city on the planet Akiton.”
This time she pauses long enough for you to speak up, unsure of your knowledge of planets.
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Roos listens to her briefing and nods in agreement over some of the things she says understanding the nature of covert actions at this level in the society. When she starts talking about Prince Odrian he leans in intently as if she is about to divulge some secret and is almost at the edge of his seat when she hits her natural pause before she says the location of the city of Arl..."Wait...what...where...how the...you must be joking..." he begins to mutter as if hit by a confuse spell. "How can that be? A different planet...there are other planets...with life on them...and you want to send me there...I must be daft..."
“It seems likely to me,”/[b] Eliza goes on, [b]“that whoever took Adril’s body from this lodge likely took it to Akiton, as neither Adril nor any of his co-conspirators have shown their faces at the Grand Lodge, and since it was the only other location he was seeking and hadn’t found when he set his plan in motion here in my lodge."
“I want you to travel back into the Maze of the Open Road, find Condria—the medusa guardian—and see if she can’t guide you to the portal that leads to Akiton. As far as I know, Akiton is cold and dry but you can breathe the air, even if it’s a bit thin. Go there, find out where Odrian is, and find Adril or any of his conspirators should they still be there. I shouldn’t have to say it, but I will: I want Adril alive, should you find him. He has many questions to answer and many deaths to answer for. Any questions?”
"Certainly not as bad as Irresen, nor as bad as Sothis, but perhaps close. IT's all I know really. As for a contact.... well, I've got next to nothing. Honestly I think the best bet is to ask Condria." She eyes you a bit. "You're going back into the Maze."
Eliza does grab a book, "Not sure what can help, but there's a picture in this copy of the Chronicles." She opens to this page.
"The Dark Tapestry is a mystery, but the planets are simply other worlds you can't simple teleport to, normally. The Pathfinder Society hasn't really concerned itself with other planets before, so we don't know much. I don't even know really where to look in Skyreach itself for more information. I'm sorry gentlemen, but you're going blind on this one. Hopefully our friendly medusa will have some answers."
You step again into the strange Maze. It only takes you a few minutes to find the Medusa. She keeps her distance as always, but seems eager to help, "How can I help you this time Pathfinders?"
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"Greetings, dear girl. We could really use your help, though. It seems that somehow Adril's body has been taken. We had a list of targets that he was after, as you know. So far, all of them have been murdered except for two. One is also cursed, turned into an animal-woman. The other, . . . is on another planet of existence. A place called Akiton. Specifically a city called "Arl"."
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"We have been asking around, but the Society is still having some difficulty with you issue. But, we will not give up on you. If you, . . . when the curse is broken, if you wish, I have a safe place you can go. If you are interested in turning from darkness. Are you interested in trying to walk the most difficult path?"
" Ah you would not be able to find the portal to Akiton without my help. I will gladly escorts you along the hour walk to the Akiton portal. I know not of a place called Arl, but if it's Akiton you want..."
The portal itself is made of red-tinged steel, twisted at impossible angles and framing a shimmering swirl of reddish-orange light that sometimes seems to manifest an impossibly tall pyramid atop which rest thousands of red-skinned humanoids either kneeling or prostrate.
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Teppin Montrose (Edme, Galt)
Kyalla (Mwangi Expanse, escaped the maze)
Prince Odrian, (Arl, Akiton)
Shemis (Corentyn, Cheliax)
Eddington Keel (Absalom)
-----
Adril Hestrem (ex-friend, accussed of murder and betrayel)
Aric of Halvon (THE RED RAVEN, accused of "evil nobility", holds the password to Montrose estate).
your notes are accurate. The body steal was off stage and the impetus for Part III's plot.
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Teppin Montrose(Edme, Galt)
Kyalla (Mwangi Expanse, escaped the maze)
Prince Odrian, (Arl, Akiton)
Shemis(Corentyn, Cheliax)
Eddington Keel(Absalom)
-----
Adril Hestrem (ex-friend, accussed of murder and betrayel)
Aric of Halvon (THE RED RAVEN, accused of "evil nobility", holds the password to Montrose estate).
I thought Shemis was in Absalom and Keel was in Cheliax.
Oops, Roakar is correct.
For the purposes of this scenario, Hao Jin isn't an option (though a cool idea were it a Home Game.)
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I thought Shemis was in Absalom and Keel was in Cheliax.
Since you collected Eddington Keel’s remains, when presented to Eliza and Osprey, the venture-captains shake their heads in dismay but ensure you that they will work with the Society’s best clerics to restore the fallen venture-captain to a life and full health.
They sent Keel's body to Skyreach for resurrection, but you have no news about it yet.
The very light twists and bends as you step through the red portal, time seems to stretch and pull at you, your skin tingles and then burns, and then, just when it begins to hurt, the world solidifies once more, only it’s not your world any longer. You find yourself standing atop a vast stepped pyramid made of enormous blocks of red stone. The pyramid has to be at least 500 feet tall and its base occupies nearly half the dusty city that surrounds it. All around you, down every side of the pyramid, red-skinned humans, their heads shaved clean and dressed only in loincloths and thin shirts, prostrate themselves on every step and chant quietly in unison:
Just then a sudden, icy blast of wind tears across the pyramid, disturbing clothes, whipping at red flags, and causing the canvas roof above the portal to groan with age. Though in every direction beyond the city you can clearly see red desert, the air is as cold as a glacier and as thin as the highest mountains on Golarion. None of the red-skinned humans prostrated before you seem to even notice the cold.
But someone has noticed you: suddenly one of the mourners stands and stares at you from under a thick brow with large, dark eyes. Though he wears the same clothing as the rest, he carries a thick sword on his hip, a shield on his back, and a quiver with a few javelins in it on one shoulder. He regards you silently for a moment and then says, in perfectly unaccented Taldane, “if King Adril is yours, you can have him back.”
He awaits your reply...
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Roakar adjusts his gear and weapons. He then pours a potion of lesser restoration into his jacket. He takes out his wand of darkvision and gives himself a tap.
"Alright. Time for a really long walk."
With that said Roakar takes point and steps through. Upon arriving on a completely different world, Roakar takes in the sites, not really noticing the cold. "Amazing."
When addressed Roakar responds with "Wait...what....who...damn he works fast."
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"Hello good Sir, My name is Roos and these are my companions. We are actually here because of someone named Adril. Funny you should say that name. We are not exactly his friends and would like to discuss why you seem so dead set against him. Maybe we can work out some sort of arraignment regarding this Adril person." Roos says in his sweetest voice...
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Despite the powerful winds, it doesn't seem to affect Ignatious much, and he takes to the air and comes a little bit closer to those prostrated below.
Following up on Roos, "Yes, we seek him for wrongs he has, possibly, committed against us, and others. We seek to speak with him peacefully, not through bloodshed. I am Ignatious, the son of the Sacred Flames. I work with Roos and the Pathfinder Society. Please, stand up. They are mortals, like Adril, and I am, while divine, not an object of worship, or something that you should fear. Please, stand with honor and dignity, mortals."
The man listens intently. His clear Taldane is a bit odd, but nevertheless, convenient. "I am Kol Voss, brother of the Princess Verrish, widow of Prince Odrian, Arl’s Thurok." He speaks with pride, but his voice drops to a shameful tone. "Our Thurok who was slain in his quarters, by that cowardly beast Adril Hestram.” As Kol explains, the people around him on the pyramid begin to stir from their funereal trance. They stare in rapture at you, as though beholding the very gods themselves.
A crowd starts to form, pushing at Kol Voss to move him aside—a dangerous move on such a tall platform. They tear at the your clothes, grab for your hands, and shout in their native tongue (which happens to be Azlanti) in what can easily be determined to be desperation. Women try to push babes into your arms, the men offer their blades and kneel in a sign of fealty, and all the while the crowd pushes in closer and closer, crushing each other and you. Finally, Kol Voss has enough. He brandishes his sword, removes the shield from his back, and yells in a mighty, booming voice in the Azlanti tongue . They immediately back down the pyramid away from you.
Kol Voss turns back to you and sheathes his sword. “We musn’t stay here. That won’t work for long and they won’t leave you alone so long as they can see you.” Kol stares for a long moment, then says, “The long years of rule by Odrian, the wretch, have convinced the Free Peoples of Arl that you Azlanti are gods. If you wish to see your arms torn off as these people ‘worship you,’ you may stay. If you wish to avoid that, O saviors of Arl, then you’ll follow me.” With that, Kol makes his way down the pyramid.
Once you catch up to Kol, he answers a few questions. He tells you that he knows Golarion isn’t called Azlant (he’s been there with Odrian), but that the common people of Arl think that Golarion is called Azlant and that Azlant is where the gods come from. They believed Prince Odrian to be a god, they believe King Adril to be a god, and they believe that the man and woman who came through the portal with Adril are also gods, though lesser gods in service to Adril Hestram. When asked, Kol has no idea who they are, but describes the man as loud, big, and hairy, and the woman as thin, tall, and paleskinned. Kol also reveals in the walk down the pyramid that he knows Prince Odrian is really Venture-Captain Odrian of the Pathfinder Society and that he was a member of the Decemvirate. “Since Odrian married my sister, he took it upon himself to educate me about his world. Little did he know it only made me hate him more.” Once you get to the base he turns to you, “I am your friend and I will protect you here, but it is not safe on these streets. You are not like the horrors the Beast Adril Hestram brought with him, so I can only guess that you are either here to stop him or to kill him and take his throne. Either way, Hestram will be gone and I’ll deal with a new Azlanti king later.” Kol Voss then tells you that he has a secret chamber beneath the streets of Arl and it is to there you must go if you intend to find Adril before the citizens finds you.
Kol Voss moves quickly ahead, the city’s pyramid rising tall above the city behind you. He gestures for you to make haste, then ducks down a side street. Once you catch up, Kol is standing over an opened grate. “Down the stairs—hurry.” In the background, rising from somewhere over the city, you can hear a large crowd of people—a large crowd of people headed this way.
You find yourselves in a dusty passage carved from dark, red-stained rocks. Beneath the dust at your feet is an ornately tiled floor, and Kol Voss explains that these tunnels were once the only permissible way for the slaves of Arl to travel the city, though Arl hasn’t had slaves in over a hundred years. Kol Voss leads the you quickly through the passages, answering questions and talking about the recent events in Arl. He starts by explaining what came to pass when Adril and his friends came through the portal.
“Adril was dead,” Kol Voss says, “when he first came through; the pale woman carried his lifeless body in her arms. The next we saw him was the night he and some of my misguided rebel compatriots invaded Odrian’s estate, killed his household, and murdered Odrian. Adril took my sister, the Princess Verrish, as his new bride and has ruled the city as a tyrant since then. He’s run endless games in the Crimson Forum, slaughtering anyone who dared to speak out against him. His first victims were Odrian’s cabinet and city council and he’s since moved on to petty criminals and anyone who displeases him. Today he has several of my most trusted lieutenants in there and I plan to get them back.”
It is then you realize how thin the air really is.
Feel free to post questions for Kol Voss over the next few days. I'll come back in earnest and advance the game.
All manner of variations to "save us!"
Yes, air bubble will work.
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Rather than follow, I'll fly a little bit higher, out of reach, and speak to them in Azlanti, "Tell me, friends. What do you need saved from. I am here to help, and will do what I can. We are from a different realm, and members of a group called the Pathfinder Society dedicated to exploring, learning, wisdom, and helping. We are here to find an old friend in his darkest hour, and stop further bloodshed. But, we will do all that we can."
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"So let's put this together. Your people have been captured and are in some kind of death arena where monsters kill people for entertainment. You want to save them and are taking us to do that.....NOW?"
"Now I love a good fight. Probably more than most. But....ahhh hell. Sounds like fun. Is Andril going to be there or am I laying waste to big monsters for only your benefit."
The people are in awe of Ignatious, but they don't interact with him directly, it's more that they're crying out in his presence. Still, they seem profoundly effected.
Kol, "We’re on our way to meet my few remaining loyal friends in our secret sanctum beneath the Crimson Forum. With your help, we may very well face Adril Hestram today, save my compatriots, and rid Arl of the Beast.
Finally you arrive at a dead end. What at first seems to be just another wall in the slave passage is a secret door, one that Kol Voss expertly opens. Inside are a series of linked chambers that may have once held animals of some sort. In the center of the main chamber is an open double door of reddish steel revealing a 20-foot-by-20- foot room inside. Outside this room await a dozen men and women dressed like Kol Voss, but wielding a variety of weapons—some familiar and some quite alien. Kol Voss introduces "These are my friends. Though you should know they do not speak Golarion’s common tongue—only Azlanti."
“We’ll speak in here, in private,” he says. Kol’s friends smile and gesture for you to enter as well. Once you do, the doors are hurriedly shut and locked, the room falling dark but for a thin sliver of light from somewhere In the distance can be heard a sound like tens of thousands of people cheering in unison. Kol Voss faces you at this moment and says, “Yes strongman, you have the right of it. This problem we have with Adril Hestram must be solved at once and I know only one way to make sure it happens.” Suddenly the room lurches upward and vibrates with the sound of grinding chains. “Above us in the Crimson Forum, King Adril himself is about to watch as several of my closest friends are torn apart by monsters. He likely has my sister at his side in chains. Together we will free my friends and then challenge Adril to combat in the arena. He must possess Odrian’s symbol of power—the mighty Starsword—so I will swear the oaths of my ancient tribe and challenge him for the weapon. Should he refuse, the entire city will turn against him. Together we will slay him in combat, take the blade, and free the city and my sister from his tyranny. Prepare yourselves—we rise to face things you have only dreamed of.”
When you rise to the arena’s floor, the crowd goes silent. Several monsters are free and moving to the west of you, headed toward three large poles. Five men are chained to each pole by the wrists and they huddle together behind their meager prison, shying away from the monsters. All are injured, weak, and sick, and none are ready to fight.
Adril leaps from his throne, knocking it over in his rush to stand. His face bulges in surprise, his cheeks red and angry. “My friends!” he shouts unnaturally loud, “I’m sorry to see you alive.” He crams two fingers into his mouth and performs what can only be a magically enhanced, ear-splitting whistle. The monsters stop menacing the prisoners and turn to face Adril. “King Adril, your god, wishes you to destroy these fools! Kill them all!” The crowd roars with approval.
There is some kind of abjurative force field around the arena itself. It's potent enough to make you severely doubt your ability to move or cast through it.
These LOOK like massive versions of a rare type of Girallon. On Golarion these huge cousins to the normal 4-armed apes control the dust and sand around them. They can breath it out as a sand blasting abrasive, or they can cloud your vision in a dust storm of it.
This LOOKS like a sand giant. On Golarion they possess the size and strength of a giant as you'd expect, but they also have some druidic like magic over sand and earth. Most notably they can shape sand into a massive fist that can kill an elephant in a single hit.
Baddies (Girallon):
Baddies (Giant):
Kol Voss:
Darius:
Ignatius:
Osric:
Roos:
Roakar:
One of the apes steps forward and UPWARD and as he flexes his massive arms (all 4 of them) the dust about him kicks up and swirls. He walks on the air 15' over head. Everyone in the radius is affected by an Obscuring Mist. The other three unleash a breath weapon of slashing sand.
All breath weapons are REF DC 20 for half damage:
Orange hits Osric and Roakar for slashing damage.
Dark Red hits Roakar and Roos for slashing damage.
Yellow hits Kol Voss for slashing damage. ( )
Finally the giant forms the arena sand into a fist and drops it on Darius's head: for FORT DC 24 or be stunned for 1 round.
Initiative Repost:
Girallon: Attack
Giant: Prep
Roakar: Go
Roos: Go
Darius: Go
Osric: Go
Ignatious: Go
Kol Voss: TBD
Kol Voss: 24
Dark Red:
Red:
Orange:
Yellow:
Giant:
Fist:
"No time to talk now! Apologies later or in the afterlife!"
Darius's spell saves him from the fist! Unfortunately the dust gets the better of him too. Shirley seems to get the better of the best.
Initiative Repost:
Girallon: Attack
Giant: Prep
Roakar: Go
Roos: Go
Darius: Atk
Osric: Go
Ignatious: Go
Kol Voss: TBD
Kol Voss: 24
Dark Red:
Red: (Ill omen)
Orange:
Yellow:
Giant:
Fist:
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You may take a single round action at this point.
- Roos would have casted Haste then if allowed.
"This biggin looks like a sand giant. Back home they possess the size and strength of a giant, but this guy may also have some druidic powers over sand and earth. I think he can shape sand and...yep just like that fist. Be careful" Roos looks at the ape thingies and the arena...
"Seems there is some kind of abjurative force field around the arena itself, may make it hard for us to cast some spells. The apes remind me of Gorillons back home although these ones may also have sand powers. Why cant we fight on solid ground?"
Roos then starts singing the Immigrant Song as a rousing battle song for some
He then charges towards the same ape Darius is fighting...
..
..
Roos casts Haste as the platform rises, then dares the reach of one of the apes. , but is WAY too fast. He gets teh line "we are your overlords" out as his blade strikes home.
His blade drives right into an artery!
Initiative Repost:
Girallon: Attack
Giant: Prep
Roakar: Go
Roos: Crit!
Darius: Atk
Osric: Go
Ignatious: Go
Kol Voss: TBD
Kol Voss: 24
Dark Red: 57
Red: (Ill omen)
Orange:
Yellow:
Giant:
Fist:
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In the round before battle:
Roakar smiles in anticipation. He draws a small vile from his backpack (move action) and chugs it (standard action). Immediately Roakar quadruples in size. He then builds up his anger before unleashing it upon the word (rage, free action).
Round 1:
Roakar roars in anger, activating Raging Brutality (free action, 3 rounds of rage) and come and get me (free action), and smashes the silly flying monkey (red) into the ground with his 20ft reach. If that monkey dies he invokes death upon the orange monkey.
Add an additional 4 damage per attack if the Girallon's have spells or SLAs.
Roakar swings three times, battering the girallon to death. The crowd goes wild! His 4th swing hammers the girallon, but doesn't drop him. The crowd continues to go wild, cheering and shouting.
The sandstorm looks like it's going to fall apart now that it's source is nothing but a corpse.
Round 1
Girallon: Attack
Giant: Prep
Roakar: Barbarian!
Roos: Crit!
Darius: Atk
Osric: Go
Ignatious: Go
Kol Voss: TBD
Kol Voss: 24
Dark Red: 57
Orange: 62
Yellow:
Giant:
Fist: